200 gram vinyl ( by Classic Records / Qual vs 180 MFSl with Gain 2 Original Masters

[stang4u]

From all the vinyl I have purchased that contain 200 gram weight, seems that Classic records as well as the company Quality blows out MFSL Taking nothing away from the process of " Gain 2 " which I have purchased, I just find that my ears tell me that Classic and Qualities recording process of vinyl is where its at when you want the very best in recordings..........Your thoughts and any other companies that you have come across that has the very best to offer.....!! But then again when you want a specific LP you have to go with who is doing the recording process.

[Mr. Widget]

Are you talking about quality of manufacture, i.e. surface noise, warp, eccentric spindle holes etc., or the quality of the mastering, sonics etc.? I have examples of all of the above... I can't say that I have a conclusive favorite brand among the current crop of heavy vinyl.

That said, I often feel a mint original production disc seems to have better mastering than many "remastered" discs. Manufacturing quality is typically better with the heavy weights though.


Widget

[Radley]

One should keep in mind the manufacturing process. From the master comes the Mother, from the Mother comes the stampers. Stampers are the aluminum discs that are bolted into the presses. Each disc that is pressed (smashed) reduces the quality of the stamper. A record company may try to save expenses and not commission as many stampers as needed for the production run. I used to hear 5,000 as the absolute limit on a stamper, but that was 30+ years ago and I could be mistaken.

[NickH]

I avoid remasted vinyl like the plague. If they didn't get it right the first time no amount of adjustment can make it right. But that's just me. I've had a lot of good luck with new vinyl but you can't go wrong with analogue productions. There re-release of the classic RCA living stereo l.p.'s is excellent. I've got the pines of Rome and it sounds first rate. There small outfit though and there focused on the select audiophile market, which as you know is pretty finicky. Blue note is also good if you like jazz.

But you can't go wrong with the original classic vinyl which can usually be scored for a lot less. I love going to the record store to buy vinyl. Makes me feel like a kid again, lol.

Nick

P.s. The ultimate sound quality isn't vinyl but high speed half track master tape. Has to be 15 i.p.s. At minimum. Its really expensive and requires a studio r2r. But its supposed to be a religious experience to listen to on a first rate play back system. The tape project is the name of one of the outfits making high speed master albums. But its really pricey. I'll stick to vinyl even though I've got a r2r.