More of the Music of Black Sabbath
More Hot Stamper Pressings of Classic Rock Recordings
The domestic copies we’ve played over the years for all the Black Sabbath titles are clearly better sounding than any import we’ve ever auditioned. It may be counterintuitive but these are exactly the kinds of things you find out when doing blinded shootouts.
We have little use for intuitions (UK recording, UK pressing) and rules of thumb (original = better sound). We call that way of approaching the search for better sounding pressings mistaken audiophile thinking.
Hard data — the kind you get from actually playing the records — trumps them all.
Want to find your own killer copy?
Consider taking our moderately helpful advice for how to find your own shootout winners.
As of 2024, shootouts for this album should be carried out:
How else can you hear them right?
Based on what were the winners of our most recent shootout, Paranoid should sound its best: