Led Zeppelin 2014 Remasters - I-III Vinyl Format - Part 2

Thanks all! I just ordered II and next one will be IV! I'm not really into remaster/reedition stuffs but at 14.99€, I think it's honest

 

I had the opposite experience -really! I think thickness of the vinyl may just play a part in this experience, I set my VTA so it theoretically is between a thick and a thin record and my Pallas from the US deluxe that I got may have just been ideal thickness wise for my set up. The one I got from the UK was just nice sounding but the Pallas disc just smoked it in middle and bottom end energy.

 

Go Figure! One thing tho, was the the EU copy had ZERO surface noise, whereas the US copy had noticeable noise.

 

+1

 

Given your location Anaon, I'd consider grabbing the LZII. Your likelyhood of finding a good RL(with exception to the 1 sided version) is probably kind of slim. And vintage copies of this one in general tend to be rough.

 

Yes I ordered the second album because of this but what do your mean by RL?

 

RL - Robert Ludwig - the mastering engineer who mastered early pressings of LZ II. His mastering is believed by many to be the best pressing of this album.

 

Oh yes of course! Thanks for the info

Did he master the other early pressings?

 

Houses Of The Holy and I think The soundtrack/Song Remains The Same(?), but I've never owned that one. But really, the RL LZII is the one that gets all the press.

 

Because many have not the possibility to do an A/B comparison with the UK A2/B2 plum as I done. My conclusion was that they are at the same awesome level, IMO.

 

Respectfully disagree. I have them both and as nice as the UK plum is, the RL has always proven decidedly superior for me. It's just more aggressive and has more edge and shimmer. I also have the CDN red label Atlantic and consider them more similar than the RL. But that's just me.

 

What I meant to say is that the final judgment would be more correct if everyone had had a chance to make a comparison with a RL and an UK A2/B2 plum, as you and I, instead most of the comments/conclusions coming from who has never heard the UK A2/B2 plum.
Just this

 

Yes, the HOTH US (PALLAS) pressing had issues

 

Is there a thread regarding the Physical Graffitti vinyl reissues or is this discussion for all formats?

 

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...fects-distortion.416915/page-11#post-11981860

 

New member here - I logged on, because I just bought II (and III) this afternoon, and after hearing it I am quite disappointed - enough so that I had to google it to see if others felt the same. This topic came up in the searches. I didn't read through the whole lotta thread, but found a few quotes that really portray my feelings (precisely). Side 1 did seem worse, and I first really noticed pretty bad clipping distortion after the crazy section of Whole Lotta Love - the bass drum hits - OMG just terrible.

Have not opened III yet, not really looking forward to it at this point. I may return it unopened.

I'm fairly new to vinyl so at first I thought I had an issue with my cartridge set up, but the few other records I have sound really good (mostly jazz). I only have two other rock records at the moment, the Who Who's Next and my dad got me Blind Faith for Christmas. They both sound good, Who's Next does clip at one point in Won't get Fooled again, but I can live with that, it's almost appropriate. To me that's one of the greatest rock and roll records ever, btw.

anyway, not trying to stir the pot, just to report my findings.

 

Just because the vast majority of your records sound okay, it doesn't mean your set-up is "dialed in" and isn't the problem. The musical sections with which you are having problems are precisely the type of passages that identify set-up/hardware imperfections (although the section of Won't Get Fooled Again might actually be on the recording itself...).

I know people hate hearing this -- especially those new to vinyl who are used to the plug and play of digital -- but in my experience, while bad pressings do exist (most commonly due to non-fill), distortion/sibilance issues are almost always something in your set-up or tonearm/cart compatibility and not the record itself.

My advice is rather than engaging in confirmation bias by looking for others having the same problem, instead look to see if most others (especially those not new to vinyl) are NOT having the issues. If most aren't and only a few are, it's not likely that you got a bum pressing.

 

My 2014 LZ II vinyl is the best I have heard of this album. I have older pressings too, but not an RL.
Mine is an Optimal pressing.

LZ II was also recorded hot on the red so is that the distortion you are hearing?

 

For the record (ha!) all of my records sound really good (so far), not just the vast majority sound OK. That being said I may only have 20 or so records. I'm not ruling out a bad setup of the cartridge on my part. I will take the record to a friend's house and see if I have similar results or not. But you have to wonder, why would all of my records sound good except this one? If I set up the cartridge poorly, would i not hear issues with other records?

Yes, it would have to be (clipping distortion), but it's so bad after the crazy section that I have no desire to listen to it. I do remember that part being hot in sort of a cool way, but don't remember it being this bad listening to other sources growing up.

.

 

I've bought all the Super Deluxe reissues so far & only had to return my HotH (the replacement sounds fine). All vinyl aside, I think the new digital flacs from these recent reissues are the best things offered...the accompanying books are certainly great too.

 

Yes, Zep II was recorded hot....so with that being the case, the conclusion I have come to for the reason this version sounds so brutal (in spots) is that all of those HOT moments where there might be some sizzle simply got accentuated during this mastering process. They are there in my normal CD version as well...but now they have been boosted. Not good. Yes, those parts in Whole Lotta Love are horrendous, also Thank You is another one that really bothered me. I still haven't opened I or III because of how bad II sounds.

 

I think the first four albums that I bought sound very good, I have all the originals and these new 2014's come very close or even better.
My only issue is with the bonus tracks, their not that good. Zep II and III have the best bonus tracks for me.

 

Yes, the first I-IV were terrific and are maybe just slightly less than the preferred hard to find versions. HOTH sounded kinda yucky (except No Quarter and maybe another 1-2 songs) like the originals I've ever heard so I think that's just what was recorded. Based on that experience, I am expecting that PG will be the same because there is no divine original pressing to reanimate for that album either.

 

Tom, I used some of your quotes from the towards the beginning of the thread regarding the distortion in II. Have things changed for you to make you think otherwise?

 

The distortion on the new LP is there but it's native to the masters. I found it a little more intense on the reissue than the old RL but the reissue of LZ II is a solid reissue