For anyone who collects vinyl, we all know that some of the most highly wanted pressings tend to be those classed as Audiophile.
Those with the best hi-fi equipment will always want the best quality sounding pressing available, be that high quality 180 gram or heavier vinyl, CD’s, Super Audio CD’s, SHM-CD’s, DVD-Audio Discs and more, from companies like DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Nautilus, Nexus, Simply Vinyl or Nimbus.
AUDIOPHILE VINYL
‘True Fidelity’ vinyl is perhaps the ultimate format for the audiophile. Issues are taken from original master tapes for pure ‘as intended sound’, and production techniques such as half-speed mastering, quadraphonic sound and special formulated virgin vinyl are common in most audiophile releases.
There are many labels who issue audiophile recordings, but only a few specialize in it. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) have a variety of series including ‘Original Master Recordings’
[OMR] and ‘Ultra High Quality Recordings’ [UHQR]. Other important audiophile labels include Nautilus, Direct-Disk Labs, Sheffield Lab and Wilson Audio.
AUDIOPHILE COMPACT DISCS
With the development of the compact disc so typically came the development of it’s audiophile counterpart. Again there are specialist labels, there are varying techniques (gold discs, layered discs, high-density discs) and there are varying opinions on the listening pleasure! But we’re here to bring all those quandaries together.
The truth is some recordings are better than others, in the same way some artists are better than others and some music is better than others! We will look unbiased at them all…
Here at eil.com we have a nice range of Audiophile pressings to suit everyone’s taste and pockets.
BLACK SABBATH Heaven & Hell (Super Rare Test Pressing for the 2009 US 8-track LP pressed on 180gram Virgin Vinyl, the classic fully remastered Ronnie James Dio led album from 1980, with custom Rainbo Records studio labels with no annotations &hand scratched matrices in the run-offs. Very few of these would have been made & even fewer would have escaped the pressing plants into the hands of the general public. The vinyl is near ‘as new’ R13372).
THE WHITE STRIPES Icky Thump X (2017 US limited edition remastered ten year anniversary audiophile 34-track FOUR LP box set, issued as ‘Vault Package #33’, pressed on 180gm RED marbled, BLACK & WHITE vinyl, including a sticker sealed Icky Thump double LP in a gatefold sleeve, The Red Demos and Icky Thump Extras LPs, each with their own picture sleeve, a Pictures From Icky photobook by David James Swanson, a set of Horse Enamel Pins, a mystery print by Rob Jones, a vault card & contents card in a superb picture box. Both box and contents remain ‘as new’ TMR498/499/500).
CHICAGO Chicago VI (2013 US limited edition GOLD remastered Gain 2 Ultradisc UHR audiophile Hybrid SACD issue of the 1973 10-track album, playable on all CD players, complete with wraparound Mo-Fi insert in individually numbered gatefold card sleeve UDSACD2132).
JANIS JOPLIN Pearl (2016 US exclusive limited edition Mobile Fidelity ‘Original Master Recording’ 10-track Audiophile DSD remastered Ultradisc UHR™ SACD [Super Audio CD – playable on all SACD and CD players] with the disc manufactured in Austria, originally released in 1971, mastered directly from the original tapes; un-numbered LP-style gatefold card picture sleeve which remains factory sealed in the hype stickered shrink UDSACD2173).
BOB DYLAN Blood On The Tracks (2019 US limited edition Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step remastered issue of his classic 1975 fifteenth studio album pressed at RTI on Audiophile quality 180gram Super Vinyl – Ranked 16th on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and replete with existential thought, piercing directness, raw singing, and majestic arrangements, ‘Blood on the Tracks’ lingers as a soul-exposing confessional. The vinyl is UNPLAYED ‘as new’ housed inside the 12.5″ x 12.5″ x 1″ two-piece foil-stamped picture sleeve which is hand-numbered on the back and remains sealed within its custom-stickered shrinkwrap UD1S2-006).
For all our latest Audiophile arrivals please see our dedicated Collectors Store.
Explore eil.com… the world’s best online store for rare, collectable and out of print Vinyl Records, CDs & Music memorabilia since 1987.
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