KVR Audio

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:37 pm

Got a new record turntable for Xmas and am looking to enhance my vinyl collection which goes back to the early 70's so much of it is rather worn and much loved. Although I have replaced a lot with CD versions there are still some records I really love in vinyl form and am planning to buy some good quality 180g first hand copies of my most loved albums. So far I have just got a couple of my favourites; Laura Nyro's New York Tendberry which was really badly mastered for the CD version, and the 40th Anniversary Dark Side of the Moon. I'm trying to track down a UK copy of Archie Shepp's Blase to replace my crackly old copy (another one that didn't translate well to CD) and will probably also try and find if there's a 180 g version of Robert Wyatt's Rock Bottom which is probably my favourite album of all time and get some Trane too. Anything else I should look out for? - I'm particularly interested in albums that did badly when made into CDs and that have 180g versions (This Heat is probably another one but I don't know if that was ever released in 180g).

mellotronaut · Post by **mellotronaut** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 6:00 pm

i bought Michael Jackson's Thriller and Isaak Hayes' Shaft some time ago.

my favourite buy would be Carla Bley's Tropic Appetites. my old vinyl from the 70's is too worn out.

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 6:05 pm

mellotronaut wrote:i bought Michael Jackson's Thriller and Isaak Hayes' Shaft some time ago.

my favourite buy would be Carla Bley's Tropic Appetites. my old vinyl from the 70's is too worn out.

Yeah mine too

Sadly some of my favourites are not replaceable - not even available on CD - especially classical recordings.

Bley is a possibility - I like her and Paul Bley too - but don't like Michael Jackson in the slightest.

kgdrum · Post by **kgdrum** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 6:08 pm

this is a good source for lp's :
https://store.acousticsounds.com/?gclid ... 7Aod_EcAog

gkangas · Post by **gkangas** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 6:09 pm

I picked up a reissue for Rock Bottom a few years ago. Great record and the reissue was well done. Check out discogs for all your options

http://www.discogs.com/Robert-Wyatt-Roc ... ster/17021

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 6:16 pm

gkangas wrote:I picked up a reissue for Rock Bottom a few years ago. Great record and the reissue was well done. Check out discogs for all your options

http://www.discogs.com/Robert-Wyatt-Roc ... ster/17021

Yeah I just checked - seems I might be out of luck

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-9878-rober ... 43-cd.aspx

at least my original copy is playable though

mellotronaut · Post by **mellotronaut** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 6:28 pm

aMUSEd wrote: ... but don't like Michael Jackson in the slightest.

another 'weakness' of mine are The BeeGees' Disco years.

my school mates never got it ... how could i listen to King Crimson or Robert Wyatt and The BeeGees?

i have a well conserved copy of 'Ruth is Stranger than Richard', which is my favourite Robert Wyatt Record.

BertKoor · Post by **BertKoor** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 8:35 am

aMUSEd wrote:[...] 180g [...] 180 g [...] 180g [...] 180g [...]

Never heard of that before, I had to google and ofcourse found it.

Anyone not knowing like I did, it's Audiophile stuff... No guarantees it actually sounds better than regular 120 g disks (depends on the mastering) and technically still inferior to CD (which they sometimes f#*k up with mastering.)

Best vinyl presses are 180g for deeper grooves,45 rpm for higher resolution, and less time per side for better groove separation. Keeps you walking back & forth to the turntable every 10 minutes or so.

So in the end you're still at the mercy of the mastering engineer. And you have an extra format to buy records you already had multiple times

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:12 am

Well not really, as I said I'm planning to replace albums that I've had vinyl versions of since the 70s and early 80s, so much of it is pretty well worn, and where I'm dissatisfied with the CD versions for various reasons; mostly bad mastering/remastering. I don't think there is anything inherently better about 180g vinyl other than the fact that if I'm going to replace my old copies I'd rather do it with something that is more likely to last; 180g is certainly more resistant to wear, particularly warping, and is usually made with better quality materials. The sound quality still depends more on the mastering than the medium, as you say, but in many cases because these are aimed at "audiophiles" particular care has been taken to get the best quality masters and transfers. The Nyro album is a good example: the original transfer to CD of New York Tendaberry didn't do it any favours and a subsequent remaster actually made it even worse, it sounds noisy and flat and detail is lacking. The 180g release was based on a new remaster that has been widely praised for recapturing the purity of Nyro's voice, the noise floor is lower and the sound is more detailed. It's only available in that format.

http://snvinyl.co.uk/Laura-Nyro-New-Yor ... ry-180g-LP

So what I'm looking for in this thread is recommendations for albums that are at their best in this format.

Mr Arkadin · Post by **Mr Arkadin** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:57 am

I love the This Heat CD box set.

What did you think was wrong with it? I thought it sounded great but I never had the vinyls of those.

jespis · Post by **jespis** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 2:51 pm

Bob Dylan - The Original Mono Recordings (Columbia 180g mono)
The Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (Parlophone 180g)
Love - Forever Changes (Elektra/Rhino 180g)
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (Rhino Records 180g)
Paul Simon - Graceland (Sony Legacy 180g)

http://boardsofcanada.com/vinyl-reissues/ - but 140g

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:29 pm

Mr Arkadin wrote:I love the This Heat CD box set.

What did you think was wrong with it? I thought it sounded great but I never had the vinyls of those.

Nothing major - in terms of mastering the This Heat CD is fine but the original album had made good use of the vinyl format by having an endless loop at the end, can't do things like that on CD. It's not a priority though anyway, my original is in pretty good condition.

seismic1 · Post by **seismic1** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:31 am

I see that Depeche Mode are about to release their entire album catalogue on 180g

seismic1 · Post by **seismic1** » Sat Feb 08, 2014 8:52 pm

I see that some of the King Crimson 60s and 70s albums are available on 200gm vinyl from Burning Shed

The definitive 180g vinyl collection