Where do classical vinyl records get their rumble from?

@mahler123

I think that @ghdprentice and others have nailed it.  It’s your tables, nothing inherent to Classical Music 

Those contributors here who think that the problem is with my tables have probably never heard the effects I am describing.

There is a plausible explanation for this:  their systems, including tables, are simply not resolving enough to hear what I report.  Alternatively, the noise floor of their listening environments could be so high that it masks the effects.

I am astounded that you ignore the special demands of classical music.  I am talking about large scale works recorded in a real acoustic, not close-miked, electronically mixed, studio recordings.

I asked ChatGPT if Deutsche Grammophon was having problems filling orders

While Deutsche Grammophon does not appear to be struggling with severe, widespread order fulfillment delays, customers have reported several recurring logistical and manufacturing issues when ordering vinyl directly. [1]

Primary Customer Concerns

• Customer Service & Fulfillment Bottlenecks: Buyers have reported slow response times from Deutsche Grammophon's customer support. Many suspect the label uses third-party fulfillment centers, leading to unresponsiveness and some isolated inventory mix-ups (e.g., missing or duplicated discs in multi-LP sets). [1, 2]
• Quality Control & Pressing Defects: Particularly with the premium The Original Source audiophile series, collectors have reported a higher-than-expected rate of factory defects. Common issues include vinyl shavings, surface scratches causing repetitive clicks, and occasionally warped records. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

If the problem was my tables, it would affect all records, not just some.

I have many original DG pressings of classical music that I purchased new in the 70s and 80s.  In those days DG was thought of as a quality company but there were characteristics of their work that I found wanting. Namely, they often tended to be shrill and glazed over especially on crescendos.  One bought their LPs regardless, mainly because of the high level musicianship and worldwide reputations of the orchestras they recorded. I don't recall a noise I could characterize as "rumble", but in those days my equipment probably couldn't reproduce what RB is describing. I have not auditioned my DG LPs in a decade or more. I will break some out and have a listen.

@lewm 

Completely agree that Deutsche Grammophon was highly regarded back in the day.  Herbert von Karajan was fastidious about the sound of his recordings, and the Berliner Philharmoniker under his leadership developed a particularly full sound.

Then DG and the orchestra went their separate ways, with the orchestra establishing its own label and usually recording in their home venue, which has been fully equipped for recording live concerts.  This enterprise is branded "The Digital Concert Hall" and includes permanent remote cameras which can be pre-programmed.  Outputs include webcasts, Blu-ray video productions, Pure Audio Blu-ray and SACD backed up by CDs.

Other orchestras have followed, one good example being the London Symphony Orchestra with its LSO Live label routinely producing SACDs of live concerts.

Decca is another recording company with famous recording quality which has become something of a bit player, where it sits as a sister company to DG in the Universal Music Group portfolio.  Decca has some superb recent recordings on CD but their vinyl equivalents have been marred by unacceptable scratches caused by high-gloss, printed inner linings, at least as delivered to me by Presto.

The DG recording of Mahler 2 mentioned in my original post was a live recording of a big-deal live event - the re-opening of the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall after a 3-year, A$100-m refit, done mainly to improve the venue's sound quality.  The concert was broadcast live on national radio and recorded using 15 cameras for a national TV broadcast.  It was also webcast.

So it is disappointing that DG's Australian vinyl pressing has oversized centre holes.  My first copy rivalled Decca's worst for dirt.  I don't know whether DG or the Australian Broadcasting Corporation was responsible for the original recording.  It may even have been the Trust, or the Sydney Symphony Orchestra! 

It was a special occasion for a special building, and the performance was comparable to Rattle's best.

@richardbrand 

"...their systems, including tables, are simply not resolving enough to hear what I report.  Alternatively, the noise floor of their listening environments could be so high that it masks the effects."

These are just a few of my faves;

Clifford Curzon - Beethoven "Emperor" Concerto No. 5 in E flat for piano and orchestra, The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Hans Knappertsbusch, Decca Stereo 1958

Georg Solti - Beethoven Symphony No. 9 , Lorengar, Milton, Burrows, Tavela with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Decca Silver Jubilee Recording Stereo 1972

Bruno Walter - Beethoven Symphony No. 6 in F major opus 68 Pastoral Columbia Symphony Orchestra Stereo 1958

Gyorgy Sebok, Janos Starker - Johannes Brahms Sonatas for Cello and Piano E minor opus 38 and F major opus 99, Mercury Living Presence Stereo 1964

Antal Dorati, Janos Starker - Dvorak Violoncello Concerto in B minor Opus 104 Bruch Kol Nidrei Opus 47 London Symphony Orchestra, Mercury Living Presence Stereo 1962

My equipment will out resolve any thing you’ve got and no rumble. So where do you live? In the Outback?

@faustuss 

Recording technology has come a long way in the last 50 years. 

I am glad you have no rumble.  I believe you posted elsewhere that you have no surface noise either.  You have a truly miraculous system.

Of course, none of the works you cite contains the dynamic range of a Mahler symphony and these days vinyl has digital to compete with.