why is japan vinyl so quiet and sound so good ?

I just received a japan album Olivia Newton-Johns "Totally Hot".

its an original release from 1978 and still has the obi. pretty neat. someone put it in a poly sleeve. its in immaculate condition and doesnt have a mark to it. I got it off ebay for $10 shipped and didnt expect it to be this nice. was put in a outer sleeve too and it looks old.

I wont be cleaning this album. it is soooo quiet with no noise at all! the sound is amazing!!!!! this looks brand new!

I have one other japan album that sounds good too but needed a few cleanings.


whats with japan vinyl and why does it sound so quiet and so nice in sound ?

 

MY EXPERIENCES:
1) Japanese releases were shipped in poly sleeves (I haven't ever seen a paper sleeve, but I started buying them as a military brat in Japan in 1979). Paper is more apt to cause surface damage to a record, as well as shed all kinds of dust into the grooves.

2) Japanese LPs were not shrink wrapped. This helped prevent warpage, and it allowed the clerk in the record store to examine your purchase for defects before it left the store. If there was something on the surface, it was removed with a record brush.

3) Japanese people are generally better at maintaining vinyl than their American counterparts. I have seen trashed Japanese vinyl, but not anywhere near as often as American.

4) Japanese record companies used better raw materials than their American counterparts. They also seemed to devote more resources towards perfecting the whole process of making a record. Hold your LP up to the light. If it is translucent, it could very well be a Super Vinyl pressing. This formulation tends to wear a lot better than the regular, everyday stuff.

Unfortunately, Japanese mastering engineers didn't always have the best sources for their transfers, but when they did...
I think I remember Stan Ricker saying that Japanese mastering engineers looked upon their job as transferring the tape to vinyl, with a minimum of intervention as far as eq or compression. Too bad they didn't always get the best tapes to work with.

Cody

 

A lot of attention at each stage of the manufacturing process, I suppose.

But I won't say Japan LPs sound always good : in my experience, japanese mastering can be awful but their vinyl is always very quiet.

 

wow, cool info. thanks!

I own only two japan pressings. Doobies Min By MIn and the Olivia I just got. both sound great, especially the Olivia.

on the Olivia album....

Allen Zentz mastered it. also says this album was mixed using the Aphex Aural Exciter.

also, Steve Lukather and David Foster played on this album. Steve played a lot on it.

I wonder how the MFSL version sounds ?

 

The mastering credit on the sleeve does not always match who actually cut the lacquer, especially on a "foreign" release (i.e., the master tape is in a country other than the one in which the vinyl is pressed.) One way to determine who actually mastered an album is to read the "dead wax" for the mastering engineer's initials.

BTW, MoFi (initially) used Japanese pressing plants to press their LPs on JVC Super Vinyl.

Cody

 

I remember when I first heard about Japanese vinyl. I read and heard that it was "virgin" vinyl and that the quality was the best available. I never really looked into the process of making vinyl, but I bought the whole Genesis collection, up through Abacab, on Japanese vinyl.

The vinyl just looks expensive. Its shiny or has an "oil-like" appearance and sounded fantastic. Fortunately, they're still in the same condition.

 

I have Rainbow's Difficult to Cure, Straight Between the Eyes and Bent Out of Shape on Japanese vinyl, bought them new on ebay and they sound absolutely wonderful.
They are the real Greg Calby Sterling mastering as they have the Sterling stamp on the dead wax. Love how they sound.

 

I dunno exactly why, but I have many Japan Lp's and many of them have a great sound! As example, this one:

 

I have lots and lots of Japanese vinyl records. The vinyl itself is consistently, uniformly high quality. Smooth and quiet. The mastering is hit or miss, mostly miss. A huge number of my Japanese records from the 70s have what sounds like a high end boost that is at least irritating, and at the worst ruins the listening experience. It isn't on every record, but it's on a lot, maybe most.

Dale

 

My MoFi "I-Robot" is one of those.

 

Yeah, it is hit-and-miss, that's for sure.

I have quite a bit of Yes and Genesis on Japanese vinyl, but I'm now starting to A-B them with other editions (UK, US, etc).

One unfortunate miss---I found a mint Japanese DJM of Elton John's S/T LP. Brought it home and A-B'ed it with a US Uni LP. No comparison---the Uni had much more pleasing and balanced sound.

--Matt

 

U.S. mastering house, so "parts" were sent to Japan (unless they just copied the U.S. issue notes). He, and Brian Gardner & Chris Bellman working at Allen Zentz, turned out a lot of great sounding records while they were open. IIRC, Kevin Gray might have also done some work at Allen Zentz as well.

 

Hi Matt.

What you REALLY want is an ORIGINAL UK DJM of his S/T LP (cat. no. DJLPS 406 and NOT DJF 20406, which is a 70's reissue) with the dead wax matrix ending A-3 on Side A (MACHINE-STAMPED) and B-1 on Side B (hand-etched). There may be earlier stampers but they would also be machine-stamped on Side A. I compare this to the "RL" cut Led Zep II. Until you hear this pressing, you will be missing out. Even with the A-4 (hand-etched), B-1 (hand-etched) stamper, it will be like you are hearing this album for the very first time. Until you hear the original UK, you will not know what you are missing. Heck, even the UK reissue with 20406 cat. no. on the label with the dead wax matrix machine-stamped is superior to the US Uni pressing.

Good luck!

BTW, there are at least four Japanese pressings of this record. Depending on which version you have, the sound will be vary noticeably. Your copy may be a later, worse-sounding Japanese pressing because the original King sounds better than the US Uni.

 

I guess I agree and disagree.

It all depends on the music you like.

More than half of my Japanese vinyl are of Jazz, Classical and Blues music. If you know which Japanese companies' pressings (or just particular pressings) to look for, the Japanese sound at least as good (and in many cases, BETTER) than even the US originals.

I would, however, tend to agree that most 70's Rock music sounds better most of the time on the best mastered and pressed US original (or UK original, if they are the original).

 

Sometimes even with the same titles.

Beatles For Sale - Apple AP series = hit
Beatles For Sale - Apple EAS series = miss

 

my Olivia album doesnt have any initials.

I do know one thing, it sounds great!

 

Your Minute by Minute should sound excellent as well. It is one of the good Japanese pressings from that era.

The ones to look for on Japanese 70's Rock pressings more than other good ones: Pink Floyd DSOTM on EMI ODEON (not the second or third pressing; the original has a SOLID BLUE triangle on the label, like the original UK); Pink Floyd Wall on CBS; and other Pink Floyd ORIGINAL Japanese pressings (ODEON pressing would be a good rule of thumb, like the one pictured above by another member). There are many many others, obviously, but they are too many to mention here. With that said, however, I agree with Dale that most (about 80%) Japanese 70's Rock pressings do not sound as good as the best US originals.

 

My Japanese Genesis Duke is the best version I've heard.

 

I have the mentioned PF The Wall CBS/Sony and many others. But the Japanese pressings that really show off their stuff would be the "Live in Japan" recordings not released elsewhere.

Beck, Bogert & Appice
Chicago - Live
Santana - Lotus
Wishbone Ash - Live

Their records were recorded, mixed, and mastered in Japan. The vinyl seems to be cut with deeper grooves. There is a richness and thereness to these records. The surface sparkles and shines like a mirror.

I do miss the days of the five or six rows of imports at many record stores. Mixed in would be some Japan issues in there with UK and German. You could grab a UK green vinyl Abbey Road, BBA Live in Japan, Rolling Stones Spanish Sticky Fingers (with alt. cover), and some other classic title that had already gone out of print in the US.

Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end.

 

Thanks for this info I just checked my Near Mint UK DJM of this title. I have the A-4 / B-1 cutting. Glad to know it's the equivalent of a RL LZ II in the Elton John world.

I will listen to it soon knowing it's the first time I have ever "really" heard it.

 

When I played my Japanese Duke, after having the domestic for a few months, my jaw dropped.

 

Mine was disappointing.

 

Wow. Newer or original?

 

Mine shows Invisible Touch on the OBI so it's not an original. It says "The 70s - 80s Vol. 10" at the top.

 

The good sounding Japanese Genesis Duke was made by, I think (my memory is bad), Nippon Phonogram (the same company that made the great sounding Dire Straits, Love over Gold).