Gripe Thread

[hugo]

that happened to me like a year ago, but it was amazon UK itself posted they had a copy of dredg's the pariah and I immediatly ordered it, they marked it as sent and within a couple of days their own tracking system marked it as "undeliverable as addressed, returned to sender" and they just said "hey the copy was returned and is no longer available" and I cried.

[Lanttu]

Why did I have to get into vinyls? They cost so much and give me so much headache sometimes.

Lately I've been having problems how to approach choosing version which I want. Splatters, swirls etc are often really nice looking and might retain higher resell value (if I ever wanted to sell my copies) but on the other hand the risk of them sounding worse or even bad seems to be so much higher.

Unfortunately I started thinking about this much more after Carbon Based Lifeforms vinyls. Because to be blunt listening to them isn't a pleasure I hoped.

Sadly I haven't been able to listen to them with proper setup because my shitty speakers don't agree with their mixing. Quiet parts with strong bass make them resonate really annoyingly (afterwards I noticed the same problem with some other albums as well so most likely it's just my setup). Barring that out there's still quite a lot background noise way too often. Lots of clicks and pops as well. I don't know if I got bad copies or if there are some wider problems as people have been posting about these problems on Discogs for other versions as well. I know J says there haven't been much complaints but... :/

On the other hand Cormorant Earth Diver didn't have any big flaws and neither does Ghost Brigade's IV: One With the Storm (didn't even remember I had it as splatter).

I was quite surprised by Kauan swirl albums as well. Sorni Nai had REALLY noticable background noise at some points while Pirut was really good. Cormoran't Metazoa was pretty much perfect as well.

Oh, and I have no idea how big of a risk marbling is. I only have Furi Soundtrack and that one is absolutely flawless. One of the best I own surely.

I don't quite know what the point of this text was in the end. I guess I just wanted to vent about first world problems. Any way I think I'm leaning towards single colored vinyls in the future. Possibly black as well. I wanted to buy Meteor - Parallel Lives die-hard pack but these experiences drove towards the safe choice. In the end it's the music that matters the most.

Oh, and relating to this a bit. I don't understand (well I do financially I guess as people seem to buy them) shit ton of different vinyl variables for albums that in no way match with any album art. Kudos to J for making versions (no matter how many) always truly work together with art. I was really torn with Cormorant albums but eventually went with colored ones as matching looked so beautiful.

[Blood Music]

A couple people brought this to my attention (mainly through comments online), and it appears that the noise floor is higher on the splatter copies than the black copies on CBL. It is usually a hit or miss scenario and most color copies are not that different and especially it is unnoticeable because of extremely loud music. However CBL is so quiet that it does emerge more prominently on these records. I did notice some noise floor when testing the final samples, but I thought they were within the realm of acceptability, especially considering the warnings in advance that the black copies were going to be the 'audiophile' ones. I think the black copies once cleaned are very quiet when comparing with other black vinyl.

Just an FYI you can probably sell the splatters on Discogs and pick up the black versions via Amazon or Plastichead. My black copies here at least are not DEAD quiet but really great. Having a 0 noise floor on vinyl is otherwise impossible.

In the end, if you have very sensitive ears, I would always buy black vinyl if I were you. You will have the lowest potential for artifacts and noise floor issues. If you like the color vinyl better, you just have to be more willing to accept some compromises sometimes.

[Lanttu]

Just an FYI you can probably sell the splatters on Discogs and pick up the black versions via Amazon or Plastichead.  My black copies here at least are not DEAD quiet but really great.  Having a 0 noise floor on vinyl is otherwise impossible.

I think I'm going to stick with my splatters still this time. Someone complained black vinyls being so bad he sent them back as well but that's always just a one person. Can't really make conclusions based on that considering Blood Music track record.

Maybe I'll try my luck and see how they sound in completely different environment next week when I'm going to be DJ for Insomnium show. Should be nice after show relaxing music.

[Blood Music]

Just an FYI you can probably sell the splatters on Discogs and pick up the black versions via Amazon or Plastichead.  My black copies here at least are not DEAD quiet but really great.  Having a 0 noise floor on vinyl is otherwise impossible.

I think I'm going to stick with my splatters still this time. Someone complained black vinyls being so bad he sent them back as well but that's always just a one person. Can't really make conclusions based on that considering Blood Music track record.

Maybe I'll try my luck and see how they sound in completely different environment next week when I'm going to be DJ for Insomnium show. Should be nice after show relaxing music.

I saw that guy but he was having a meltdown, I don't think he is right, especially if he tested 3 different versions as he claims.  He just sounded like someone who had made a conclusion based on the splatter version and wanted to prove his bias.  Wasn't it apparent as he commented about 15 times on the releases?!

I tested the black ones here against the Neurosis 2xLP 45-RPM.  Same noise floor on both.

[Lanttu]

I saw that guy but he was having a meltdown, I don't think he is right, especially if he tested 3 different versions as he claims.  He just sounded like someone who had made a conclusion based on the splatter version and wanted to prove his bias.  Wasn't it apparent as he commented about 15 times on the releases?!

I tested the black ones here against the Neurosis 2xLP 45-RPM.  Same noise floor on both.

Yeah. The way he articulated himself certainly doesn't increase his credibility.

Anyway, if I get a job any time soon I could maybe consider black versions (if they remain on stock on Amazon or elsewhere). My current problem is that I can't really make fair assessments how badly noise really hampers the experience as my speakers truly aren't made for CBL. I seriosly couldn't push myself through Hydroponic Garden (immediately after whole Interloper) as resonating was so bad. Can't check with headphones either because I don't have a 3,5mm to 6,5mm adapter.

[Blood Music]

Wow, I'm really impressed though the few people who are reporting problems like that, it sounds beautiful on all 3 of my copies on all albums. Yes, I notice a bit higher noise floor on the splatter, but I don't think it's totally out of the ordinary, only more noticeable as the music is quieter. I wonder if some systems are having trouble with the bass response?

[winterburner]

Got the splatters myself and so far only listened through them through a pretty basic set of computer speakers, as background music. Thought they sounded absolutely fantastic. Might test them again with headphones to see if I notice anything.

[Karkassi]

Can't really tell where those people complaining about the surface noise are pulling those arguments. My exact first impression when i played my splatter ones was like "whoa, i hear like zero surface noise". Although i'm never really listening LP's with headphones so i guess someone who uses might find some. The real problems that i have faced are actually some clicks and pops here and there. The worst ones are on Interloper, A-side, last track. After few minutes, there are an series of about 30 clicks for half a minute. I've tried to clean it off for several times but it seems to be an small scratch. It's like the only thing on all three records that really ruins the listening experience.

[Blood Music]

Those clicks are more common on multi-color vinyl due to more potential for small 'air bubbles' - so it's a possibility when mixing colors (it also happens on solid color copies but more common on multi-color). I think the issue with the CBL records namely is how quiet the music is, thus any artifact jumps out at you and if anyone is comparing to a digital listening experience, I don't think they could ever be compared 1:1, you have to leave leeway for some level of artifacts as the needle actually touches the surface of the media!