I too have the 45 rpm rumours and s/t which I've had for a couple of years and I also purchased one for a co-worker for Christmas last year. These are must haves!
I have the 45rpm and i feel like it is not even close it is by far the best, and there is no version of MFSL
so i made the right choice lol, its just annoying having 2 lps. i think i might go for original US for self titled
I bought a copy and the 2nd disc is a little warped and skips on the first track. Because of that I cant listen to the first tracks on either side of record b. Doh! And now I have it now under some heavy items hoping it will flatten out a bit. This was a record I was really looking forward to listening to and see how it compares to the normal 33 1/3 version.
I never directly compared them, but I did do a shoot out between the first pressing and the 1980 RL reissue, and the latter won out by a small margin: bass was tighter and a bit more clarity. Got the SH 45rpm and there was no contest: 45rpm won without even straining to hear differences.
There might be a couple of dozen early cuts of Rumours, so your question isn’t the easiest to answer.
Yes absolutely just Make sure it says RL in the dead wax that is the best version of the original pressing, sounds amazing
How bad is it? If you don’t have access to a vinyl flattener, have you tried adjusting the anti-skate? Sometimes that helps when dealing with 45 rpm with slight warps
I have compared them back to back. That was the primary reason I bought both, to put the 33 vs 45 issue to bed in my mind. Very hard to do that with any other release as these were both mastered by our host and beautifully pressed at the same place. You really can’t do an accurate comparison if that isn’t the case. Secondary reason was I was tired of getting up after two songs and flipping it so it wasn’t getting played. I could tell no difference between the two, but others have said the bass is a bit tighter on the 45 (I’m curious if they had a 33 to compare to). For me, I can’t tell so while I'm glad to own both, the 33 will get played much more. You can’t go wrong either way. My understanding is the 33 is getting hard to find. They repressed the 45 and those seem plentiful.
I have an RL. It’s good, but not great. And it’s not an original pressing. It’s a repress and IIRC from a digital copy.
I probably have 10 early Ken Perry Warner copies. They are awesome but the 2x45 is leagues above no question.
No the 45 rpm of the self titled is cut by Chris Bellman and it is detailed and hifi sounding, but not as good as the Kendun original which I believe was cut by Doug Sax. I kept the 45 but I always play the Kendun.
Yes. I sold the Kendun, and kept the 45 rpm. There's not really going to be a consensus across the board on any of these you've been asking about. Different systems for playback. Different ears.
I have a sealed copy of the the 45 s/t but have not opened it yet. I like the Kendun followed by MOFI then the Bellman 33.
FWIW, I prefer the Mofi to the Kendun of S/T. The Mofi has a presence that the Kendun just does not have.