Hot Stamper Pressings of Direct-to-Disc Recordings Available Now
After doing our first shootout many years ago for the record that single-handedly introduced the audiophile community to Direct to Disc recording, Lincoln Mayorga and Distinguished Colleagues, Volume One, I have to confess I was taken aback by the significant pressing variations we heard among the copies we played,
These LPs are all over the map sonically.
Some Sheffield pressings are aggressive, many of them are dull and lack the spark of live music, some of them have wonky bass or are lacking in the lowest octave — they are prey to every fault that befalls other pressings, direct to disc and otherwise.
Which should not be too surprising. Records are records. Pressing variations exist for every album ever made. If you haven’t noticed that yet, start playing multiple copies of the same album while listening carefully and critically. If your stereo is any good at all, it should not take you long to notice how different one record sounds from another in practically every case.
Biggest problems on S9?
I would have to say smear is Number One.
When the brass loses its bite and the bells don’t have the percussive quality of metal being struck, this is not a good thing. The band also seems to lose energy when the pressing suffers from smear.
Number Two would be a lack of top end extension.
The harmonics of the sax and trumpet are muted on some copies, and the harpsichord really suffers when the top end isn’t all there. This lack of extension is most noticeable on all the lovely bells and percussion instruments that pepper the soundstage, but you can actually hear it on practically every instrument once you recognize the problem. It’s there on guitar harmonics, cymbals and snares, and on down the list.
Linked here are other records that are good for testing these same shortcomings:
- More records that are good for testing smear
- More records that get good for testing high frequency extension
We are big fans of Mayorga’s music for Sheffield from back in the day; all three of the Distinguished Colleagues recordings are fun and boast amazing sound when you get the right pressing.
We do Hot Stamper shootouts for all of them on a regular basis; it’s shocking how much better some copies sound compared to others. If you want the amazing sound that the Direct to Disc recording technology promises, we know of no other way to get it than by cleaning, playing and evaluating the discs themselves.
Further Reading
- More reviews and commentaries for direct to disc recordings
- Do I already have some Hot Stamper pressings in my collection?
- Record collecting for audiophiles – a guide to understanding the fundamentals
