Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,346
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
I listened yesterday for the first time to the Vinyl Me Please (“VMP”) re-issue of Whitney Houston, and the VMP re-issue of Roberta Flack’s Quiet Fire. (Quiet Fire includes her cover of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” which has become one of my favorite vocal tracks of all time.)

In each case I did not have the original pressing available to compare directly to the re-issues on an A/B/A basis. But I have heard the original pressings dozens of times over the years, including recently — enough to make these very general comments.

The VMP vinyl on both titles was very quiet and that, without more, justifies the Whitney Houston re-issue for me. The Whitney Houston re-issue was a little bit warmer-sounding than I recall from the crappy, noisy original pressings.

The original pressing of Quiet Fire may have Roberta’s voice a little bit more prominent than I hear in the re-issue. Overall, I preferred the re-issue, a friend who was with me preferred the re-issue, and another friend who was with me preferred the original pressing.

I think original pressings often have more energy and “life” than re-issues. However, with bright-sounding original recordings of rock and pop, I generally think that the quietness of the re-issue vinyl and the usually slightly greater overall warmth is a net improvement to me.
 

BillK

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2015
280
193
273
I'm glad your VMP vinyl was quiet.

I have the VMP reissue of Reba's For My Broken Heart, and my first copy actually skipped due to an issue with the pressing you could see on the surface.

VMP was very good about sending out a replacement, but there is a lot more surface noise than there should be for a premium product.

I would expect this on a UMe pressing I picked up at Target or Walmart, not from VMP.

Ironically at least two of the Sinatra UMe reissues I purchased at Barnes & Noble are the quietest pressings I own, even more so than MoFi One Steps; Record Industry in The Netherlands can turn out some very, very high quality product though like most pressing plants, their more recent output hasn't been as good.
 

puroagave

Member Sponsor
Sep 29, 2011
1,345
45
970
what sample size is everyone using to evaluate VMP pressings? I'm up to 40+ titles and so far very few returns (I think 2 altogether). I'd say 70% of the VMPs I have are clearly better than any 1st/2nd press of the same title, for both SQ and pressing quality.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Long Live Analog

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing