hv-letter

Letters from customers who’ve compared our Hot Stamper pressings to their Heavy Vinyl counterparts.

Letter of the Week – “It was a happy revelation to get Monk flying again on your Hot Stamper.”

More of the Music of Thelonious Monk

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

Note that he owns the kind of audiophile pressing that seems to be all the rage, but, at least in this case, turns out to be just another example of the emperor’s new clothes.

         Hey Tom, 

The Thelonious Monk is AMAZING. If you ever get another 3/3/3/3 of that, I’ll pay almost anything : )

(I also have a MoFi Ultradisc One Step of Monk’s Dream, which I can barely stand to listen to — just boring, so it was a happy revelation to get Monk flying again on your Hot Stamper.)

Hello,

Thanks for writing. A boring MoFi? Say it isn’t so!

By definition, boring records do not have Hot Stampers. We made that point about a Shootout Winning copy of Revolver way back in 2007.

At the risk of being definitive about things that are better left ill-defined,I would say that the Number One quality we look for in a pressing is the element of Life or Energy.

We can put up with many shortcomings, including even some tonality problems, but when a record fails to convey the spirit and enthusiasm of the musicians, it’s pretty much over.

The Monk record we sent you seems to have gotten Monk flying again, and what could be better than that?

Best, TP

PS

If you are still buying these modern pressings, take the advice of some of our customers and stop throwing your money away on Heavy Vinyl and Half-Speed Masters.

At the very least let us send you a Hot Stamper pressing — of any album you choose — that can show you what is wrong with your copy. And if for some reason you do not find that our record sounds better than yours, we will happily give you all your money back and wish you the best.

Letter of the Week – “I need to catch my breath here.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Led Zeppelin Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about the Hot Stamper Zep II he purchased recently, and we exchanged quite a few emails about his findings. 

As promised, we had given him a free copy of the Jimmy Page remaster so that he could compare the two, something we have always encouraged our customers to do, especially in this case.

Tom,

I need to catch my breath here. I rushed home to compare the two Zep 2s you sent. I played Whole Lot of Love on the Jimmie Page cut, then on the WH stamper. I was…stunned. Then I  asked my wife to come in to listen. She’s not a Led Zeppelin fan, so I said “Just listen to a minute of each track”. I played a minute of the Jimmie Page, she nodded, shrugged, and said “It sounds good.” Then I played the WH stamper. About 15 seconds in she exclaimed “What the F*CK?!?!”, and smiled. And wanted to hear the rest of the song.

You guys are geniuses to send the Jimmie Page LP with the WH. My friend insists on comparing it to his Classic Records copy, which we’ll do this weekend. I don’t think it will be a fair contest.

Is it worth $2,499? I know many people would say no. The vast majority. So I’m in the minority on this one.

Bill

Bill,

Such great news! It seems that even people who don’t care for Zep can’t resist the power of a hot copy of Zep II!

I will have more to say, and I wanted to let you know that we still want to hear from those who have compared the two pressings. If you feel like it, tell us what you think the differences are.

And the same with your friend and his Classic repress. That record was so bright it practically peeled the paint in my room. I doubt if it has changed much.

But you can tell me!

As we have said time and time again, the number of people that have ever had the privilege of playing a killer copy of Zep II like the one we sent you is small. It’s like owning your own rocket to Mars.

(more…)

Letter of the Week – “…was floored by the sound quality and dynamics…”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Jackson Browne Available Now

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

Hey Tom, 

After years of buying the latest reissue LPs at premium pricing and being frustrated with the sound quality, I bought a copy of Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender” from you and was floored by the sound quality and dynamics and realized that your company takes all the BS out of the Audiophile shopping experience. Since then I’ve used your store a bunch.

Rob R.

Rob,

Taking the BS out of buying records is the essence of the service we think we provide, so thanks for that.

We don’t try to make good sounding records. Judging by the crap pressings that we auditioned in 2024, that is a job no one seems able to do. We sure wouldn’t know to where to begin.

The only one we’ve played that sounded like one of our killer White Hot Stamper pressings, this one, was mastered by someone working for Fantasy who didn’t bother to attach his name to the record in question!

Can you imagine? All the big name guys turn out one bad record after another, and the guy who just comes to work in the morning to make a jazz record for the OJC label knocks it out of the park.

And, even better, the guys who notice are the ones who work in some little studio in Westlake, far from where the action is.

We are happy to be as far from where the action is as possible, because the action of making at-best-mediocre records is not the kind of action that we want to be involved in.

What Is the Point?

All the way back in 2007, after playing the Hoffman-Gray remastered Blue, we asked ourselves what was the point of these nothingburger records.

Do they bring anyone even a fraction of the joy the real thing does?

The answer was obvious even back then, close to twenty years ago.

If you are stuck in a Heavy Vinyl rut, we can help you get out of it. We did precisely that for these folks, and we can do it for you.

You may of course not be aware that you are stuck in a rut. Most audiophiles aren’t. The best way out of that predicament is to hear how mediocre these modern records sound compared to the vintage Hot Stampers we offer. Once you hear the difference, your days of buying newly remastered releases will most likely be over. Even if our pricey curated pressings are beyond your budget, you can avail yourself of the methods we describe to find killer records on your own.

(more…)

Letter of the Week – “I really thought that was a nice repress until I heard yours.”

Hot Stamper Pressinsg of the Music of Jennifer Warnes Available Now

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

  Hey Tom,   

So that Jennifer Warnes blew the repress away, absolutely wiped the floor with it. I couldn’t believe the difference, sigh. I really thought that was a nice repress until I heard yours.

Bloody Hell. Lol.  

Thanks as always.

T.

T.,

Some Heavy Vinyl records sound good enough to fool you.

Up against a properly-mastered, properly-pressed LP — our handy name for such an animal is “Hot Stamper” — the differences become much more obvious.

That’s why we say that the only way to find a Hot Stamper pressing is through the shootout process.

Any record can sound good, but up against five or ten others? That’s a test that only the best pressings can pass.

(more…)

Letter of the Week – “I wish I had never bought a new audiophile pressing now that I have come across your site.”

More Hot Stamper Letters from Customers

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

Hey Tom, 

I wish I had never bought a new audiophile pressing now that I have come across your site. A new experience listening to music. Thank you.

Bennett

Bennett,

Thanks for your letter. You are not alone in swearing off these modern mediocrities. Many of our customers went through the same process you have, and it seems they are just as pleased with the results as you appear to be.

TP

P.S.

The above letter came to us years ago, in 2020 probably.

As of 2024, we’re sorry to report that Heavy Vinyl pressings — at least the ones we’ve played recently — show little evidence of improvement.

If anything they’re every bit as bad as they used to be, as you can see from our reviews of almost 200 of them.

(more…)

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 – “The [Heavy Vinyl] reissues seem to have a little too much sugar coating on them…”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Jethro Tull Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about some Hot Stampers he purchased many, many years ago.

Hey Tom, 

The two Tull albums I purchased a while back sounded great, especially Aqualung — it didn’t have that murky sound that I remember my original had (same thing with my Black Sabbath albums).

I have a DCC pressing that I compared it to and I do like the Hot Stamper better. The reissues seem to have a little too much sugar coating on them, which makes them sound phony. The Sergio Mendes ‘Equinox’ sounded so much more alive than the copy I have. Keep up the good work.

Shane

Shane,

Records that have less sugar coating and sound more alive are the ones that tend to do well in our shootouts, as you know firsthand being a proud owner of many of them. That’s our sound in a nutshell, and yours too it seems.

Audiophile records are full of colorations, mostly the kind that boost the performance of smaller, less-revealing systems.

Good stereos don’t need their performance boosted; they just need good sounding records to play.

This is precisely why the one piece of advice we give out more than any other is the importance of improving the sound of your system before you waste any more money on audiophile pressings.

To help you to spot the shortcomings of audiophile pressings (at least the ones we’ve auditioned over the years), click here.

And you certainly don’t need to buy our wildly-expensive, obsessively-curated titles in order to get good sounding records.

The methods we’ve developed are sure to guarantee the success of anyone with the dedication, time and money to do the work they entail.

(Robert Brook has been doing shootouts the right way for many years now and has much to teach the readers of his blog. Also, another one of our good customers, Aaron, has documented his own experiences as he travels on the journey to better sound and therefore better sounding records.)

(more…)

Letter of the Week – “You can’t hear the speakers; the sound fills the entire room, including the back walls.”

More Customer Letters Comparing Our Hot Stamper Pressings to Their Heavy Vinyl

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

Hey Tom, 

A good friend of mine came over today to take a look at my cartridge setup now that it is properly burned in. I was still getting some brightness in the right channel and we found that the cartridge was not seating properly in the groove. A few adjustments and now perfection!

My litmus test, Yes Close to the Edge now sounds absolutely unbelievable! You can’t hear the speakers; the sound fills the entire room, including the back walls.

As you stated, everyone should own a copy of this record to determine if their setup is correct.

I went through several of my hot stampers and I feel like I am in audio heaven now.

Morning Has Broken also sounds amazing; Piano definition, Cat’s voice, etc.

nother 3D sound extravaganza!

Finally, I had a chance to compare Led Zeppelin 4 (your hot stamper vs. my 200g Classic).

Before the cartridge tweaking I was hard pressed to tell the difference.

Now that the stylus is properly seated in the groove, with the Hot Stamper I can hear more detail in Jimmy’s guitar, more airiness in Robert’s voice and just an overall more listenable experience.

The entire soundstage is about 3 feet higher than the Classic version.

Well, I am spoiled again and loving it!

Thanks again,
Rob

Rob,

Glad to hear your turntable is working better. As you say, differences between Hot Stampers and Heavy Vinyl pressings are not much more obvious, and that’s a good thing. We think audiophiles should learn to do all these sorts of things for themselves, and have written about it at some length: Tuning and tweaking are essential to improving your critical listening skills.

(more…)

Letter of the Week – “Can only say that I now can enjoy three examples of my favourite music in a way that I have never experienced before.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Steely Dan Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about some Hot Stampers he purchased last year. (We are very far behind in posting your letters, trying to catch up.)

Hello Tom,

After your extensive explanations preceding my first purchase at Better Records, I would like to share my experience with the three records that have bought.

[Peter went on to describe the conidtion issues with our records and wanted us to know they were not as quiet as he was led to believe. We did our usual song and dance about old records and such, which apparently satisfied him as he has spent a great deal of money with us since then.]

The sound ratings. Here, I am fully convinced. All three records have fantastic sound, in all respects. I could try to describe what I am hearing, but you have already done that very eloquently in the explanation on you site. I really have nothing to add (or to deduct)

Can only say that I now can enjoy three examples of my favourite music in a way that I have never experienced before.

That is not completely true: I already own a pressing from “Gaucho” from the same series as your copy – it sounded way better than the European pressing that I also have. This made me believe that there ”might be something going on.”

However, be reassured: my copy of the RL mastered Gaucho is quite good but yours is better still!

A big thumbs-up to your ears and your hard work!

Due to financial constraints, I only bought “super hot” pressings – which in my opinion are already great sounding. I find it hard to believe that, apparently, there are also “white hot pressings” in existence …

The Cisco Aja

We also discussed the disappointing quality of the modern 180 gram reissues. For example: after the Gaucho I listened again to my Cisco reissue of “Aja.” In comparison, it sounds flat, dull, with muffled instruments, little soundstage depth and only half of the soundstage between my speakers occupied.

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Letter of the Week – “The sound is absolutely breathtaking, magical, mind blowing and beautiful…”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of U2 Available Now

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

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to pass on to you and the team at Better Records how thankful I am for what you guys do. I have accumulated 40 hot stampers since May 1st and 3 more on the way.

The sound is absolutely breathtaking, magical, mind blowing and beautiful the way pure analog should sound.

Until I listened to my first hot stamper (U2 Joshua Tree) I had no idea what I was missing!

Over the last 5 years I have spent 1000s of dollars on remastered Heavy Vinyl, MoFi and others and the sound quality is absolutely dreadful on almost every one of them. To the point where it is extremely difficult to listen to them anymore!

I am very bummed about that but life goes on. I may start selling them at some point going forward. We will see.

Silver lining, I have hot stampers to enjoy and more to purchase in the future. I am not bragging at all, but with the system I have built over the last 4 years, hot stampers are the ONLY way to go!

Thx,
Mike P.

Dear Mike,

Thanks so much for the kind words. It’s great to hear you are enjoying your Hot Stamper pressings of these wonderful albums. What could be better?

Especially now that your stereo is cookin’, as I am sure it must be.

What could be more convincing evidence than the fact that our records are sounding right and these modern remasters are falling further and further behind?

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