Yes, but only occasional ticks here and there. Nothing repetitive or overly distracting and the quiet bits are clean. I managed to put together a decent set by combining the two but not all 5 discs are perfect. I wish these were as good as the Neil Young reissues are. There really isn’t an excuse for the price they are charging.
You’re 100% correct. For the price of this box, it should’ve been pressed at a more reputable pressing plant. Last night I cleaned all the records on my VPI vacuum record cleaner, and the surface noise on the 4th disc (Culling Voices) was still present. At one point last week, I had in mind to send the box back for a replacement, but since I was one of the lucky ones in Amazon that got the box for US$130, they only gave me the option to get a full refund not a replacement. I was really hoping that the surface noise and light popping would go away after the cleaning, but it didn’t, so I’m going to have to live with it. It’s not present on the entire song (about 3 minutes on the quite sections at the beginning) and is only present on the right channel. Peace, Tony
Yeesh... I really hope they dont pull this 5xLP thing with the rest of their catalogue in the future. Me not wanting to flip an album 5x (and also ruining album flow) to hear it is a personal, inconsequential gripe, but the chances of having no issues anywhere within a 5xLP set these days are getting grim. For nearing $200 for one album of music, I'd like better chances of getting my money's worth...
For me, the 5 lp thing wasn't a big deal. I would have to get up and flip sides, anyhow. I also use an anti-static device between sides so not much extra effort having one sided lps for me. 5 one sided lps are basically 5 sides. So if we get a two sided record and one side is noisy, we still have to return the record. Still a PITA. I will say that I agree with you that an exorbitantly priced set of records needs to be nearly perfect, otherwise it's another money grab.
I'm not going to return mine. I'm able to get a replacement but can't have both sets at the same time to put together a combined one so I guess I'll live with my 15 seconds of non-fill on Culling Voices. A known devil...
For whatever reason Amazon is exchanging my set and I ordered it at $130 too. Hopefully disc 4 arrives okay from the next set and I will just swap the one disc.
You cannot go by DR numbers of vinyl. Only works for digital stereo files. Too many variables for DR for vinyl. They should just remove the vinyl measurements from the DR database.
Actually, that is not always true. Sometimes you can compare the vinyl with the digital via the DR website. For instance, the first pressing of Steely Dan/Aja (AB1006) on vinyl and the early CD pressings from 1984 are very close to each other vis a vis the DR numbers.
Still is not accurate way to determine the dynamic range at all. This video describes what is happening very well:
You're using that info to paint absolutes with a broad brush. And in any case, the DR website isn't dead accurate for vinyl or digital. Too many variables. But for comparison purposes it can be a useful guide depending on the recording in question. But you have to use your ears too. For instance, the Fear Inoculum vinyl does sound better than the CD as the soundstage has more breathing room front to back and side to side. The whole presentation sounds less bloated. I'd bet it's because the vinyl does not have the compression/limiting that was applied to the CD/digital download. Also, if the DR software is so inaccurate for vinyl how do you explain the close match between the Aja first vinyl issue and early 1980s CD DR numbers? Going by what you're proposing those Aja vinyl DR numbers should be several points above the CDs. They aren't. Again, the broad brush approach to these things doesn't cut it. Also, there are instances where the higher DR rating for the vinyl version of a modern release was telling the absolute truth as there were two separate masterings for the vinyl and digital versions. Dead Can Dance/Anastasis is an example. The vinyl and CD sound markedly different from each other with the LP winning out easily. On this matter we'll just have to respectfully disagree.
Yeah, this was what I was going to say regarding the benefits of ordering sets like this from Amazon. For most stuff, I much prefer shopping local or from places like MD, but a big multi set like this is one place where Amazon is a good value. I have done the "ask for replacement, mix and match into a workable set" a couple of times and if I hadn't had the ability to swap freely between two copies I wouldn't have had a working final set (most recently the Dylan Best of the Cutting Edge and Maiden's Rock in Rio) as you run the risk of having the problem LP being good, but the new set having a different issue on a different LP.
No, I was referring to someone pointing out that the vinyl version of the album having a higher DR than the CD//Hi Res digital. So yea, the video that I posted does represent exactly why you do not trust the DR numbers of vinyl at all. Watch the video. The exact same digital master/file was used in making the vinyl. Yet the DR of the vinyl has a higher DR number. I don’t have the Aja vinyl or CD so I don’t know why they are the same DR. It doesn’t matter anyway and is not the point that I am making. You can be subjective about the sound difference between the Digital and Vinyl all you want. It doesn’t change anything. You enjoy the vinyl better and that is great. It was still made from a digital mix file and they ran it through analog gear. More than likely this gear has transformers and possibly valves to color the sound plus the electronics of the cutting head. This will all colour the sound and add distortion and other things to the sound of the vinyl. This is probably why you like it more. Doesn’t mean it is better or worse, it is just different. Still the DR cannot be compared between a lossless digital and whatever was done to digitize the vinyl. Plus what ever was done to the file after it was digitized. The only way to know the true DR is to have the file before it was put to the cutting head.
*raises hand in the classroom again* If anyone can throw a needledrop my way of any of the tunes I can tell you specifically & exactly the irrefutable differences in compression & EQ between the digital & vinyl masters, putting to rest any further chances of arguing to be had.
Make sure you select the correct reason on the return form on their site. One reason only allows a refund while another allows for a replacement copy. I got tripped up on that at first.
Here’s an update: Went to the Amazon website to see if the replacement option was available, it wasn’t, only the “refund” option. I decided to contact them through their “customer Service” chat option. I stated that I wanted a replacement due to a defective disc (4th disc) and that on their website the item is available for next day delivery (unless it was false advertisement). The first customer representative couldn’t help, and transferred me to a second representative. Don’t know why, but he transferred me to another representative. After the whole runaround, they told me that a new box set will be delivered to me tomorrow, and that I can keep the old box set (no need to send it back). Let’s hope that all disc on the replacement box set are good. Thank you for the encouragement Peace, Tony
I saw this at my local record store yesterday for $125 and as much as I love this album and want it on vinyl, I cannot justify that price for a single studio album. Really a bummer there can't be a more mass market option.
