I snagged an optimal pressed copy from amazon.fr, the surface of the record has some minor cloudy spots from maybe rubbing the inner sleeve but so far so good. Don't let the shipping scare you, it's worth it. To give some background... I unknowingly bought a rainbo white copy from release at my local shop and it was pretty bad, then heard a black rainbo copy and it was even worse. Broke down and bought the regular cd and couldn't even make it through the full album because the compression was so bad! So based on my experience, I recommend to avoid the rainbo copies like the plague if you care about your vinyl playback and are not a crackle loving hipster. Wasted a lot of energy and money just to get this one! Mastered by Bob Ludwig... I expected better but you know I'll take what I can get.
Sorry if this has already been covered, but is there any reason why the white vinyl (DR10) should have get a higher DR score than the black vinyl (DR 9)? Album details - Dynamic Range Database » Album details - Dynamic Range Database » I ran the numbers again myself to check and they're accurate. The reason I was curious is that my vinyl rip of the white vinyl sounded better (it might just be a better rip of course). Any ideas? Are they really different masterings? Again, sorry if this has already been pointed out.
Have the the rips been declicked and trimmed to the same standard? Are they both your rips made on the same system? If not, that is probably your answer.
Finally managed to snag a copy of the Optimal pressed white vinyl two weeks ago. Lots of clicks and pops unfortunately especially on the first disc and Daydreaming in particular, mostly all in the right channel. Side A was also more off-center than I'd like. Sound quality wise it's OK, sounding quite different to the digital version with a slightly duller presentation and narrower stereo separation. At times it almost sounds like a remix due to the lack of extreme panning. Anyway, musically I do really like it, more so than King Of Limbs. Ended up doing a needle drop and spent an age manually declicking the files just so I'd have a good noise-free version to listen to. Somehow I doubt the vinyl itself will be getting many spins thanks to Optimals lax QC. For comparisons sake and as an example of how the DR database is fairly useless for vinyl due to too many variables - below is the DR log from my own rip: DR Peak RMS Duration Track -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR10 -0.03 dB -12.82 dB 3:41 -01 - burn the witch DR10 -2.08 dB -16.27 dB 6:27 -02 - daydreaming DR11 -1.08 dB -14.48 dB 4:41 -03 - Decks Dark DR9 -2.75 dB -15.43 dB 3:45 -04 - Desert Island Disk DR11 -2.19 dB -16.86 dB 6:08 -05 - Ful Stop DR10 -3.38 dB -17.52 dB 2:53 -06 - glass eyes DR11 -1.41 dB -14.93 dB 4:27 -07 - identikit DR10 -1.74 dB -13.78 dB 5:45 -08 - the numbers DR9 -1.26 dB -13.43 dB 5:07 -09 - present tense DR9 -2.14 dB -13.72 dB 5:04 -10 - Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief DR10 -3.08 dB -16.81 dB 4:45 -11 - true love waits -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of tracks: 11 Official DR value: DR10 Samplerate: 96000 Hz Channels: 2 Bits per sample: 24 Bitrate: 2552 kbps Codec: FLAC ================================ Different to both DR database entries though it still has a DR of 10, only this time with a couple more elevens. tl;dr - Great album, dubious pressing.
I bought a black vinyl version at Amoeba in Berkeley. No problems at all with the vinyl. I checked the dead wax but did see an indicator of where it was pressed.
Wow nice on the vinyl rip! Bummer about the pressing. I am pretty confident that rainbo would have been worse though.
I bought one US pressing on white vinyl and two UK pressings on white vinyl. The US pressing wasn't too bad with some repeated noise during Desert Island Disk and True Love Waits. One UK pressing had some repeated noise during Decks Dark and the second copy had noise during True Love Waits. Luckily I was able to combine the good record from each UK set to make an almost noiseless copy of the album. I'm really hoping there is better QC for the pressings in the deluxe set.
This thread is turning into load of nonsense. I personally think claims about noisy pressings are greatly exaggerated.
I personally think people accept or make do with poor quality pressings. I've gone through six copies now (EU, black vinyl) and there are problems with all of them. Every disc 1 (except 1 copy) has been bowl shaped to different degrees (on side B) and there are always small pops and clicks on Daydreaming and/or Desert Island Disk. Every single copy has had pops and clicks on Glass Eyes and True Love Waits. I've also noticed non-fill a couple of times. It's clear that the vinyl has been packed too tightly and this at least partly explains the warping and the fact there are lots of scuffs/hairline scratches/white marks on every disc I've looked at. Now I would have probably given up with any other artist by now but I'm determined to get a good copy because Radiohead are my favourite band. For the record, I've bought and returned copies from three different locations. My local record store owner took one look at my bowl shaped disc 1 and said 'that's awful' and he subsequently opened the two other copies he had and it was the exact same problem!
Every record store should have a Vinyl Flat. It is best at fixing dished (bowl shaped) records - results are usually perfect. There's still no cure for scratches and non-fill unfortunately
Every record store should, upon request by the customer, inspect vinyl records for obvious flaws before shipping (also for in store sales). That and... making sure they don't contribute to dishing/warping themselves with the wrong manipulation, storage and shipping methods.
Or - some people either a) Have wholly unrealistic expectations; b) Have developed a fetish for Vinyl the overrides the actually music.
I'm much more of a CD/hi-res guy than a vinyl guy and I'm rarely bothered by vinyl pops and ticks but my copy from WASTE is definitely the poppiest, tickiest new vinyl I have ever heard. It doesn't detract from the music for me, save for a huge splodge in the middle of Glass Eyes, but I can see how the noise would affect someone's enjoyment. It's ridiculous to suggest that people, paying good money for new vinyl and expecting it to be clean and unwarped, have "wholly unrealistic expectations". You really think that it's wholly unrealistic to expect to get a flat, clean and quiet pressing of a new album from one of the biggest bands of all time?
The complaints about this album and numerous others make me remember why I ditched vinyl all those years ago.The music seems to be a secondary consideration after the limitations or otherwise of the medium. In case people haven't been able to get past their pressings this is a beautiful,melodic,inventive album that gains depth with each listen.
Eats me up inside when people come in and pull the "it's vinyl, it's supposed to be crackly and imperfect" card. It's very easy to observe what a quality release is versus a poorly made product. The latter is becoming way too common, which is about the opposite of what one would expect with things like economies of scale and advancing technologies. But hey, apparently the majority are cool with scratched and warped out of shrink new records...
I think that some extent people have developed unrealistic expectations for vinyl. However, the problem with this release is that the defects are not your run of the mill warps and occasional tics. It is pressing defects that cause loud distortion throughout entire tracks or sections of the album.
Oh, I have a Vinyl Flat and wouldn't be able to do without it. However, it can be very time consuming if a record needs multiple sessions. When you consider the other vinyl defects that often arise, it kind of takes away from the enjoyment of the music. I think I need to give this album a rest for now and wait for another pressing! As for record stores having a Vinyl Flat service, I'm not sure how feasible that would be given how long it takes, cleaning the vinyl, etc. And then what happens if there are issues upon playback? It would be a waste of time and effort to flatten the record if it's still defective.
I agree and in fact my local record store let me inspect the vinyl when I came back for a replacement. Now he and I both agreed that the record was excessively bowl shaped and in poor condition. The thing is he had just received a new batch from his supplier literally within half an hour of me arriving at the shop so it couldn't have been his fault. Maybe there was an issue with how it was transported to the shop, I'm not sure. I do think the way the vinyl is packed so tightly within the jacket is contributing to the warping but this is just speculation on my part.
For your information, I got Rainbo pressing here in local store in Poland and it's noisy as hell. Black vinyl. It has also broken edges because stored in the cardboard sleeves which broken the edges usually. Pita, because music is pretty fine :-(
I just auditioned the digital version of this album. This is yet another example of living in the age of "implied dynamics" in recordings.
Yes, of course. A fault is a fault. Happily, there are digital versions out there too. Except some Vinyl fans seem to have an aversion for anything for them. No-one would debate the point when a pressing fault exists. However, in such cases, it's far easier to get a refund and grab a digital version, than it is to bang on about the flawed release as though it's the only thing that will do. IMO.
