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| Quality Mid 90's Connoisseur Series reissue: |
How many times do I have to hear a Japanese reissue from the past 10 years that has better sound than a VG+ or better copy of a Lexington label original?
As a collector for nearly 10 years now, it has taken me a while to get to the point of having a real reference point for my own personal sound likes and dislikes.
David Hanum said there was a sucker born every minute when speaking of the customers of P.T. Barnum.
I am beginning to think the high end Blue Note collector was in Hanum's mind when he said that. I realize there is more than sound to consider, it's the rareness of the record, the cover, and the closeness to the original session.
I get the history of it all, and that's worth something price wise.....But please stop telling me that the sound is soooo far superior, lots of groove wear out there.
I have found I like the NY USA reissues as much as any of the Lexington or 47 West first presses I have heard, sometimes they sound better, I know it is possible I just heard a bad copy of the original, but man the numbers are piling up.
I must concede I am not buying $3,000 mint pressings, but GD/VG, and a few I have found that crate digging were strong VG+, and were disappointing. Particularly frustrating when some mid to late 80's pre-RVG remastered CD's sound better to my ears, though there are mixed opinions those RVG remastered CD's.
Blakey 4003, Jackie McLean's Bluesnik, and Jimmy Smith's Back at the Chicken Shack all sound perfect to my ears on NY USA Stereo.
I am now glad to report, that second and third presses in my opinion don't sound so much better to warrant the 1000% or more mark up in price. In fact, I would see no problem with Japanese reissues, or the new 45 rpm reissues.
I understand it's all about perception and preference, if the high-roller collector has money to burn and he thinks his $5,000 dollar copy of Zoot Sims and Jutta Hipp is $4,950 better sounding than the reissue, have at it.
I have been a champion for years of the 70's "b" reissues for sound quality. I have cross compared many NY USA originals like Sam Rivers Contours, Grachan Moncur III Blue Notes, Some Other Stuff and Evolution, and I can not hear a difference so spectacular to make me want to buy the original at 5 times the cost.
I realize that many collectors have to have that ear in the dead wax, they need the blue and white classic label, anything else won't due, but truthfully I like good sounding vinyl copies.
As long as I can get a good sound at a fraction of the cost, I will go the reissue route, whether that's Blue Note Liberty reissues from the 70's or audiophile 45 rpm issue from today, I know I won't be shelling out 4 figures for a record, especially when I hear so much disappointment about groove wear.
So buyer beware, and stop being jealous about the Lexington owners, let them pay $3000 for a groove worn record, or one that doesn't sound $2,750 more than the next issue does.
Us poor folks are a head of the game, we might care more about the actual music anyway, its not worth splitting hairs over tiny nuances of sound. Yes, early CD era tinny sounding discs stink, but there are many affordable options out there in the audiophile reissue realm.
Oh yeah, everybody's whipping boy, the DMM pressing isn't always horrific. I have a Dexter Gordon Go, and an Eric Dolphy Out to Lunch that sound pretty good to my ears, better than some CD versions for sure.
