Reissue 180 grms vs original issue

I have the original (but London rather than Decca) and also an excellent Reel-to-Reel tape version of Espana. But a friend owns the Speaker's Corner reissue and it seriously blows the originals away. I'd definitely go with the reissue. Good luck, Dave

this is acase where the re-issue is an incredible value...speakers corner does good work...the original however in mint condition (cover must be too)is worth (to a record collecter) at least 150....if the cover is worn...forget it at that price.

I've never had a chance to compare to an original Decca, but the Speakers Corner reissue sounds very good here. Be sure to do a gut check with your listening priorities, though. The Speakers Corner has the benefits of an excellent contemporary re-mastering, it lacks the tubey pluminess and upper mid peakiness one so often hears with the originals. (Woops, my listening biases are showing :-))
.

Agree with Dopogue. Every Speakers Corner/Decca I own is an honest piece of work. Quieter surfaces, wider dynamics than the original, no screwing around with frequency balance like Classic Records so often does. Speakers Corner seems to cut the kind of records Decca would have cut if they'd had access to similar quality vinyl and more advanced cutting technology.

Even if an NM- original is a very early pressing, it's unlikely to compare sonically. It certainly won't be worth five times the money. That's collector-mania pricing, not sonic value pricing. Buy the original as a collector if you like, but for listening buy the Speakers Corner.

I stopped buying Speaker Corner Reissues, compered a few and all of them sound hazy, like listening through a curtain compared to Originals. Probably it will depend on the quality of the analog Playback system but the latest comparison I did, was their Reissue from Balalaika Favourites (Russian Recordings Set) and the first Reissue done from Classic Records. The CR was so much better, I was totally frustrated and sold the Russian Recordings Set after a few days. I lost interest in listening.

They will be different. You'd have to decide which is better. And, more importantly perhaps, whether the original is over 100 dollars better.

SC screwed up John Coltrane's Love Supreme. The drums are so hot that it ruines the sax playing. Never did like the LP until I bought the original. I sat down with my wife for a listen and she picked out the SC's LP and said the drums were to loud and distracted from the rest of the music. She then proceeded to tell me the other LP sounded as if the mix was done right.

All other SP's LP's I have sound great.

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with many of the above posters. Speaker's Corner has done occasional good work, but almost none of those records compare with original Mercury FRs or Decca wide-band deep groove pressings. Timbre, warmth, richness, musicality are generally lacking, in favor of CD-like detail and (to me) artificially wide soundstage and an empty, hollow midband. That's at its best - who knows what SC were thinking (or Wilma Cozart Fine for that matter) when they reissued the Mercuy/Dorati Respighi 'Birds' - the original is one of the great recordings of the golden age of stereo - the SC sounds like it was recorded under water, or rather under a fountain of syrup.

Doug may be right that the original Decca engineers would have been happy to use 'advanced cutting technology,' but I'm happy they used original Neumann cutting heads and tubed mastering labs. I wouldn't trade a single of my original SXLs for all the reissues currently on the Acoustic Sounds website. And contrary to popular belief, plenty of them are inexpensive.

Patrickamory, it's clear you haven't heard the Espana reissue, however true (or not) your general comments are. And that was the original poster's question.

I suspect that some of these conflicting observations are due to system differences, not to mention taste. Some of the Classic Records reissues I have seem very bright, and my system is anything but, although very revealing. These same LPs played on a less than stellar system that errrors on the bright and thin side can sound unlistenable to me. I have always been interested in the variation in standards when visiting different rooms at CES, other dealers show rooms and the homes of customers and friends.

It's true, I haven't heard the Espana reissue.

Well, in any case, either original or 180gr or 200gr reissue, they are much better than cd or sacd. Enjoy!