ADVISE TO GET AN OUTSTANDING SOUND QUALITY VINYL

[flavio81]

I was just thinking "ECM" too!!

Pat Metheny Group - Pat Metheny Group

for a beautiful ride.

[autobayer]

Sorry to be pedantic: Brubeck - Charles Lloyd Forest Flower - Köln Concert 

Kind of Blue is (still) a million seller!! Probably the best selling Jazz record ever.

[flavio81]

The best quality records i've on my collection are the ones that are pressed in germany. Particularly the ones by BASF and Telefunken (or Teldec). Also the ones from Deutsche Grammophon, but only when the recording was done without close multi-miking.

The german ECM pressings are among the quietest vinyls you can get.

Also, every Philips pressing i've had has been consistently high quality. Not only the Dutch Philips pressings but even the brazilian Philips pressings!

[GP49]

Also, every Philips pressing i've had has been consistently high quality. Not only the Dutch Philips pressings but even the brazilian Philips pressings!

But not the USA Philips pressings from the 1960s.  Philips had acquired Mercury Records in 1962 and USA Philips were pressed by whoever was pressing Mercury at the time (CBS?).  They were noisy and lacking the immediacy of Mercury Living Presence LPs, so I would surmise the fault for the noise was in the pressing (Mercurys could be noisy, too) and the sonic issues were due to the rather diffuse Philips recording technique.  It was too bad, because several landmark recordings of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam (before it became "Royal") under its then-new conductor Bernard Haitink had to be endured through these pressings. Many in the USA who could afford to do so, went to the time and expense to order Philips records from Britain, where the Dutch pressings predominated. Philips finally imported Dutch and other European product to the USA and touted their quality.  The Philips "Golden Imports" line lasted to the end of the LP era.

Original Philips recordings can no longer be sold as new product under the Philips name in the USA and in most of the world.  Through a series of corporate transactions, the Philips catalog of recordings now belongs to Universal Music but that company failed to secure the rights to the Philips trademark; that has reverted to Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Royal Philips Electronics Inc.), the original Philips company in the Netherlands.  Universal now issues Philips records on the Decca label, a British brand which had been scheduled to be dropped entirely but was revived when the Philips trademark issue arose.  Under a legal oddity, Universal can still sell a select few records under the Philips brand in Britain.

[flavio81]

But not the USA Philips pressings from the 1960s.  Philips had acquired Mercury Records in 1962 and USA Philips were pressed by whoever was pressing Mercury at the time (CBS?).  They were noisy and lacking the immediacy of Mercury Living Presence LPs, so I would surmise the fault for the noise was in the pressing (Mercurys could be noisy, too) and the sonic issues were due to the rather diffuse Philips recording technique. 

i have only 1 of such Philips USA LPs, haven't played it yet!!

[GP49]

i have only 1 of such Philips USA LPs, haven't played it yet!!

The most maddening to me was Bruckner 3, Concertgebouw/Haitink.  It used a different, and to me more desirable edition than the Cleveland/Szell on Columbia (let's DON'T get into the issue of Bruckner "editions"). At the time these were the only modern stereo records of that symphony.

Clicks and pops and bubbles and WHOOSH that came and went.  When I finally got a Dutch pressing, it was a relief.  The extraneous noise was gone!

Oddly, the classic 1966 records of Handel's Messiah with the London Symphony conducted by Colin Davis were on Philips.  The "genuine" USA Philips were noisy just like most USA Philips.  The version sold by one of the record clubs and custom-pressed by someone else under license was BETTER, even though presumably it was mastered from a copy tape one generation further removed!  Much quieter, and it was said that the recording was done not by Philips own engineers but by British ones, which explained the "live" sound uncharacteristic of Philips.  I did not see the need to replace it and only within the past few months bought the Philips CDs, on a clearance discount.  Alas...the LPs sound better.  Perhaps the master tape has deteriorated, or the CD remastering engineers tinkered with it too much.

[hatehifi]

Hi Martin,

Graeme's Sheffield suggestion is, like all the others mentioned here as well, excellent. What I suggest is that you make sure your TT is running at exact speed because even the smallest variations will alter the tone and pitch of the notes played. As you likely already assume, attending live concerts, i.e., hearing live music is always most beneficial for a "reality check" for the 'truthfulness' of your playback system. Lots (most?) of gear add their own sonic 'fingerprint' [versus -best- doing 'nothing'] and knowing what your system does wrong is helpful. I have a good memory for sounds and, e.g., saw / heard Paul Simon's "Graceland" Tour in a modestly small auditorium in Hamburg. That is, once I've dialed-in my system with the "Sheffield's and Kind of Blues, etc." I put on Graceland and 'tweak' till the bass was as 'sharp' as I recall live. BTW, I try at live concerts, especially at rock/pop affairs, to sit immediately next to or in front of the mixing table. Most of the 'good' acts have a sound technician capable of re-creating as best as possible, the [LP/CD] recorded performance...

[worcestermark]

  Philips had acquired Mercury Records in 1962 and USA Philips were pressed by whoever was pressing Mercury at the time (CBS?).  They were noisy and lacking the immediacy of Mercury Living Presence LPs, so I would surmise the fault for the noise was in the pressing (Mercurys could be noisy, too) and the sonic issues were due to the rather diffuse Philips recording technique.  It was too bad, because several landmark recordings of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam (before it became "Royal") under its then-new conductor Bernard Haitink had to be endured through these pressings. Many in the USA who could afford to do so, went to the time and expense to order Philips records from Britain, where the Dutch pressings predominated. Philips finally imported Dutch and other European product to the USA and touted their quality.  The Philips "Golden Imports" line lasted to the end of the LP era.

Throughout the vinyl era up to about 1981 you could buy English and Dutch pressings of nearly all Philips issues, and there is nothing between the sound quality in my experience after hearing probably thousands of both as a classical dealer. A very attractive and unimposing neutrality to the recording, where some of the sought after early deccas have too wide a soundstage, the Philips tend towards a natural acoustic sound - my exact preference. Interestingly I think they may be the first european company to offer stereo lps in a general issue for the 1956 Mozart jubilee. These have the greatest premium of european stereo that I have sold, several can be sold for healthy four figure sums in pounds.
Incidentally with regard to a previous post, the ECM lp's up until 1991 were pressed by the Deutsche grammofon factory. I nearly fell off my chair when I read that first as DG's sound mainly dull to me, and ECM are consistently fantastic. it has to be about the sound engineering at source.

[strata]

"Incidentally with regard to a previous post, the ECM lp's up until 1991 were pressed by the Deutsche grammofon factory. I nearly fell off my chair when I read that first as DG's sound mainly dull to me, and ECM are consistently fantastic. it has to be about the sound engineering at source."

I think this is true. Then on the other hand I have heard Dvorak on Deutsche Grammofon that sounded vivid and airy. Perhaps the same rules applied here as for ECM´s Erik Kongshaug engineering. Could it also has something to do with mastering compression? Lots of recordings, at least from the 70´s and 80´s sounds like a lot of compression to EQ the total output frequency spectra. A very bad manner according to my ears. Even today there seems to be a lot of compression on recording due to the fact that it has to fit sound vise to many type of output medias such as iPods an so forth.       

[flavio81]

I nearly fell off my chair when I read that first as DG's sound mainly dull to me, and ECM are consistently fantastic. it has to be about the sound engineering at source.

The mono DGGs sound fantastic. The early stereo ones too. Then the others are multi-mixed close-miked stereo recordings which sound powerful but not natural, imho.

[Mario_b]

For testing a new rig or cartridge, I start out with 4 LPs
Steely Dan's "Hey 19" on MCA
Harry James "Coming from a Good Place" on Sheffield Lab
Barber's "Adagio for Strings" - Marriner-St. Martin-in-the-Fields on Argo
Verdi's "Requiem" Solti-Vienna Philharmonic on London/Decca (1968)

[Bach7]

I think you shoud listen to music you like, rather than the record you like. I believe listening to good music recorded well is much better than listening to mediocre music recorded perfectly (?) Music is about affecting the senses, not assessing the reproduction.

That said, any classical/jazz recorded on valve equipment, say early sixties Decca, EMI, HMV are favorites.

Don't forget all studio recodings have false ambiance, so get a few recorded in natural surroundings.

[GP49]

Audiophile: a person whose favorite record of Also Sprach Zarathustra is worn out over the first minute, and in mint condition over the rest.

[flavio81]

Audiophile: a person whose favorite record of Also Sprach Zarathustra is worn out over the first minute, and in mint condition over the rest.

  LOL!! That was a good one!!

Bryan is right, it's better to have good music than good audio.

[allanvinylman]

A series of records I have been using for years to test the sound on a new arm or cartidge, are the EMI issues under the Studio 2 logo. These are mainly "middle of the road" instrumental and band issues, but the early ones, produced in 1967 or1968 were produced to a vert high standard on full 180 gram discs. The early ones can usually be identified by a Large Red 2 in a box on the front cover. They also did a range of samplers to highlight the then new quality stereo recordings, some being later re-issued on cheaper (music for pleasure) labels, but the originals which can usually be found in charity shops for pennies are definately worth a listen, although some of the music might not be to your taste. I have collected many of them over the years. Artists are often Manuel,Wout Steenhuis, Frank Pourcel, Ron Goodwin etc. The quality of the recordings and pressings are second to none.