This is a good way of putting it. If I get to the end of a new record at it is satisfactory to me, I feel a sense of pleasant surprise and relief that I won't have to go through the returns process again.
Received Sparks' new record today. Packaging was intact, the seal itself was torn and it had a scratch on the sleeve...
i feel the same; cds are also far from pleasing given the poor mastering and brickwalling. I kinda wonder why i spent so much on my rig!!
A couple of years ago I bought and returned the latest reissue of Physical Graffiti three times because of a weird tick on the exact same spot on all three during the track Kashmir. I finally gave up.
You get what the record company pays for - thats all. The process as you can all imagine is very convoluted and labour intensive. The music company, lets say it XYX Records pays ABC pressing plant to produce 5000 records ABC have a sequence of processes that happen up to a finished product and towards the end there are quality control processes which are optional Trimming the excess vinyl is standard but making the edge nice and smooth is not Individually checking each and every LP as its finished for dimples, scratches, off centre etc etc - that's labour intensive and slow - its not standard Putting the records in an inner sleeve of some sort is standard - what kind of extras with that sleeve are not - nice PVA inner inside of harsh scratchy glossy paper and no PVA inner Shrink wrapping involves heat - else the plastic wont shrink - time consuming if done gently and slowly - cheaper if done quick and hard and so on and so on - it all adds up The more expensive a record is the more finishing touches it gets or does it? As you all have provided examples of clearly UMe is charging about 2/3 of the price as the audiophile brands but providing a product that is a cheap for them to make as possible this maximising the profit its not Amazons fault, its not the pressing plants fault.. its UMe's fault - A pressing run of say 5000 , 10% are duds , those 500 as returns or replacements are cheaper than paying for the whole 5000 to be processed to the standards in the 80's let alone the halcyon days of the 60's and 70's where millions of LP's were produced to a much higher standard
Stuff that is coming out of U.S pressing plants is a hit or miss affair. Sometimes they get it right, but lot of times you get dished, warped or noisy records. E.U pressings are 95 % times alright. Cheers
I really don't have an issue with "endless defective brand new vinyl", if anything it's the opposite and I'm always disappointed after buying endless defective used vinyl.
Knock off moaning? We are rightly expressing our various experiences, some good some not so good. It makes for a lively debate, and i for one have gained some valuable information from the posters in this thread. If you dont like anyone discussing 180 gram vinyl in a negative way, then dont read the thread!!!
I must be the luckiest person in the world because I buy a lot of new records with no issues. I give them all a clean on the Okki Nokki before I play them.
Just playing brand new Phil Collins Face Value vinyl truly awful amount of cracks and pops. Cleaned it and same result. I then play the original vinyl which i got used and it has virtually no cracks or pops, just a clean sounding vinyl. I dont mind crackles between tracks i expect it because its vinyl,but when it happens during the song then its time to return it.
Btw I keep hearing you helpful folks talk about bargain bins and original vinyl Not finding any in my area in Dallas Do you find this stuff online or in stores?
Yeah. At least for me, and that over the last 4-5 years. I did send few back, and gotten better replacement copies. Regards
In stores here in LA - I don't check the bargain bins much but there are about a dozen quite good used record stores here.
The VG plus Genesis albums in the dollar bin will sounds a lot better. Stick to those instead of paying 30 dollars a pop on amazon. Just because they are cheap doesn't mean they are bad.
All due respect, these types of things I have been seeing in brand new vinyl since the 1970s. I just got a sealed copy of the old FM (movie soundtrack) 2 LP set, MCA ugly tan/orange labels, and it had a bunch of the spots like the one in the photo above, plus just a lot of whooshy surface noise throughout. On balance I find new vinyl issues are MUCH better quality than mid-1970s through 1980s vinyl. I do think vinyl from the 1950s through mid- to late-1960s was generally very good, probably the best ever, but the problem is I like a lot of music outside that period. Anyway I think there is a lot of undue nostalgia for older eras of vinyl, defects aren't just an issue with new vinyl, they have LONG been an issue.
You got a point because the third picture with the "pimple" thing isn't uncommon amongst used records. I see it often enough. Most of the time it doesn't affect the sound, or if it does you can't hear it over the music. Sometimes you can but it's not too bad. So mostly of the time it's tolerable, at least for me. But I've had a couple that caused skipping.
You truly are lucky! Or many of us are incredibly unlucky. It could also be that, by pure coincidence, you just happen to be buying records from labels who use better pressings plants, and the opposite could be true for me. Either way, I can say that none of the problems with defective vinyl I've encountered (and I've encountered a lot in the past decade or more) would be remedied by a record cleaning machine. It's pretty much all off-center pressings, warps, and surface noise from scratches or scuffs.
Labels have a big part in that fiasco. They won't accept returns for vinyl so a lot of record stores won't take them back. On the other hand many will.
Frankly bad vinyl is not related to pressing quality as some think. Had plenty duff standard weight vinyl over the years. I will continue to read the thread and point out incorrect presumptions. Just because you started it you have no right to tell people to clear off if you disagree. Frankly it is the height of rudeness and poor forum etiquette.