Hey guys,
Well, it just so happens I had Back to Black and Hidden Treasures sitting in my wishlist at Amazon and my daughter picked them both up for my birthday a week or so ago.
OK, Back to Black.
I was a little worried about the running time at around 20mins on Side A. Some will disagree but I've found the shorter the running time (as in 17mins or under) the more open the sound is. Well, this side suffers from that. The sound quality is OK, highs are decent but not overly extended. The issue I have is everything is stuck right in the middle. Very limited depth and nearly zero stereophonic imaging. Other than that, it's OKish, not great, not horrible, just OK.
Side B is running about 15mins. This side is just about like Side A. Just OK but not great. Everything is still stuck in the middle.
Overall, it's a $15 piece of vinyl.
Pressing Quality - 6/10
Music - 7-8/10
Hidden Treasures
This one is a two disk release. Running times are much shorter at between 12 and 15 minutes per side. Although things have gotten better as far as openness, I'm hearing issues with the treble region. I'm not sure if I've got a pressing from a worn mother or if it's just less than great mastering. You can hear that it's more 'open' with better placement and depth but there's something going on in the sibilant region. That and the highs are muted again. No shimmer or air in the cymbals at all. This rolls off at about 8k just like Back to Black.
Pressing Quality - 6/10
Music - 7-8/10
This is really disappointing. The last dozen or so 'rock/pop' albums I've bought just plain suck or are a disappointment at best. I wish the pressing plants would hire somebody with ears.
....just in case you were wondering, this is my vinyl rig, the Opera LP5 with the Dynavector 507 MkII arm
I was running the Yamamoto cart for these albums