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LP quality: old vs. new

post #1 of 18
2/8/09 at 5:44am
Thread Starter 
So I have been getting into the whole vinyl scene these days. I am enjoying it a lot, but there is something that is confusing the hell out of me. It seems that the older recordings are significantly higher in quality than the newer ones. Mainly, it seems that the new recordings are extremely treble heavy, so much that it peaks at many points, no matter the headphones I try. They also seem to be much more scratchy, even when they are totally new. It is at a point where it is clearly not the fault anything but the source.

What really confuses me is that I got the Hotel California LP, but in the new 180g, and when compared to a very old LP (an original one), the original just sounds a lot better. It is, as I mentioned earlier, much more scratchy, and has definite harsher highs.

Does this have something to do with the new 180g LPs? Am I possibly doing something wrong. How much pressure do you guys put on them? I am putting 1.5 grams on the new LPs.
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post #2 of 18
2/8/09 at 6:15am
remasters = teh fail
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post #3 of 18
2/8/09 at 6:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by .coco View Post
Does this have something to do with the new 180g LPs? Am I possibly doing something wrong. How much pressure do you guys put on them? I am putting 1.5 grams on the new LPs.
The weight depends on what your cartridge is designed for - it depends. If you're within the rating from the manufacturer, then you've probably got it set up correctly.

And yeah, some of the new vinyl isn't very good, either. I generally avoid new records because vinyl is trendy right now so prices are going up. I try to buy used whenever possible.
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post #4 of 18
2/8/09 at 9:29am
The quality/purity of the actual vinyl used in manufacturing can be a factor, and manufacturers ( including the plastic suppliers) will nearly always be looking for ways to cheapen the cost of manufacturing.
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post #5 of 18
2/8/09 at 9:30am
I have found the same
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post #6 of 18
2/8/09 at 9:42am
Alternate explanation:

Older vinyl is rolled off in the highs, through age and use or inferior materials or pressing techniques. New vinyl has the information those old ones lack. These factors in combination with your headphones, both of which have had not shortage of flak from people for being bright, results in the excessive brightness you dislike.

As for the scratchiness, sometimes even new vinyl needs a clean.
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post #7 of 18
2/8/09 at 11:43am
So it isn't just me?
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post #8 of 18
2/8/09 at 3:05pm
Perhaps it was remastered or used a remaster with today's crap standards.
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post #9 of 18
2/8/09 at 11:33pm
Thread Starter 
Dang, that sucks. I was really hoping that it was my headphones...
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post #10 of 18
2/9/09 at 8:13am
They probably record the new LP versions from a CD.
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post #11 of 18
2/9/09 at 9:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BauhausBold View Post
remasters = teh fail
That might be true for some remasters but to write that like that looks like you're saying that every remaster is a fail.

Check the Steve Hoffman/Kevin Gray remasters and you'll be surprised.

I recently got a few vinyls remastered from the OMTs by these guys (Van Morrison's Moondance and Astral Weeks, RHCP Stadium Arcadium, Metallica's Master of Puppets and Black Album)

All these sound absolutely awesome, with great dinamics and no sign of peaking! The Stadium arcadium needs to be cleaned but appart from that no problems at all.

They're pricey yeah, but very worthy.
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post #12 of 18
2/9/09 at 2:13pm
As an aside to the new mastering issues, I've had a few issues with new poorly made vinyl. Despite cleaning them off properly, they have plenty of surface imperfections and or warping right out of the sleeve. I generally avoid the cheaper releases now.
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post #13 of 18
2/9/09 at 3:24pm
These problems are nothing new. Even back when vinyl was the primary source of recorded music, there were wide variations in quality between different labels and pressings.
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post #14 of 18
2/27/09 at 9:28am
I heard the original pressings are the most accurate if the master is a tape because it is magnetic, the earth's magnetic field is slowly deteriorating the tape. So a re-issue vinyl made from an original master tape may not have the dynamic impact or something like that. Sounds reasonable but to be honest I really don't know if anyone can elaborate or debunk this it would be appreciated. I think I willl compare some original pressings with a couple re-issues now that my curiosity is piqued.
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post #15 of 18
9/17/11 at 9:59pm

Shh... Dont talk about such technical things around here! Somebody might not understand and make fun of you with all that fancy talk, just like on the movie Idiocracy. I mean it is a conspiracy to think the Earth has a magnetic field. LOL just kidding!

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