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One of Our Good Customers for Close to Twenty Years Wrote Us a Nice Letter

More Letters from Customers and Critics Alike

Ivan recenty decided to write us another letter, only his second since 2006, but we think it’s a good one, well worth the wait.

I have been buying records from you since 2006. Yup, bought some Heavy Vinyl from ya, thought it sounded pretty good too! DCC Blowout. I think I have a handful left but really have sold off most because they have been replaced with your hot stampers that frankly sound far superior.

To your credit you were credible then as you are now. In fact, I bought a copy of Aftermath in 2006 for a 100 bucks….man what a deal that was. Probably one of the best sounding LPs I have. Its a gem now and I will not part with that press.

Since then I probably have purchased about 300 or more, but who’s counting. Maybe you know me!

It’s not about investment. It’s about looking for the best sound….a never ending journey. Its important to me and I suspect to every one of your customers. I have spent 49 dollars to 1200 dollars on LP’s from you and the 49 dollar wowed me just the same. So what’s it really worth. It’s worth the sound. The experience of hearing your favorite music sound the best its ever sounded. If you care, as I am sure you do reading this, just buy the record. You will be wowed!

So, what is this service worth? And don’t get me wrong, this is a service and they deserve to charge for it.

I log on to Better Records every day. So last week I see a record, let’s just say its an Elton John LP. I am thinking 499 dollars “Super Hot Stamper,” not a gem Elton LP but he can do no wrong pre ’75.

Rarely I don’t buy that album but stupidity reigns supreme and I think hell; I will buy 5 copies at 30 dollars, all DJM Brits and I have four already and do my own shootout!

9 copies. Save some money. What can go wrong?

Well, at considerable cost, just a miserable fail. All in the trash heap to never be listened to by yours truly. Should have bought that one!

In 300 or so records purchased from Better Records I returned two. A Doors original Electra gold label I got lucky with and actually had a better copy, go figure, and a Beach Boys Pet Sounds that I since bought a different copy again from you. Returned the first one probably cause I was too lazy to set up my turntable properly for that LP, and sorry, maybe a glass of wine involved.

Your staff, no matter what, always accommodating no questions asked for a return. Professional and on point. Your product is superior as is your service. Your packaging on shipments, state of art. The best in the biz!

I have a friend that sells high-end gear. He comes to my place and listens and goes what the hell. I bring my hot stampers over and play them against every copy he has on his mega-expensive system and against his copies that are rare, remastered, Heavy Vinyl, etc., and he goes what the hell.

I am no fool. Great sound starts with what’s in the grooves. Bad records are bad records. My stereo is a mess and looks like shit. Cables suspended. Components sideways on pillows. Old gear, new gear… doesn’t matter. What matters is what you hear.

I thank you Tom Port… I talked to you maybe 18 years ago… a revelation. Thank you for helping me learn about great sound and setting up my system and cleaning records. I wrote it all down and still have it as reference to this day. Thank you for that, when you were giving consults to customers. I listen to all your on-line discussions. Love your passion for sound. I learned and listened.

I am getting older, still listening and learning about the records I have. The cymbal crashes, snare and hi-hat on Dreams may not ever sound the same in a years to follow, but on your Hot Stampers I know they will always be there. Ha!

Thank you Tom Port
Thank you to the Better Records crew.
To everyone behind the console…..Praise

Ivan

Ivan,

Thanks for so many kind words, and thanks for keeping Better Records going for all these years. Customers like you are the reason we are still in business.

We’re sorry your shootout didn’t work out. Doing your own shootouts can be a real pain in the ass, but doing an Elton John album pressed on British DJM vinyl kicks the pain quotient up another level or two. Even we have a hard time getting through those noisy pressings.

The sound may make it worth it in the end, but, like you say, the amount of work we have to do for the five hundred bucks we might charge puts his records and others like them out of the reach of the analog music lover who can’t spend the rest of his life finding, cleaning and playing the same album over and over again until a good one comes his way.

It’s not a career, it’s just a piece of music!

Multiply it by the 300 albums you now own and you see how putting together such a collection no matter how committed you might be would be the work of a lifetime and even over a lifetime practically impossible.

We’re very glad to have made that collection possible. (Sorry about the Heavy Vinyl, we didn’t know what we didn’t know back then and we all had a lot to learn. Most still haven’t figured out that it’s a mid-fi scam, and most never will, which is the truly sad part of that story.)

300 really good records is a lot, and they can be played as often as you like, even long after you have lost your high frequency hearing, as I have. I don’t even notice anything missing. I listen to all my music regularly and it still sounds great to me. (Now I know how people can play Heavy Vinyl and enjoy it. When you don’t know much about sound, it sounds just fine.)

Thanks again for your letter and keep enjoying the very special records you’ve acquired over the years. They are priceless.

Sleep well knowing that nothing will ever come along to beat them. If there’s one thing you can be certain of, it’s that.

Best, TP

P.S.

Ivan’s first letter tells the story of two massive shootouts he carried out with a friend, one for Tea for the Tillerman and one for Aja, both involving 16 copies!

The Rolling Stones – Aftermath

More Rolling Stones


  • Excellent Tubey Magical 60s British sound throughout this vintage UK Decca pressing, with both sides earning solid Double Plus (A++) grades or close to them – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • “Lady Jane,” “Under My Thumb” and “Mother’s Little Helper” are three of the best sounding tracks – all are lively and solid here on this outstanding Double Plus side one
  • 5 stars: “… the group began incorporating the influences of psychedelia and Dylan into their material with classics like ‘Paint It Black,’ an eerily insistent number one hit graced by some of the best use of sitar (played by Brian Jones) on a rock record. Other classics included the jazzy ‘Under My Thumb,’ where Jones added exotic accents with his vibes, and the delicate Elizabethan ballad ‘Lady Jane,’ where dulcimer can be heard…”

The sound of this pressing is going to be very hard to beat. Until just recently it had been ages since we’d found a copy of Aftermath with sound quality of this caliber to list on the site. It’s surprisingly clean, clear and smooth, with prodigious amounts of Tubey Magic, which is the kind of sound that lets you play the album at the appropriate volume — LOUD.

Although some songs sound amazing, not every track is well recorded. We just have to accept that the Stones are not The Beatles when it comes consistent quality for their earliest recordings. However, a strong copy like this one paired with the great music on the album will certainly deliver a lot of pleasure to audiophile Stones fans.

Finally! Top Sound for the Stones

This is our favorite of the early Stones records. You can’t argue with “Lady Jane” and “Under My Thumb,” two of the best tracks this band ever put down on tape.

“Lady Jane,” “Under My Thumb” and “Mother’s Little Helper” are three of the best sounding tracks on side one. On side two, “Out of Time” and “I Am Waiting” are especially well recorded

Credit must go to the engineering talents of Dave Hassinger.

(more…)

Listening in Depth to Aftermath – The First in a String of Must Own Stones Albums

Lady Jane, Under My Thumb and Mother’s Little Helper are three of the best sounding tracks on side one — all three are lively and solid here. On side two Out of Time and I Am Waiting are especially well recorded.

DAVE HASSINGER rightly deserves the credit for the best sounding early Stones album — this one.

Although some songs sound amazing, not every track is well recorded. We just have to accept that the Stones are not The Beatles when it comes to the consistent quality of the earliest recordings. That said, a strong copy like this one paired with the great music on this album will certainly deliver a lot of pleasure to audiophile Stones fans.

Although some songs sound amazing, not every track is well recorded. We just have to accept that the Stones are not The Beatles when it comes to the consistent quality of the earliest recordings. That said, a strong copy like this one paired with the great music on this album will certainly deliver a lot of pleasure to audiophile Stones fans.

In-Depth Track Commentary

Side One

Mothers Little Helper

Superb! On the best copies this track is so transparent you can feel the cool air of the studio.

Stupid Girl

Somewhat dark and compressed as a rule. (more…)

The Rolling Stones / Aftermath – Surprisingly Good Domestic Pressings Do Exist

More Rolling Stones

We’ve paired up a Double Plus (A++) copy for each side to create this Super Hot 2-pack, which is the only way we were able to find good sound for the whole album. Paint It Black is missing from the Brit version, but it’s here and it sounds wonderful.

A big surprise — domestic Super Hot Stamper sound for Aftermath! We didn’t even know it was possible, but on a lark we pulled a big stack of these out of the back and played them against our best imports. We were blown away when the best domestic copies held their own and delivered some seriously good early Stones sound!

Both sides are richer and smoother than we expected. You get lots of presence and energy, a very solid bottom end, and impressive transparency. The best Brit copies give you a little more clarity, but the best domestics like the two Double Plus sides of this 2-pack were cut very well and can actually rock a bit harder. (more…)