Pursuing Perfect Sound with ab_ba
[UPDATE: You might find the comments at the end of this one interesting.]
Contemplating trying a money-back-guaranteed Hot Stamper pressing?
Our customer ab_ba has some advice on a good way to go about it. He writes:
Pick out a hot stamper on the better-records site.
Choose something you know well, that you already have a few copies of.
Pick a Super Hot Stamper, so it’s not absurdly expensive.
First, see how it compares to your other copies. If it’s not as good, send it back, full refund, no questions asked.
Next, look at the matrix number on the hot stamper, and buy three copies on discogs in NM or VG+ condition with the same matrix. Or, go hunt around your local shop for same.
Then, once you get them, clean them to the best of your ability and then do another shootout. Just do it quick – you’ve got 29 days.
If you prefer one to your hot stamper, send back the hot stamper. No questions asked, and thank Tom for the matrix number.
I’ve done this a couple of times, and every time, I’ve kept the hot stamper. Wasted my time and money is all I did. That, and convinced myself Tom’s records are worth what he charges, in that I can’t get records that sound that good for less money.
ab_ba,
Good advice, let’s hope some folks out there in audiophile land take it. They might just find the world of better sound that’s waiting for them the way you did. And if not, then they get their money back, no harm, no foul.
Further Reading
This seems to confirm what one can learn from other blogs from Tom, even if you have identified the right pressing and stampers you still only have a 10-20% chance of having something SHS, NWHS, or WHS. I assume with certain albums the odds are even lower…
Those odds are very title dependent. The right stampers for albums with one set of stampers that always win shootouts will win 75-100% of the time, if you can clean them right. If you can’t clean them the way we do, played against our copies they would win 0% of the time.
Once you have the stereo, the cleaning system and follow all the protocols, and have good listening skills, your chances with the best stampers are at least 50% for practically any title, and probably more.
So it “seems” Aaron isn’t cleaning them as well as you (tall order). He is listening to them on his system so that is the same for all regardless whether it is up to your standards…
More than a couple of times he bought 3 copies at VG+ or better with the same stampers. In all cases he seemed to prefer your record (SHS) to the new 3. Your odds would imply him matching or bettering at least one of his tests. So the detailed time consuming cleaning process (partially disclosed) is key edge.
I remember you mentioning how your cleaning process improved and that changed the landscape for albums like Sticky Fingers. Not sure if this altered the stampers or just took the best stampers to an entire new level, I suspect the ladder.
Thank you again for sharing..
The bottom line is that cleaning records often takes them to another level, one that you really can’t get to without all the expense and hassle of doing it right.
And note that some of the cleaning technologies we use we do not reveal. Even if you follow our advice, it won’t take you all the way to where we are.
Audiophiles who tout some pressings over others, but fail to mention how they cleaned them or played them or what they listened for, are basically giving their readers at most 5% of the information they would need in order to know if their recommendation has any practical value.
On the forums, I read a post by a guy who took my advice. He bought a hot stamper for $100, then bought the same deadwax on Discogs for $40. He mixed them up so he wouldn’t know which was which. He found your copy superior. His conclusion? “Now I know it’s for real, but I don’t think I’ll be buying any more…”
Unfortunately, the whole thread got deleted, so it’s not like you can go read it for yourself.
Dear ab_ba,
A hundred dollars? For one used record? Of course he’s not buying another one. He was crazy to buy the first one. No record is worth that.
Or at least that’s what I would expect to read in the follow-up comments.
On a more serious note, our Hot Stamper pressing could’ve been a lot better than the one this person bought off Discogs, a little better, or possibly even no better.
That’s because nothing you read on the Hoffman forum can be taken seriously. The stereos these folks have – I’m assuming since all the evidence points in that direction and no evidence points in any other direction — are not capable of reproducing music at a very high level.
You’ll notice very a few of them ever talk about their stereos, about the improvements they’ve made to their stereos, or the very idea of challenging themselves to make improvements to their stereos.
This is because that’s not what the forum is for.
The forum is for people to exchange opinions and information about software.
The fact that the software is being placed into the equivalent of an out of date, poorly functioning old computer doesn’t seem to interest anyone.
And why should it?
All that stereo stuff costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time. It requires a big room that I suspect few of the people on the forum have access to.
They’d be required to pull their speakers out from the wall and find another place to put the TV and that is just not in the cards.
For that and many other reasons that nobody really wants to hear about, they are in no position to make any judgments about the sound of recordings on any format.
You don’t have to read too many postings to get a painfully clear picture of how hard these folks have worked in their pursuit of audio excellence.
Thanks for writing,
Best, TP