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RE: Is MoFi and the likes

Posted by flood2 (A) on April 17, 2025 at 01:38:39

In Reply to: RE: Is MoFi and the likes posted by Goober58 on April 16, 2025 at 23:27:22:

We actually agree on the 33rpm, 45rpm thing - 45 rpm definitely sounds better.

Perhaps I wasn't clear, but I meant that when I said:

"Any differences you might hear between the two editions are down to the mechanical anomalies that get transferred during the new 33rpm cut, plating/stamper duplication, QRP pressing quality and playback equipment. Each lacquer cut is in itself a unique sonic experience because the lathe rotation speed stability, the tape wow/flutter are all subtly variable."

The point being that the act of cutting a new lacquer, whether at 33 or 45rpm is itself a unique sonic version. Absolutely we will hear differences.

Also, I commented on how 45rpm would definitely sound better in relation to the immediate 1.35x reduction in distortion and wider bandwidth possible which also means that "real world" styli in common use such as the SLC, Shibata and Fine Line types as well as plain vanilla elliptical tips which are all around the 6 to 8 um range will perform far better with 45rpm.


My point was that the Steely Dan records are fundamentally taken from the same master. For some, knowing that the Ume edition is from a digital source makes it a hard pass, but I'm not such a SD fan that I would buy the UHQR. I am comfortable in knowing that the Ume edition for <1/4 the price would be "most of the way" there in equivalence and I use a Microline or SAS for playback so the differences between 33 and 45 are less significant to me. I am of course at the mercy of the vinyl pressing quality which is often a little noisier than UHQRs and there isn't the same pride of ownership that comes with the UHQR. If the aim is to get as close as possible to the master used to cut the disc, then IMO, 45rpm is the best and I have many. I passed on the 33rpm AP Kind of Blue UHQR and waited for the 2x45rpm UHQR specifically to get "the best" version. 45 rpm does mean that surface noise shifts up in frequency a bit (you hear it in the lead in groove) and the records have to be flat to fully realize the quality.
Regards Anthony

"Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.." Keats

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