Supersense Mastercut Edition Lacquers

[Zeotrope]

It sounds better than the MoFi UHQR 45RPM mastered after DSD, and probably the best version one can buy, but overall didn’t reach the presence, natural sound of some of the original recordings that Kedar brought ‘round. Great to have as the best version of that Marvin Gaye recording, just wouldn’t use it to show off your system.

Right, and I was comparing it to the MoFI UHQR. I agree.

 

[mtemur]

It sounds better than the MoFi UHQR 45RPM mastered after DSD, and probably the best version one can buy, but overall didn’t reach the presence, natural sound of some of the original recordings that Kedar brought ‘round. Great to have as the best version of that Marvin Gaye recording, just wouldn’t use it to show off your system.

As far as I know Kevin Gray’s cut is considered the best new release of Marvin Gaye’s what’s going on not the MoFi’s.

 

[Rensselaer]

As far as I know Kevin Gray’s cut is considered the best new release of Marvin Gaye’s what’s going on not the MoFi’s.

I didn't say that the MoFi was the best, but I did postulate that the lacquer from Supersense could be. Having many Craft records mastered by Kevin Gray however, you might be right, but I don't have that recording to compare.

 

[mtemur]

I didn't say that the MoFi was the best, but I did postulate that the lacquer from Supersense could be. Having many Craft records mastered by Kevin Gray however, you might be right, but I don't have that recording to compare.

I shared it to remind KG cut was the one to compare.

 

[zebo67]

I recently received #5 - Duke Ellington and #8 - Nina Simone editions.

As far as product, the packaging and content is first rate. If you’re a collector, you will appreciate the care and level of details went into putting this package together. The lacquer feel and finish is anything I ever come across, again very exquisite. The record is devoid of any noise, pops and ticks and gets you very close to master tape experience. Is Mastercut better than versions offered by Acoustic Sounds Series 33 and 45’s. To my ears, YES!!!

Is Mastercut worth 10x the 45 version offered by Acoustic Sounds, well it depends on your budget and preferences. If you a have collector mindset and selectively building your record collection then one of these records belong in your prized collection. I now own 3 and contemplating my 4th purchase.

 

[Atmasphere]

I know nothing about lacquers, but I do know about Michael Fremer. I find Michael to be scrupulously intellectually honest. If Supersense offers laquers in a title I want I would not hesitate to buy it.

Has anyone bought a lacquer from Supersense? What has been your experience with it?

How does the lacquer compare sonically to the same title on vinyl?

Have you observed any sonic degradation in the lacquer over time or over multiple plays?

Absolutely! After only a few plays they are obviously noisier. However, there are things called 'dub plates' that are direct mastered like a lacquer but last a lot longer. Generally they tend to be noisier than lacquers but if someone has worked out a quieter material it could be pretty nice.

My understanding is that normally lacquers are cut from a production master (or a backup safety master) which is a copy of the original master. The production and safety masters are shipped to the mastering engineer and he/she cuts the lacquer and then one or more fathers and then several mothers and from each mother several stampers. The stampers are used to make the records. With a "one-step" process, the lacquer is used to make a stamper directly (or maybe a few stampers) and the record comes from the stamper (essentially skipping two steps in the process.)

To be clear, in the one step process the stamper is made from the lacquer which is destroyed in the process. So you have one shot that the stamper will be OK, otherwise if you want the more direct sound a one step can be, you have to remaster with a new lacquer.

However, even if the lacquer was cut from an early generation master, it still suffers from the unavoidable disadvantages of end of side distorsion, surface noise etc. The amount of information that one can get onto an LP side is far less than a reel of 1/4" tape at 15ips (which is why tape is still used to store large volumes of data).

This is a common myth just so you know.

Even in the leadout grooves you can cut a 30KHz tone and play it back (I did it with my Scully lathe with Westerex 3D cutterhead, and played back on a SL1200 tt using a Grado Gold). Tape simply does not have that bandwidth. Nor do you get excess noise- that's an artifact of playback, often by a pickup that isn't matched well or set up well in its tonearm.

 

[adrianywu]

Absolutely! After only a few plays they are obviously noisier. However, there are things called 'dub plates' that are direct mastered like a lacquer but last a lot longer. Generally they tend to be noisier than lacquers but if someone has worked out a quieter material it could be pretty nice.

To be clear, in the one step process the stamper is made from the lacquer which is destroyed in the process. So you have one shot that the stamper will be OK, otherwise if you want the more direct sound a one step can be, you have to remaster with a new lacquer.

This is a common myth just so you know.

Even in the leadout grooves you can cut a 30KHz tone and play it back (I did it with my Scully lathe with Westerex 3D cutterhead, and played back on a SL1200 tt using a Grado Gold). Tape simply does not have that bandwidth. Nor do you get excess noise- that's an artifact of playback, often by a pickup that isn't matched well or set up well in its tonearm.

The bandwidth is only one aspect, and tape can record far higher frequencies. Tim de Paravacini has modified tape recorders that can record and play back flat up to 50kHz at 30ips.

 

[Atmasphere]

The bandwidth is only one aspect, and tape can record far higher frequencies. Tim de Paravacini has modified tape recorders that can record and play back flat up to 50kHz at 30ips.

At 30ips this is unsurprising. Did he also do anything to fix the bass issues of 30ips (usually it has troubles in the bottom octave)? FWIW my Westerex cutter system was bandwidth limited to 42KHz were a 6dB slope was introduced. The concern was that with the RIAA emphasis higher frequencies are boosted so its easier to fry the cutter head. But 50KHz bandwidth is no worries for vinyl either as anyone who ran CD4 LPs from the 1970s knows. Mastering CD4 LPs did not require much modification of existing cutter systems.

The noise floor of vinyl is lower too. This is really determined by the pressing house- how well the pressing machines work. Acoustic Sounds' pressing plant, QRP, found they could improve the noise floor by a good 15 db by damping the mechanisms of the pressing machines; IOW 95% of the noise floor of LPs is introduced as the pressed LP is cooling. If the cutter head is set up properly, the groove it can cut is so quiet the playback electronics (no matter how quiet) is the noise floor. If you play a lacquer cut properly, the sound literally leaps out of dead silence! We ran a project through QRP and found the LPs we got back to be that quiet as well. Pretty impressive.

 

[disc-continued]

I shared it to remind KG cut was the one to compare.

For sure, KPG@CA does some good work.