Do you prefer new LP releases or collecting vintage LPs?

A case by case thing for me. A new reissue will be in better condition than the vintage stuff you usually find in the used bins. If it's brand new it will also be easier to find, also if the original's rare the reissue is likely to be a lot cheaper. On the other hand, you rarely know whether a new reissue is really all analogue and pressing quality can be very inconsistent. Those are things you won't have to worry about when it comes to vintage pressings. Also, when a record isn't that rare used copies of vintage pressings are usually cheaper than modern reissues, especially if a decent re-pressing is good enough for you.

 

Far too many variables preferring new versus old LP's. If anything, sound quality is my number 1 priority in determining what release I want to buy.

 

Agreed. As advice has already been given to the OP on his older thread of the same nature, searching for a title of interest on this forum will usually yield good results for each person's tastes/budget.

 

Early pressings from the country of origin just sound better about 95% of the time IMO. That doesn’t stop me from buying tons of reissues to repeat the same experiment over and over though. You’ll soon learn which mastering engineers who are doing these reissues whose style you like (Chris Bellman, Kevin Gray, etc.) and which ones you don’t. Sometimes it’s nice to keep a few different pressings of an album you really like.

 

Craigslist, Thrift store, used record store, new record store, chain store. Doesn't matter to me.

 

Over the years, my interest has been accumulating vintage releases (LPs, CDs, Cassettes, some 7.5ips Open reel). When I was actively buying back in early 2000, they were plentiful at the thrift stores, in nice shape and cheap. However, I have also purchased some audiophile reissues.

 

I’m a listener, not a collector...so whatever sounds best.

 

Original/early pressings that sound good to my ears can't be beat by a new/reissue copy unless the new copy sounds far superior. If it sounds only slightly better, the early pressing still wins easily by virtue of the overall experience. I understand that, for some, SQ is all that matters. That's reasonable, but for me, it isn't that simple.

 

I also love the thrill of the hunt!

 

I have been collecting about a year.

For me it's a toss up.....as others have said I love going to the record store, bringing something home and opening something brand new. It's a great feeling! But I do think many are overpriced and sound quality is case by case

I do enjoy the vintage vinyl sound, immensely, what I don't always like is the hassle and cost of trying to get the best pressings.

So for a few bands I really like I may start doing that, but if there are good sounding new issue I will go with those for many.

Do some comparisons here and there and see what you like best!

 

Some genres are not often newly reissued on vinyl either and in those cases, the only options are a well mastered CD or a decent used LP as well. In the case of the Contemporary Christian classics a bunch of us like, a lot of CDs are very hard to come by while decent original vinyl is abundant in every used record store, eBay, thrift store, etc. and many have never been on CD whatsoever. This is the case of a lot of classic country as well while other classic country titles have never been on CD and the vinyl is the only choice.

 

No.

 

I primarily collect vintage LPs.

I stopped buying vinyl LPs around 1987 when I got my first CD player. Around 2005 I got the vinyl bug and started buying vinyl again. Initially I was very frustrated with the noise on vintage LPs. So I tried reissues. They were very quiet but generally didn't sound any better to my ears than their CD counterpart. So I stopped buying reissues for the most part and collect vintage LPs almost exclusively. I've learned to be patient and am willing to buy multiple copies of an album until I find a quiet copy.

 

I prefer OLDER releases (70s and older) as I do not want digitally sourced.... I want analog on my analog records

 

New releases that aren't reissues.

 

For the music I listen to the most, originals almost always sound better, for whatever reason. I'd prefer new presses if at all possible, and I do buy new records, but when I compare I find that nine times out of ten the original sounds better to me, even if on a used vinyl record. Tape ageing is a reality I suppose, and remastering choices can make or break the reissue in my experience.

There are always exceptions to the rule, though. The recent Analogue Productions Beach Boys reissue series is one. I have many of them and have owned originals of all the titles as well. The APs are superior in nearly every way except one: the 'feeling' of having a mint original, the time capsule aspect. Everything else, however, is better with the new reissues, especially the most important criterion -- SQ. That trumps anything and everything else in my book. Well, almost. The Beatles vinyl mono box from 2014 is a case in point. A/B'ing with originals will show more life in the original, but in this case the remastered reissues came so close as to make the box a superior value considering the prices NM originals go for. I bought the reissue box without hesitation and am very glad I did.

I'm still on the fence on the Kinks and 'Stones mono boxes because of my originals...still, the attraction in having fresh new copies is very tempting.

 

Vintage LPs in NM condition are my preference...but an excellent analog remaster (fresh out of the shrink-wrap) would be my 2nd favorite...

 

Agree with all of the above, except I have certainly (vs. “sometimes maybe”) found in the past several years many reissues with preferable sound to my originals.

 

AAA all the way.
So Vintage, if I can get it.

 

I prefer vintage pressings wherever possible though I do buy modern reissues of things that realistically I'll never see or be able to afford a vintage copy of. I do not buy many new releases by modern artists (maybe only 2-3) a year but when I do I'll get the vinyl version.

I'm fortunate to have a large collection and hundreds of albums I haven't gotten around to playing yet so there's no pressure to get more music. Not that that stops the accumulation madness that is vinyl collecting though...

Welcome to the hobby, what kind of things do you collect?

 

If i can't find an original or early reissue LP, a CD reissue is the next best option.

 

The Kinks mono box is outstanding, probably the sounding reissue set from the 1960s I’ve heard. I don’t have original monos to compare. I have the Stones mono box on CD and I cannot stand it - the bass is on steroids.

 

Well I first went after my personal core catalog titles reissues as long as they weren`t universaly condemed.
After listening to those and mostly satisfied,I began searching out grail pressings and others not reissued.
A few stores had been expanding their stock so this took little time and searching and made it a lot of fun.The rest I grabbed online.
Maybe things were even better prior to this,but since I found many of my favorites in nice shape mostly at a reasonable price I feel like I got back into vinyl at just the right time.Still, so many reissues were done right and there`s much more accurate information available now.

 

The answer lies within this forum. Before you buy a new record, check the consensus on the forum. If it's generally positive, buy with confidence. Anything before ca. 1984 will be AAA and generally sound good. Except if the wrong tapes were used. Or The pressing plant was poor. Or The plant used poor quality vinyl. Or is a rainbow MCA pressing. Or any other myriad of potential pressing problems. It's a jungle out there! Be prepared to buy some crappy sounding records. It's part of the game. Be prepared to find that magically delicious sounding vinyl. Happens to me all the time both good and bad. Learning the names of the trusted current and past mastering engineers is a good place to start...after the forum consensus.

Never buy a current re-issue without reading about it first or knowing the remastering engineer.

 

I now understand there are no answer for this, but that I should beware of reissues for analog recordings. Many reissues are made from digital sources, because many of the releases was only available on digital source (CD and MP3). I am surprised how good the new albums sounds on vinyl records these days, and maybe I am just lucky - or many record companies are very good at mastering for vinyl. But again, I now know that many reissues sound much better than the original recording. Collecting vinyl records are just fun again.