The Vinyl Collector's Thread

[Certif1ed]

Originally Posted by Wrymwood

Thanks for the info! It has the serial number SD 7201, but it isn't sealed. Either way it's my favorite Zeppelin album and a fantastic gift, so worth a lot of money, or not, I still love it.

Excuse me for ignoring the serial number - I tend to collect UK original presses, so assumed that this was a US number, which I know little about.

I think that this is a Quiex SV-P audiophile re-issue. These were only released for a very short period of time on 200g vinyl - really heavy, amazing quality slabs. Collectors are paying something like £70 for these - more than twice their issue price, and sometimes much more, dependent on the album and condition. The store I linked to below is selling it for $150.

I compared a Quiex LZ II with my early UK press on a seriously good HiFi (not mine!), and it has to be said that the Quiex sounds fantastic.

Oddly, it seems to have been mastered slightly faster than the original, so a little of the bass is lost - but the crispness at the top end, the dynamic and the clarity is amazing.

This reminds me of Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue", which was recently discovered to have originally been issued at the wrong speed, hence the keys of the pieces were around a semitone lower, making it difficult for jazz fans to transcribe. It's also been re-issued, using a faster lathe cut to restore the sound to the original - maybe that's why the Zep album was remastered that way?

Being a bit of a purist, I still prefer my copy with added rumble in the two Johns (Paul Jones and Bonham, of course!), and the "warmer" overall sound - but the Quiex is still an amazing pressing, and you're lucky if that is what you have!

[Wrymwood]

Is that big black oval that says, "Quiex SV-P" a sticker or actually printed on the album? Mine doesn't have it, but everything else seems to check out on it being the one you linked. It does say on the inside of the gate fold that is Manufactured and Distributed under exclusive license of Classic Records, inc.

And thanks for the info on the Pink Floyd bootleg!

[Wrymwood]

I checked out that link a little more and scrolled down to find wwwxxx.xxxaudiophileusaxxx.xxxcom/item.cfm?record=37207&c=1&kw=Pop

Pretty sure that's the one I have. The only thing I have to question is the thickness of the vinyl. It definitely is a lot heavier than regular. Is there a way to check if it's 200g or the 180g that one seems to be.

[bardonodude]

i hear that vinyl has better sound quality to audiophiles than cd or mp3 but i honestly cant telll the difference. I have a decent vinyl collection and i really enjoy listening to them but i only buy vinyl when its only available on there

[Certif1ed]

Heh - the old vinyl vs CD debate.

In essence, it reduces to the physical properties.

Digital media can be more accurate, to the point that there is simply no way that vinyl can compete. 24-bit audio has a greater dynamic range and does not require compression (although over-compression is a sad fact not just in digital media, but also some vinyls - e.g. Metallica's "Death Magnetic" sounds awful on vinyl. That said, the CD isn't much better - but the versions that come with Guitar Hero kick ass).

Here goes for my attempt at an explanation - this is all based on stuff I've read in a wide variety of places, written by people who really know what they're talking about (unlike me - I'm just having a stab at interpreting it here!);

Digital audio is a series of bits - either on or off - and you would rightly suspect that stuff gets lost in this process, because audio waves are complex and curved. However magnetic tape relies on the orientation of iron filings, and vinyl relies on the positioning of relatively big, fat molecules - neither of which can possibly acquire the resolution or precision of digital bits.

This is compounded by the fact that vinyl is limited in dynamic range - I believe it has a ceiling somewhere around 16khz, while tape has a ceiling of 20Khz. This means that the very highest frequencies are lost when transferring from the Master tape. There is a low end limitation too - but I'm not sure where it lies.

I've also read that the human ear cannot detect frequencies above or below certain ranges - however, this varies from person to person. Recently, I went into a room at work where a monitor was whistling at a very high freqency indeed. I complained, and the other guys in the room looked at me in amazement, as they could hear nothing. I switched the monitor off and on again, and they noticed no difference.


The point here is that everyone hears stuff differently. It's to do with sound waves, vibrations and the vibrating atoms we're all made of.

In short - it's a preference, whatever anyone says, and I prefer the sound of vinyl.

However, it is true that a decent system will bring out the best from a piece of vinyl in a way that digital media can't compete with - because the source is analogue, it's more easily "coloured", so a vinyl can sound just OK on one system, but full of astonishing depth that you didn't even know was there on another.

...or maybe that's just me

[wad]

Originally Posted by Certif1ed

It comes with 12 inserts in total. A first edition has black print on the front, not blue or red. The poster should be semi glossy, not fully - if this sounds like yours, I can describe the other inserts

when i said glossy i was talking about a few 8x10 band pics, the poster is flat. there are also a couple set lists tour dates and some letters to/from promoters and records labels.

[anabundanceoftubes]

Originally Posted by storymilo

I think collecting vinyl can be an interesting and rewarding hobby. However the thing that pisses me off is when people have massive collections of vinyl and never listens to it. For instance I recently discovered that my friend's dad, who I have never once had a conversation about music with, or heard him mention music of any sort, has a huge collection of vinyl records. But he never seems to listen to it.

I can understand if you happen to have a mint condition, deluxe edition of Thriller or something and you want to keep it pristine. But Not having mounds of LP's that you never touch except to sort, stack, and collect.

eh...this doesn't seem so blasphemous to me. I have a couple hundred records, and I keep them in very specific order. It's more convenient for me to listen to mp3s, and I don't like moving around my records, lest they get of order; kind of OCD about that. Don't get me wrong, I love listening to records, and do relatively frequently, but I can see how it could be easy to just keep them as decorations.

[storymilo]

Originally Posted by anabundanceoftubes

eh...this doesn't seem so blasphemous to me. I have a couple hundred records, and I keep them in very specific order. It's more convenient for me to listen to mp3s, and I don't like moving around my records, lest they get of order; kind of OCD about that. Don't get me wrong, I love listening to records, and do relatively frequently, but I can see how it could be easy to just keep them as decorations.

You kind of just said the same thing as Rickenbacker. I wouldn't have a problem except that he doesn't listen to music on digital or CD's either. He just hardly ever listens to music. But he still has a great collection of it on vinyl....

[Certif1ed]

Originally Posted by wad

when i said glossy i was talking about a few 8x10 band pics, the poster is flat. there are also a couple set lists tour dates and some letters to/from promoters and records labels.

(Cribbed from xxxrecords - eBay seller of top grade collectable vinyl).

All inserts in the first press are on thin "typewriter" paper.

1) "Notice" insert, printed in Navy Blue, with hole punch and "Mr Lambert - Who" appearing at the bottom.

2) "Delivery Note" insert with typewritten, not printed text.

3) "My Generation Lyrics" insert with clean, not messy text, and annotations that look like they're pencilled, not printed. There is also an additional star (*) on the right.

4) "Kings Agency" insert, hole punched to the left.

5) "Action" insert, folded along the central line, with Action logo in light grey.

6) "High Numbers" payment insert in yellow, folded along the central line, and the bottom typewritten line finishes exactly 1 cm above the bottom of the paper.

7) "Premier Talent Associates" insert in yellow, 'Received' stamp at the bottom is perfectly legible.

8) "EMI Records" insert

9) "Marquee Club" payments insert

10) Small "Picture of The Who" photograph insert with perfectly clear images.

11) "Guitar Overhead" insert, with handwritten text on the reverse. Apparently only the first few hundred had this.

12) Large "Marquee" Poster, printed with a light 'semi-gloss' front and a heavily textured reverse to the poster.

[Classof75]

Originally Posted by Certif1ed

THE Led Zep II to own is a UK pressing, on the "Plum and Orange" Atlantic label. If yours is a UK press, but on Green and Orange, then it won't sound nearly as good - the vinyl is a much cheaper compound, and lighter weight - and that makes a difference on any system. Also check the cover - if it's dark brown, then it's a recent cover. If it's light brown (and probably a bit battered looking), it's an early 1970s sleeve. If it's got "Livin' Lovin' Wreck" instead of "Livin' Lovin' Maid", it could be worth £100's.

The "Plum and Orange" LZII is not only a joy to hear, and significantly better than later presses, it's the ultimate test of your music system; Turn that sucker right up, and the thing comes alive in terms of dynamic range.

I'm not saying that this is my favourite album or anything that shallow - it really is a good test.

I got a copy of "Katy Lied" and hated the music. Sorry - this time I'm being shallow - I know it's a finely produced album!

The Blonde on Blonde album's a good pick, though - I'll have a look into the original and value.

I can help you with "Help", though - for starters, does the label have Parlophone written in yellow, is it Mono or stereo, and, if the cover has "flipbacks", can you see if it was printed by Garrod and Lofthouse or E. J. Day?

If you think the "plum and orange UK" Led Zeppelin II is good, find an original 1969 US pressing that has the "RL" (Bob Ludwig mastered) initial etched in the runout area (near the label). Worth looking for. Folks that have one of these "know".