Vinyl reissues

cmalak, I have purchased all the music matters and the first 3 AP Impulse 45 reissues.

I can not compare these to orginal pressings. So in this context, some of the music matters are simply stunning. Some are ok. None are bad. I am a little disspointed sound quality wise on the first 3 impulse's. I guess for $50, I hoped for stunning vs merely good.

The 4 Classic Clarity Vinyl reissues are very very good that I bought. I have 3 more on order.

Different take: it's the money!
If I can't afford an original 10" Blue note (try $200 plus each for a 'nearly' clean one) I will buy the reissue. The quality of the sound has no bearing on it.. it is just the money. (For the same resaon I have a LOT of Jazz on CD. It is hard to find some stuff on LP) I have hundreds of Jazz reissues because I could never afford the originals. As for Rock, most of the originals are available a lower prices than a reissue. For some that are not, I will buy the reissue ((Captain Beefheart is a good example: "Doc at the Radar Station" would cost as much used (for a not-so-pristine copy)as a new one.. if you could even FIND a used one!))
As LPs become 'all the rage' the supply of used (especially 'classic Rock") is disappearing. Thank Goodness I have most of what I want, and still live in an area with a bunch of decent used LP stores.
Classical music is a different beast altogether, and very very few reissues exist. Classical music has become a desert wilderness IMO.

Age and condition of master tape determines the outcome. With age most tapes deteriorate and the hall ambience is the first thing that is lost. Most reissues have fuller bass, better dynamics but the loss of ambience can make the original pressing preferable.

Yes. They will not sound the same as the originals. Different engineers & better equipment. They are getting more info from the source tapes and are being able to transfer that info to the master lacquer. These improvements change the sound quality for good or bad enough that they will not sound the same. Don't forget even though it does not seem it all the time, better quality control and a lot less pressings (2,000,000 or more to now 10,000) will also change the sound.

We also hear differences in the original releases. Records pressed from the first pressing sound differant than from say the 5th pressing of the same record pressed by the same company back in the day. Pressings also differ from country to country. Why pay more for a British release of a Beatles album if it sounded the same as an American release or why even want one for that matter. I think all records other than original first pressing from the country of origin ARE reissues and sound different. That's why people pay more money for an original pressing than even a second pressing of the same album - again, they sound different. IMHO.

I have NEVER heard a reissue that was better than a original, except for London records. London went to a much better cutting head in the early 70s and they reissued many earlier recordings with much better results.

As for the high priced 180gram current batch.I have heard a couple.One was so compressed by comparison to the original that it was embarrassing when the original was played next to it.My original was $15.00 off Ebay, the reissue was $50.00.

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