New vs. Second Hand Vinyl Records

Img source: https://wamu.org/

New vinyl records, original UK and US pressings, Japanese pressings, what’s the difference? Well, there is a difference, but to question the difference in quality is a convoluted issue.

Some new vinyl records do sound great, a lot do not, some are pressed using the original master, others use the CD master or worse, an MP3 file.

Second hand copies of original vinyl pressings can also sound terrible, if treated poorly for 30 years. The pressing plants for vinyl records these days, of which there are only a few, are overwhelmed with work-load and staffed by ill-equipped technicians, compared to 30 years ago where we saw a stable industry with a higher level of expertise. There is risk buying both new and second hand vinyl, but this lack of quality control at modern plants does affect the sound of new vinyl records.

Img source: vinylize.it

JAPANESE VINYL PRESSINGS

Japan, have a quality control within the vinyl record industry that is unparalleled. Many audiophiles began buying premium quality Japanese pressings for the sleeve material, the vinyl itself and the OBI strip. The runs of pressings are smaller, they use higher quality materials (dead-quiet virgin vinyl), and owners take care of their collection.

Img Source: Rare Groove Records - Osaka (https://raregroove.shop-pro.jp/)

A large portion of the vinyl records we sell are coming from Japan, we find the quality and condition is higher, and our price reflects that. Be sure to identify the catalog number (CAT#) on our product pages to identify which copy we are selling.