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The quest for the hot stamper or is it a myth

I have looked at Better Records and their belief is  they have actually found the holy grail of vinyl geeks. The mysterious hot stamper. A record that has no outside evidence what actual number pressing it is. 1000 records can be pressed from a stamper before it degrades the sound. Some manufacturers go up to 1500. I have a DCC Van Halen # 778 on the record jacket and it sounds phenomenal and it should by DCC. Of course if you have Led Zep II and Bob Ludwig is in the dead wax you have a winner. I bought a Marvin Gaye "What's Going On" this year and its sounds really amazingly good. I have the 2 CD extended set and best of on record and SACD. The record not only slays them but cuts it
them up into little bits pieces and feeds it to the wolves. No contest. The sax is smooth and detailed as silk and the intro to "Inner City Blues" just makes me want to hear that over and over again. Ok I assume it was a well engineered album to begin with. Chime in on the engineering. Does anyone else believe in the hot stamper and do you think you have one in your collection???????
128x128blueranger
catcher10's avatar
catcher10
48 posts
 
I think it is safe to say if they are charging $500 for a record, they probably spent $300 worth of records and time finding this one $500 record.
Would they buy my -1A/-1A records for $200 and I save them some work?? Prolly not..
...Buying 50 records for $40 and finding a VG++/NM copy and cleaning the krapp out of it and charging $400 for it is the better model.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
2,164 posts
 
IF I wasn’t drinking and playing Vinyl, I would put all that statistics and design of experiments education to work but as I stare into the deep well of Noir, my hunch is that n = 30 ain’t going to cut it for finding anything white hot, except within the same stamping lot.... 
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
324 posts
 
Got out my White Hot Stamper of Fleetwood Mac and played it again last night. Only the second time its been played. They give you 30 days to return, no questions asked, and I was actually thinking of doing that. I mean, $300 for a record! One record! Come on!

Playing it again last night, sad to say I'm actually a lot more impressed the second time around. First time, expectations were impossibly high. This time instead of getting all caught up in a direct head to head I just played a few sides of some really good records. More like a normal session. Lot more relaxed. Damn this thing sounds good.

Even the first side, which I know does not sound as good as the second. Side 2 is just otherworldly. 

Still I was thinking of returning it. They have another one, Side 1 is better but has a tick, so less money. But then instead of a great Side 2 I'd have a great Side 1. And a tick.

They just got in a Super Hot Stamper of Peter Gabriel So. Great album. Don't have one. Went looking on Discogs. Where absolutely unknown SQ runs $20 and up. Or $99 for a known Super Hot. Which they say, in addition to Super Hot SQ is pretty quiet.

Hate to say it, but these things sure seem to be fairly priced. The Super Hot So is on the way...
 
tablejockey
743 posts
 
Looks like someone is a convert.

But look, the super deluxe package for a little more...

http://www.elusivedisc.com/Peter-Gabriel-So-180g-2LP_4CD_2DVD-Box-Set/productinfo/EMILP80014/

The records would stay in their sleeves unplayed, but the rest looks interesting.

That is a great album. I don't have it on LP. On my hit list now.

Happy listening.





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