I'm starting to think that the RL of LZ II is overrated. I know most will think I'm for saying this. I have multiple copies of II including a UK plum, U.S. Piros cut, the Classic Records reissue and the latest remaster. On my system, I find the RL a tough listen. It's too fatiguing for my ears. I prefer the Piros version. The remaster is just about right for my taste. I find it somewhere in between the RL/Piros versions and the UK plum. It does lack the power and dynamics of the RL but the top end isn't as shaved off as much as the UK plum. It's well balanced and was nicely done.
debut - RG A/A US B'Way press II - US RL III - Mastercraft B'Way press 4th - Porky/Pecko B'Way US press (have not heard an original UK, so...) HOTH - RL US B'Way press PG - Like the original US pressings - but long to hear a UK Presence - UK/US 1st issues are fairly close to my ears. Runner up to the 180 gram Classic. ITTOD - US Strawberry sounds nice Coda - The early US pressings are nice/full sounding
Of these I own HOTH RL US B'Way, IV Porky/Pecko B'Way, PG original US Piros Presswell, Presence US, Coda US. I have to agree on all those. I need to check my original US pressing of III, as I'm not so sure what its origins are.
Pretty much agree on all of them. For III when we did our comparison we didn't hear a difference between the plum A-5, B//6 and the A5, B5. Both much better than any US or Canadian pressing. For I the good AT/GP is the -CC which I have only seen on Monarch pressed vinyl. And another thing worth mentioning for the UK III and IV is they are much cuts from any US pressing. The UK plum III has the "So Mote..." inscriptions but it is a different cut from US pressings with different style of writing. And the UK plum IV though it has Porky signature is also a different cut from any 1841 or 75 US pressing I've seen.
I see a lot of love on this forum for the Piros, and although I have not heard a MO press, and do love the ones I own and have heard...has anyone heard a RG press? Or an early CTH press? Almost a different mix with the vocals further back, not EQ'd up as much? Just wunderin'...
In that case, you're betting wrong. For Led Zeppelin I, I'd take the A1/B1 UK plum over both the U.S. AT/GP and the Classic. For HTOH, I prefer the US RL. Also, the A1/B1 Porky/Pecko was pressed after the RL, not before it. None of the Classics cut it for me - UK A1/B1 are my go-to copies for both Presence and Coda, and for ITOD, I prefer the US Strawberry.
The love for the Piros (of the debut) must stem from not hearing anything else, albeit nice, not definitive, vocals mastered too far forward...falls apart at higher volumes. IMO, natch!
I will make a case for the Canadian In Througb The Out Door. Blows the U.S. and UK Strawberry's away!
I didn't know which Piros album you were referring to in your other post, but for the debut the -CC does sound different from others. It is sort of like that special -F cut of CSN Couch that Piros cut that sounds different from the thinner sounding ones. I'm not sure what would account for the variability given the same mastering engineer. I have heard a A1/B1 UK plum and other original US pressings and still prefer the -CC. I posted more detailed comparison in an older thread dedicated to the debut.
Cool, I have had some Piro's pressings, no MO's that I can recall, so really can not debate your findings....oh wait, logic kicked in. How can an a C or CC or even a CCC be better than an A press? Maybe/probabaly I don't understand the process. Is not a C the third plating from the A plate? If so, how is it better? Is not the mastering/release date the key? Have you auditioned RG press of the debut? Or a 1A/1A CTH press? I am new to this fo' sure, so please humor me. Thanks!
I find it interesting that this Forum abhors compression and loudness on seemingly everything but the RL Led Zep II. Regardless, interesting points - I need to compare my pressings to the new remaster.
They just don't understand that rock is raw/primal/has life. Those that rate anything over an RL of II to anything else, are not taking the entire situation in hand. There is a presence, an air, and yes power, that has not been duplicated to this day, It is a beast!!!!
I had a C condition RL II for abou $20 in my hands yesterday. More scratches than a cat in a polythene bag but I am guessing it could be very good at low volume - but I am still on the bench as to RL. I have a decent condition Back in Black, which sounds very very good and very clear and has umph, a few Hendrix RLs which are O.K.-ish, and the HOTH RL which to me was nothing special. It could be down to my fairly basic equipment - I only got started a few years ago and I have bookshelf speakers and am not accustomed to and don't need to blast out my music but I would sorely like to hear the famed difference that others hear in the RL II, I really would. But I may have to pay well over $60 for a decent condition one. Will it be worth it, I ask myself?
$60 - yes. knowing one day you may hear it, and if'n you don't .....it could be an investment, It's not hype, it's real.
Interesting comment about the MO AT/GP -CC. The best sounding copy of 'I' that I have is a PR AT/GP -C (Broadway label), even if the channels are reversed. To me it sounds more balanced than my UK plum, Classic and latest copies (not that they are bad at all). Have never heard an MO copy, would be interesting to hear the difference compared to the PR but I think that I'm finished chasing versions around!
