I typically sit on the sidelines on this forum, but I want to echo what MC is saying here. Better Records delivers easily the best sounding records in the marketplace.
I can see some of you have done your own shootouts so I'm sure you can appreciate the level of time and commitment it takes to put together a catalog of great sounding records the size of what Tom and his crew have.
I don't begrudge anyone who doesn't want to spend the kine of money it takes to buy from them, and I"m all for finding my own great sounding copies of records I care about, but sometimes it's harder to find a great sounding copy of a particular title than one might think, and in those instances I am glad to have BR as a resource.
I'd like to suggest this to the doubters - try buying just one or two records from BR and really give them your full attention. I've learned A LOT about what makes a record sound good and what doesn't listening to Hot Stampers, and that's VERY helpful when you want to track down your own great sounding records or unearth the gems in your collection.
Forgive me if I"m mistaken, but I think one thing not discussed here is that the way your records sound will have a VERY BIG influence on how your system sounds, and this can also influence the choices you make with gear. Tom has a very special ear for sound, and BR's records are a wonderful resource for seeing the way forward with your analog system. If BR's records sound better with a new piece of equipment or a tweak, then chances are that equipment or tweak will take you in the right direction.
If you're interested in reading more, check out my website where I have quite a bit of content on this and related subjects.
http://www.thebrokenrecord.net
I can see some of you have done your own shootouts so I'm sure you can appreciate the level of time and commitment it takes to put together a catalog of great sounding records the size of what Tom and his crew have.
I don't begrudge anyone who doesn't want to spend the kine of money it takes to buy from them, and I"m all for finding my own great sounding copies of records I care about, but sometimes it's harder to find a great sounding copy of a particular title than one might think, and in those instances I am glad to have BR as a resource.
I'd like to suggest this to the doubters - try buying just one or two records from BR and really give them your full attention. I've learned A LOT about what makes a record sound good and what doesn't listening to Hot Stampers, and that's VERY helpful when you want to track down your own great sounding records or unearth the gems in your collection.
Forgive me if I"m mistaken, but I think one thing not discussed here is that the way your records sound will have a VERY BIG influence on how your system sounds, and this can also influence the choices you make with gear. Tom has a very special ear for sound, and BR's records are a wonderful resource for seeing the way forward with your analog system. If BR's records sound better with a new piece of equipment or a tweak, then chances are that equipment or tweak will take you in the right direction.
If you're interested in reading more, check out my website where I have quite a bit of content on this and related subjects.
http://www.thebrokenrecord.net