Vinyl Asylum

What does it mean when the vinyl pressing is labeled 'audiophile'?

199.10.28.20

This Post Has Been Edited by the Author

I was chatting with a sales guy at the local record store and relayed my disappointing experience with the 2012 remastered Beatles "Abbey Road" 180 g pressing (which I purchased in his store). He replied that the new remaster sounds the way I describe it because it's the 'audiophile' issue' (sic?!?)

That made me ponder: what does it mean when someone labels a vinyl pressing as 'audiophile'? If I were to judge by the overall sound of the 180 g Abbey Road remaster, I'd conclude that 'audiophile' implies dark, somewhat subdued, 'safe' sound. Excessively warm (to a fault), with a lot of high-end sparkle removed in order to eliminate the inevitable tape hiss. The end result is sound which, for the lack of a better word, I'd describe as 'sanded off'.

Maybe some connoisseurs prefer such castrated sound (and then rush to dignify it with 'audiophile' epithet), but to me it's all ass backwards. Or did I get everything wrong?

Anyway, what's your opinion on what qualifies as 'audiophile' issue?

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