The very best sound: Direct to Disc


Since I got a new cartridge (Clear Audio Virtuoso) i’ve rediscovered the Sheffield and RR Direct Disc albums in my collection.  
Wow! they put everything else to shame.  I picked up about twenty Sheffield D2D’s when Tower Records went out of business for a song (no pun intended.) I’m just now listening to them and find there’s nothing that sonically compares.  They’re just more real sounding than anything else.  Not spectacular but realistic.   
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One downside is, once having WOW feeling from D2D records' sound quality, many other records you own sound not so musical to listen to.
I have a few, and always wondering that why other records were not made to the same quality. 

Chad acquired the assets of The Mastering Lab from Doug Sax, Doug practically willed it to him, it included the mastering lathes and custom tube electronics.
One downside is, once having WOW feeling from D2D records' sound quality, many other records you own sound not so musical to listen to.
I have a few, and always wondering that why other records were not made to the same quality.

D2D requires musicians to play an entire side in one set. Likewise, all the mic and mixing levels have to be set right from the beginning. The results cannot be mixed down to a master, because they are fed straight to the lathe and cut directly onto the wax. This cutting process by the way must also be done in real time. Highly dynamic music calls for greater groove spacing. This requires the engineer to know the musical demands and adjust the lathe all during the cutting process.  

That is an awful lot of things that have to go right in order to cut just one side. The results speak for themselves. But it is very hard to do. Hard usually equates to expensive. So there you go.

Thanks for the info. No wonder why the selection of D2D is very limited.
I try not to be spoiled by the sound of D2D or other audiophile recordings. Just enjoying the music. For so so recording quality LPs, I am spending increasingly more time on Spotify streaming. On my setup, the difference is small. With lossless Spotify coming soon, I might stop buying any new LPs, unless they are very very special.
Gee, I just bought an LP of Kanye West's MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY for my Son's birthday present. Hope it sounds good.