beatles-letter

Letter of the Week – “I did a lot of research on which pressing to purchase and nobody ever mentioned the version that you sell!”

Hot Stamper Pressings of Abbey Road Available Now

One our good customers wrote to tell us about his experience playing one of our Hot Stamper pressings of Abbey Road.

Hi Tom,

Tonight’s been really cool.

I got to hear Abbey Road in such a way that I had no idea existed. I put side one of the SHS I just got and my eyes popped out and my jaw dropped and I went ‘WTF’ was that.

Some of the extended bass rumbles on Come Together really made me smile and go ‘whoa.’

I know what my UK 1st pressing sounds like and I always thought that it was special in comparison to others l’d heard, like the MFSL and Japanese Pro Use.

So now I’m listening to yours somewhat in disbelief. The end of side one just about blew the windows out of the house! Then I put my UK copy on. By comparison, it just sounded flat… but on its own it sounds good.

What an amazing discovery. You are completely correct in your assessment of these ’69 UK pressings.

Thanks again,
Michel

P.S.

Over the last couple of years I did what I thought was a lot of research on which Abbey Road pressing to purchase for the best experience… and nobody ever mentioned the version that you sell.

Michel,

This letter warms our hearts. We’ve known that the original Abbey Road pressings are not the end-all and be-all that some audiophiles and record collectors think they are, and of course the same is true for the legendary Toshiba Pro-Use and MFSL discs.

Been there, done that, left them in the dust a long time ago. Now you know why. You own the pressing that trounces them all.

The fact that no one recommends the pressings we sell as superior to those commonly touted by the so-called experts just confirms that the work we do is difficult and simply cannot be accomplished without a staff and a budget, which, of course, no one in the audiophile or record collecting world has — staff or budget — besides us.

And that what we do is important. Essential even.

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More Customers Write Us About Our Amazing Pressings of Sgt. Pepper

beatlessgtHot Stamper Pressings of Sgt. Peppers Available Now

Below you will find some of the letters customers have sent us after hering one of our Hot Stamper reissue pressings of Sgt. Pepper. (More letters for the album can be found here.)

The Beatles are the only group to have their own page on the blog. No surprise there. We’ve written more about their music and sold more of their albums than we have for any other band.

Letter of the Week – “…you sell a product that is singular and unique. And completely worth every penny.”

Letter of the Week – “To this day, he refers to the wondrous sound he heard that night every time we get together.”


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Letter of the Week – “I needed a day to fully pick up my jaw from the floor after hearing Revolver and Dark Side…”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Pink Floyd Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about some Hot Stampers he purchased recently:

Hey Tom, 

I needed a day to fully pick up my jaw from the floor after hearing Revolver and Dark Side of the Moon.

Now that I‘ve given them both a few listens to fully absorb how revealing these recordings I thought I knew so well really are, I just have so many questions. 

How much better sounding can the respective White Hots really be?????

As far as Dark Side, I’m finding out for myself. Just ordered the white hot stamper. Most likely will be returning one of them, but I hope that after this, I will finally be able to stop looking for “the better sound” on this one….

Regarding Revolver, will the A++ side of my Revolver Super hot sound the same as the A++ side of the WHS? Or is the A++ grade on the WHS relative to its A+++ side, and still better than the SHS? What I am getting at is, will both sides blow me away in comparison to my SHS, or is it better to be patient and hold out for a two-sided A+++? Btw, regardless of your answer, you cannot have this copy back, it is simply fantastic!

I know these kinds of questions are quite relative to a number of variables, but any enlightenment you can provide is welcome…. I appreciate what you do, you have gained a very happy customer. (more…)

Letter of the Week – “…this copy blows the sonics of my old press away.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of David Bowie Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about some Hot Stampers he purchased recently:

Hey Tom, 

I’ve been meaning to write to thank you for the magic you and your team create. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but it is mindblowing to hear the music that comes from even just Hot and Supers. I still haven’t crossed the Rubicon into Whites. 

I have been lucky enough to have vintage pressings passed down to me from family. And while I started hearing the difference as soon as I started cleaning those old presses vs. new “remastered” ones, this small sample from your team is incredible!

Abbey at Hot is incredible! Frankly I admired the album, now it’s one of my favorites! I’m not even a huge Beatles guy, haha (Thanks for that!)

Purple Rain at Super knocked out the vintage and remastered copies that I own.

Zep I is terrific. (Weirdly on my system, “Good Times” is the least mindblowing, but “Dazed” and all of Side 2 is crazy!)

Perhaps the best sounding so far is “Ziggy,” like you said. I own a pristine vintage press passed down and this copy I got from you blows the sonics of my old press away.

Anyway, thanks again! (more…)

Letter of the Week – “I would have paid $15,000 for this feeling had I known it was there”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of The Beatles Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about his Hot Stamper copy of Let It Be that he purchased recently:

Hey Tom, 

Wow, yep! This Let It Be Hot Stamper is doing what it’s supposed to. I haven’t felt this way in a long time. It’s INSANELY good!

I would have paid $15,000 for this feeling had I known it was there. No, I’m not going to. I’m just sayin’.

Absolutely gorgeous.

Billy M.

Billy,

Thanks for writing. That’s exactly what we are going for, feelings that are so powerful they’re like hearing the record for the first time. Those feelings are priceless, although $15k is probably not too far off.

The lifeless reissues they put out year after year do nothing but keep audiophiles from experiencing the record the way it was meant to be heard.

If you want to dig a pony, you can’t do it without a properly-mastered, properly-pressed vintage UK LP, which are the only ones we offer. Accept no substitutes. We don’t.

That’s why we think the music of The Beatles is an audiophile wake up call.

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Letter of the Week – “…an album I know very well, and thought I already had some good pressings of it.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of Sgt. Peppers’ Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about some Hot Stampers he purchased a while ago:

Hey Tom,   

I recently received my first LP from your company, and you will see from the attached photo that Sergeant Peppers is an album I know very well, and thought I already had some good pressings of it.

Your copy in Super Hot Stamper takes so many layers away and opens you up to the actual recording as it was intended by The Beatles, George Emerick and George Martin.

I can’t even imagine what it would sound like in White Hot, just can’t really afford them… (yet)

Kind regards,
Antoine

Antoine,

That’s great news, glad you were pleased with the sound of our Super Hot Stamper Pepper. The best pressings do indeed remove many layers and show you the sound of the real tape.

Thanks for your support and for doing your own shootout, because, as we all know, hearing is all it takes.

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Letter of the Week – “I feel like I wasted a lot of money on inferior albums. I will continue to make wise purchases from you.”

beatlessgt

Hot Stamper Pressings of Sgt. Peppers… Available Now

The continuing story of one man’s quest to find better sounding Beatles albums. His story can be seen below. Here is the latest back and forth concerning The Beatles, a band we think we know something about.

Hi Tom
I think I have purchased 6 albums from you. Obviously I believe in your company! Could you tell me which Beatles albums that you test have the best sound.

Our Top 100 Rock and Pop list would include many of the best sounding Beatles albums. There are currently six on the list.

I have the Sgt Pepper, White, Help, and a Hard Days Night. I have the Beatles Mono Box set which I purchased new. I agree with you that the stereo versions purchased from you are superior.

That stereo set is a bad joke played on the record loving public, and the mono set is every bit as bad.

Dead as a doornail. A complete ripoff. Here is my review.

I am not impressed by the MOFI pressings.

For the most part neither are we.

I am still checking each day hoping I won’t miss out on a good Abbey Road pressing.

We almost always have them in stock these days. Our selection can be found here.

I always get great info and service from you. I feel like a wasted a lot of money on inferior albums.

I will continue to make wise purchases from you. I am trying to spread the word around here to check out Better Records.

Thanks for your kind thoughts and for spreading the word. Perhaps someone you know will be saved the expense of buying inferior Heavy Vinyl pressings. We review the worst of them here, so just point him to this blog and perhaps you will be able to help a fellow audiophile get Better Records.

And of course the best way to help your fellow audiophiles is by letting them hear your Hot Stamper pressings. That’s the only surefire way we know of to convince the skeptics. One listen to your Sgt. Pepper should be all it takes.

Tom

Below is Edward’s original conversation with us. (more…)

Letter of the Week – “I cannot recall a purchase that’s made me happier since I went back to vinyl a year ago. It’s THAT good.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of Sgt. Peppers Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about some Hot Stampers he purchased a while ago:

Hey Tom, 

You’ve done it again. I thought the Hot Stamper copy I bought back in June sounded extraordinary. But this White Hot Stamper puts it to shame. This is truly unbelievable.

Paul’s bass on the opening track blew me away. Ringo’s drums are so strong it’s scary. I ALMOST had to turn it down (I live in a top-floor apartment and push my neighbors below me right to the edge), but screw it, this sounds so good at my regular listening volume I’ll happily put up with a complaint if I must. Hell, I’ll invite him in and put him in The Chair, and that’ll be the end of THAT.

And you weren’t kidding about George’s vocals and his sitar on Within You, Without You. That’s always been one of my least-favorite cuts on the album, but I’ll skip it no longer.

I cannot recall a purchase that’s made me happier since I went back to vinyl a year ago. It’s THAT good.

Now what am I gonna do with this Hot Stamper copy I bought back in June? It’s been played twice since you sent it. Come to think of it, I’m keeping it as an insurance policy, just in case. You never know!

Thanks, gentlemen. Exquisite, just exquisite.

Bill P.

Bill,

Fantastic news, we could not be happier for you.

Within You Without You has always been a favorite of mine. I never got around to writing about playing a very special copy many years ago, probably in 2007.

I played a copy of the album that magically — or so it seemed — created a swirling cloud of sitar harmonics floating above the speakers, close to the ceiling, something I had never heard before I hooked up the Townshend Super Tweeters and started cleaning records with the Prelude System and the Odyssey machine.

All those changes revealed top end information I had simply no idea existed on the record.

With all those changes to the system and cleaning, it was only a matter of time until the right reissue pressing came along to show me what I had never heard before.

I can still remember the experience very clearly. You never forget the feeling you get from something like that.

Right around that time I heard a pressing of Meddle with the same mind-boggling extension going all the way up into the stratosphere. That one I did write about.

White Hot Stamper pressings have long been known to have a powerful effect on those who play them. To back up everything we say, here is a sampling of some of the letters we’ve received, sounding very much like your own.

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Letter of the Week – “I dropped the needle on side one and started singing by the end of the first verse.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Neil Young Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about some Hot Stampers he purchased recently (emphasis added):

Hey Tom,  

Two fantastic finds; well done once again. The After the Gold Rush you sent is incredibly revealing. The pressing removed the veil. This LP typically sounds dull and I don’t mean the songs.

I dropped the needle on side one and started singing by the end of the first verse. I had planned to have a critical listen first as I always do, so I have a reference in which to make comparisons. If an album is great I start to sing the second time thru. That should tell you what I think of this pressing.

When I played my copy it lasted one verse and one chorus before it was removed from the platter. Exceptional pressing!!! 

Re: Rubber Soul. I have 3 copies of this LP, all Parlophone and all earlier pressings than the one I purchased from you. One doesn’t really count because it is from the very first pressings that had problems.

However, the other 2 are very good pressings. One is very transparent but extremely bass shy. The other is very much the opposite. It has lots of whomp but is grainy.

The pressing from Better Records is beautifully transparent, especially in the voice, and is nowhere near as bass shy.

I believe that being closest to the source usually reveals more accuracy.

That goes for most every discipline of study. This pressing, though not being the actual closest, was the winner. Go figure!

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Letter of the Week – “I must say this is being quite an experience which I am enjoying very much.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Jethro Tull Available Now

Our customer Michel wrote to tell us how much he likes some of his Hot Stamper pressings after doing shootouts with others he owns, including a number of audiophile pressings.

Hi Tom,

I finally was able to spend the time to listen and compare my last three purchases. I must say this is being quite an experience which I am enjoying very much.

First up was Aqualung.

So here I did something backwards, as I listened to yours first, instead of the other way around. At first I thought it sounded thin and lacking. I discovered that this particular lp needed the gain controls to be turned up almost all the way in order to reveal itself. This was key. I did of course match volume when I compared the other pressings.

The more I put on the Classic 200gm or the DCC or the UK first press, or the MFSL, or another early US pressing, the better your LP sounded!

This is the very best I have ever heard Aqualung. Truly a stunning experience. This is how it is meant to be heard. Super happy with this one. Thank You.

Second was Stand Up.

Here I went back to normal and listened to my copies first which didn’t include anything of note except for the AP 45rpm. I found that for a UK Jethro Tull pressing the bass was indeed more boomy and warm than normal, which is nice.

I did find it lacking in oomph, but more importantly for me is the tone. The US LPs of the time have that warm deep fuzzy bass that oozes out of the speakers. I couldn’t find that with this UK copy.

It reminded me of the UK first press Aqualung in this regard. I would like to return it.

Third up was Let It Be.

So I had previously determined that the SHS [A++] Let it Be I had purchased prior was indeed the best copy I’d ever heard. So now I bought the WHS and have finally put it to the test here in the mountains.

OMG the woods cried out “play it again, play it again”!

This indeed is one truly amazing pressing. Its like listening to the master tape. I don’t know what else to say… speechless.

Simply dramatic warmth, clarity, punch, dynamic range, and the vinyl is so quiet.

This is truly super worthy of the WHS badge… it just took all the good stuff from the SHS and dialed it all in perfectly and then gave it a little caffeine.

What an amazing discovery BR has made here. I’m so glad I was able to purchase this one.

Who would have ever known it could get this good.

As an individual trying to figure this out, my experience says the chances of success are less than 4%, which is why your business model is working. Like one of your customers wrote “I now have twelve copies in total… eleven of them are useless”.

For every BR lp I’ve purchased there are multiple copies going in the sell pile.

Once again, many thanks!
Michel

Michel,

Glad you liked your Hot Stamper pressings of Aqualung and Let It Be.

As for Stand Up, it has been more than a decade since we played a domestic pressing of Stand Up that could do what the better imports can do. Here is an old commentary to that effect.

Down the road, as you continue to improve your playback, at some point you should probably try another one of our Hot Stamper import pressings of Stand Up. On our system it’s no contest.

And of course we stand behind the copy we sent you with a money back guarantee, so of course you can return it.

Best, TP

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