Classic Records 200g Quiex Vinyl - Who's Next

viridian,
appreciate the more detailed account you just gave. I totally believe what you are reporting and responded w/ a wisecrack last night because, in believing, I am then in that good ol predicament of not (likely) ever getting that best pressing for my own listening. also, I knew zilch about the uk pressings, bilbo or otherwise before this. although normally I have the highest regard for all things bilbo.
it is rare that I get what I know to be an actual first pressing of uk stuff. with the cat stevens i bought, someone guided me based on island label design/colour et al and when I heard them it so blew away all others that i assumed it was the real deal. the old us pressings of who lps have always let me down but the only supposed early uk who i have are mono copies of the 1st 3 lps and they ain't great. but who knows if they were the real deal. its become too costly for me to keep chasing elusive uk early pressings after being let down a few times. (I've been sorely disappointed by beatle pressings I've bought also -have what i know is an early uk white album and it's no big thrill at all). as with all these things, another early pressing made another day or on a dif machine may be incredibly good. its a crap shoot to some degree. i also have the experience of disagreeing with many about the ccr repressings from a couple years back. people LOVE them, but my early fantasy blue labels blow em away simply by virtue of sounding FRESH/in your face. the added detail of the repressings costs too dearly to my ear by loosing that "immediate" sonic signature. anywho...i am surprised how many people are reporting here what sound like consistent let-downs w/ the classic pressings, as i usually am happy with them.

Tfkaudio, like some other folks here, I adjust VTA for every record. It makes a significant difference in my system. If a standard weight LP (120-150gr) sounds good on your system, then the VTA is probably set for that thickness LP. If you don't adjust (as you described), you'll likely hear materially rolled off and dull highs and lack of resolution through the midrange on a 200gr LP. Different cartridges are more and less sensitive to VTA changes. On my Walker Proscenium with Magic Diamond cartridge, the differences with even minor VTA adjustments are profound. Clearly, ymmv but it's something to check.
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I was playing with the VTA today and it did make a difference. I was able to get Roger out of the basement, but he's still down the hallway. Unfortunately, the VPI Scoutmaster VTA adjustment is hard to fine tune. Makes me wish I had the JMW 10.5 or 12.5 arm, which has a really nice VTA mechanism.
If you start noticing sibilance, does that mean you've gone too high on the VTA?

Cheers.

sibilance can often be the side to side alignment being out of wack. never created any myself with vta though.

the new universal stuff and 4 men with beards have been pretty good. sundazed is a mixed bag(emough with the mono already).......dss is great, but very little rock and jazz....their Days of Future Passed and Wes Montgomery's Down Here On The Ground are must have's. most the classic and simply vinyl releases are mediocre. The 45rpm versions sound better, but only the very simple stuff(bill eveans trio) sounds borderline audiophile, plus they were created as long players with a true two sided beginning, middle, and end, which classic just disregards. the thinner pressings (120and 150 gram) from Japan are generally superb. take care of your records and they will take care of you.