Audiophile LP's


That title sounds pretty general but I didn't know how else to name it to attract some attention. For several decades in the production of vinyl the sound quality has widely varied due to recording process, pressing, and other factors. I remember years ago that some commonly available LP's were also available in a much higher quality (and a higher price) than the standard LP and offered superior sound quality. Can't remember all the terms to describe these records but direct-to-disk, master recording, and probably a few others I can't recall. Back then I never purchased any of those since when the needle dropped and music was there what else mattered? To buy a record at 2 or 3 times the standard price didn't make sense to anyone I knew at the time.
My question....I know that numerous sellers on the web list LP's for sell as "mastered", "audiophile", and the like. Back in the day were current sellers offering these truly superior records just trying a ripoff? If not, are most of the ones still in existence only are owned by private collectors?


jrpnde
Anyone listen to Joni Mitchell's albums? Talk about amazing production values. Brilliant stuff. Audiophile? No, just well produced records. Audiophilia? What's that? A disease?
                           "Audiophilia?What's that? A disease?"                                                                                                                                                    Yes. It is. An incurable one at that. Although hardly life threatening.
When Tower records was going out of business they were selling their Sheffield Labs LP’s out for $7.99 a pop.  I bought a s###load of them at that price.
As has been mentioned, the Leinsdorf — Prokofiev and Wagner LP’s as well as the Harry James direct discs are sensational.
There have always been audiophile pressings, they were just never so heavily and aggressively marketed as they are today.

One group that was not mentioned was Columbia Records' Half Speed Mastered Series.  


Rich 
I have all bar two of the Nimbus Supercut records which were available from Practical Hi-Fi/Hi-Fi Today magazine here in the UK. Limited to 1,000 pressings, half speed mastered and pressed on virgin vinyl these can be found on eBay, but at nothing like the original price of £5.25 (if memory serves !!). Original master tapes were used for each monthly issue and these are well worth seeking out. When the magazine went bust the remaining stock of discs was bought by British Audio/Moth Group and were sold off for a fiver each including Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band- the Beatles (sigh !!!).