Classic records reissue - very disappointing

I bought the Classic Records from Day 1, I have most of their Living Stereos and Mercuries, and I also have some originals and compared them (with adjustments in VTA). From the Mastering they are excellent, a very good job was done in the 90's. When some say they sound horrible or digital, I think, it is based on their System. The very best is the 1. Series in 180gr. Top vinyl, no noise. I also have bought later some of their 200gr and stopped that fast. The first of them are silent but in the last years (or their last years) they got serious problems with their pressing factory. They made a bad job. Maybe 2 reasons, melted 2. hand vinyl or/and too fast output (cooling process or something in that area) which damaged the grooves (cracks and so on, no RCM can get it out, there are distortions, not in everyone but from time to time).
Their latest Clarity Vinyl are superior from sonics (and mastering). Unfortunately it is possible to get some with distortions, too.

I think, this was the wake up call for some competitors to go to Europe with their Pressings. They take more care or have some more educated people there, who knows. Speakers corner for example have an absolutely inferior mastering but their vinyl is super.

Classic Records grew up in critics since they started. Hobson destroyed the market for the professional record dealers with the super high pricing for LSC.
It is always the same story, you have friends a short time but your enemies will bite you even 20 years later.

Classic Records with their enthusiasm (Remastering with Wilkinson, Rebuild of the original machines) created the real analog revival in the Digital Darkness.

Kudos to Hobson/Grundman

Acoustic Sounds recently bought Classic. Maybe something good will happen.

I agree with Syntax. The earlier ones were definitely better than these newer 200 grams, but not as good as the Chesky.

I also heard Scheherazade on Chesky and Classic and again, it is no contest. The Chesky blows it away. It was so obvious that my friend and I looked at each other and started laughing. My friend has top analog gear and he also noticed the overemphasized mids and highs on the Classic version. The older living stereo's sound very different from the Classic Reissues.

The Pines of Rome in the original release is amazing. I am not sure it is worth its price tag, but it blows away the Classic. It is just more natural sounding, more real sounding.

Classic says they use tubes on some of there reissues but it does not sound like they were used on all of them.

More than anything that I am annoyed with is the quality of the vinyl. It is just horrible and I did get a couple with fingerprints on them. I do agree with Elizabeth on that. Quality control is lacking as is customer service. They do not return emails.

Why is there so much gain on the Classic reissues? The 200 gram reissues in particular. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed it.

I also love the work that Kenneth Wilkinson did. He was amazing and quite arguably the best at what he did. I wish someone would release the Readers Digest Handels Messiah he engineered. That is a great recording, one of the best I have ever heard, except not on Dynagroove vinyl. You can get the Chesky CD but that is it. I would also like the Night On Bald Mountain with Sir Adrian Boult and the New Symphony Orchesrta of London. I always hear about Liebowitz and The Power of The Orchestra but the Boult version is incredible.

The Scheherazade from Chesky:
They used the pure 2-Track Tape without the - normally - added 3. channel. This means, the mid Part (left-mid-right) is not supported or 'pushed'. The result is, the listener gets a more realistic Soundstage. The recordings simply sounds more real. I also have the Chesky records. Outstanding good remasterings. A pity, they didn't made more.

The CR:
In a way they have to sound a bit different, mainly based on
- other pressing machines
- different cutting heads
- different power amps for those
- different cutting angles
- different Quality of Vinyl
and very important
- 30 years difference in the Age of the Tapes

Tapes are magnetic and this stored information is not stable. The loss of information is natural, specially in the extremes of both areas, maximum highs, lowest Bass.

(the faster they made the cutting process, the more dynamic are the records. The fastest from all was Bob Fine)

When the tapes were running on the Westrex / Scully now, you can choose different equalizations. but there never was a Standard for that. It was changed from time to time because something new came in, something different was tried, 1954-1959 it was the N.A.R.T Standard for magnetic Tapes, later NAB Standard...

When the tape is old, the noise (rush) will get louder...a remaster needs a lot of work to be done right, and in this chain a lot can be done wrong.
CR tried to do it as best as possible and based on the age of tapes, equipment, they made the best possible results (Chesky did go a different way). Wilkinson still had the datas of everything, they went back to these datas and some was made identical, and when not possible based on technical issues, they went as close as possible to the written datas.

What we got is still the impression what happened 30 years ago without wrong information, and let us not forget, for 29.99 $ we got a LSC-1817.
did you know what you had to pay for a mint copy 1993? 700+ USD and you had to say 5x"Thank you" to the Seller..

CR was so proud to go to RTI (I think, that was the one) for pressing, not knowing, that this company would ruin their name...