Hi Chris:
You're getting at a core mock-point with audiophilia. The stereotype is, audiophiles are
content-limited because they are sound-obsessed. There's the micro-universe of "approved" audiophile
titles. Today, these tend to gravitate toward female "jazz" singers (really crooner-ish schmaltz,
for the most part) and a few smooth-ish instrumental jazz titles. I was just recently talking about
this with one of my music buddies. We concluded that most of our favorite rock, soul and jazz albums
were badly recorded and sound crappy in an objective measure of their representation of instruments,
human voices and mixes of those elements. But, we still love them because the music jumps out of the
speakers. This is why people love barely-intelligable old hot-jazz and blues 78s -- you may hardly
be able to make out exaclty what's being sung or what instrument is playng what, but the music is
still very compelling. I think some of the equipment-obsessed audiophiles miss the point of the
music because they're so worried about the sound quality.
Regarding the comment someone made about "Rumours" vinyl vs. recent HDTracks version, I have an
original-issue low-mileage NARAS-sold copy of "Rumours" (meaning it was a first-pressing "not for
sale" version likely from the batch passed around Warner Brothers HQ, so I'd call it a "hot
platter"). It sounds very different from the HDTracks remaster (which was also used for the last CD
master). It is more dynamic and the drums sound "bigger" because they aren't dynamics-limited.
Because everything has more room to breath, the mixes sound less "in yo' face." I think the latest
remaster is pretty good, but it sounds like there was some pressure to sound "modern" meaning more
aggressive and "louder" than 1970's California rock LPs sounded.
Back to variety on vinyl -- check out the wider-focused retailers like Acoustic Sounds. There is a
very wide selection of genres and artists.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Bishop" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, March 06, 2015 5:00 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Another vinyl fad
>I agree with what Tom says about the importance of mastering and pressing.
> My issue is different and has to do with the narrow selection. Most of the
> rock titles on the Better Records site were in our record collections
> before my friends and I finished high school. I suspect most buyers of
> these expensive 'hot stampers' have been listening to this music for many
> years. Yes these are the hits that sell, but whew, I wish people would move
> on. Most of this stuff is stale as can be. Good sound won't recapture the
> excitement of first hearing these on lousy turntables, cassettes or FM
> radio as a teenager.
>
> Also, none of these records are scarce, even in their first pressings. To
> charge hundreds of dollars for a Bad Company LP or the B-52s, albeit a
> 'white hot stamper' in top condition, is to make chumps out of one's
> customers.
>
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 6, 2015 at 2:00 PM, Lou Judson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> 2 things, from me:
>>
>> CDs or other digital media sounds better to me from vinyl too, if i do the
>> transfers myself!
>>
>> And I would plead to use care with the J word. It has extremely awful
>> implications in this day and age. You could say crusaders, or campaigners,
>> or fanatics, or obsessives, or something else like that which is less
>> offensive. I am rather upset over beheadings and the destruction of ancient
>> artifacts (even this week!) and find the word inappropriate. Plus it might
>> get you tagged by NSA and their ilkā¦
>>
>> I know I am an old peacenik hippie, but whatever.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> <L>
>> On Mar 6, 2015, at 9:59 AM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> > I still listen to a lot of LP records, some of them dubbed into my
>> digital library (which analog jihadists would say defeats the whole
>> purpose).
>> >
>> > -- Tom Fine
>>
>
>
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