Led Zeppelin 2014 Vinyl Remasters Zoso, Houses of the Holy, etc.

My apologies if my question seems a tad silly, but are only the single disc sets of HOTH made in the USA affected by that problem on The Ocean or are discs from the 2 LP sets also suffering from it?

 

I have the Super Deluxe edition. It's on the vinyl version. It sounds like it's on all the vinyl copies pressed by Pallas and sold in the U.S. It's not on the cd.

 

Led Zeppelin 2014 Vinyl Remasters - Pallas or Optimal press? - Here matrices and others info
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...l-press-here-matrices-and-others-info.389978/

 

I received my LZ IV LP from Amazon yesterday. I am returning the shipment because the disc has a jagged protrusion at the edge. The # of the disc is either 28112 or 28772. P USA

I would show you a picture, but I don't think we have the attachment feature any longer....

 

It's been my experience the the Optimal pressings tend to be better quality than that of Pallas. I have many copies pressed at both plants and have never had problems with the Optimals.

 

that is why they are named O P T I M A L

(I endorse this message, however I am in no way connected to them)

 

I first played with a Jico SAS microline, then switched to a Nagaoka MP-110 elliptical. It's miles worse with the elliptical.

 

Here's the US version. Jico SAS microline stylus on a Shure M97xE cart. Only fifty hours on the stylus. It's not just the left channel, by the way ... it's just that the left is SO bad that it kind of hides what's happening with the right channel.

The Ocean distortion sample

 

Youtube removed my "The Ocean" posts with extreme prejudice. So no samples here, but I can confirm the distortion on my P. USA press. It's a shame cause I really thought they were batting 1.000 with these presses previous. You can see on my earlier post of "The Song Remains The Same" that there was a slight bump in the vinyl on Houses Of The Holy. My copy of IV, though is top notch.

 

all they have to do is fix the issue with replacements and i'll be satisfied. everyone makes mistakes!

 

Uh, no. I think Rainbo still has them beat. Pallas only screwed up on song on one album. Rainbo on the other hand......

 

sounds terrible, and the thing is, I'm willing to bet a lot of people will likely ignore it thinking it's just typical IGD.

 

Gather 'round kids while I spin you a tale of two albums...



Yesterday I spent my lunch hour on a mission to pick up ZOSO and HOTH (deluxes). I live in a small "one-record-store" town. A few kids and hipsters buying records and a few more "old-timers" unloading them. This is a curse and a blessing. On the one hand I only have access to a small amount of used records (about 300 - 400 at any one time, including the 10 copies of Lionel Richie's "Can't Slow Down"). On the other hand when I do find some gold it can be in excellent shape and priced ridiculously cheap.

So I arrive at the shop and of course there on the End-Cap are the Zep re-issues all shiny and new, but first I gotta check the used bins for "Juice", of course. Houses of the holy-schite! What do I find but a Sterling RL press of HOTH in Mint- condition (maybe played once or twice, zero spindle marks, no label stains or names, a few almost imperceptible paper sleeve marks hence the minus). The price you ask? $7.99. At this point I decide to hold off on the HOTH reissue. {Side note, I picked up a couple more gems: An Excellent (Capitol Wally) DSOTM with poster and stickers ($10.99), a Mint- (Sterling LH) Traffic TLSOHHB ($3.99), and a Mint- (AT PR) Yes Relayer ($4.99). This was a rare haul for me, it could be a long time until I score like this again, if ever.} I leave the store with the above albums and a $34 deluxe reissue of ZOSO, high as a kite knowing that I am gonna blast the schite out of my hi-fi sometime within the next 48 hours.

Fast forward to this evening. First, clean "used" records: Check.



Second, open ZOSO: Che... wait wtf?...



The companion disc (Disk) is literally trashed. It looks like it was used for Ultimate Frisbee at the Pallas employee picnic prior to packaging. On further inspection it looks like 75% of the gouges are actually some kind of glue like residue. I ran it through the cleaner and the above photo is what I got (and it looks even worse in person). "This aggression will not stand, Man." The main LP looked fine but this set is definitely going back to the shop tomorrow.

In the meantime I decided to give ZOSO a spin for my trouble. Not only is it warped but it is riddled with ticks and pops. This confuses me because my I, II, III reissues were flat and very quiet. But the worst offense unfortunately is the mastering. Good Lord, why hath thy Hammers of the Gods forsaken me. I really enjoyed the LZ I, II, and III reissues and spoke highly of them in several threads, so I assumed I would enjoy IV. Not the case with my reissue and ears. The high frequencies are tipped up and 2-dimensional, cymbals sound sizzly and unnatural. The upper mids are too bright and the lower mids are recessed and become congested during peaks. Low bass frequencies had extension and depth but mid-bass lacked slam and pace. Save a couple fills mentioned by others, snares and toms were disappointing. The vocal tracks were nice and clear with little if any sibilance, but maybe a little too prominent in the overall mix. It all added up to a irritating aural experience for me. A replacement copy will not be coming home with me tomorrow if I have anything to say about it (hopefully they are cool with store credit). I hate to be picky but this is Zeppelin for cripes sake. For now my cassette copy will have to suffice until I can find a decent used LP.

There is a happy ending to this tragically long post. The RL HOTH is incredible (slight inaudible warp, though). It is visually and sonically sublime. Zero surface noise and maybe 3 very light tics throughout the entire disk. The mastering could not be more different than my ZOSO reissue. I have played it 3 times this evening and it is eminently crank-able. No need for me to look any further than this work of art. Instead of dragging this out any further I will just say this... It is all analog and mastered by Robert Ludwig at Sterling.

 

The reproduction on the cover art for IV is pretty poor. I got my super deluxe box tonight and popped it open.

Looks like a bad color copy when a printer is just starting to have issues. Faded..kind of white speckled. (Inner gatefold same issues)


Obviously I bought the albums to listen to...but first impressions popping it open were dissatisfaction. The book is very nice (80 pages), the print is cool, the box itself is killer..everything looks well made...but come on....cover art and inner gatefold have got to be at the same standard. If I am on a printer and it's running things off at this quality. ..you stop and either fix the machine...or print another day when it's been adjusted.

I will spin them tomorrow. ..they came a bit late..

Anyway...I am not a player hater and I for sure don't run looking for things to complain and post about...but those are the facts.

 

The above comments do not describe my Optimal deluxe sound wise and visually. Zoso is the worst sounding but strikes me as a bit congested and muddy. Something that is true to some extent with other versions. I don't find the treble excessive on this one. My main criticism of the deluxe cover is they lost the original back sleeve design for some reason. They have also changed the print colour of the front from a brown tint to a grey/green colour.

 

Paul, in one of your earlier posts you wrote that the early UK pressings could have been the sonical template they (Jimmy Page together with John Davis) set out to work with.

 

Agree the cover art is not reproduced very well, looks like a copy of a copy, especially when led alongside my original plum.

 

This cannot be stated enough - that experience was the absolute worst. Even the replacements were totally messed up. I still don't have acceptable copies of some of those albums.

I bet we see the HOTH vinyl go into "item under review" status on Amazon soon.

 

Really well written, enjoyable read.

 

Yes, in general, a bit of quality control or caring about the customer would help, have you ever tried to get something done through AT and T (or to put it another way, an ounce of prevention, etc....)?

 

In my experience, even though I am a lifelong vinylist, there have always been issues with new vinyl, no matter the era. The real question is how the label and retailers handle returns and exchanges. It sounds like the problem with the 'Ocean' track is endemic to certain pressings, and that QC problems otherwise are, unfortunately, the normal 'hit and miss.' Will be interested in how the various companies in the chain respond to these problems and whether they make it right for the customers of defective or badly made/handled records.

 

I'm find it sad that those who have purchased the US releases have issues with the HOTH release. Hopefully replacements will be offered. I'm glad I waited. I'll be getting them from amazon.co.uk which should minimize the risk of getting a US pressing.

 

I'm currently playing a DVD-Audio disc onto which I burned the Hi-Res files for IV and HOTH. As with I-III, I must say again that this is the best I have ever heard these albums sound. IV is playing at the moment and it sounds absolutely fantastic, even on my relatively modest set-up.

I haven't gotten to the vinyl yet but my SD Box of HOTH is going back to Amazon UK because the companion LP has an easily visible manufacturing defect (pock mark) on side 1. Luckliy, Amazon are great at replacing things quickly. I also had to send my LZII box back from the first batch because of a damaged outer case. Wonder if it will be a case of third time lucky with PG?

 

Buying a re-issue like this, is supposed to be a "time-machine" of sorts. And so, the overall quality and detail of the packaging is important. With all the hype, the QC is lacking.

 

Wow.
So my amazon ordered boxes arrived here in Japan today. For some reason DHL decided that they needed to fly on to Hong Kong first ... the outer box was in sad shape and I could feel lots of movement when the local delivery guy handed them over.
Thankfully the inner boxes protecting the actual items were in fine shape, including the foam rubber innards. The CDs had shifted, but everything else was fine.
We listened to HOTH during dinner, and I didn't notice any problems with the Ocean - my two year old imitating Bonzo was distracting.
I read this thread and was worried. I noticed that my HOTH was a German pressing (whew) without any problems. Additionally it came with the obi - which was a PITA to remove without damaging it.
I think the LP jackets for these two seem cheaper - not heavy stock like my old originals. Still the sound is perfect, and that's really what matters.
This is a long way of saying amazon US apparently does have some of the EU pressed vinyl.