Mike has some opinions..... I really like the early US with TML stampers. Good luck finding a quiet one. The 2016 Grundman sounds pretty damn good, and the vinyl is quiet on mine.
I got a 1979 Canadian pressing in perfect condition for cheap and it sound great to me. I would think the first pressing UK would be the best though.
I am in complete agreement with Mike on this one--the US promo pressing is magnificent. The one to look for is the promo not with just the promo stamp on the jacket, but with promo labels as well.
I have a US TML stamped. US promo TML stamped, Canadian, and Japan. The US and Canada sounds as good as if not better that the Japan. The Canadian sounds as good as the US with a quieter surface. The Japan sounds compressed with edgy vocals.
A couple of things really surprised me about the 2016 Grundman reissue- The bass..........I wasn't to worried about the detail, and I assumed it would have a colder more digital sound. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that full bottom end. The packaging......beautiful cover and sleeves. I'm not here to label the 2016 the best sounding....because it's not (in my opinion), but one could do a lot worse for $35.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's no such thing as a bad Pink Floyd pressing. Having said that, I think Doug Sax made all the lacquers so really it's a question of vinyl quality. Cant find a quality original? Pick up the current pressing at your local.
I have the TML U.S., U.K. and Japanese pressings. The U.S. and U.K. are the ones I go to the most. I got the Japanese first based on it being considered the one, but I didn't find that to be the case.
I was a freshman in college when The Wall came out and bought a copy on day of release. I was blown away. When the CBS Mastersound version was released a year or two later, it took quite a bit to scrape together the money for it (being a poor college student), but I managed to buy a copy. After one listen, I sold my U.S. copy to a friend. Please note that the Mastersound version has TML stampers on every side. After discovering this forum about 10 years ago, I read in a thread that the best copy was the German pressing (all factors considered). So, I spent about $80 (U.S.) for a NM- copy and did a comparison. The mastering sounded nearly identical to me (on my system, in my room, with my ears) and the quality of the CBS Mastersound pressing was typically Japanese (i.e., perfect). YMMV.
hi everyone. I just bought the wall US pressing. it has the TML stampings. im truly impressed with the sound. just wondering I notice that both vinyls are rather thin and light and flimsy. did cbs use dynaflex material or something similar to that please? thank you
Good question. I have two US TML's One on standard weight and another with the 'thin' ones. I'll have to check, but one has the credit, the other doesn't.
I bought the double LP when it came out. I thought it one LP too long. Irrespective of how nice whatever medium sounds, it's a dull album, Waters at his self-important, self-indulgent worst. Bottom line is the quality of the writing and the music, and whether you like it. I gave it another listen a few years ago and I wasn't any better then.
I have a few dynaflex rca's on my shelf and it felt very similar. not really a fan of dynaflex as they kinda warp easily imho. didn't have a good feeling when I was holding the disc in my hand but once I dropped the needle I was like wow. I played a pretty gd sounding g benson lp after and the feeling I got was like coke lacking taste after having chocolate or ice-cream p.s. my markings side1-4 are TML-X / TML-M / TML-S / TML-S
I own a US copy of The Wall with the thinner more flexible vinyl........ Side 1 TML X Side 2 TML X Side 3 TML S Side 4 TML X Barcode on the back cover. I picked this copy up in an old dusty used book store in Fort Scott Kansas several years ago........cover was absolutely NASTY, and the vinyl had some kind of weird film all over that I could see. I was able to clean the cover and vinyl, and spin it often......I kinda like the thin vinyl. I haven't heard a TML cut yet that didn't sound great.
Surfaces are critical on this and most Pink Floyd LP discs. These records have so many quiet parts, that surface noise gets really obnoxious on noisy examples. I'd give Germany the nod on pressing quality here, or the UK over most US pressings extant.
Many people seem to think that with The Wall, Japanese pressings are usually made of good quality very quiet vinyl but are sometimes mastered from second -or third- generation tapes so you need to research them. I have UK Harvest pressings and other from occasional noise I think they have the right sound.
I am tuning up my turntable and randomly put on my copy of The Wall for nuance ( PAL 36184-1A ) and it sounds phenomenal. Kinda falling in love again. This was my first Pink Floyd obsession as a mopey teenager- some things you never grow out of, it seems.
Sorry it has taken so long to reply to your question. From the matrix (sides 3) Au version is PAL-36185-1K TML-X1. Uk version is A-1UG1
