Endless Defective Brand New Vinyl

This is my first post on here so many apologies if its in the wrong place.
I like most on here have got the vinyl bug again.
However I am experiencing a huge issue with defective vinyl arriving from Amazon.
So I am looking for advice and information.
The vinyl I have purchased brand new are from the following groups.
Queen / Greatest Hits Volume 2. Aha - Hunting High And Low - Aha - Scoundrel Days - Depeche Mode - A Broken Frame - Genesis - Duke - Genesis - Abacab- Genesis - Genesis - Genesis - Invisible Touch - Imagination - In The Heat Of The Night x 2 Copies.
Phil Collins - Face Value. - Phil Collins - Hello I Must Be Going

All this vinyl was purchased from Amazon,brand new and sealed and sold by Amazon.
All this vinyl was factory sealed,yet when I open up the vinyl it has huge visual defects and scratches,and when I play them its full of pops and crackles, even vinyl I purchased 30 years ago looks and sounds better than this 180gm stuff.
So my question is this.
Since I am new to the vinyl revival stuff, is this the norm with these new pressings?
I mean they are charging $25 and more for new vinyl that they ship out as damaged?
I was reading on another forum how some guy had purchased a few Duran and Depeche Mode vinyl, and had been promised from the plant they would send him replacements and when they arrived all the vinyl had the same issues.
So is this Amazon and how they store this vinyl? Is it bad pressings, and lazy record companies not making the effort?
Just trying to find out why it’s so frustrating when your trying to buy brand new vinyl and it all arrives damaged and looking like its 30 years old!!!

 

So I guess I’m the only one experiencing this issue then!!!

 

No, we're just tired of talking about it

 

No,you're not but it's so frustrating to even talk about. It's crazy that you really need an outer ring now a days if you wanna purchase new vinyl. 1.Those rings are super expensive 2.My table supposedly can't use one. I'm afraid of the using the vinyl flat & quite frankly don't think I should be on new purchases. Ah, there I got off my soapbox again.

 

I buy new artists releases and they all seem to be fine.

Perhaps the labels are sabotaging all them reissues for some nefarious purpose.

 

It's the universe telling you to buy original vinyl instead. The used bins are filled with Genesis and Phil Collins titles.

 

I've had some problems with records arriving scratched due to the type of inner sleeves used. Those glossy ones are the absolute worst on vinyl. I have no idea why they use them.

But a lot of the times, it's just a crappy pressing. The US pressing plants are so dire sometimes. I've just discovered most of my bad recent pressings were not done by URP or Rainbo (usually the two worst offenders) but a newer plant called Independent Record Pressing. Unfortunately, it's impossible to tell their pressings from the deadwax but every single copy from them has been noisy garbage. EU pressings are usually a safer bet in my experience.

 

Hell I just paid $50 for a Mofi 45 rpm numbered copy of American Beauty. Got it home and there are screeching sounds like 4 times coming from the right channel on one track, Sugar Magnolia. I called the shop and they said they can't replace it or refund it, being vinyl and all. I emailed Mofi and they said they can't replace it since I didn't buy it directly from them.
Feel better now?

 

I really haven't had anything like that and I buy tons of stuff from Amazon. Can you post some pics? Maybe fill out your equipment profile so we know what you're playing them on?

 

couldn't find those A-ha titles in the 99 cent at your local like the rest of us ?

 

No kidding, You can probably track down old NOS of them. Picked up a Scoundrel sealed last spring for 10 bucks. Bargain bin fodder for years

 

The ratio varies from one person to the other. Some are more forgiving of defects than others. That said, in my experience, the ratio of defects has definitely shot up since 30 years ago - regardless of whether the records are from amazon or not. Believe it or not, I just reached my best ratio - eight consecutive albums without a single defect since 2005. Ironically, these were from the same series of jazz reissues from Europe selling at $16CAD. Go figure.

 

The shop should do you a solid and refund your money.

 

Yes, the usual questions apply:

What turntable/cartridge/stylus?
What is the condition of the stylus?
Is it set up properly?
Have the records been cleaned/what is the cleaning process?

 

You're not alone. It's down to poor quality control. Some labels are worse than others. My worst experiences have been with Back to Black.

I'm not implying anything, but the remarks above about equipment are pertinent. Make sure everything;s working as it should do.

 

A shop wouldn't get away with that over here. You'd be protected by consumer law.

 

I brought back the Beatles in MONO box set for ALL of the reasons stated above, and no I do not have patience for replacements. I`ll stick with my 40-50+ year vinyl copies.


sean

 

It has nothing to do with Amazon, I'm not sure why you seem to be blaming them. They just sell what they are give.

QC has gone right down in recent years, especially the cheaper US pressing plants.

 

Knowing why this happened won't make your purchases less defective. Regardless the cause, the only real solution is to stop buying new vinyl.

 

For the most part that's what's happening.

 

Without any info in your gear profile, we cannot be sure if it's the LP or your cartridge causing the screeching.

On the subject of the thread, I have never bought a new LP that was defective in any way. I've been fortunate.

 

I posted a thread about it at some point myself. I had some of the worst luck I've ever seen, going as far as getting 4 copies of the same album only to find some kind of defect on an LP. In this case, it was a double-LP so I kept going at it until I had a set with 4 sides without gigantic gashes and scratches.

In the 6 titles I experienced this with in the 6-week period, they also all came from Amazon and had all been published by UMe (Universal Music Entertainment). This included The Beatles' Blue and Red compilation albums and Aerosmith's recent reissues. I've had my fill of UMe and have sworn them off entirely as new purchases since their QC is the worst I've ever seen. It's the only manufacturer I've ever had an issue with.

In those cases, if it's absolutely an album I must have, I only buy from dealers with a great reputation such as Music Direct, and have them open and inspect the albums prior to shipping. The two times I've done this, I've gotten perfect condition LPs. Imagine that... new merchandise in great condition. What a concept.

Here are some pics I took of what I'm talking about.

Scratches, all of which my Dynavector 20x2L picked up. It was like listening to a bowl of Rice Krispies.



Major gash. I could feel this with my finger easily. No way was I going to put my stylus through that. I had a bunch of these but that one was the easiest to photograph.



And then, I had what I refer to as a pimple on one. I hadn't noticed it at first but I had some weird scratchy sound on a track so I checked it out and tada!



These are just some of the examples I stumbled upon. I stopped taking pics after a while.

 

Can't click the like button on this one, its a massive dislike. F+-+-+n shocking.

 

I've got to the point where I'm so disillusioned with new vinyl that I'm ready to give up on it altogether and stick to used vinyl only.
I can fix warps with my vinyl flat (not that I should have to), but I can't fix non fill or the scratches that keep appearing more and more, usually because of those stupid card inner sleeves.

I'm returning something like 1 in every 3 new LP's these days.
It's a right royal pain in the proverbial.

I may still get the odd "vinyl only" release or an album where the CD and/or download is unlistenable, but otherwise, I think I'm gonna take a pass.

 

100% agree.
If a retailer sells you a faulty item, they should be legally obliged to give you a full refund.
This was always the case when I worked in retail, it's shocking that the rules have apparently changed.