10 things of current vinyl releases that piss me off! 

35, 50 , 60 bucks for a new vinyl IS AN ABUSE , specially towards the young kids just starting in the hobby of listening to music and collecting records.

Thanks a million Guid-man! This is one of your best videos, really love it when you conjure up the authentic Italian passion!

Point no. 11: if it’s a modern (digital) production don’t waste money on the record. This is supposed to sound best as a digital reproduction. In almost every case companies don’t even bother to remaster the digital file to sound good on vinyl. As you mentioned I also never heard a 180g sounding better than a regular record. Record companies making a huge profit from the raising interest and try to maximize it with all the stuff you mentioned. Plus in 9 out of 10 times the original pressing sounds better than the re- issue (and is sometimes even less expensive).

For new releases it pisses me off when they don't include a download. Indie labels often do, but it's getting less common.

Amen, Guido! 100% agree on all aspects. I’ve been a record collector and audio nerd for over 30 yrs. Lost the majority of my 1st collection in a fire, but have thankfully tracked down most of the records I’d lost plus many more. Now, there’s only a few more grails left, but they’ll show up eventually. I just hope newer collectors aren’t put off by this BS that goes along with collecting today. 👍🔊😊🎶

You youngsters, they have always been expensive, sometimes hard to get and varying drastically in quality. ( I don’t like having to get up and turn over those 45’s at my age though). Ps love your channel

Good list I agree. My number 11 would be reissues using original artwork and spoiling it with a bar code that wasn't on the first issue.

With the 180 gram thing, it's mostly hype, and I think they are more prone to non-fill and they definitely can still warp. I noticed Neil Young re-issues are now 140.

The greed of companies which has led to new vinyl being over the top expensive will definitely turn young kids from getting into this format. The profit margin is HUGE yet we still get digitally sourced heavily brickwalled sounding vinyl in cheap paper sleeves. One really has to be selective with what pressing they buy. A sticker on front showing the chain ,..such as AAA...would be helpful. Grazie Guido .. ciao from Australia 👍

great video!!...a little bit of information regarding time per side: general rule is like 20-23 mins per side in LPs cut with lacquer method and 2 mins. extra per side with DMM...when you pass the optimum time per side, the engineer has to do "some tricks" in order to cut thin grooves , like roll off bass, make lower overall level of the recording and the ugly "narrowing of stereo field"...so, if you want to stay in a relative safe zone about overall quality, dont buy LPs with more than 50 mins.

The thing that piss me of the most is that large number of the new releases are made from digital mix. I do not see why on Earth you will have all original analog tapes, will convert them to digital, make "improvements" and then prepare to release all of this back to analog as LP. There is no any sense!

What a great video man! gorgeous! I would add to my list, the exaggeration of colored vinyls when the original version was black

Number 1 is the high price! 2 the hit or miss sound quality. 3 poor quality artwork. 4. High compression and lack of dynamics. 5 CD having more content at half the price! High prices will eventually kill the market.

Keep it up…I am digital only and you just gave me ten MORE reasons not to make the insane plunge back into the obsessions and associated costs of vinyl! 😎 I do always enjoy your videos and learn a lot! 👍🏼

You hit the nail! 👍🏻

Good points ,inner sleeves is the one thing annoys me ,they are usually in the lyric sheet as the sleeve , anyway thanks any all your points are well made 🙏🌻🎼

Hi: All the points you make are valid and knowing that the record producers hopefully read these I didn't mean to imply that "there's no pleasing some people - but - as we all know that can be the case on occasion. As to your last point which I whole heartedly agree with as to "off center" holes that is an issue. I've come up with a fool proof way of alleviating that problem without the insanity of a $1500 centering tool!!!. All you need is an "X-Acto" knife and a good eye. Start your turntable and place the stylus on the record roughly one inch in from the lead in groove. Now bend down a "sight" along the tonearm and see weather the stylus is moving in or out from dead center. Then while the platter is still moving note at which point of the label is the movement note that place on the label. Now stop the platter lift the tonearm and relace it on its' rest. Now that you're noted the area of inward or out ward motion take your X-Acto knife and slowly start to "cut" that small area - the cut you make will resemble an eighth moon shape. Now put the record back on your TT and place the eighth moon cut right up to the spindle and start to play it and see if you tonearm still moves. It should be moving less eccentrically now - but if it still does shave a bit more and try again -go slow and shave a little at a time until you get it perfectly centered - it isn't that difficult there's nothing worse than hearing a "wow" in your record from an off centered hole! I've been doing this for many many years with great success - happy centering!

Lots of consumers aren't very bright. Corporations will take advantage of a consumer every time we let them. Unfortunately in a world of instant gratification people want want want more than they are willing to think about the long term effects. Like all these little things they do, pic discs, 180 or 220 and box sets, hifidelity stickers etc...they have been separating the market for a long time of ppl who refuse to pay and the suckers, and unfortunately there are alot more suckers. Big problem with that is by willfully paying these silly prices consumers are screaming to labels "HEY WE DONT CARE ABOUT AUDIO QUALITY AS LONG AS ITS SPARKLY AND SAYS LIMITED EDITION WE'LL PAY ANY PRICE !!!". So the real threat is there is no financial incentive to keep producing high quality records and once they all realize this, even the few that do try will not be able to compete with other labels doing the same album at half the cost and selling at the same price. Everyone should do their research before buying an album, if peoples opinion on that album is that it's compressed or has poor dynamics than just stream it instead until they get the message. It's cheaper and may even sound better.

The industry milked CDs, kept inflating prices, until people stopped buying them altogether. They are doing the same with vinyl.

THANKS MATE! Someone had to say those things about records nowadays! I especially get annoyed by the poor quality of the printing. Two examples: Madonna’s ‘true blue’ or Tina’s ‘break every rule’ (two records which reissue shocked me from their covers full of noise compared to the original version, printed the old way!). I would also point out the compulsive way teenagers buy new records, paying no attention to its price, only to play them on a shitty plastic turntable with a disgusting ceramic cartridge. Are they drug dealers or what? I’m glad I tolerate very well other formats like the cds, sometimes I’m about giving it up with records.

Thanks for this video!! I want to remark on the ARTWORK. I have bought vinyl reissues of albums that I originally bought in the late 70s - early 80s. And guess what?! And guess what? The new artwork is really bad. They shrunk the original artwork to CD size, and now blowing it back to LP size with low resolution and cropped in the wrong way! Once you notice this, it is awful

Bought a 45rpm super vinyl for 80 bucks, hole was not in the middle and the needle was jumping, returned it immediately, no comment, maybe I will completely stop buying new vinyl because I got to much crappy stuff in the last years

We are paying good money for a poor product I used to DJ years ago and I’m pretty sure the quality of vinyls back then was better than it is now

Good video Guido. To me the worse is the missing information: mastering, pressing plant, process etc. sometimes the same serial n belongs to several editions, unbelievable

The high prices are definitely a turn off. Unless I need it for my collection I will stick to the CD or cassette release to have it

The thing I don't like in new releases is fancy colours and white. I like black so you can see the grooves are clean. I don't want stupid rainbow of colours in a splatter pattern. I don't want a decorative disc I want to listen to it!

On the price: If you get some cheaper new releases, the quality control is awful because I've had a few times where they just used stampers till they are worn, resulting in records that sound muffled or have terrible sibilance.

Rush icon comes with the anti static cover. I really appreciate that they did that for the Rush album

Off center records, while has always been an issue, it is much more common now.

11. Taking the master that was destined for the CD and using it on the LP: Marillion's 2018 Remix of "Clutching At Straws" is a MAJOR offender here. You get really, REALLY bad, insufferable clipping where the levels peak; a scratchy-sounding distortion in all the crescendos of "That Time of The Night", "Slàinte Mhath", "Sugar Mice", "The Last Straw" that makes the listening experience intolerable. And it seemed like such a well thought-out release! Two LPs to hold all of the CD's songs without omitting any one of them; heavyweight vinyl with practically no surface noise; proper antistatic inner sleeves. And yet, you're stuck with such a piss-poor mastering that ruins everything. 12. Spindle holes that are too tight or too loose - often combined with eccentricity. 13. "Limited editions" of digitally-remastered records. EXCUSE ME? Dude, you're using a (hopefully) high-res digital copy of the master (whether it's digital or analog is neither here nor there). You can make unlimited copies of it. Don't tell me you're limited to 5,000, 10,000, 50,000 copies. And if the record companies think they can't afford to fix these things, here's a way for them to save money: fire a few Chief Something Officers, and axe the salaries and bonuses of the remaining ones by 60%. Problem solved.

Two things: Starting with 180g pressings, and in imho its bullshit. As with anything in analog audio shit in, shit out. Your stylus doesn't care how much your record weighs what really matters is the quality of the pressing. If you start with a bad master you are going to have a bad record. if you are concerned about your record moving while its playing use a wight or a clamp. Number two is the price of new and used records and tables. The only thing that will cure this is time. Reel to Reel machines and tape had this issues 5 or 6 years years ago. But since then the market has cooled down and you no longer have to mortgage your house to buy a Tascam, Teac, Akai, Technics, etc. And the only albums that cost an arm and leg are your stereotypical heavy hitters Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, etc. And I think the vinyl market will cool down sooner rather then later. As the people who fallow this trend are moving away from vinyl and towards compact cassettes. So if you have a good deck that you are thinking about selling now would be a good time to service it and clean it up.

The inflated prices with the crazy strong dollar makes buying records pretty much a no no for me at the moment. I prefer records in a simple made quality jacket instead of large cumbersome boxes. I really dislike them, it is just an excuse to overprice the product and is a major inconvenience with little real added value.

In un negozio di dischi in Croazia ho chiesto alla commessa di cosa si lamentano di più i clienti, lei ha risposto "tutti dicono che i dischi una volta erano di qualità molto più alta e costavano meno", l'enfasi era sulla scarsa qualità

I've yet to hear a 45 RPM release that doesn't sound SO much better than the 33 1/3 it's not even worth playing the 33 1/3 version any more. By far, the best sounding album I own is the 45 RPM 180g Analogue Productions version of "A Charlie Brown Christmas." I couldn't agree more upon the lack of QC; there's no reason each copy of a $125 release can't be checked to make sure each side was pressed centered, doesn't have non-fill, and isn't warped.

Re Boxes. Acoustic Sounds is the big guilty party here. Do we need a UHQR special edition in a pointless box? No we don't and it adds to the high price. Are you paying attention Chad?

I've come to the point where buying the cd is more economical then the album. After thinking through the recording, I'm basically buying a cd on vinyl. If it's a release from prior 1985-88, it's better for me to search out the record from those years prior even if it is a re release of a certain album over the newer vinyl release. I want to enjoy my music collection, not be a slave to it.

What about box sets at 45 rpm on 180g vinyl ? Isn't that what the new Steely Dan box sets are ? Like the Italians say in NY..."Fugget about it...." In addition most re-issues are from a DSD source which in turn may have been converted from a "PCM-Master".

You are right in all your points. I want to emphasise in the height of prices. This is mentioned in used records too making our hobby unaffordable. All the tricks (45rpm,box sets, 180 grammars, collored vinyl) are there to increase record prices. I see compact discs with more sympathy than ever.....

The Way Most Companies WERE: "Let's work real hard and produce some good product for our loyal customers. Something they will really like and be impressed and fully satisfied with, and take a real liking to. Maybe they will tell some of their friends about it and they will start buying & really get into it too. Lets see how low cost we can do this without compromising quality. We don't want to be viewed as price gougers for being too expensive for heavens sake. What do you think would be a fair price to charge? If anyone has a problem due to possible lapses in quality control, let's help them. We don't want to lose any of our loyal customers. Ok, let's get started and everybody do their best. The Way Many Companies Are NOW: How much money do you think we can possibly charge for this and enough people would still buy it? We will have to give them good quality or they'll stop buying them, but we want every dollar we can get out of them. What they tell their friends is of no concern. They probably don't have any friends that will pay our prices. If our price is less than what they would have been willing to pay, that's money that could have been ours. We can package it up real fancy and charge a sh*tload of money for it. They'll think "Oh, how nice. That's a lot of money but it looks like it's worth it." "Look how nice the box is". Let's say it's limited edition, that way, they'll figure they better buy it real quick, before it goes out of print. They have a fear of missing out.They'll think it will be worth even a lot more money, when it does go out of print. Some of them will actually but 2 copies at those prices. One to hold onto for a while, and then sell, and one for themselves. Ok no fooling around now. Let's Go.. Go.. Go.. !

1. Record labels (MOFSL included) not being transparent in telling us what source was used to cut the record. Now that vinyl is going up in price, there's no excuse to cut from digital files. I don't mind paying more if the quality goes up

I find 180 gram to be warped more than older pressings. Many digital remastering are poor. So I tend to buy older used records.

11 - Not having a code for digital download. Sorry, I can't listen to vinyl in my car. 12 - Recurrent quality issues on new releases. You all know what I mean. 13 - When the record label don't indicate in a glance side A and side B... I mean, come on!!!! Annoying!!! 14 - really thin Spines. Hard to search on shelving collection. I prefer thick gatefold designs. 15 - Disappointing soind quality pressings. Yep, they make us want to only have those near mint rare vintage pressings. In the case of new albums, well... nothing much to do, except to wait 10 years for a new repressing, or find an alternative country/ area pressing. 16 - already mentioned - PRICE!!!!!!

I received my new analog production Miles Davis “Kind of Blue”. 180G. Clear vinyl. First record is completely warped!!!! WTH!!! A new 180g vinyl that is warped….yes the 180g is hifi snake oil that we happily paid for. And that’s the issue here. Corporations will do all in their power to maximize profits as long as we pay for it. I’m never buying from them until it’s guaranteed a flawless album shows up to my house…. My copy of the new Blue Note “BlueTrain” reissue is flawless. Perfect, flat 180g vinyl. 🎉🎉🎉

There’s already been 3 records I bought for good money, because I really revere the release but I ended up getting 3 very desirable, hard to get vinyls with large divots (pits) in the grooves, making it impossible to play that track without destroying (or ripping out) your stylus! Why is it on the always on the hard to get and most desirable records, is it only me???

I so agree with you. Thanks for your video, mate 😎👍

Single albums in the U.S. in 1978 cost $5.99. In 2022 that same value is about $27. There is no good reason for new vinyl albums to cost more than about $30 unless they are "special" in some way. Even more aggravating for us here in the U.S. is despite the current exchange rate of $1.00 USD = 1.03 Euros, we really haven't seen prices of goods from Europe become any cheaper. I price vinyl albums, speakers, DACs, turntables, integrated amps, etc., and nope. Prices are just as high as they ever were. Someone is pocketing that difference, but it isn't the consumers.

You forget the most important. DON'T USE DIGITAL MASTERS FOR MAKING REISSUES!! VINYL-RECORDS ARE ANALOGUE NOT DIGITAL!! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬😎😎

PAPER JACKETS....AAARRRGGHH!! They are my biggest complaint on new releases. As you say, why not at least use a poly lined sleeve for the package. It can't cost any more. Then we can use our own preferred sleeves. Agree with you re boxes too.

I entirely agree with all of your points. The sloppy mastering and compression makes some new releases unlistenable. A good example of this is Crowded House’s “Dreamers Are Waiting”. The vinyl LP is an atrocity. The album is really good and on CD, via a decent DAC, sounds very nicely recorded and produced. Biffy Clyro suffer from badly mastered vinyl releases, low level, overly compressed and almost one dimensional mush. The Doves last LP was the same. I’ve heard more dynamics on you tube! Well said my friend!

I have the same issue with shipping but the other way, living in the US and those issues only released in Europe or UK It's like buying 1 record for the price of 2... (if you're lucky)

At last somebody who tells openly that 180g vinyls are only a gimmick. Their beneficience to sound quality is questionable. The only advantage is their resistance against warping.

Crappy built-in pre amp on new turntables suck as well.. I agree on everything! 👍

We all complained when CD's started to take over and vinyl seemed to be going the way of the "Doo-Doo Bird". Now that we're getting all the vinyl we can handle and then some - still complaints - I don't get it sorry. Like my mom used to say " there's no pleasing some people" how true!

I'm thrilled, I just found your channel. Great videos

Thanks for capturing it. Agree to everyone of your points. Especially the US releases (and UK OGs since brexit…..)

My peeve - colored vinyl. Bought a few of these from Walmart at $22-$25 USD a pop, and that’s what I get - pops, clicks, scraping sounds even when I clean the record multiple times. I returned 4 albums over Christmas that sounded horrible or full of noise. No more.

My two cents... (IMHO) As a collector who loves Blue Note jazz, I really don't need the gatefold sleeves. They take up too much space on my shelves. I would reather that both the classic and Tone Poets came in basic sleeves and that prices were shifted accordingly.

Spot on, Guido! You have perfectly addressed the 10 annoyers which are also mine. Foremost, I just cannot understand why any environmental care has not arrived in the broad record industry yet. If all would move to 140-150g records (which I also know from friends’ research sound better and have less warping issues). A few boutique labels already do that and I never had any complaint about the pressing quality. In addition, the material thus cost savings would be gigantic across the entire industry. My experience with records made from recycled vinyl is not good sound wise, however. I sincerely hope that some of the industry‘s decision makers will be listening to the vinyl buyers‘ communities which are getting more and more aware and vocal also thanks to channels like yours. Please keep up that good work. At the end of the day, we all have the power to make them improve or change by simply refusing to buy what pisses us off 😉

The big overlooked problem with boxes, particularly in a humid climate, is that they are a breading place for mold and mildew. Anybody ever seen those pristine looking boxes of opera LPs at the thrift store....open one up and your nose is hit with that nasty moldy aroma.

These points are actually quite good!

If I would release something in vinyl, it would be in 45 RPM, just because I would try to deliver the best product possible, but it would have been thought as such (and most chances would be that it would simply be an EP on a 12 inches record). But, in order to do that, I would have to record it with material that would give at least as much highs as the 45 RPM gives and without too much hiss, with my 4 track recorder, even though the speed is doubled compare to a normal deck recorder, I don't think I would have that quality, so, I don't plan doing it now, I only plan to release tapes. But that's the musician's perspective in myself, now, the music amateur, well, I bought one (box) of an album remastered in 45 RPM and the sound is so great, I think that worth it, now, I think that if there would be no choice, that a re-release is only on 45 RPM, that's certainly not a good idea, but if the consumer has the choice between an 33 RPM and a 45 RPM version, that's great to be also able to buy a 45 RPM version.

Hi Guido, I enjoyed your video but bad records have always been a problem. It was the main reason I was an early CD adopter. I could just not put up with the LP quality any more we where getting in the 80's. Other than that, I mainly buy vintage records and when I buy new ones they are from bands that are on tour and bring out their own. I think those are the real limited editions. And most of those records have been problem free. I also have a few 180 gram records and personally I have no complains with the sound. My main turntable is a Dual 1019 and since that has a 10" platter, I don't mind a bit stiffer record.

You pretty well covered it! Prices are spiking even for regular releases and quality control is terrible! Straight out of the shrink wrap I get warped records, audibly scratchy, and the absolute worst when the center hole isn't lined up properly! I would add limited quantity to the list of gripes. The record hobby is growing and it's tough when an album gets a 500 - 1000 print run that sells out in seconds and never gets a second release for 5+ years!

Number 9 (Record Condition). Lax and greedy manufacturing practices is the biggest flaw in today's vinyl! I bought Wish you Were Here in the summer and was appalled at what I got from PF! Bits of processing debris was ground into the vinyl - on two albums! Back in the early 80's you were almost guaranteed that a PF album would be free of debris. Actually most albums were good! Today It is actually odd to get a good album...so sad.

I buy vinyl from the time when all was analog. Exceptions are rare new AAA releaeses of music I like and with the overall quality for the efford, which is foremost Jazz & Blues. At classical music digital is better. New pop/rock etc. productions mostly don't have the quality in recording and/or music for spending the stated surcharge of vinyl.

Gerard Stroh*** Hi Anadialog*** I Like The 45 rpm Speed Versions Because it Sounds Better!!! 1. They Need to Be the Same Price on all Box Sets per Country 2. Alot of Times the Color Vinyl will have Flaws in the Vinyl and it Sounds So Noisy like an old Record!!!! 3. I don't Like the inner Record Sleeves that Are Made out of Paper and it acts like Sandpaper!!!! 4. The Clear Vinyl Records Like the John Lennon Imagine Album was So Noisy and the CD and Blu-Ray Was Better!!!! 5. I got the Fog Soundtrack From Waxworks was so Noisy and Flawd so I Re-order it Because Hopefully this Pressing Should Be Better!!!! That's My Take on New Vinyl Records!!!

Agreed! Mostly, but with point #3 I disagree to a point. (180 mg's) Here is a thought, and different take. I have 2 turntable decks. Both are Dual. One is Direct Drive- 701. The other is belt. Both have mats. But, the direct drive, (1974) is a bit lower of a tonearm angle. Even with my insulator mat. So, when I put a 180 mg record on the Dual 701, it actually sounds better (to me) because the stylus sits deeper in the groove from the record being up a bit higher and the stylus is not trying to bite in at an articulated angel. As for my belt, both sound as good.

Caro Guido grazie per la qualità sempre alta e stimolante dei tuoi contributi. Per me, appassionato collezionista di dischi, la conseguenza più nefasta della rinascita del vinile è la tendenza a saturare il mercato con musiche del passato. Se guardiamo la cosa ad esempio dal punto di vista di un musicista di jazz che ha inciso un disco e magari vuole diffonderlo attraverso il vinile, ora a ottobre del 2022, al di là delle difficoltà di produzione (ritardi, tecniche digitali di incisione invece che analogiche etc. etc.) questo ipotetico autore si trova a dover competere con Blue Train (in due versioni) Kind of Blue etc etc. Questo solo per fare un esempio ... Bisognerebbe promuovere di più quelle pochissime case discografiche che con tecnica analogica fanno incisioni in vinile di artisti viventi. These are my two cents ..

Great video. Check out Daptone records - or colemine. Good prices, recorded in analog to tape, quality jackets, new issues have anti static sleeves, a few color variants- true limited editions not to be re pressed and small quantity batches of those. 45s that are true singles - 7inch 45s - and also truly limited and they have European distribution …Plus the music is soulful and funky as hell!

So basically it's not worth buying vinyl in the 21st century... unless it's old pressings that came out originally. I've many vinyl records but I think I'll stop buying new releases now and stick to CD.

The 2018 Remix of Pink Floyd's Animals is packaged well and is actually amazing!!!!!!!!!! The only problem (according to what Mike Espinosa said) right now is that the defect rate is 40% which is absolutely ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!! But, I got a copy of it and it sounds amazing!!!!!!!!!! Definitely worth every penny. Not really interested in buying any other modern day pressing of any other album. Maybe the 50th Anniversary edition of The Dark Side Of The Moon (if it comes out), but I want to be as satisfied with that reissue as I was with the 2018 Remix of Animals.

6:08 Yeah great point! I haven't thought about that yet, but you're right. My biggest pet peeve are the bs limited editions. Even the old DJ records I own were more limited and sold at 8.95 euros a piece.

Some of the new albums and pressings are off the charts excellent- I specifically refer to Acoustic Sounds - and frankly blow away almost all my old albums. Check out their verve series in 45 holy smokes you will not be disappointed

In regards to inflation, the price of vinyl LPs is lowest in the 70s and 80s. The price of vinyl nowadays is similar to that of the 60s. I guess that they made the vinyl thinner and mixed the PVC with recycled vinyl and other fillers after the 1973 oil crisis, which added more surface noise. They kept on using this formulation even after the oil crisis ended and throughout the 70s and 80s which in turn reduced the production cost (except for audiophile releases). I don't think that there is a purpose to make 180g vinyl for standard releases and reissues.

I've had a few records with a centre hole isn't big enough to fit my TT - I use an RC body reamer to open it out slightly. A PITA.🤨

Acoustic Sounds checks most all of your gripes with their reissues of the Steely Dan LPs. All in 45 rpm… check. All on 180 gr of course.. check. All at 150 bucks. LoL… check… all in needless (stupid) outer boxing… check. WTF. I bought the KOB on UHQR.. took me FOUR returns to get an acceptable copy and it was not perfect. The clear vinyl is pure hype. I have an early 70s reissue that sounds as good. I love Analog Production in general- their AP reissues are priced under 50 bucks and are awesome. Why they couldn’t do this with Steely Dan is beyond all understanding. They could have done so much more sales had they stuck to simple packaging and standard vinyl. But no. Also, most of Steely Dan’s albums are not what I’d call audiophile to begin with.. and none of their fans could care less either.

I wish they would master from original tape to vinyl. I bought Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds new vinyl. Sounded terrible. Too tiny and it was scratched. I sent it back and bought an old release. Superb.

Thank goodness i have kept all my original records from the 60's and 70's in good condition.

Neil Young toast was filthy, look like it had been dropped in sawdust. Fingerprints all over both sides of both albums. Ragged edge with loose vinyl, not trimmed properly. Many scratches. And instead of getting album A&B I two copies of album B. At least it was all analog and put in a anti-static sleeve!

As much as I appreciate Analogue Productions releases, the UHQR versions like the new Steely Dan catalog at $150 USD, is ridiculous even in the US. Why can’t we have a choice to buy a good sounding regular version with a nice jacket for $30 usd? I’m skipping the UHQR version unless it is a grail for me. Everyone should be able to enjoy a quality re release, not just those with infinite budgets.

Do you have a video with tips on buying old vinyl records ? I have a store near by my place…

Good video, excellent points. I could go on a rant about abandoning vinyl records. No new purchases, never. I'm done. To be clear, I am a CD lover, but it doesn't mean I hate vinyl. I have 375 albums that date from the late 60s to the mid 80s. That's when I went CD. Not for any cause or reason, it was the thing. Most everything you mention is a reason for my decision to go CD. The biggest push away from vinyl was my purchase of an Emerson, Lake and Palmer LP, a beautiful cream white vinyl that sounded good, that is, until the pops arrived. That was the straw that broke my back. CDs do not suffer from the other annoying disturbances a vinyl produces, such as groove noise, pops and having to clean the record every time. Then there is the cost of the turntable of choice, the upgrade to a better cartridge, maybe a need to purchase a DAC, etc. Not going to say that CDs sound better than vinyl, that is up to the listener and his set of ears. But I do notice that clear, clean sound of pure silence and excellent dynamic range a CD produces, especially those originally recorded digitally. Yep, there are more digital recordings than you think. I really wish vinyl would just go away. It really is old tech and can't improve beyond the restrictions of the physical disc. Ever so slowly, I'm replacing all the vinyl records I love with CDs. The records are slowly dying. And if and when no more physical media is produces, I will still have my forever library of music on a small silver platter in digital form.

First, many, if not all, of the 10 things you said have nothing to do with audiophilia. Audiophilia has to do with sound quality (when it was recorded in a studio). A recording for being in 180g or in a box, does not mean that the audio is of good quality. It must be recorded according to audiophile parameters - sound, audio, not packing. So when they say audiophile release... it's so funny. They are always confusing audiophilia with music lover. In Portuguese we have a word "melómano" (I don't know if there is in Italian) but melómano translated into most languages means "music lover", but its real meaning is music maniac - Who has a passion for MUSIC. This word is used scholarly. It has Greek origin. Melo + mano. Audiophilia: Strong interest or enthusiasm for high-quality SOUND reproduction and especially high-fidelity. That takes care of sound, any sound. Of course, music is sound, but not always carefully recorded. Second, I use a "box" with the dimensions of 79x109x14mm and 149g, with more than 1000 recordings, flac 16 and 24bit, dsd, dsf.

Great points !!! Limited Editions are a misnomer.

Some new issues are 200 grams as a way to charge more. Why?

Adding extra tracks to an LP is definitely bad due to the compression. This also occurs on CD's where they jam 20 tracks on a CD and then you wind up with a whole bunch of compressed music. Both sound absolutely terrible!

Dipped my toes into vinyl, after hearing a mega buck vinyl system... Brand new records were scratched, dirty, off center, same label on both sides etc. The mastering of all was to different degrees subpar to the masterings I had on cd or could find on streaming. Lent/bough some older records too and most were pretty awful (thin/tinny). The best records were still better on digital, even though the new price of the TT setup (Rega P3-24, Exact2, external psu, Rega Aria, reference belt, magic gel cleaner etc.) was more than the new price of my DAC combo (USBridge signature, Allo Shanti PSU, Rega DAC). Hopefully I was just very unlucky, but with prices being what they are and purchases being so hit and miss, I’m not sure I’ll re-engage. To be clear, if you are willing to figure/search out the right pressings and get a much better TT setup than me, it sure it can be awesome (maybe even superior), but I think you will pay a high tax (time spent, money invested to get better than comparatively affordable digital). I’ll be fixing my power, treating my room, getting a proper digital front end etc.. then maybe vinyl when I old and bored (or get a lot of funny money) 😅

I agree with you completely on all of your points other than the import fees being from the US. I feel for you having to pay more for US releases.

Let's add a #12 - there's no excuse to not offer a digital download with a new release LP today. Of course we know why; if you want a copy to listen to in the car or on your phone, you have to buy TWO copies, one on vinyl and one digital.

Disagree about 45RPM. Better dynamics, less inner groove distortion, etc. better clarity, better S/N ratio, etc. i agree about the boxes and the 180g vinyl.

The thickness of the vinyl has nothing to do with record, master or pressing quality. It has to do with damping vibrations and reduce distortions. Micro Seiki once demonstrated this. They were using a turntable with 2 tonearms. One was playing a 1000 Hz tone and the other an unmodulated groove. The speakers were monitoring the tonearm playing the unmodulated groove. The demonstrations started without the vacuum hold down of the platter. You clearly could hear the 1000 Hz tone picked up from vibrations traveling through the vinyl record caused by the cartridge playing the 1000 Hz tone. After they engaged the vacuum hold down, the speakers went silent. The 180g vinyl is always better for dampening purposes. Vacuum hold down is of course better. If I have the choice, I always opt for the 180/200g vinyl for that reason alone.

I can really relate to your pet peeves. They drive me crazy too!!

Well, you are very lucky to pay only 25% or 30% as import taxes for LPs! Here in a Brazil we pay 100% of the LP price AND of the shipping cost, as import tax!!! This is crazy!

Preach It! Amen!

Anch'io seguo il canale di Johnny. Grandissimo. Sono d'accordo con te su tutti i 10 motivi!

Couldn't agree more strongly with this video and all of these 10 points. Well said it really is all getting a bit ludacris these days.They are treating intelligent people like dummies.

Agree with most of those Guido. The prices are the main bugbear, so I only buy 3 or 4 new per year nowadays. I think vinyl will decline as a result as it's become a rich man's game.

My solution to most of this is, price too high, don't buy. Unlimited limited edition, don't buy unless you want it and you don't need multiple colors, just buy one. I almost exclusively buy original releases. I know I can get my money back if I ever decide to part with it. However, I do not buy to just collect, I purchases to listen to them. I only purchase new releases and re-issues if its something I really want but the original is a stupid high price.

Recently I've bought a new Depeche Mode CD Memento Mori for 2600 RUB ($35) in a cheap paper digipack. It's insane. CDs are growing in price while no one need it. What's happening??!!!

Excellent video and totally on point! 45 rpm is THE WORST! Stop the madness and just produce quality 33 rpm pressings already. Quality is the key word here and my number one issue with current record production: Pressings consistently have the following issues: Surface noise Clicks and pops Hole is off center Hole is too small Warping Split seams Dirty AF And “audiophile” pressings are not exempt. Many are nearly as bad or worse than standard productions. I’m tired of wasting my money on a subpar product and have recently begin purchasing CDs (for far less money) until the industry gets its act together. I’m pretty fed up with it all.