hs-letter

Hot Stamper letters.

Letter of the Week – “Oh my god can I hear what I am missing on all of the other nonsense.”

More Hot Stamper Pressings of Albums with Stevie Nicks Performing

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

Hey Tom,   

Well one thing I know for sure is the record matters A LOT. I have a handful of White Hots and oh my god can I hear what I am missing on all of the other nonsense. Even my Super Hots beat all of my other average stuff.

For example, my White Hot of Bella Donna is so far over the top of sounding like she is heard in the room that it’s scary. Same with my Bob Marley and Tom Petty. But I’m guessing they could be even better. I’m gonna update my cartridge and phono amp soon.

I noted:

The problem with audio systems is that you are always flying blind, never knowing what you are missing until you hear it.

Again, more evidence to support the popularity of mediocre Heavy Vinyl.

TP

He added:

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Letter of the Week – “I heard things on there that I never heard before.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Pink Floyd Available Now

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

Hi Tom,

Got the Meddle album already.  I sat down as soon as I opened it and listened to both sides with the volume up.

Absolutely blew me away. I heard things on there that I never heard before. Or I just heard them better.

I didn’t have to listen to my other copies. I knew right away this one was IT.

Listening to a record like this just gets me thinking what the other Hot Stampers sound like.

Steve

Steve,

Thanks for writing.

You are completely right. Some pressings are so obviously superior that no comparisons are necessary. Going back to your old copies would be shocking — how could I have put up with such substandard sound quality?

In 2007 we discovered the Hottest Stampers of them all, a reissue pressing if you can believe it — something we have no trouble believing as we much prefer to let the evidence be our guide when it comes to which are the best pressings, not theories, preconceived ideas or conventional wisdom. From that point on there was no going back.

It turns out that there is one and only one set of stampers that consistently wins our shootouts for  Meddle.  This link will take you to other titles with one set of stampers that always come out on top.

The Prelude Record Cleaning System had a lot to do with that breakthrough, and we have been big fans of the system Mr. Walker developed ever since. In addition to getting them clean, we know of nothing that does as much for the sound of records.

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Letter of the Week – “They break so many conventions, and it all works. What planet did John and Paul come from?”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of The Beatles Available Now

One of our customers had this to say about some Hot Stamper pressings he purchased recently:

Hi Tom,

I just got The Beatles first album in the mail and put it on and it blew me away. I was thinking I didn’t need the first couple albums but this book I read, John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie, published in 2025. made me rethink all that.

I did not foresee reading ANOTHER Beatles book. It is getting over the top reviews but I looked at it because my friend from my college days recommended it. It covers many of the same events and anecdotes any real Beatles fan would know but that are given new context by viewing their history – fundamentally – through the prism of the relationship of these two friends.

You realize by the time they released their first album in 1963, they’d been preparing for it since 1958, egging each other on as performers and songwriters.

Paul had written songs actually predating 1958, but they made their union as songwriters soon after they met. They had learned so many great pop songs such that every song on those early albums is either an amazing cover they make their own (e.g. “Twist and Shout” “Boys” etc.) or one of their original compositions that demonstrates the depth of their skills.

They break so many conventions, and it all works. What planet did John and Paul come from?

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Letter of the Week – “The sound is incredible. Neil’s voice is right in the room.”

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, including After the Goldrush and Beatles For Sale: 

Hey Tom, 

Just wanted to write and tell you how much I love that Neil Young After The Gold Rush White Hot Stamper I picked up last week. Really awesome. This ranks up with the best I’ve bought from you guys.

The sound is incredible. Neil’s voice is right in the room. The guitar sounds real and that harmonica is super. I love when he performs, just him and nobody else. I’m really stuck on Neil’s albums. The sound is just soooo good. I’m working on my system to get more out of these records.

Oh yeah, I picked up one of your “Beatles for Sale” albums for $65. [This must be an old letter!] Really nice for the money. Those Beatles albums can really be awesome. Have to get a White Hot Stamper Beatles album someday. (more…)

Letter of the Week – “You guys aren’t kidding… blew me away.”

Hot Stamper Pressing of the Music of The Rolling Stones Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about a Hot Stamper pressing of Their Satanic Majesties Request he purchased recently:

Hey Tom, 

Just played Their Satanic Majesties Request that I received from you. You guys aren’t kidding. The copy is excellent – blew me away. It replaces my original copy (with the 3D photo). I have a pretty good system, and it really stood out – lots of detail and quite a few surprises.

Thanks for curating such great vinyl.

Rodney

Rodney,

Thanks for your letter. The originals we’ve played are simply not competitive with the best sounding reissues, which is why we sell the best sounding reissues for more money than the originals.

Anybody can buy an original. Only somebody who does rigorous shootouts of multiple pressings from different eras can know which are the best sounding pressings of any given album (keeping in mind that the results from any given shootout, like any scientific finding, are provisional.)

You came to the right place for the best sound and you got it.

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Letter of the Week – “…just never dreamed the sound quality was there to match the music.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Tom Petty Available Now

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

Hey Tom,   

[referring to the coronavirus] But then, with luck, we will pull through and you can get back to finding us those gems.

The last one, Tom Petty Southern Accents, was so astoundingly good you have forced me to rethink my whole approach to him as well.

I mean the music has always been great, just never dreamed the sound quality was there to match the music.

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Letter of the Week – “When the sound field is this huge, lots of things click into place.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Fleetwood Mac Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about a comparison he did between a Super Hot and a White Hot pressing of Rumours.

Dear Tom and Fred,

White Hot Stampers are very special records. I know you know this already, but it still astonishes me every time. It’s been a pleasure to compare the WHS of Rumours to my SHS [Super Hot Stamper].

Tom, I hear you talk about the size of the acoustic space a lot on your blog, but it was hard for me to picture what you meant until I heard it myself.

The WHS sounds bigger than the SHS. It is like I’m sitting a few rows back at a show. It’s such a palpable difference, I feel like I can measure the increased size of the sound field for the WHS. I’d say it’s about two feet more forward, up, and out compared to the SHS.

When the sound field is this huge, lots of things click into place. The instruments have their own space, and that seems to make it easier to follow each of them, and to notice all the details in someone’s playing. It’s really exhilarating.

Vinyl amazes me. It’s just so remarkable that two pressings can differ in terms of the size of the soundstage. What parameter of the pressing gives you that? I’d love to know, but even without understanding the physics of it, the effect is unmistakably real.

I imagine that picking out the white hot stampers is the easiest part of your job. I’m guessing that all it takes is a couple notes of music to know when a particular copy has THAT sound. Finding good candidates, I’m certain, can be tedium, then disappointment when they don’t pan out. But, spotting a 3+ is probably a cinch.

When I first got the SHS of Rumours, I shot it out against all the other copies I had, and it bested them all. It took me a whole afternoon (a delightful afternoon, but still.)

The WHS is simply in a different league. I went back and forth between it and the SHS, track after track, amazed by how easy it was to hear the differences, particularly in the size of the acoustic space. It’s really no wonder your white hots seem to sell faster than your super hots, even at 3-4x the price.

Aaron

Aaron,

The size and space that any given pressing reproduces is one of the most important aspects of the sound that we listen for. Bigger and bolder, without being hyped-up in any way — that is our sound.

This brings to mind a milestone event in the history of Better Records. We did a huge shootout for Blood, Sweat and Tears’ second album many years ago, all the way back in 2010. We found two copies with sides that went far beyond any we had ever played. They reproduced the brass from wall to wall and floor to ceiling in a way that we had no idea was possible. We described it this way:

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Letter of the Week – “I feel (and tremble) as if I am sitting in the Abbey Road Studios while they are recording.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of The Beatles Available Now

Our good customer Alex had this to say about a White Hot Stamper pressing of Sgt. Peppers he purchased from us a while ago:

Hey Tom,   

I was very excited to have purchased a Triple/Triple Sgt. Pepper. So much so that I went out and bought a new stereo system. My copy arrived in January. There was no way I was going to take a chance and play it on my 30+ year-old vintage set-up. I have a friend who sells wicked awesome gear and I spent about a month from middle January to Middle February listening to quite a few turntables and speakers.

Once I settled on the system I then made an appointment to listen to Pepper. My wife and I went over to hear this White Hot Stamper.
The results? Tears of profound JOY.

And a big you-know-what eating grin on my face for the last week (and probably for the rest of my life). I was 9 years old in 1967 and I had only heard this LP on a cheap record player for years and I still loved it. It has been my most loved music for my entire life.

This copy is absolute, mind-blowing PERFECTION! The Fabs are at their BEST and I feel (and tremble) as if I am sitting in the Abbey Road Studios while they are recording.

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Letter of the Week – “… even my 65 year old father, with no musical background at all, was amazed when I play your Beatles stampers.”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of The Beatles Available Now

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

Hey Tom, 

I have enjoyed your records since I got a “Sgt. Peppers” hot stamper in 2011, and you guys have never disappointed me!

Every time I play one of the hot stampers for my musician friends, I don’t tell them “it’s a special pressing” but just play the record – they always comment on the sound quality, almost always saying “that’s so clear, so clean, etc…” – even my 65 year old father, with no musical background at all, was amazed when I play your Beatles stampers. He said, “in my time, records sounded scratchy and noisy.” What a revelation the Hot Stamper is.

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Letter of the Week – “The whole house lights when up I turn this up all the way, emitting positive vibes into the universe…”

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of Art Pepper Available Now

Our good customer Michel wrote to us about his experience playing one of our records.

Hi Tom,

At 2 a.m. last night and again today, I simply cannot get over just how darn good the sound is on this 2.5 side 2
of the stereo Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section.

Truly, a magical experience indeed. The whole house lights up when I turn this copy up all the way, emitting positive vibes into the universe,
near and far.

All the other copies I had … no comparison at all.

One simply doesn’t know until one knows. That’s the crux of the biscuit as they say.

I sure do love my BR records!
Cheers,
Michel

Michel,

Thanks again for writing. I wish more audiophiles could have the kind of experience you apparently had with that killer copy of Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section you ordered.

As you say, your other copies could not hold a candle to the properly-cleaned, properly-mastered and properly-pressed copy we sent you.

And the Heavy Vinyl pressing that Chad and Bernie made is an insult to the record buying public.

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