At this point, my record collection is at about 440 and I have space in my two rolling record racks (which my son built for me) for perhaps 700-750. So from this point on I'm focusing on quality rather than quantity. These two "Christmas presents" to me from me are an example. My dealer gave me a nice discount, but still quite pricey. I got the last of the 6 he'd bought of the Eagles "One Of These Nights", and one of 10 of the Michael Jackson "Thriller" that he bought. The Eagles one is from a batch of 10,000 while the MJ Thriller is one of a batch of 40,000 "One Step". At least they finally had the decency to admit right on the label that they went as follows:
1/4" 15ips Dolby A analog master > 256 DSD> Analog Console>lathe
So I don't understand how it's "One Step" other than maybe each vinyl blank record is cut on the lathe individually. Haven't played them yet, but I will.
EDIT: I played both last night, first up was the Eagles one. Having never owned One-Step type records, I wasn't sure what to expect because the "standard" MoFi and other label releases said to be of "audiophile quality" are really quite a step-up from common records. I was NOT prepared for this: Holy crap! The difference is just otherworldly. From the first couple of notes of the first track (One Of These Nights) the incredible rendition of tone from various instruments was such that I have never experienced from a recording, be it LP, tape, or digital. I have this release on CD, and have streamed it as high res digital. The liquidity of the vocals, the breadth, depth, and height of the soundstage, it was all just as close to a live performance that I have EVER heard on my home system.
The Michael Jackson one was not quite as dramatic, but still just on another level than any other medium I've ever heard. I can state unequivocally that these both sounded better than any digital version I've heard, and I'm now looking for more of these "Ultradisc One-Step" recordings. I don't say pressings because they're closer to being individually cut rather than mass-pressed. They are indeed a pressing, but only one "stamper" made from the laquer and limited number of pressings on Supervinyl.
