Best vinyl pressing of A Night at the Opera?

What is the best vinyl pressing of Queen's "A Night at the Opera" for audio quality? the original UK EMI album? One from Germany? Japan? 180 g. anniversary edition? I have seen many opinions and looking to get the best sounding one. I love this album, but my 1975 US Elektra album just sounds awful. Thanks.

 

I enjoy the UK Blairs signed cut. Not sure if those plates were exported to other countries.

 

The UK "Blair" is great. Unfortunately it came housed in a thick cardboard inner which easily caused hairlines. I've also got an Italian original - from 1976 - that sounds stunning.

 

If i was pushed, i would have to say the 1978 Indian bootleg with the original UK a close second

 

I have mid-eighties Dutch pressing which uses the orginal blair plates. Sounds really good.

 

DCC for me.
But I don't have a UK Blair... Didn't have one in the shop I was in this week in the UK.

 

Not sure myself but I do know that Blair can do some good work, so a good bet is a UK one or if you want cheaper @Beaker73 seems to have a Dutch using the same plates. Ive also seen other Swedish Queen issues using UK plates lots of times, and we usually used good vinyl back then as well.

 

I like the original UK "Blairs" pressings.

The earliest version has -2 -2 matrices on both sides. That one is considered more collectible and is a little less common than the -2 -3 and higher matrices pressings. They all sound great. Maybe the -2 -2 cut has slightly more presence and impact on side two.

The biggest challenge with the UK pressings is finding one that was not scratched by the rough heavy card inner sleeve.

 

Or side 2 had some sort of problem / could be improved so a new Lacquer was cut, a la Dark Side of the Moon.

 

I've had about four copies with -2 matrix on side two. None of them had any manufacturing defect which I could detect. So I'm not sure why they changed out the -2 matrix so early in the run.

 

I'm not crazy about all my original MFSL pressings (Led Zep II, for example), but I do like the quality of this recording. Quiet, dynamic, sound's great.

 

Didnt even know this existed.

 

Lacquer broke before making enough Mothers / stampers?

 

A Day at the Races is even better, IMO.

 

But not musically IMO

 

I like it better musically and sound wise.

 

Note that there’s a substantial difference between “Blair’s” and “Mr. Blair’s Cut”. The latter, having additional bass rolled in. I have both, but the one I play the most is another U.K. reissue from the early 80’s, which lands sonically right between the two.

 

One of the better early MFSL's, in my experience.

 

There was nothing wrong with the Dark Side lacquer...they made hundreds of thousands of LPs from the first lacquers.

I’ve been trying to find the DCC of Night at the Opera for a somewhat reasonable price for years. It’s one of the few DCC 180g I don’t have.

 

Day At The Races was done around the same time they put out The Game, in 1997 or thereabouts. Both are quite happenin'.

 

Sorry, not following. The album was released in 1976 and the MFSL was put out in 1982, I think.

Agree they're cool, but I don't follow the '97 date.

 

Night At The Opera was put out by MSFL in 1982 or thereabouts. Races and The Game were done in '97 or thereabouts, when MoFi started back up, so to speak.

 

I just checked and mine is a Mr Blairs Cut on sd one and a NickZ on sd two. At least they were both done at Abbey Road.

 

Thank you all for your information, opinions, and feedback. This is very helpful to me sifting through all the versions. So far, the UK Blair cut is the most recommended. No one mentioned the 2005 EMI (Japan) or Parlaphone (UK) 40th anniversary release with "1/2 speed vinyl laquers cut by Miles Showell at Metropolis Mastering, London". I am curious as to why. Has anyone listened to either of these? The EMI is very expensive now.

 

There's been no long ago a half speed reissue, I didn't buy that one but I bought greatest hits 1 &2 and I was very happy with the sound, you may want to research them.