I have listened on $100,000 systems, all the way down to portable units, solid state and tube and there is no denying this is the definitive vinyl version..... and again for 25.00. What a bargain.
Maybe all you did was look at that Rhino sticker and think back to the Grateful Dead records they did a few years ago (horrible) and just assumed this wasn't up to Better Records standards.
Thanks for reading. I enjoy your e mails and store....
Tom
Tom,
We don't review records based on their labels or stickers. And of course we never assume anything about the sound of a record.
We talk about this stuff all the time. Here's a relevant quote:
My approach to reviewing records is pure skepticism: a record sounds good if it sounds good, regardless of how it was made, who made it, or why. I've heard lots of expensive so-called audiophile equipment do a pretty poor job of making music over the years, the owners of which had an armful of reasons for why the sound should be truly awe-inspiring. But it just wasn't. Most fancy gold faceplates are nothing but lipstick on a pig in my opinion.
I heard Blue poorly reproduced at a friend's house, and this is probably the best explanation for this letter writer's inability to understand our position on Blue.
And paying $250 for a White Label Demo that apparently doesn't sound good is the height of audiophile collector foolishness. That money should have gone for better equipment or room treatments or tweaks, something, anything, to make this guy's stereo and room work better than they do.
Actually this brings up a good point. If I had to choose one record that separates the men from the boys, the stereos that really work from the phony, lifeless audiophile systems you might read about in the magazines or hear at an audio show, Blue would be a darn good choice.
The problem there is that you have to be one serious record collector to have a great copy of Blue. But good pressings are out there, if you can clean and play them properly. This is why we created the Blue Game. It can be done, and we can help you get there, but most of the work has to be done by you.
Naturally we are happy to do the shootouts for you and charge you the pretty penny the winners command, but for those of you who want to find out what's wrong with the new Blue and don't want to buy a Hot Stamper from us, there is a third way: Blue, The Game.
