bjorn

OK cool, I appreciate the comment.

For those who have listened to the LP version, does it sound better than the CD is any way? The CD has some prominent clipping in the mix, which I find distracting. Wondering if the vinyl master addressed this at all. That yellow cover is a problem though.

Radical Research covered them extensively in this episode, recommended: https://radicalresearch.org/episode-81-dave-murray-drummer-traun-estradasphere-tholus-sculptured/

I would say the hate against Pirates is overblown. I think the main issue was with many of their splatter/haze/etc. records having a grainy residue. Some of their records are a bit noisy, and they used to sometimes have a low level whooshing sound (this might have been a DMM issue... but I haven't noticed this in years). But honestly, the majority of what they put out sounds quite good. Maybe most importantly, I have personally never experienced an off-center pressing from them, and that is the defect that I find to be the most infuriating and detrimental to the sound of the record. Compared to the garbage quality I've seen from places like United, I'd rather take something from Pirates/GZ any day.

If you have a bit of time and like building stuff, you could build your own high-end speakers. I did this a few years back, and it was one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done, and the speakers sound better than anything I would have been able to afford otherwise. GR Research has kits which will give you some of the best components you can get; you just build the cabinets.

I think your interconnect between your cart and preamp could have an effect on this setting.

Quiet! If it were possible for me to pick a favorite SP song, this might be it. Wish I could have been there. I've seen them three times, but it was never on the set list.

I think a worthwhile upgrade would be a better stylus. Nothing wrong with the Blue, but swapping in a Black stylus, for example, should reduce distortion and get more out of the grooves. I don't have personal experience with the those Ortofons, but after using a JICO SAS for a few years I don't think I can ever go back to an elliptical stylus, they tend to distort noticeably more.

I was able to score a UK Hut pressing of Siamese Dream for $35 or something, maybe 12 years ago. The US pressing floating around at that time was terrible, but the Hut version plays beautifully, so this was one of the smarter buys I've made. I'd grab a reissue just to have a less delicate copy to play (jacket is kind of thin). Hopefully they go back to the original color scheme though.

Now that I've sat out the first few, this set of releases is getting increasingly painful to miss out on as a fan. I wish they would at least put the tracks on Bandcamp or something.

Boy, those went fast. Didn't even last an hour. I'm happy with my Broken Circles copy, but this was tempting.

Listening to mine now. Yellow marble variant is really just straight yellow in my case, but it sounds good. I'm not completely through yet, but this record is a beast.

I’m not going to bother with this. I’ll just be content with the cd, but I am curious if the vinyl master will alleviate some of the clipping that is all over the digital version (probably not). That would actually make this box a bit more interesting.

I have the 2xLP and it sounds excellent. It sounds massive with practically no surface noise.

Spinning my clear rust copy now, sounds amazing. Also extremely happy to be able to listen to the record on release day.