I have noticed many threads on the so called best versions of floyd cds,but there is no one thread that lists the best vinyl pressings.when i say best of course i mean the version most people would agree upon,i know there is always going to be some disagreement. i sort of gathered some info from other threads to make a list. piper at the gates of dawn-? a saucerful of secrets-? more-? ummagumma-? ahm-? relics-? meddle- 1u/1u obscured by clouds-? dark side of the moon- a3/b3 or the pro use wish you were here-a1/b3 animals-2u/2u the wall-? i remember reading that the japanese pressing was great the final cut-? im guessing that when all else fails to try a uk first pressing,they seem to be the best.anyway i thought it would be nice to try and put this all together here so people that know could add opinions.
Without getting too deep into this subject I could add: Dark Side of the Moon--UK 1st press A2 B2 w/ solid blue triangle labels is arguably the best (if you can find a good playing copy), along with the A3 B3. Also, any of the early UKs with matrices up to at least A8 are quite good. Wish You Were Here--A lot of people here really like the Columbia Half-speed. I prefer the early low matrix UK pressings (if you can find a non-crackly copy). The Wall--I like the early UK pressings with "TML" in the deadwax. P.S. check out pinkfloydarchives.com
Wish You Were Here Columbia Half-Speed will blow your mind. It sounds like the band is playing in front of you. Look for an early UK pressing of Meddle! Original UK and German pressings of Darkside sound the best from what I've heard from others.
I would agree with this statement (the Japanese CBS Mastersound is also quite good). But, it seems like there are a number of people who don't like this one, or any of the other Columbia Half-Speed releases for that matter.
About the WYWH Half-Speed. Columbia's Mastering engineer(s) screwed up the first cutting then pressed and released the first however many LPs. These are way too bright. They gave it another try and cut and pressed one of the most incredibly mastered LPs ever. Due to this, opinions may vary about the sound quality of this particular pressing. Look for the serial number on the record labels that begin with 7 regardless of the serial number on the cover. The original UK of WYWH sounds incredible as well as do original UK pressings of all 70's Pink Floyd LP's. In side by side comparisons the UK's have always won out with the only exceptions being the German pressing of the Quadraphonic mix for DSOTM. Into the 80s the US LP's become comparable to the UK pressings.
imo the best wywh i have heard has been a needle drop from a nimbus lp.i never heard the halfspeed one tho to compare.
The 1st German pressing of DOTH is to be avoid, it sounds dull. It was replaced very quickly with a better version. Don't have the matrix next to me. The 1st Japan version or the Pro use are very nice sounding LP, dead quite vinyl, the highs are a little bit to present, but in overall 2 very nice sounding LP. Meddle: 1st UK pressing is the best version I've ever heard. WYWH: The UK Henry Moss cutting are very warm, whatever the matrix number. Animals: 1st or an early UK pressing are fine, I also like a lot the Japanese version, very huge difference between the Uk and the Japanese. The Wall: 1st Japan or 1st Uk pressing are 2 killers Lp, silent vinyl on both pressing I have, they sounds very close.
I finally wound up with a UK -10 / -9 copy. I couldn't tell the difference between it and a copy with lower numbers (iirc -6 or thereabouts). The key was this copy is dead quiet throughout. I also compared it to the MFSL and one of the early German pressings listed in these threads. Neither of those had the presence of the UK. When sounds like the choruses came in, the UK took off, better realism and presence to the overlaid voices for example. The others weren't bad sounding, just more 'enhanced'. Apparently there is a 'good' cutting of the Columbia half speed which I was not aware of. I had a half-speed of this LP, and like the MFSL Dark Side - it just wasn't anywhere up to the sound of the UK I have (the first -1/-3). Incidentally getting this -1/-3 was interesting. The seller claimed it was bought the day it came out, but it had a scratch across one side - which he claimed did not sound. That was enough to keep the high bidders away so I bagged it real cheap. When I got it it had a single faint re-sleeving hairline on one side and plays essentially dead quiet - quite a feat for an early UK WYWH LP.
Just a note, I have a 2U/2U Animals, and I gotta tell you - even though sonically this is the version to get, finding it without a ton of crackle and pop is next to impossible. This is because of the heavy unlined cardboard inner sleeve used in this release. I have one that is visually NM but plays like dog poo because of the crackle.
I eventually gave up trying to find a non-crackly UK WYWH and went for this German issue (with A-3/B-3 matrices). Glad I did - not only quiet but also sounds as good if not better than the UK. UK WYWH LPs suffer from same problem as Animals, majority of them seem to be ruined by noise caused by hard cardboard inners.
Its the vinyl or some other pressing issue, and seems to be limited to certain matrices - i.e. pressing runs. It isn't the hard card inner sleeves or bags that are the problem - there are literally thousands of LPs that use those and are perfectly quiet. My Floyd vinyl that uses the hard inners are dead quiet.
I agree completely. Those inners have nothing to do with the the noisy vinyl. I have UK pressings of all the PF titles. All are wonderfully quiet.
Well I certainly did not complete my collection on first purchases. I have had my share of noisy pressings that I had to cycle through my collection.
No - they have some reputation for surface noise - the better ebay dealers will address this when they are selling a clean playing one.
The 1st press UK Wish You Were Here has been a particular thorn in my side. After considerable effort, I have not been able to come up with a clean playing copy. Just this last month I returned not one, but two of them back to European sellers. One was stone mint, and it was by far the most crackly. There must have been some poor quality control goin' on at the pressing plant. The other was optimistically graded, shall we say... Over the years I must have had six copies. The best one is quiet for the first half of each side, but the crackle ramps up, and by the end it's Pink Floyd by the campfire. The noise seems to match the "hairlines" on the vinyl surface. Regarding the hard cardboard inners, I don't think they themselves directly damage the vinyl, although the interior of the inners is a bit more like sand paper than I would prefer. It's taking the records in and out of the inners that causes the problems. If this is not done very, very carefully, the record will get scratched. The care required is far more than removing vinyl from say, an old Decca polylined sleeve. The opening of the inners have sharp edges, and probably few original owners or sellers had the patience to be careful. Another problem I've encountered often occurs when the records are shipped long distances in those type inners and inside the jacket. Splits are almost guaranteed--then an edge of the record punches itself out of the jacket and rubs up against the cardboard inner opening and/or the packing material, throughout the 2000 mile journey. There's sure to be some strong crackle for the first few minutes of each side after that happens .
Have you tried cleaning with an RCM? The hard card inners do no hard card harm if the record is pristinely clean - otherwise, the hardness of the card causes any dirt to rub harder against or into the vinyl. How did those hairlines get there in the first place?
