More Hot Stamper Testimonial Letters
Hey Tom,
Several weeks ago I read your blog article about a person named Ray that sent you an interesting letter a while back. I had to laugh and shake my head after reading the content. To accuse anyone of being jealous of another is quite childish!
If anything here, Ray seems to be the one who is jealous and probably has never heard a genuine Hot Stamper on a quality sound system. It’s my understanding you have 40 years of research and experience doing what you do.
The record companies are giants and we, the consumer, have been, unfortunately, at their mercy. Myself included. Until now.
Ray and all others like him need to know that those of us out there in the world that listen to music (vinyl) passionately need to know the truth about the deception, propaganda, lies and crappy sounding records that the record companies are selling to an uninformed public.
There is a local business in this area that caters to the wealthier side of town in audio. I had a conversation with the owner a while back and these people are 100% convinced and brainwashed that all the remastered Heavy Vinyl pressings are the best thing ever…
Obviously they haven’t heard a hot stamper on one of those pricey systems. They are so convinced that they will not keep an open mind for a different view.
One thing I have noticed in the audiophile community, way too many egos that don’t want to be bruised or admit to something that’s not theirs. May the force be with all of us who listen to hot stampers.
Thx
Mike P.
Mike,
Thanks so much for your letter.
How anybody is fooled by the awful sound of the currently available Heavy Vinyl releases is hard to fathom, but I bought into that crap in the 90s, so who am I to talk? I was as lost as anyone. It took a lot of time and effort to figure out how wrong I was.
Yes, I had to work to figure all this stuff out, but it’s just not in the cards for most audiophiles and never will be.
None of that stops us from enjoying great vintage vinyl, so I don’t let it bother me.
Here is hoping the new year brings health and happiness to you and yours and lots of great music.
TP
Mike replied:
Thanks for your feedback. I do truly appreciate it, especially because you have done the homework and the result is hot stampers. Yeah baby!
I have a friend who has been into vinyl since high school as I have. Back in the mid-70s. We reunited our friendship about 5 years ago and he has been an inspiration for the sound system I have today. We enjoy listening sessions at each other’s place, especially now that my system has reached a high level of sound quality.
However, there is a big difference in philosophy and quality of sound in our systems. He insists on listening to vintage domestic copies (not hot stampers) and remastered heavy vinyl. Also, he is using EQ (compressed and lifeless) and a DAC in his tape loop for the turntable circuit.
It is truly painful for me to listen to his system. I used to think it was awesome!
Because he is so set in his ways and not open to suggestion, his sound will never change. I have talked to him about hot stampers and even brought a couple copies over to play. He has closed his mind to a better thing and will not consider spending $ on them.
Back to my comment about how many audiophiles out there have this ego thing that will keep them from ever experiencing what I have on my system with hot stampers!
Mike
Mike, anyone in audio who is set in his ways and refuses to open his ears is doomed to a life of mediocre quality playback.
I heard it everywhere I went until I finally just gave up going to places just to hear more mediocre sound.
I’m glad I went where I did and found what I found — the EAR 324P, the Legacy speakers — but, to be honest, most of what I ended up with I found as a matter of good friends and good fortune.
I just happened to have very good luck. And two open ears. Not everybody does.
I consider myself very fortunate. Thanks again for writing,
TP
Further Reading
Below you will find our reviews and commentaries for the hundreds of Heavy Vinyl pressings we’ve played over the years.
We confess that even as recently as the early 2000s we were still impressed with the better Heavy Vinyl pressings. If we’d never made the progress we’ve worked so hard to make over the course of the last twenty or more years, perhaps we would find more merit in the Heavy Vinyl reissues so many audiophiles are impressed by these days.
We’ll never know of course; that’s a bell that can be unrung. We did the work, we can’t undo it, and the system that resulted from it is merciless in revealing the truth — that these newer pressings are second-rate at best and much more often than not third-rate and even worse.
Some audiophile records sound so bad, I was pissed off enough to create a special list for them.
Setting higher standards — no, being able to set higher standards — in our minds is a clear mark of progress. Judging by the hundreds of letters we’ve received, especially the ones comparing our records to their Heavy Vinyl and Half-Speed mastered counterparts, we know that our customers see — and hear — things the same way.
Mike,
I share your frustrations with the audiophile community. Those of us who have heard what a Hot Stamper can do with quality playback can only shake our heads in disbelief when others choose what qualifies as audiophile sound these days over true fidelity in reproduction.
I hope you’ll join the proud few of us who have taken up the baton from Tom and feel compelled to continue forging the path forward that he laid out for us. That’s what my website is all about, and I can only hope that if enough of us follow this path, others will eventually tag along.
Robert,
You know better than almost anyone that the work needed to get a stereo to a place where modern records sound as inferior as we know them to be requires real effort and commitment. This kind of commitment of both money and time is simply beyond the casual audiophile enthusiast. A visit to the Hoffman forum will make this clear to any who doubt the truth of this statement.
Getting good at audio requires dedication and money, both of which are in short supply. You’ve shown it can be done, but go back and look at where you started and see just how much of both it took to get you to the place you are now. A tiny fraction of audiophiles have the drive and resources to do the work you and a handful of others have done.
And of course if you go about any of this stuff the wrong way, no amount of time and money can will be able to overcome a bad approach.
I’m glad I was able to help guide you and some others in the right direction. That is what makes the time and hard work you’ve put in actually pay off. This, in turn, creates a virtuous circle, one that insures you will enjoy the music you love even more.
Thanks for writing.
TP