Analog Lp

I tend to agree with chakster 100%.  None of the ones I have purchased sound as good as my originals.  I'll take the pops & ticks and like them.
-John

@rauliruegas 

How ignorant of you to suggest that I do not like music.

Also, how stupid to suggest that someone whom you do not know does not go to concerts.  I go regularly (before Covid) to concerts, principally concerts of unamplified music.  I generally do not go to concerts where the music comes through microphones and loudspeakers.  

And I play music, as do others in my family   So I know how music should sound.  The re-equalization that modern record producers so often do to great old tapes takes us further from the real thing I think.  

IMO, there are no better disks than some of them cut in the golden age of vinyl.  And, even used, they command the highest prices.

As one of the few of us who actually lived through the years prior to 1979 and who was an audiophile prior to 1979, let me say that the only drawback to well produced post-1979 LPs is that the master tapes from which the original (pre-1979) LPs were generated were and are aging. Tapes don’t age well, even when perfectly cared for at controlled temperature and humidity. Let alone the fact that many or most master tapes were not at all carefully stored. So, the best modern LPs in the "re-issue" category can sometimes be compromised compared to original pressings by that factor alone. And this is assuming that all other elements of making a re-issue are done to the highest standards. Contrary to what the youngster Chakster says, before 1979 Japanese pressings were hardly looked upon as top quality, if indeed Japanese pressings were even imported (to the US) in those days. In those days, the best pressings were often European in origin, e.g., ECM, EMI, Decca, and others I cannot conjure up, including some excellent French labels, and in the US, we had Verve, Pablo, Columbia, etc. We also had the first generation Mo-Fi (from 1977 on) and Reference Recordings (from 1976), as well as direct to disc recordings, if you can stand the music on some of the latter LPs. The Japanese are to be credited for keeping up the art form during the 80s and 90s, when our industry was ignoring LP production entirely or making sloppy quality re-issues on some of the aforementioned labels, thereby tarnishing their image. (So, I am not saying that Japanese pressings are not excellent, in some cases, just not pre-79.) Anyway, record collecting is still a worthwhile hobby, IMO.

New lp's and reissues have one advantage, they are generally quieter. Most of the times i feel they lack some air and atmosphere, have heavier bass and less extended treble. Original tapes is a very misleading term for tape can degrade over time. Original good pressings on good quality vinyl, sound more coherent to me and the artwork is better too. Of course there are exceptions.

G

Contrary to what the youngster Chakster says, before 1979 Japanese pressings were hardly looked upon as top quality, if indeed Japanese pressings were even imported (to the US) in those days. In those days, the best pressings were often European in origin, e.g., ECM, EMI, Decca, and others I cannot conjure up, including some excellent French labels, and in the US, we had Verve, Pablo, Columbia, etc.

@lewm I'm buying Japanese LPs from Japan nowadays. I already have American original pressing of my favorite 70's stuff. Japanese pressing is superior to nearly all American pressings. There was a very nice article about it in Wax Poetics magazine. In the 70's Japanese releases of American music were made from the master tapes on virgin vinyl by companies like Victor, CBS, Toshiba, Polydor K.K. etc. Those are giants of the industry as you know. They are absolutely top quality and better than European releases.  

I'm interested mainly in Jazz, Funk, Soul, Latin and Soudtracks from the 70's, so I know what i'm talking about when it comes to this music. 

There is nothing interesting for me on EMI, ECM, Pablo ... from your list, probably it's different genre of music. But if you what to try Japanese pressing of these labels then look at SAL'74 here ( Mainly for Japanese Polydor K.K. manufactured reissues of Verve Records, Pablo and Polydor labels ). 

I'm aware that German pressing was great, can't say it about French pressings, but Japanese pressing from the 70's is the best in my opinion. Some American pressings also great! But sometimes American originals cost 10 times more than Japanese pressing of the same release from the same era.