For starters, it is not a poster.
I assumed it was a price tag. Like millercarbon's record that still had price tag from Sam Goody.
I assumed it was a price tag. Like millercarbon's record that still had price tag from Sam Goody.
Better Records White Hot Stampers: Now the Story Can Be Told!
"Don't forget to thoroughly clean the copies you already have, to put them on a level playing field." Houston, we have a problem. Not much in a way of cleaning machines/equipment. Luckily, my two copies are visually good, one looks near mint although not as good as this new one. As millercarbon mentioned, I thought mine looked like new, but this one looks newer. I will have to pretend that we are comparing real life situations. Decently-maintained random copies with White Hot Stamper. Scenario that would be applicable to most. I will pretend that none of you have fancy cleaning equipment. |
skypunk, "Carbon discs are CD,s you know in that horrible digital domain." Not to go into bigger discussion, but you may want to brush up on chemistry as it applies to the manufacturing process of carbon discs (records). Pay special attention to molecular structure of polyvinyl chloride. Only the facts Mam. |
Someone came back and posted that they bought one based on my review............ Tom saw that and said, "Anything I can do for you?" So I said, can you find me..... Feel free to remind him that someone (me, in this case) ordered a record just because the person read your advertisement/thread. Maybe you can get another record of your choice. |
tomic601, I have never seen a mint copy of Some Girls. Every copy I have seen has been played ad nauseam. Including mine. Having said that, how is the actual recording on a good sample? In my mind, and experience with overused records, it always sounds like, well, overused record that needs replacement. |
"I think that GK is out there somewhere having a belly laugh ." At least, geoffkait did not snoop on me. It may seem innocent, but it is seriously concerning if someone from an audio forum can go checking your purchases. Not to start with, hopefully silly, motifs behind such an activity. I am just hoping it is yet another one of millercarbon's fabricated stories of importance. |
I found what better-records.com has to say about demagnetizing. "It's critically important to demagnetize your speakers and cables at least ten minutes before listening." What is that all about? Aren't speakers supposed to function on magnetism, some of them at least? What material are those cables made of? How does their magnetism work? |
"I play records only once these days.......to convert to digital for future playback while I listen." I used to do that and then I read somewhere, probably on Audiogon, that I should play it two times. First pass to remove whatever minuscle debris is left from stamping, then clean the stylus, and only then play the record for posterity. Not that I can hear the difference, but it makes me feel knowledgeable. Finally. |
"Or Nilsson Schmilsson, Coconut, holy crap!"Coconut, Better Version, in digital... The Muppet Show: Put the Lime in the Coconut - YouTube |
"Digitizing vinyl? Ugh...it defeats the whole purpose of buying vinyl." Many (most) people are not buying vinyl anymore. They are digitizing collections that they already have, often only records that are not commercially available in digital format. They want them digitized for all of the conveniences that mapman has mentioned. It is nice to have your whole collection of music on one little SD card in the car. If you listen to the music in the car, that is. Take it all with you on the plane, while jogging, leave a copy at work. And sound difference is much less than one would be led to believe. |
"On side two, a group of marks make 20 moderate to light pops on Track 1" This is probably what "with issues" designation means on "mint minus minus" record. Understanding that these records are hard to find as it is, how many are not bothered by knowing the record will come with pops? The one I referred to is $99.99 and may be forgiven by most. At the same time, $649.99 will buy you...
It has been a long time since whenever it was made so some blemishes are understandable, another copy is not just around the corner so this may be as good as it gets. $40 per pop and tick, though. |
"Of course I would keep her around for the company- and thanks a lot for that! But I would listen to the record."And this would be the record... Warnes, Jennifer - Famous Blue Raincoat - White Hot Stamper (Quiet Vin – Better Records (better-records.com) Credit card out and the post becomes a reality. "You’ll have a living, breathing Jennifer Warnes singing her heart out right between your speakers." Still, Better-records’ description may be slightly misleading... "What the Best Sides of Famous Blue Raincoat Have to Offer Is Not Hard to Hear...
millercarbon, if you do not already have it, try this one, actually these three, they are quite good... Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat (The Songs Of Leonard Cohen): 3xLP, Ltd, Num, RE, RM For Sale | Discogs |
Back to sound quality of Better Records records. Could it be that superiority of Better Records compared to what one already owns is due to the comparison difficulties? From what I understand, Better Records records are virtually new. Barely played, if at all. How many will compare such a record at home with an unplayed record from a different retailer source? Could it be that Better Records records really do sound significantly better than what one is used to at home due to, in part at least, that record at home being old and physically damaged to some extent over the years? |
"Don't know. Not like I keep a list or anything. Going from memory..." That is about twenty. At a going rate of $350 a record (not adjusting for double albums) it is around $7000. Which is respectable sum for a few fews of records. In fact, it is almost as much as stock Tekton Moabs and Raven Blackhawk together. So, surprise, millercarbon is an audiophile music lover after all. He does put more into records than into his equipment. Hats off. |
skypunk. "Many (most) people are not buying vinyl anymore. They are digitizing collections . I am just guessing, but that guess would be that vinyl records are a subtype of carbon discs. Check with people on the street, ask how many are buying records. Even in "audophile" world records are probably not as strong as streaming and other digital formats. |
skypunk, Check with people on the street, ask how many are buying records. Even in "audophile" world records are probably not as strong as streaming and other digital formats. I did check your (sort of) reliable marketing analytics reference and I do have to agree with it. Try with the second paragraph. "Most of us are streaming our music instead of buying it outright." Record Roundup Volume 6: Vinyl Outsells CDs For The First Time Since The 1980s (forbes.com) |
"... there is no way that I could convince myself to pay $300 -$500 for a record, no matter how good it sounds." It is a bit steep, but if the record is what you really like, well, you only live once. I once wanted a Procol Harum record in mint condition together with a limited bonus single. I bought it without actually looking at the price. I think it was about $200-300. It ended up being new, still sealed, and it got digitized at its second spin and it has not been touched since then. After fifteenish years of intermittently wanting it and realizing that the bonus single was limited to 1000 copies, any price would have been diluted. It was an interesting read, indeed, so who wouldn't have gotten interested? Listening #9 | Stereophile.com |
bluemoodriver, "This is a great business model." Seems like it. From the buyer's perspective, though, it is a one-stop deal. No need to waste time and effort. Marketing approach is another interesting piece of the puzzle. To start, you gain perceived legitimity by having your own website as opposed to Discogs or eBay. Sell expensive ones on your website and the rest on Discogs, or wherever else. Nothing wrong with that. It does not seem there is a bad record sold on better-records.com. Where do losers from shoot-outs go? |
Look, when the entire human race was sending the first Voyager spacecraft.........and we wanted to communicate, how did we do it? Put a record on it. Because Carl Sagan knew it would not degrade, and anyone anywhere could play it. Cool as cool can be. It would have been quite unexpected to put FLAC files on it in 1977. Or a CD, for that matter. "Carl Sagan knew it would not degrade, and anyone anywhere could play it." Carl Sagan must have been hopeful that Martians’ would adjust VTA properly. Even if all of that were true, it seems that Carl Sagan did not believe in non-degradable record technology Mike Lavigne, millercarbon, me, or anyone else, have at home... "The record is constructed of gold-plated copper and is 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter. The record’s cover is aluminum and electroplated upon it is an ultra-pure sample of the isotope uranium-238. Uranium-238 has a half-life of 4.468 billion years." Voyager - Making of the Golden Record (nasa.gov) There are some instructions on the cover, and it does seem that the turntable is included... Voyager - The Golden Record Cover (nasa.gov) "Each record is encased in a protective aluminum jacket, together with a cartridge and a needle. Instructions, in symbolic language, explain the origin of the spacecraft and indicate how the record is to be played. The 115 images are encoded in analog form." "The remainder of the record is in audio, designed to be played at 16-2/3 revolutions per minute." |
millercarbon, My stories always check out Boy, would I have surprising stories for you. You would happily make them your own and then some. More of a concern is how you were able to check my story about buying it beyond what I wrote here. I will give it benefit of the doubt, with a capital Doubt, that none of my information has been shared by better-records.com. Still, it is very concerning if you could have, in any way, checked the details of my purchase. In fact, it would border with criminal activity. I will report about the record the way I will hear it. If it is great, you will read it. If it is less so, you will read it. The benefit of my report should be that I have no vested interest in promoting Better Records. I had not heard of it before this thread. I have no love and admiration for it, nor do I have any reason to be against it. Prices are steep, but nobody is holding a gun to anyone's head. |
"...so are as a matter of fact blathering pure ad copy and amply embellished imaginings." Isn’t that what the premise of this thread, its original post, is all about? "That is the whole point of the thread." I have a feeling that those discussing, rather than religiously promoting, circumstances around Better Records records are trying... "To let people know and make them aware the ad copy is just that: ad copy!" "Of course I have never heard one and so have no idea what I am talking about BUT.." and then continue on with your uninformed opinion piece. Wrong thread. That must have been meant for the OP of Tekton Moab thread. |
Does Better Records source their candidates from different geographical areas, or it is only/mostly U.S.A. oriented? I have records from a number of different countries and I, and not only I, overall found German-made ones (regardless of if bought in Germany vs. Austria) better than their Italian counterparts. So I still look for German ones. I did buy a few of the same records from the same era, but made in U.S.A. and I, again very subjectively, found them to be inferior to German "stampers". Maybe some International Tom could elaborate on my observations. Maybe a regular German pressing is equivalent to U.S.A. White Hot Stamper? In which case, I just wasted money. Well, we will hear... |
I bought The Rolling Stones Emotional Rescue. I was considering Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here, too, but it says it has pops and clicks so it defeats the purpose, I think. Had it been without it, I would have bought that one, too. I am very familiar with Emotional Rescue, I already have two different ones from different countries and neither is from the U.S.A. so it comes in handy that better-records.com had it available. CD is, actually, not that great (whatever it was, the first German release on CD). Despite arguments about The Rolling Stones recordings quality, I am wondering about comparison with those records that I have, not with some better recordings. I did not buy it to indulge in it, I doubt I will listen to it much after the trial. I bought it out of curiosity. EDIT: If it is really that great, I will copy it into digital and abandon the CD rip. |
"When Paganini is ready to be recorded I will happily pay $600 for any reasonably good pressing." Let her know so you can be the first to know, she has connections... Maria Elena Paganini | Facebook |
oregonpapa, "That’s what I look back on with satisfaction knowing that I’ll be leaving this earthly place better off than how I found it. :-)" If you have been collecting records for 70 years, you were likely born when Earth was an unpleasant mess. Major wars, economic crises, something must have been around during those times. |