I agree with Nathan about the 1980s era in vinyl like TEARS FOR FEARS, so the artists to get to should or would include ADAM ANT/& THE ANTS, PAT BENATAR, BLONDE, LAURA BRANNIGAN, solo LINDSAY BUCKINGHAM (anthology already issued, but...,), CROWDED HOUSE, MARTHA DAVIS/MOTELS (96/24 CDs already issued), THOMAS DOLBY, EURYTHMICS (CD remasters a few years ago), FALCO, THE FIXX, THE GO-GOs (CD reissues recently), INXS, LEVEL 42, SPLIT ENZ (TRUE COLOURS was just reissued), SUZANNE VEGA, JODY WATLEY among others. Licensing might be an issue, but maybe some of them need some restoration too.

Another great edition of the VC’s round table. Great work Steve.

God I love these roundtables! I’m not on the forums and such (I’ve tried the Steve Hoffman forums but it’s just too much to keep up with), so it’s always nice to have the “hot topics” of the vinyl collecting/audiophile world centralized and discussed in one place. I usually kick back and listen to these in the background when I’m relaxing or when work is lighter. You all are great and it’s interesting listening to everyone’s different perspectives on various topics. 👏😊

Thanks for the commentary gentlemen. I just ordered a copy through Rhino and am looking forward to hearing it. Wanted to get one before they sold out and came to regret any indecision.

Got my copy of The Cars. The record is awesome! Shipping is not as nice as Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct, or even Newbury Comics. My copy was kinda loose, rattling a bit in a box. Thankfully there's no damage. Their shipping reminds me of Amazon but Rhino needs to up the ante and protect these records in shipping. Can't wait for things to come in this Rhino HiFi series.

so they're "well aware of the situation and it will be rectified" that's great for future shipments I guess, those of us with bent corners will just have to live with it. Mine wasn't bent as bad as some but ANY damage is not acceptable when I'm paying a premium for a premium pressing.

Thank you Gentlemen. Happy Listening!

Hello Steve - Thanks for the discussion on this new Rhino Series. I received the new Cars & Coltrane, RHINO HIGH FIDELITY Series albums in a 12"x12" white pizza box that had no additional padding or bubble wrap. The jackets on both albums were damaged, corner dings & jacket creasing. I reached out to Rhino Customer Service and I hope to receive a notice for replacements for both albums. I am VERY disappointed in the shoddy packaging for their new audiophile series launch.

Good job fellas

Great video Steve, and nice to see David and Mazzy on the panel/stream. Unfortunately Im still waiting on my Cars, UPS seems to have it delayed in Ontario....cheers....✌️

I agree, there a huge hole as far as the 80's alt music. New Order would be awesome to have audiophile'd. So many other groups from that era. But I think most are simply out of reach.

Overall I would call this experiment in direct-to-customer record production a huge fail. First the shipping: How can you charge for shipping (Amazon doesn't) and box the premium albums in lower quality than even Amazon. Then it's delivered by the crappy and criminal (at least here in Phila) USPS. At least with Amazon I have the option to deliver to a locker and it's FREE!!! Also when purchased from resellers you are able to pick the one that uses the delivery method that works for you (or pick up at the store). Here you are stuck with what the company chooses. Then the pressing of the Cars, what happened to the bass? I enjoy the original and MOFI versions more. There I said it.

Now that the smoke has cleared, no pun intended, does anyone still discuss the Universal fire and how it might be impacting reissue choices?

It’s definitely a cooled down market, that’s full of stock. Good for collectors if the fire 🔥 still burns ⚡️Good show Steve

I've heard a lot of bad things about Sowing the Seeds/ Tears for Fears MOFI silver label. The copy I have sounds fantastic. One of the best produced albums of the 80's.

Let’s reissue a AAA Allman brothers “live at the Fillmore”

The Cars packaging issue was definitely from the lack of corner protection. My copy as well as a friend of mine’s copy was dinged on the corner. Not a huge complaint to be honest, just felt like if they’re going to offer a premium product, it deserves better. Absolutely has more depth than my original pressing. It’s impressive.

Hey Steve - thanks for the video. I have a really big seam split in my Coltrane Sound. Also there is distortion drag in the right channel side one and distortion in the left channel on side side two - all at various parts. It’s from the pressing. Normally I would not even mention this but y’all did a video and it’s a #’d product. Coltrane sound is an improvement on my stereo version (which I forgot I had lol ) - Kevin Gray did a good job with a decent recorded session. To squeeze a mind blowing product from those recordings would be asking too much imho. I am sending it back. Not sure if they will send another one but that’s ok if they don’t. Take care.

Can people please stop saying that this is a $40 record? With keeping it inhouse and having to pay $8 shipping ($8!!!) it's has become a $48 record - with tax >$50 for a single 33rpm record pressed at optimal. Yes it has a nice jacket but you know what they say about putting lip stick on a pig......

That was a great panel and discussion. I ordered The Cars, because I have the MoFi. I wish they would do The Clash London Calling. Speaking of Abbey Road half speed master, I’m picking up my Tom Waits 50th anniversary of Closing Time from my local shop this week. I’m hoping it’s good.

It’s not just on multiple copy orders. SMH…. It’s “gonna be rectified”… Shouldn’t have been an issue in the first place! Common Sense to package them well. What about those of us who got mashed up record covers? Can’t even get ahold of them. I can Call Acoustic Sounds! Update: mine should’ve arrived by now, but I’ll have mine on Monday to see if the mass rumors are True. I was all excited for this until I learned of all this, now my expectations are super low. I Could wind up lucky and get a perfect record. Then I’ll apologize on this thread

Without hearing anyone's opinion, I recall The Cars MOFI sounding really good. Especially the vocals. Different strokes for different folks.

So many thanks for these. I think the increase price of audiophile pressings is due to the increased coasts, including licensing fees and, yes, what the market will bear. That said, the market is getting saturated and way too many simply do not warrant a purchase when you have the OG, or available as a 24/96 version on a streaming service.

I finally got my Rhino "The Cars" Audiophile pressing. Poorly packaged. Big dent, edge of cover, about 4" up, from lower right corner. Record warped. I submitted a complaint to Rhino - we'll see what shakes out!

Mazzy always brings the new (ish) music recommendations. It's a shame that after Mazzy highlighted ECM and the value proposition that Steve decided rather than explore that to talk about rhino packaging instead.

If only the new lp could have the warmth of the original. The new one is much more revealing of course, but I do wish the high end could have been rolled off a little or however it could be done to not be a little shrilly at the high end, especially at high volume. The OG (the one I have has metal parts from Sheffield Labs) is much warmer sounding...the bass just oozes out of the speakers. KPG sure did cut this one hot! There are many things to praise about the new sound of course!! ...I just wish it were a little warmer sounding!

19:05 the police "half-speed" box sounds pretty decent, but the high end (or symbols) sounds kinda "squishy"! To me, I don't know what you guys think it just could be I got a bad box or something with my system!

Great discussion Mr. Pete-----------> aging hippie

God forbid MoFi tries to be diverse and inclusive to people who enjoy vinyl and to people that want the audiophile treatment given to genres like ‘80s hiphop. Newsflash: not all of us in the VC are white, middle aged men. Some of us enjoy rap music, as well as jazz, rock, classical etc etc. The audiophile realm innately caters to rock, classical, and jazz fans, so good on MoFi to try something different and give us a Run DMC, a Whitney Houston, and a Michael Jackson audiophile release. These roundtables are enjoyable most times, but it would be nice to get a a diverse viewpoint now and then.

Steve Hoffman did the first Cars album on Gold CD and it sounds quite good. How can Kevin Gray, his former assistant, make such a mess of the album on vinyl? How this guy is still getting work is beyond me. These guys get work because audiophiles will buy the records they master. The market has decided these records sound just fine. In short: Flat, sandy, no space, no punch.

Simplemente maravilloso no paro de escucharlo

I ordered The Cars Rhino reissue to Australia, i do have the Mofi so initially paused on getting it. But after hearing reviews I’ve decided to sell my Mofi. The issue i believe is the direct to consumer, how do people who only buy directly from their local record store and aren’t into the KZfaq vinyl community how would they even now this was available?

T🎉hanks!

I ordered both Rhino Hi Fidelity versions to give them a try. Steve, caution though, their shipping when I bought did not specify who was shipping it. When I got the notification, it was UPS so I fear that in a few days I will get a huge brokerage bill which is terrible. If they shipped USPS I would be okay with it. I am okay with paying the taxes but brokerage fees just kill me, money for nothing! Love the stream!

Sorry going to be rectified is not a great response. I sent an e-mail to customer service about the poor packaging and my copy has 2 ding corners and I got a canned email back stating they were too busy too respond! And provided an FAQ..Good grief. Please don’t placate bad packaging and bad customer service. The packing is brutal.

Would love to see what your panel thinks about Intervention Records who did Flying Burrito Brothers, Mathew Sweet, Gene Clark, and now Peter Frampton.

Where can u buy this record .flat sound stage it had huge production

X rolled their own reissues of their 1st 4 LPs and sell vinyl through Bandcamp.

Rhino being surprised about the shipping problems is rich, considering that their shipping has always been a mess. These are not new problems, but they can pretend they are for all the new customers.

35:00 "Buckingham/Nicks" , it's not that they don't want it released I believe, but the "good tapes" even the safety copy is in bad shape or gone!

I am not a fan of abby road half speed remastered, I have found the OG pressings of these 80s bands (tears for fears) to be great and from whatIi compared from OG to reissues the OG wins out, and the OG pressings are still cheaper than what the new reissue costs. The OG UK Roxy Music Avalon rocks. Also the great thing Craft recording is doing is when they release a bath of like genres preorders, such as OJC, when you buy them all at once they are all on sale; great!!! I have also been lucking out as blue note has been having more store sales; I have been able to get all the classic and tone poets preorders recently on sale ( I just have them all shipped at the same time, so i do not get them right away. I do not mind waiting. The last point I will bring up. I am in my early 50s, when I was a teen ager, music was very much accessible to me where i could go into a record store and get new records that were available and didn't break the bank. Buying vinyl records is no longer for kids, which is very sorry to see.

My bet for the next Rhino rock reissue? Cheap Trick - At Budokan

The Cats is a ten dollar record and sounds perfectly fine as is.

The purpose of half speed mastering was to get more signal off of the analog tape. slow the tape down to half speed and you get more signal off of the tape head. Any half speed mastering done from a digital file completely defeats the purpose of half speed mastering. It should be about half speed transfers if the LPs are going to be cut from a digital file.

What does the Mark Knopfler studio album box set sound like, e.g. the Rag Pickers Dream LP? Thanks

Customer service is literally non existent and the shipping cardboard sucks. I accidentally bought two and both have dings. So they are going to “rectify” the situation? Bet they don’t rectify what I already have so those words are worthless for people that already have it. Sounds great though lol.

The RHIO Cars S/T has the edge over the OG. The sound is a bit more open over the OG. Both are great. The MoFi Cars S/T, Candy-O and Shake it up sound awful all three sound very flat compared to the OG's. MoFi did get Heartbeat City right, to bad the other three didn't get the same treatment.

Next rock album will be B-52s , rhino lobster

I’m thinking we will see a Talking Heads record, most likely Speaking In Tongues

Next titles for Rhino? Flip the page and press better and more relevant things. Enough dinosaurs.

How can describe roy tomas baker mix as flat

Please Rhino do Talking Heads.

You fellows have quite the disposable income.

I have the OG, so I will pass

I am learning not to like Miles 1/2 speed. I recently got the Police greatest hits 1/2. It stinks!

They should use FedEx like Chad does. USPS hires burger flippers. Record gets thrown on my porch. Luckily mine was ok.

Just wish these companies would stop reaching for low hanging fruit...The Cars, Steely Dan, ELO and Dire Straits....these OG Pressings all sound awesome....how about going in and cleaning up the Rolling Stones Reissue Campaign on Abbey Road and the Half Speed Remasters which sound awful...🙏🙏🙏🙏

What happens when a seriously into it viny dovotee hears a cd played on a $20,000 Ayon cd player or the $50,000 Burmester cd player. Wanting that kind of sound really bad; does he buy a thousand dollar phono cartridge, then a $2,000 phono cartridge, then a $5,000 phono cartridge, then a $10,000 phono cartridge. Is there ever a point where people realize they might have made a mistake over the course of many decades?

First, they’re called LP shippers. A simple thing that makes me question what you all think you know. But here’s the thing, there’s no such thing as a definitive version or pressing. It’s extremely arrogant if not ignorant to think or say so. The Cars were there and know exactly what that record sounded like in 1978. I hope you all improve. ☮️