MC- I hope for your sake that the record proves to be what you hope for. I don’t begrudge anybody for using Tom Port, though I’ve never done business with him ( I think he started by selling DCC at blow out prices).
Most of what he stocks and sells, not surprisingly, are classic rock and warhorses since that’s where the market is. And there is no question that different pressings sound different and that two copies of the same pressing can sound different. Sometimes, the problem rests with the recording itself, and no amount of variation on the manufacturing side (or even the mastering side) will fully overcome the shortcomings despite the copy to copy differences. Sadly, for bands like LZ, the recordings just aren’t that good to start with. I easy have a dozen good copies of LZ1, from the Classic 45 (very audiophile detail but lacks the overall cohesiveness of the Piros mid-’70s SHForums fav, or the Japanese 2nd or 3rd press); LZ2- the RL Monarch is probably the most bombastic, but a good early UK plum rocks hard with more pronounced bass; III- the plum 5/5 Peter Grant credit is to my ears the best among those I have here, including a Canadian TG (which used to be a bargain but is hard to find), the Classic 33 and a few others.
The quest for me at this point isn’t quite as easy-- I filled a slot recently (still waiting for it to arrive given shipping issues from Germany)- an original Vertigo Swirl of Cressida Asylum. Even with that, I didn’t go the full distance by buying a German pressing rather than the UK which goes for 1k (or more) in the market.
I have a hard time with 4 figure records-- crazy money, to be sure, I’m not against spending money on records, but don’t even like the idea of regularly handling such expensive records and I buy them to play them, not to "collect".
The stuff I’ve been chasing for the last several years- small or private label jazz from the early 70s-- so-called "spiritual" or "soul" jazz has also gotten to be nutty money. A clean copy of Bobby Hamilton Dream Queen is now a 4 figure record. Some of the Strata -Easts are getting costly. A Milt Ward is also rare as well as expensive.
Like anything, you pay more for something desirable in the market. I’m not in the trade in the sense that I buy and sell records. One thing I have found, for whatever it’s worth, is that by having a broad palate for different kinds of music-- I opened up the range of what I listen to considerably in the last decade--- a lot of the records I’ve bought have increased considerably in value. I didn’t buy them as investments, and their value may go down by the time I pass this mortal coil. At that point, it won’t matter to me anyway.
Good luck and good hunting. (Which is, for many, part of the fun- the pursuit, the gotta have it, hunt it down, relentless won’t rest until I find it in great playing condition chase).
PS: cleaning- don't get me started... :)
Most of what he stocks and sells, not surprisingly, are classic rock and warhorses since that’s where the market is. And there is no question that different pressings sound different and that two copies of the same pressing can sound different. Sometimes, the problem rests with the recording itself, and no amount of variation on the manufacturing side (or even the mastering side) will fully overcome the shortcomings despite the copy to copy differences. Sadly, for bands like LZ, the recordings just aren’t that good to start with. I easy have a dozen good copies of LZ1, from the Classic 45 (very audiophile detail but lacks the overall cohesiveness of the Piros mid-’70s SHForums fav, or the Japanese 2nd or 3rd press); LZ2- the RL Monarch is probably the most bombastic, but a good early UK plum rocks hard with more pronounced bass; III- the plum 5/5 Peter Grant credit is to my ears the best among those I have here, including a Canadian TG (which used to be a bargain but is hard to find), the Classic 33 and a few others.
The quest for me at this point isn’t quite as easy-- I filled a slot recently (still waiting for it to arrive given shipping issues from Germany)- an original Vertigo Swirl of Cressida Asylum. Even with that, I didn’t go the full distance by buying a German pressing rather than the UK which goes for 1k (or more) in the market.
I have a hard time with 4 figure records-- crazy money, to be sure, I’m not against spending money on records, but don’t even like the idea of regularly handling such expensive records and I buy them to play them, not to "collect".
The stuff I’ve been chasing for the last several years- small or private label jazz from the early 70s-- so-called "spiritual" or "soul" jazz has also gotten to be nutty money. A clean copy of Bobby Hamilton Dream Queen is now a 4 figure record. Some of the Strata -Easts are getting costly. A Milt Ward is also rare as well as expensive.
Like anything, you pay more for something desirable in the market. I’m not in the trade in the sense that I buy and sell records. One thing I have found, for whatever it’s worth, is that by having a broad palate for different kinds of music-- I opened up the range of what I listen to considerably in the last decade--- a lot of the records I’ve bought have increased considerably in value. I didn’t buy them as investments, and their value may go down by the time I pass this mortal coil. At that point, it won’t matter to me anyway.
Good luck and good hunting. (Which is, for many, part of the fun- the pursuit, the gotta have it, hunt it down, relentless won’t rest until I find it in great playing condition chase).
PS: cleaning- don't get me started... :)