I finally got around to unboxing and listening to the new UHQR from Acoustic Sounds. I was extremely impressed with the audio quality of the pressing itself, not so much the "original master tapes" quality.
Are You Experienced is well known for it's less than superb recording quality but it still had amazing detail and imaging. I've been listening to alot of records lately and this edition is up there as far as quality vinyl goes. It came in an anti static bag and for the first time, I didn't have to clean the record before playing it. Aside from a few random and subtle pops I nearly forgot I was listening to vinyl.
Even between passages, the normal faint grinding sound I hear from the needle on vinyl was nearly absent too. Overall, wish all vinyl pressings were this good but sadly, the amount of work and overhead involved in making records this good is not an affordable journey for consumer or profitable enough for manufacturers. The collectible package wrapped around the record helps to justify the cost of $125. This is still available to order on their website so it's sad to see suckers getting price gouged on eBay. I literally ordered it on Acoustic Sounds site on a Sunday as it showed "back ordered" while people were ordering in on eBay for a few hundred more. It showed as shipped by the end of the week and I had it in less than two weeks.
Fantastic quality, if you're a fan of Hendrix and don't already own the SACD of this same release, I say grab it while it's still in print. As long as you see "Back Order" on the site it will still ship. Below is my unboxing video with brief audio sample.
