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Best Pressing Shootout: Can, Tago Mago — 1971 (?) UK First Pressing (?) vs. 1981 Celluloid French Reissue
When I realized sometime last summer that vinyl really did (or could) sound better than digital, I was thrilled and horrified at all the records I had to track down. In my digital days, I would smugly think how economical streaming was — but deep down inside, miss the fun of tracking down those big…
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LP12MF Listening Test: Mober DC Motor Kit
In the latest edition of the LP12 Modification Frenzy, I listen to the effects of the Mober DC Motor Kit. You can read all about the process of installing the Mober DC Motor Kit. You can check out my listening methodology. Full listening impressions are below. Digestible, numerical summaries of all my listening tests are…
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Best Pressing Shootout: Pentangle, Sweet Child — 1968 Transatlantic UK vs 1970 Reprise USA
In this Best Pressing Shootout, I look at two copies of Pentangle’s 1968 classic Sweet Child. Oh how I love this record. I might like it just a touch less than their self-titled début (with liner notes by a young John Peel) — but I definitely like it way more than any of the sort…
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Best Pressing Shootout: Rolling Stones, Beggars Banquet — 1970s Decca UK vs. 2003 DSD Reissue
Best Pressing Shootout time. I came to The Rolling Stones fairly late. In the early 2000s, while I was an undergraduate student in London, Ontario, I ran out of indie rock to listen to and so started going backward: finding out about the Fall via Pavement, about Gang of Four via the Rapture, about Joy…
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Best Pressing Shootout: Yo La Tengo, Painful — 1993 Matador First Pressing vs. 2011 Reissue
Bit of a deep cut, here — not sure how many people are debating between these two particular copies of this record. But hey, I love this record, and I have two copies of it, and I want to know which one to keep. So: Best Pressing Shootout! Since installing the Mober DC power kit…
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LP12MF Listening Test: Mober Subchassis for Linn
In the latest edition of the LP12 Modification Frenzy, I replace a Linn Kore subchassis with a Mober subchassis for Linn. You can check out my listening methodology. Full listening impressions on the Mober subchassis are below, as is a summary of the installation process. Digestible, numerical summaries of all my listening tests are here.…
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LP12MF Listening Test: Linn Ekos 2 Tonearm and Kore Subchassis
In the latest edition of the LP12 Modification Frenzy, I install a very fancy tonearm and a moderately fancy subchassis, both made by Linn. You can read about the installation process for both, and check out my listening methodology. Full listening impressions on the Ekos and Kore are below; digestible, numerical summaries of all my…
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Best Pressing Shootout: Charles Mingus, The Clown — 1961 Atlantic US vs. 1972 Warner-Pioneer Japan
Unlike most audio snobs, I strongly dislike mono pressings. There is a clear reason for this: I listen to most of my music on headphones, and mono sounds bad on headphones — all squashed into the centre of your head. Whereas speaker-lovers claim mono recordings offer “depth” rather than “width,” I find that mono just…
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Best Pressing Shootout: Rubber Soul — 1981 Blue Box vs. 1995 Direct Metal Master
In my fourth Best Pressing Shootout in as many days — the coronavirus shutdown is having many unexpected effects — let’s look at my two pressings of Rubber Soul. The Pressings Back when I was a young lad in my twenties and just getting into vinyl — ah, the early oughts! — I naturally wanted…
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Best Pressing Shootout: Abbey Road — 1981 Blue Box vs. 2009 Remaster vs. 2019 Giles Martin Remix
And now, in the third installment of the Best Pressing Shootout series, I move from the painfully obscure to the glaringly obvious. At least I don’t need to explain this album to you. I also probably don’t need to explain the whole “Why do you own multiple pressings of so many albums?” thing in this…
