It's a fair point. I suppose the geometry doesn't change. Intuitively I'd think that a master tape doesn't have the same fidelity 'ceiling,' for lack of a better word, that a digital file does. But maybe that's a bad argument; I hadn't thought it through very carefully.
Good on you for acknowledging that! If it's a tremendous recording, one that is both dense and dynamic, mastering and cutting at 45rpm will both allow the cutting stylus to more carefully cut the groove, but will also enable the playback stylus to read the groove better, picking up more of the ambient details, more of the harmonic structure of the instruments' sound, both the subtler and larger scale dynamics. On the other hand, if the recording itself is more limited, then a 45rpm cutting and mastering provide a less noticeable benefit.
In the case of these flat transfers of master recordings to DSD, the DSD should have exactly the ceiling as the source from which it was ripped. The converse applies as well. Twenty years later, though, the DSD transfer from 2023 should undoubtedly sound better than that source tape (when it is an older vision of itself). I think some of the early, original MOFIs that were redone in the modern era (American Beauty, for example) capture the sound of fresher master tapes. Ditto Breakfast in America, although the LP mastering of the original BIA was horribly bright compared with the modern one, which is decidedly better balanced.
I don’t know about this. I have both Mofi American Beauty Super vinyl from ‘79 and the Mofi 45 from 2014. In ‘79 the tape was relatively fresh, less than ten years old but the 2014 45 release is outstanding and is better in every way some 35 years later.
The idea of "fresh" tapes is ludicrous if the tapes have been stored properly. Assuming they have, a 50 year old tape put on a properly aligned modern tape deck and played through clean high headroom / low distortion electronics will sound as good or better than it did on the day it was recorded.
I used to think this as well Then I heard Neil Young and Rick Rubin talk about how they transfer what they record to tape immediately to digital because even a few hours and days later the tape doesn’t sound as good. Strikes me as craziness but I’ve never had the chance to do this experiment myself so what do I know
I used to - worked in professional recording studios from '95-'04, then moved into post-production (a more stable employment in NYC). My experience with tape goes well before and well after that period, and I've definitely seen my share of badly handled and stored stuff. Tapes that have been well handled (no interns!) and carefully stored (upright in temperature/humidity controlled environments) hold up well beyond their 'expected' life. It is also the reason why companies like JRF continued to innovate in the world of analog, coming up with the 2" 8-track headblock assembly. People in my current business (film and commercial video) wanted a reliable storage medium for their audio mixes. A 2" 8-track gives you enough room for either a 5.1 + stereo, or a 7.1 mix. Some choose to store that over relying on other more fragile digital archival solutions.
Some more back in stock LP's at Mofi (B52's, another Sisters of Mercy title. not sure what else). Don't mind the "awaiting repress" banner as that usually goes away in a few days! Back in Stock
Feel like I ordered There Goes Rhymin' Simon an eternity ago - other titles have been announced and released in that time.
All this UD1S of ELO’s Eldorado needs is a “The Nice Price” sticker on it. In a former life I might have debated dropping $3.99 on this one. Geez, I have to re-evaluate this completest lifestyle.
Eldorado was one of the titles that got me out of completist mode. No interest in it at all. I've now skipped Thriller, CSN, and Eldorado. Trying to decide if I Robot 33 will be my last, or if I will finish out the Eagles titles when they arrive. I bought three MFSLs for Christmas - I Robot One Step, American Beauty, and KC and the Sunshine Band. Two out of three were defective. They eventually sent me a good replacement copy of I Robot and let me return KC for a refund since it had gone back out of stock. FYI, the first guy at MD wanted me to send photos of the defects (even though I had told him there was no visible damage) and expected me to return I Robot for replacement, box and all. The woman who responded the second time simply shipped a replacement disk, no return required. So, don't let them make you jump through hoops if you get something defective, because their policy varies from person to person. If you don't like the response, call back, or send another e-mail.
The CS&N One Step is arrived : as Clapton Unplugged and Thriller both records are dished,concave on a side and convex on the other, side 4 is so convex that even with the clamp you can have the disc not raised. For me in Italy with shipement and tax a One Step come to cost more than $ 200.00 , and at this point I think I will cancel the other titles,I think it is unacceptable. for me this is much worse than DSD gate.
Van Halen OneSteps. It's been 15 months of "Coming Soon". I still say they must be having legal issues with these releases. Again, don't announce them until they are finishing up with production.
Received my copy of ELO Eldorado One Step today, both LPs are dish warped, but not so bad that I need to complain. They play perfectly, and there are no edge warps. But it seems so many LPs, even expensive ones, come dish warped these days. 99% of them, still play fine and my Clearaudio Concept clamp helps tone down any issues, but to me it seems to be the #1 issue with new LPs.
A good periphery ring will change your life. It's a shame it's necessary, but that's where we're at unfortunately, and all the returns get tiresome given there's no guarantee the replacement will be any better. I have noticed, however, that many dished records will un-dish if left overnight with the periphery ring on. Sort of a heatless vinylflat. A dished record may play through fine, but when the record isn't perfectly flat on the table it effects SRA and azimuth, and I've spent hours getting those adjustments just so.
So true. What really is amazing is that I can take out any of my original 1980s UHQRs or even regular MFSLs, plus then on my platter, and they are quiet and dead flat. No ring required.
It was a different time, obviously, but my dad had maybe 10 MFSL records back in the day (no UHQRS, though), and I have easily 50 or 60 originals, plus ten original UHQRs. Almost without exception, all are exceptional in terms of quality of construction.
Does a periphery ring add undue weight to your platter and put stress on your turntable motor? Can you use a ring on any turntable... I have a Clearaudio Concept.
