Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Supertramp Available Now

Sonic Grade: F

This title is yet another Half-Speed we think belongs in our audiophile hall of shame.

It’s better suited to the stone age stereos of decades past. I should know — my system in 1976 was one-tenth as revealing as the one we use now.

But this pressing is so awful even my old system could not be fooled by this kind of audiophile BS sound. The console you see pictured might be the ideal system to play it. Hard to say, I haven’t heard one of those since the 60s.

It is just ridiculous that someone would consider marketing this kind of sound to audiophiles.

So washed out, brittle, thin and lifeless, it practically defies understanding that anyone with two working ears ever considered calling this piece of crap an “audiophile” record.

But are today’s remastered records marketed to those looking for superior sound any better? Not the ones we’ve played recently. (If you know of any good ones, please drop us a line.)

Is this A&M pressing the worst version of the album ever made? It’s hard to imagine it would have much competition.

If you don’t think the major labels had anything but contempt for audiophiles, play this pressing and see for yourself the kind of garbage they were happy to pawn off on a far-too-credulous audiophile “community.”

Speaking of the audiophile community, was there ever such a thing?

There is now of course, Hoffman’s forum being the most popular. There you will find self-described audiophiles defending the indefensible at every turn.

I am happy to report that the threads mentioning — sorry, I meant to say bashing — Hot Stampers are some of the most popular. Here’s a good one, and there are plenty more like it.

Notes from Discogs

Audiophile Series, pressed in Japan on virgin vinyl.

Issued in a gatefold jacket with gold series emblem embossed on front cover.

Issued in plastic outer sleeve, with series sticker enclosure and “Presse au Japon / Pressed in Japan” sticker.

1/2 speed cutting from the original stereo tapes on the JVC Cutting Center audiophile half speed mastering system by Darrell Johnson.

Printed on back sleeve:

Audiophile Series

The Audiophile process produces a superb master from which this record is manufactured on the purest possible anti-static vinyl. The cutting of the master from the original stereo tapes is performed at half the normal speed, the velocity of the cutting stylus being dramatically reduced results in a more faithful cutting of heavily modulated passages and the general extension of the frequency range.

A&M Records’ Audiophile Series provides extremely high fidelity sound reproduction, remarkably clear and distinct, virtually free of surface and background noise.

---