Japan Vinyls Sounds Better?

I 'much prefer' Japanese vinyl records. (and Japanese pressed CDs.)

They just sound better. Why, who knows, better vinyl? Better something.

I do know this, the Japanese 'Care' and always put out the very best product they can, no matter what the product is. Higher quality. They pride themselves on that.

I spent decades there on and off. They are just into total quality, natural born engineers, they just 'think' that way from birth it seems. I.E.: how do I make it better thinking. Take another countries idea and devolupe it much further for a much higher quality product.

That's just the way it is. (Or was anyway: haven't been there in the last 5 years. I quit traveling. Retired.)

 

This is the answer the OP was looking for. Pressing & vinyl quality of Japanese records is and has been top notch since the sixties or earlier. You might not like the eq or compression used in the mastering but the surfaces will be dead quiet.

Remember also that an English speaking rock band would not send their master tapes to Japan, merely lp cutting dubs (on tape).

 

I live in Japan and used to have quite a number of Japanese pressings. Over the years I've gotten rid of most of them.

The vinyl on virtually every LP I've owned pressed in Japan from the early 70s through the early 90s was so far superior to everything else out there it was uncanny. Some records had such quiet vinyl you could not believe you were listening to a conventional vinyl record. Unbelievable.

The masterings were a lot more than tinkered with. Some were flat ruined with ham-fisted high-end boosts.

So, after owning perhaps a couple hundred Japanese pressed LPs, I'm now down to fewer than 20.

Yes, they're worth checking out, but truly nice sounding masterings are few and far between in my experience.

Dale

 

Japanese

I have Fragile by Yes and The Composer of Desifando Plays by Antonio Carlos Jobim. I also have two Windham Hill Records samplers.

The ones I have are all fine sounding albums with high quality vinyl and packaging.

Scott

 

I have a number of Japanese Audio Lab releases. The vinyl quality on these is incomprehensibly good, when you compare to releases from Europe or the U.S. Totally quiet on my deck, and that counts for a lot.

But Japanese rereleases of well known records tend to go treble-happy, to create artificial detailing, and I'm not too pleased with that. The Audio Lab releases are original recordings, however, and the goal has clearly been to recreate the authentic instrument as faithfully as possible. That kind of record is heartily recommended.

 

i think japanese vinyls sound more 3D..

i have a uk 1st press of atom heart mother and i got a 1st press japan and i like the japan better..because it sounds more 3d and different.

 

Of course, but we're talking the sound of music here.

 

Yes, I know. It's a music forum.

I think Japanese LPs and CDs 'sound better', sometimes (most of the time) much better, than USA or elsewhere copies of the same music on LPs or CDs. I have some duplicates of LPs and CDs made in the USA and made in Japan so I know what I hear. It's obvious. That's what I base my opinion on. Some Japanese CDs sound remarkably better! I have no idea how that could be. But they are. I can understand LPs sounding better but CDs? How can that be?? Maybe tinker with the original mastering?? I don't know. I'm not a music engineer.

I'm not sure about this but I'd be willing to bet the actual vinyl and pressing of Japanese records is of a much higher quality. Simply a quality engineered product. The cost is much higher too brand new. (And used.) But then again, everything in Japan is rather expensive for Americans...and slightly expensive for the working regular class Japanese.

But to each their own.

The guy above who mentioned that Japanese vinyl is dead quiet is exactly right. So...I believe it really does have something to do with the quality of vinyl too, maybe in a big way...I think. I really don't know.

Anyway...that's my take on it.

Hope this better explains my experience with Japanese manufactured music.