Well, there've been so many complaints on the Hoffman forums that I had to check out my copy before Christmas. I don't want to have to return my son's gift and potentially upset him(he didn't know what the title was, only that it was a record his mom ordered).
First of all, the packaging and art work are outstanding, some of the best I've seen. I cleaned all four records on my Audio Desk before playing. They are all flat and look perfect(minimal dead wax run out confirmed). The overall look of the set would be hard to improve on.
So far I've played through nearly the whole set on two different cartridges and don't find the sound objectionable. I would say sound quality varies throughout with the "quieter" songs like 1979 sounding the best. The album needs to be played loud IMO to open up and I'm noticing none of the problems on the song Zero that have been mentioned. I hear very little surface noise and little distortion or break up even on the inner grooves thus far. This was never touted as an "audiophile" recording when it was made and to me it sounds like I would expect a SP album to sound.
This was an early pre-order through Sound Stage Direct so maybe it's from early in the run. Most complaints seem to come from those who got it on Amazon. Could Amazon have gotten a bad lot? I don't know. It's a beautiful set that I'll be keeping even if it's not exactly an audiophile demo disc. It's mighty pretty to look at too as I said.
First of all, the packaging and art work are outstanding, some of the best I've seen. I cleaned all four records on my Audio Desk before playing. They are all flat and look perfect(minimal dead wax run out confirmed). The overall look of the set would be hard to improve on.
So far I've played through nearly the whole set on two different cartridges and don't find the sound objectionable. I would say sound quality varies throughout with the "quieter" songs like 1979 sounding the best. The album needs to be played loud IMO to open up and I'm noticing none of the problems on the song Zero that have been mentioned. I hear very little surface noise and little distortion or break up even on the inner grooves thus far. This was never touted as an "audiophile" recording when it was made and to me it sounds like I would expect a SP album to sound.
This was an early pre-order through Sound Stage Direct so maybe it's from early in the run. Most complaints seem to come from those who got it on Amazon. Could Amazon have gotten a bad lot? I don't know. It's a beautiful set that I'll be keeping even if it's not exactly an audiophile demo disc. It's mighty pretty to look at too as I said.