Physical Graffiti vinyl reissue quality thread - defects/distortion?

Wow, Paul coming from you this is praise indeed...
Isn't it wonderful with EU vinyl from Optimal and Record Industry that an LP looks jut like a LP is supposed to look, no smudges, no 'horning', no fingerprints, no KFC-bucket munchers touching it with their grubby greasy fingers..........
I never buy bonus discs as I consider them to be inessential and degrading the original classic album, but I am weird.
I rather burn essential outtakes on one cd..

 

You can also use Discogs to make sure you get that specific pressing. Here is a link directly to the 2 LP Optimal pressing: http://www.discogs.com/Led-Zeppelin-Physical-Graffiti/release/6677028
If the seller is in Europe, go ahead and ask them to make sure it is that pressing before you purchase.

 

Thanks for that

 

Wow, one seller from Hungary is even offering 'corner protectors' for 1 euro extra! Where will this end?

 

I listened to the 24/96 audio about 3 times and once before i spun my Pallas pressed copy I got over the weekend and was very pleased. I think the vinyl sounds better than the hi res audio on my system. Both LPs flat and pretty centered no audible signs of non fill and maybe a slight bit of IGD on last bit of side 4.

My favorite Zeppelin album and a mint copy on vinyl !

 

Hey now...I made a request for oxygen-free, UV protectant outer sleeves and they accommodated. They said it protects the grooves from damage.

 

Also, if I buy from Anazon.co.uk directly will I get the Optimal version?

 

Played mine from start to finish yesterday, 3 LP deluxe. Zero issues, no pops, clicks, scratches or dirt. A perfect copy of all three records. Very pleased.

 

Yes, if it is directly from Amazon UK and not a third-party seller, it will be the Optimal version. The issue is that some third party sellers on Amazon UK are actually based in the US, such as Marvelio UK. I've ordered many records from Marvelio, and they are great. I have no complaints other than that they should not list that they have UK pressed records for sale when they are indeed the US pressing (I had this issue with Opeth's latest marvelous album, Pale Communion).

 

Normally yes, but in this case they state: 'Temporarily out of stock. '

 

Got my replacement Super Deluxe Box today. My first box had unacceptably noisy vinyl even after multiple cleanings. A big, long and deep scratch in Kashmir caused long sustained pops. Happy to say - my replacements are flawless - even without cleaning them (just a dustbrush) they are dramatically better than the first set I received. Perfectly flat as well. Even the companion disc is better. Pallas for US incidentally.

Like an idiot, when I first saw this thread I panicked and ordered the Optimal version (just the 2 LP set) from Amazon UK so that is on the way as I write

 

Glad you got good Pallas replacement. Fingers crossed for mine. It's weird with my repetitive clicks because I can't even SEE any bloody scratches! And then there's the "Kashmir" non-fill....

 

That's great!!! A Zeppelin breakfast bowl!

 

Got my box today, relieved to find the vinyls very quiet & almost perfect except for two things:

1. There seems to be some mild crackle/non-fill in various places, most notably towards the end of the 1st loud section of ITL. Seen on Amazon UK that other people have this issue, wondered whether anyone here with Optimal vinyl has this problem?

2. As with several of the earlier companion vinyls, the PG companion skipped all over the place (mainly Brandy & Coke, HOTH, ITL and Boogie With Stu), although repeated plays of the offending sections with a gentle finger-nudge on the arm seems to have cured it, for now at least. I don't have a fabulous deck, but these companions are the only vinyl I've played recently that skips. Anyone else have this issue, and any idea why it's only the companions?

I'm tempted to return it (I returned my IV box twice), but don't want to risk getting a worse copy...plus, I didn't go with Amazon this time, and I'm reluctant to cause a small retailer to lose money over relatively trivial issues, especially since I don't expect to play the vinyls much anyway. In other words, I can live with it...but should I?

 

I'm currently on my 2nd optimal copy. Both purchased from my local HMV.
The first was the deluxe 3LP and was badly scuffed on side 2 and side 3 had some of the previously reported crackle on In the Light and Ten Years Gone, so I returned it but unfortunately they were out of the deluxe and I was impatient so settled for the standard 2LP set. Unfortunately this copy is no better as I've now got a clean side 2 in exchange for a nasty scratch on side 1 across The Rover and side 3 is still as crackly as before. I'm unsure whether to exchange again or just live with it as I feel abit embarrassed to keep returning them.

 

I think I'm in good shape with an Amazon.ca shipped copy here in Toronto. No deluxe... just the album itself.

I'll have to listen to a bit more carefully tomorrow to Kashmir (where I might have detected a tiny bit of distortion) and In My Time... but the cursory listen today sounds perfectly tolerable.

 

And I think that is where you will end up after you re-listen. Definitely not a pressing issue like we saw with the Pallas for US pressings of "Houses."

 

I think a lot of the issue is putting the vinyl in the "replica" cardboard printed sleeves... rather than the rice paper liners. You need to clean both records thoroughly and even then they're not near as quiet as the other reissues.

I understand why they did what they did, though... After transferring both records to MoFi sleeves, I can't fit everything in the outer jacket easily. I've taken to putting one of the printed sleeves outside the jacket to preserve the "look" of the album...

 

Ultimately I have to agree. The varying issues that have been reported for this title all seem within the realm of standard variance for a new title these days. Still, I'm glad I started the thread, as it gave us a place to compare.

 

I am glad you started it too. It allowed us to form a consensus based on fact and not raw emotion.

 

And that all being said, I sent my replacement request to Dr Rhino about thirty minutes ago. Fingers crossed!

 

Unclear why they chose to replicate the inners for this and not IV or HOTH...

 

Because these particular inners are so closely related to the packaging of the album. You can't say that as much for the others. Wayyy more people would have complained if this wasn't identical to the original.

 

I sent mine yesterday. No answer yet.

To address the notion that the distortion is within the normal variance of pressings, well maybe so, but one's you know it's there, it pretty much ruins the enjoyment of the music. All I hear on every transient on IMTOD and Kashmir, is fuzz!

 

I get it, to an extent. Although, the effect would not have been diminished if the inners were reduced to a double-sided printed insert like the IV and HOTH inners, since you would still be able to position them in the windows as you liked. And then they could have put the records themselves in the rice paper inners like the rest and avoided any paper remnants or scuffs from the cardboard inners.

Not a big deal, I moved mine to rice paper inners anyway. Just curious that they stayed true to the original packaging here, but not on the other two. Kinda makes me wonder what they have planned for the brown paper outer/multiple covers/watercolor inner for ITTOD. Personally, I'll be disappointed if the super deluxe box doesn't include all six covers, a watercolor inner (or double-sided insert) and at least one brown paper outer.