Duke's Big 4 - Vinyl Reissue

Have it also and it is a gem. I would guess that the reason no one has answered your question is that with the 45 RPMs being so expensive (typically $50) and with the sealed ones tripling their value in some cases shortly after they go out of print, it has become uneconomical to actually open and enjoy these incredible repressings. Have maybe half a dozen 45 pressings and am under the same dilemma. I AM buying multiple copies of the new three disc Famous Blue Raincoat, one to play, and a couple to put grandkids through college someday. :) Who knew when the MFSL or Sheffields first came out that sealed ones would pull ten times their value someday. Course, we played them because they were so quiet and dynamic, which is why they are so scarce now. What I have listened to in these new pressings is nirvana. Almost everything rated on vinyl by TAS and Stereophile is a 180/200 gram pressing of the original. And, I have about 11000 originals to fuss with as I slowly upgrade. If they thought we were vinyl junkies back in the 70's, they had no clue as to how things would evolve (after the perfect sound of CD players arrived that is). Vinyl reminds me of that old saying about "the report of my death was an exaggeration" (Mark Twain).

Well, actually, the problem got solved for me when I found a really really clean original copy for $4. Sounds great. Way better than the CD. I'm happy with that. In the end it's not worth it to me to spend $50 for a record that a)I am going to play, and b)is still readily available if you look around. I'm more a listener than a collector.