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Analogue Productions Jazz, Blues and Classical 33RPM vs 45RPM advice needed!!!

Hi, I know there’s been much discussion on whether the sonic improvement of 45RPM pressings warrant their added inconvenience over their 33RPM counterparts. I understand that this boils down to personal preference. With that said, I need some BUYING ADVICE! I’m about to invest several thousand dollars in purchasing most of the iconic jazz and classical Analogue Productions QRP and Music Matter reissues while they are still available. Sonics being equal or very close to equal, I’d purchase the 33RPM version for their added convenience. However, I understand that this is rarely the case, and for those albums where the 45RPM pressings are noticeably sonically better, I plan to purchase the 45RPM pressings. With that said, for those listeners on the forum who own both 33RPM and 45RPM versions of the same AP album (or if not “own” have gleaned from others), are there specific AP reissues where the sonic improvement of the 45RPM version is so subtle that you often find yourself only playing the 33RPM version? Any input from forum members would be greatly appreciated before I place my order!

Thanks so much,
Battles
brbattles
folkfreak's avatar
folkfreak
1,349 posts
 
While my experience with AP Jazz (the Bill Evans box set in particular) is that the 45 always better the 33

However I did not find this to be the case with the Janis Ian "Breaking Silence" -- where the original (numbered) 33 is best. Details on this here

So if I was to glean a rule of thumb it might be -- for recent recordings go closer to the source however for older recordings where the tape is already aged the 45 can suck more out of what is there
lostbears's avatar
lostbears
538 posts
 

 I have both 45 and 33 1/3 versions of some albums. I tend to play the 45 versions far less because of the constant flipping of records,For me the sound difference doesn't warrant the added hassle. If I had it to do over I would probably not buy most of the 45 albums sets I own.


bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,504 posts
 
45 RPM LP's remind me of 78's. How important to you is the last 5 or 10% improvement that 45's provide? How much do you value being able to put on an album, and relax and enjoy the music for a half an hour?
rshak
416 posts
 
As you may know, some years ago Music Matters reissued a lot of Blue Note jazz titles on 45.  These were done at the same time APO reissued its own Blue Note titles.  There was no duplication between the MM and APO titles, and I subscribed to both - which I still listen to and enjoy.

Then . . . Music Matters reissued some of its previous Blue Note titles on 33, and I bought several of them.  They sound great - some would say better than the 45s, but why?

Here's a link to a Fremer site which offers an explanation:

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/music-matters-returns-33-13-and-some-mono-new-blue-note-reissue... 

I tend to prefer the Blue Note reissues in 33 format - the sound is excellent, and its more convenient than messing with two 45s. But I'm not letting go of of any of these titles (45 or 22) any time soon.
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