SS: Still Sealed
Label: Arista
Catalog Number: RTH 2015
Jacket Condition: M/ Mint
This auction is for a STILL SEALED single LP Test Pressing marked A/B of the Classic Records 200gram reissue of Dido s Life For Rent pressed on CLARITY Vinyl. Jacket is included as a bonus. These highly
collectible test pressings are from the first stamper and approximately less than 20
exist depending on the title. Test pressings reflect the closest you can get to the lacquers
and hence have a special collectible value and store of value.
Jacket in mint condition.
Background on Classic 200g
Super Vinyl Profile
In 2003, Classic Records launched its now famous
Signature Blue Note Mono reissue series.
As part of that
series Classic developed an authentic 200 gram LP profile that
replicated that of an original Blue Note record from the 1950 s.
Comparing a test pressing on the new profile versus the same
title on the normal 180 gram pressing it was discovered that the 200
gram version sounded significantly better. The 200 gram pressing
sounded louder, with more definition and solidity of notes across
all frequencies and there was more detail - particularly low level
detail like room or hall sounds, pages being turned, musicians
whispering and automobile sounds outside the studio all became
easier to identify. At first it was speculated inside Classic Records
that the extra weight resulted in the better performance as no one could
come up with a better answer given that the stampers were the
same as well as the vinyl pellets used on both 180g and 200g pressings.
One day, Michael Hobson, the founder of Classic Records was discussing
this unexplainable sonic discovery with the Legendary
Mastering Engineer and Sheffield Records founder, Doug Sax when Doug,
without hesitation stated Ah Michael you ve discovered the difference
in a flat versus conventional profile .
Puzzled, Hobson asked
for an explanation which Sax described as going all the way back to
1950 s mono pressings and what happened when stereo records came out in
the early 1960 s. Sax explained that in the 1950 s when mono
records had no vertical modulation only lateral , pressing
PolyVinylChloride PVC plastic records were more easily pressed on
Flat Profile dies fitted to the pressing machines since the
grooves on the mono stampers were all the same height no vertical
modulation . The molten vinyl was able to flow evenly across the
stampers and fill properly during the molding pressing of
the record. The problems started when stereo record cutting came into
vogue producing stampers that had variable height grooves sticking up
across the diameter of each stamper. Using the older mono
pressing dies resulted in tremendous problems getting the areas between
grooves of different heights to fill properly - a groove that is in
front of another taller one often got passed over by the flowing molten vinyl
resulting in non-fill which was audible and thus a defective
record. Pressing plants don t like to press defective records and are
always looking for high pressing yields or a s few rejects as possible.
To
solve the problem, the engineers developed a new pressing die profile
which tapers from the center of the die, flattens in the middle of the
diameter and then tapers again toward the outside of the die. The
new profile was concave rather than flat. When you put a flat
stampers onto the concave dies the stampers distort and are no longer
flat - the grooves are no longer perpendicular across the stamper and by
association across a finished vinyl pressing. This new die profile
created back pressure on the flowing vinyl and solved the non-fill
problem with stereo pressings and resulted in higher yields which was great
for pressing plants and good for record companies who wanted good
prices on pressings. The problem was and still is that the new profile
records don t sound as good as they could because they are not
flat across their profile. Using a micrometer across the diameter of a
1950 s mono records reveals that the thickness is virtually the same
across the record s diameter from center label to outer edge but not
so for a newer stereo profile pressing which is convex across its
diameter resulting from the concave profile dies / distorted stampers.
This is the dirty little secret that Classic had rediscovered was known to
old school experts like Doug Sax who founded Sheffield Labs in the
1970 s. After the discovery, Classic Records never looked back and all
of its releases and re-pressings after 2003 were on the new 200 gram Flat
Profile dies that were specially made for Classic. Some years later
Classic discovered that the very same profile was used by JVC in Japan
to produce the legendary UHQR pressings for Mobile Fidelity which are
well known to sound better than the conventional Mobile Fidelity
pressings of the same titles - it all makes sense now. The long and the
short of this is that Classic 200g Super Vinyl Profile Flat Profile
pressings are as good as it gets for proper playback without groove
distortion from non-flat pressings - Period.
Background
on Clarity Vinyl Pressings
In 2008, Classic discovered that
de-magnitizing black vinyl records leads to better sound in playback.
The engineers at Furutech in Japan, makers of a commercial record demag
machine, explained that the carbon black that was added to PVC record
pellets contained trace metal that became randomly magnetized and while
spinning below an electro-mechanical transducer phono cartridge caused
electrical distortion inside a cartridge during LP playback. Hence,
demagnetizing a black vinyl record dramatically reduces the electrical
distortion and leads to more Clarity in playback. Michael Hobson,
founder of Classic Records reasoned that if the carbon black were
removed then the result should be more Clarity in playback. Working
closely with the PVC manufacturer Kenan, Classic developed its own
proprietary Clarity Vinyl devoid of the problems with trace magnetic
particles contained in black vinyl formulas. A Clarity vinyl pressing
on a flat profile die is the absolute ultimate pressing possible and
even a step above the JVC UHQR black vinyl pressings. Not to be missed -
you can hear the difference
Good luck
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