The quest for the hot stamper or is it a myth

Anyone seriously bothered by surface noise can easily eliminate it. But then they have to be able to tolerate listening to CDs. 

One of the recommended listening tweaks on Better Records is to demagnetize before listening. They recommend the Talisman, basically an egregiously overpriced demagnetizer. I already have the more powerful, effective, and much more affordable Radio Shack Bulk Tape Eraser, which for years I have used on records and CDs. While I haven't the foggiest idea why (there is nothing in vinyl to demagnetize) the fact is it does work- but not for long. Which is why I found it very interesting that Tom Port says they always demagnetize within 10 minutes of critical listening. 

For years I thought about using this on my speaker cables, etc. But I never bothered because I already have the XLO test CD with its demagnetizing tracks that work on the whole system. So why bother? Well last night I did bother and wow, what an improvement! Takes a while because its designed for 1 min on 30 min off, shutting itself off it it gets too warm, so that it took a while to do the whole system. But just doing the speaker cables was enough to keep me going. Could not believe how much it cleaned up and extended across the board but especially the top end. 

Its the stories like this, telling people to disconnect appliances, and warm
up the system, and demagnetize within 10 minutes, that tells me the guy is legit. But still, to be worth it, its got to be way more than the difference between normal crap pressings and some of the really good ones I already have. For that you only need to try a few examples, or just buy the MoFi or whatever. For the money I paid it needs to be well and truly beyond a shadow of a doubt beyond that. 

I have the system. I have the ears. Tonight we find out.

love the comparison to the master tape....huh ?

and yes I do have a high speed Revox, which is another expensive habit....

@millercarbon.  have fun !!!!!! that is afterall the objective
anxious to hear what you discover

Okay so here's the deal on the Hot Stamper. Its a made up marketing phrase that Better Records uses to grade their premium grade vinyl. Hot Stamper is the lowest, then Super hot, and White Hot Stamper is their highest, supposedly the next best thing to the master tape. The Fleetwood Mac I'm reviewing is a White Hot Stamper.

One of the core tenets of this whole thing is the belief that no two records are the same. No two sides either, for that matter. As unlikely as this seems it's certainly been demonstrated to me very clearly. Over the last week or so I have compared copies of some dupes and even when everything looked like it should be the same it wasn't. Plus wait till I tell you what I heard on Fleetwood Mac!

But first, the unpacking. The record comes in a bubble-wrap lined box and securely sandwiched between two sheets of cardboard. The LP in its own excellent sleeve is outside the cover, the cover and the sleeve both within a thick mil clear plastic sleeve. Unlike most outer sleeves this is the kind of thing you might actually want to keep and use. 

Inside this was the most time-capsule preserved album cover you ever saw. Seriously. The original owner, whoever it was, had carefully cut along the edge leaving the original shrink wrap in place. Definitely the original shrink wrap. It had the look and the feel. Just one tiny little tear on a corner. Unbelievable. The artwork, everything about it, couldn't have looked any better back in the summer of 75. Wouldn't surprise me if some would consider it worth the money just for the cover.

The LP itself wasn't nearly as impressive to look at. Came out of the sleeve clean as a whistle but showing a patina of spidery hairlines. But I bought it to play not look at.

My system's been tweaked and tuned a lot the last few months, but not the last week or so as I've just been listening and enjoying and getting used to the fruits of all that tweaking and tuning. The Herron has been on since I got it about two months ago, I turned the amp on a good hour before, demagnetized, and then played a side of The Ghost of Tom Joad to make sure the Koetsu was nice and ready.

Should probably mention a list of recommended listening tips including warm-up, demagnetizing, and more came with the LP.

The first track, Monday Morning, never has sounded that great to me and didn't here either. Definitely better than the vintage copy I have, for sure, but nothing to write home about. Warm Ways always sounded a lot better on my copy and does here as well. There's a lot more "there" there, especially in terms of detail and vocal presence. Its just a lot more believable presentation.

I want to take a minute and explain what I mean by that. I hadn't bothered to demagnetize my system in quite a while. Oh, I played the XLO demagnetizing tracks recently. Definitely makes a difference. But I also have the Radio Shack Bulk Tape Eraser, a powerful handheld unit that can be used to demagnetize everything from speaker cables and interconnects to tubes, records, and CDs. When I used that for the first time in like forever the improvement was .... a lot. 

In other words, Side One of the White Hot Stamper was better than my old vintage copy by about the same amount as I can get by demagnetizing everything. A really nice improvement. Definitely noticeable. Not great. A lot.

Side Two, according to Better Records, is supposed to be a little better.

No, don't think so. Not even close. Side Two to my ears is a LOT better. Hugely better. Like two completely different LPs better. Better dynamics, better bass, midrange, better detail. Not all the way across, but not by some small amount you could match with a few tweaks either. Or any tweaks! Side Two is just a whole different animal.

The first track, again, not quite so much. But Landslide, oh my God! I was darn near agape at the sound of that guitar, the vocals, everything. Only thing I have even comes close to this is the MoFi 45 of Brothers in Arms. Even then its apples to oranges, Knopfler not as palpably "there". Probably shouldn't even mention it, except I'm scrambling for something, anything people might be familiar with to use as a reference. When the truth is, honestly, its hard to believe any record could ever sound this good. All I can think is, every over the top glowing review you can find on Better Records, this must be what they're talking about.

The next track, World Turning, is just as good. Rythmic bass drive like I never heard. Right up there with Landslide. The rest of the side, hard to say. Overshadowed comes to mind. Or as Tom Port puts it, Landslide is a masterpiece and "a real high point for side two." For sure.

So there's one White Hot Stamper experience for people to consider. Just below White Hot is Super Hot, and then Hot. Keep that in mind. The copy I had was purchased used based on appearance not sound, yet one side of my White Hot Stamper wasn't really a whole lot better. The other side though, two tracks anyway, darn near priceless. It seems clear there is a lot of variability even after going through their selection process. This combined with the fact some people may by sheer random chance have  managed to score a really good pressing is enough to account for dorkwads experience, as he describes above.
 

Was the deadwax scraped or somehow obliterated on that copy you got from TP?