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Quality of Analogue Productions pressings

I was extremely excited about Chad Kassem's new pressing facility in Kansas ever since Michael Fremer cover this new development in an issue of Stereophile several months ago. Finally, a pressing plant designed and built by an audiophile for audiophiles, I rejoiced. Fremer's review of "Tea for the Tillerman," the first pressing released from the plant, reaffirmed my excitement. So with high hopes and expectations I finally purchased my first AP reissue, Norah Jones "Feels Like Home." Mastered by Kevin Gray, pressed at Kassem's in-house pressing plant QRP. "Innovation + Precision = Best LPs Ever Pressed" is their tag line. Sweet. I paid over $40 for the record, which appears to be a bit more than what some of the online retailers sell it for, but what the hell, I thought, I want to support my local record store.

The vinyl looked beautiful, and the artwork was top notch. I cleaned it on my RCM using the AIVS 3-step formula. Upon closer inspection, there was a white piece of debris lodged into the last song on Side A that could not be removed. No big deal, I thought. I then put the record on.

Side A was so warped, the record looked like it wanted to take off from the platter. I don't think the edge of the record even touched the platter at all. Luckily, I have the VPI periphery ring, which took care of the problem. Then, from the moment the stylus touched the record surface, there was an audible surface noise throughout the entire album in the left channel. I'd blame my set-up if it wasn't for the fact that numerous other records from my collection, bought new or used, do not have this noise.

Side B, aside from the surface noise, was also pressed off center.

I do admit the sound was quite good, especially Jones' voice, if I ignored the constant left channel noise. But I then put on my beat-up $5 copy of "Fleetwood Mac" and the thing was more quiet and sounded simply better.

For $35-$40, I find the quality of this pressing absolutely unacceptable, whether it's an exception or not. And it was extremely disappointing to see another reissue fail (not that there were ever Norah Jones original pressings to begin with, but her CDs sound pretty darn good) from a highly respected company that charges premium dollars for its product and makes pretty bold claims about its quality.

I thought I'd share this as I'm very frustrated after spending over $40 for this lemon.
actusreus
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
4,937 posts
 
I guess I must be luckier than you. I have probably 50-60 Analogue Production LPs and out of those, 12 or so have been done at QRP.

The copies I have are excellent. I do NOT have any of the Norah Jones reissues from QRP, (I have so many from every other label that I decided not to buy any more). All of the titles I have are superb.

I'm sure that they would replace your defective copy. I have personally known Chad for many, many years and can guarantee you that he wants QRP to the BEST pressing house in the world and will do whatever it takes to get it there.

Sorry you got a bad copy, but it can be rectified.
roscoeiii's avatar
roscoeiii
1,155 posts
 
Agree. You can get this remedied. Those guys are great to work with.

Bum to hear of course. I have had nothIng but good luck with QRP pressings (though I will not be buying Norah Jones anything in general; not m cup of tea).
czarivey
5,714 posts
 
I have found nothing outstanding of 21 century pressings oppose to the ones done in 70's 80's of substantially better quality. I would not care of the record weight as lots of those special edditions, heavy vinyl reissues($30...$60 per piece) don't give you any sonic benefit over those pressed 30 years ago on 70...80g disks($4...10 per piece used in good condition).
Every time I had "Simply Vinyl" or "Classic Records" or "RTI" in my collection, the originals were always more pleasantly listenable
chipcarterdc
22 posts
 
I have the Norah Jones Vinyl Box set:

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-84176-norah-jones-the-vinyl-collection-limited-edition-200g-7-x-lp-box-set.aspx

I believe that contains the same Analogue Productions/QRP pressings as the individual titles. All of the ones I received are flawless, sound amazing, and are incredibly quiet. I also have a ton of other AP/QRP titles and have had no problems at all.

Sounds like you got a really bad copy; I'm sure they'll exchange it.
dodgealum
1,398 posts
 
I have purchased a number of QRP from Acoustic Sounds and, sadly, have had to return a number of them for a variety of reasons. Off center pressing, excessive groove noise, pops and ticks, ETC. It PAINED me to return them as I am a big fan of what Chad has done--he is arguably the one person most responsible for resurrecting the LP format. I think the mastering work is excellent--every record had great sound. However, the claim that QRP is the best in the business is not born out in my experience. About half of the records I have purchased are dead flat, round and quiet. The rest have varying degrees of issues and many of these I have returned, some more than once (Just a Little Lovin for example). That said, their return policy and customer service is EXCELLENT--they stand behind their efforts. I just hope that if they are seeing lots of returns they are working on QC at the pressing plant so that their product releases are more consistently well done.
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