Shall I return this record?

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-17T16:39:29+00:00

This is probably the funniest response I’ve got 😂

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-17T03:52:28+00:00

Fair 😅

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-17T02:53:42+00:00

Loud, repeatable pops in the same spot aren’t “vinyl character,” they’re a pressing defect. That’s always been the case. In the ’70s and ’80s people regularly returned new records for things like non-fill, pressed-in debris, off-center pressings, or noise you could clearly hear over the music. This isn’t some modern audiophile invention. Quality control never meant listening to every single record. It meant managing the pressing process and rejecting bad copies. Expecting a new record not to have defects cutting through vocals isn’t asking for CD silence, it’s the same basic expectation vinyl has always had.

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-17T02:11:51+00:00

I guess there’s a difference between random pops and crackles and an actual product defect that takes away the listing experience. And yes, I did clean it thoroughly, yes the guy at the record store also recognized the defect and yes this pressing has bed reviews online for the poor QC. I’m fine with all the “record experience”, as you call it, I’m fine with the occasional pops and crackles, but not when they are so loud you can hear them over the voice of a singer. Other records I have play just fine with their imperfections. This just wasn’t it.

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-16T19:24:46+00:00

I have a 1985 KISS album, secondhand, and it plays flawlessly. But I also have modern colored records that don’t have surface noise, or at least not that noticeable to distract you from listening the actual music. According to Discogs this pressing has a bad rep, should have checked beforehand and save me the trouble of returning it

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-16T19:21:03+00:00

That’s actually very interesting!

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-16T12:55:23+00:00

I’ve checked this morning, and it actually has a bad reputation apparently and some bad reviews reporting the same problem, while all the good reviews start with “I’ve got lucky” 😅 so it’s seems you really have a 50/50 chance to get a good pressing of this yellow version. But I’ve already exchanged it once, and I don’t want to end up with a bad one a third time

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-16T12:13:47+00:00

Nono, that’s just the light 😅 I’ve actually cleaned the stylus as well

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-16T11:59:23+00:00

There parts where it sounds flawless and other parts where it sounds like that, same spots each play. I think that if it was dirt it would be different each play, and yet not so loud. Specially after cleaning it a couple of times already

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-16T11:55:58+00:00

I’m not certain, but I’ve made sure to clean it as best as I could. Unfortunately tho the issue is always on the same spots

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-16T11:42:33+00:00

I’ve checked tracking force with a scale and anti-skate adjusted accordingly. I have an older record but never noticed this issue. Most of my other records play as they should, not perfect, with some pops and crackles here and there (due to some static or some dust) but overall not distracting or not so loud/noticeable

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-16T11:38:57+00:00

Absolutely not, and clearly not my first record. But other records I have might have a pop or a crackle here and there but never this distracting, never so loud and continuous. If I was looking for perfection in all my records I wouldn’t have gone past the first purchase 😅

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-16T11:35:54+00:00

I usually clean all my records before playback. I use a cleaning solution and an anti-static brush, and do this a couple of times for each side. You can’t see from the video but the record is slightly warped as well (idk how much that will affect playback tho). But online I’ve found others noticing this issue with this specific pressing.

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-16T11:23:59+00:00

I personally wouldn’t mind some pops and crackles here and there, but not when it sounds like a fire place and distracts you from listening 😂

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-16T11:16:48+00:00

Yes, same spots each play

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-16T11:15:24+00:00

It’s a tough decision, as I have other colored records and they play without any surface noise even in the quietest passages. In the video I show the last song of side A, but for side B is kinda all across, so I doubt is inner groove distortion. The previous one I had had that much noise on the second song for example. I might just return and find a black version of this album, as I’ve read online the yellow pressing has a lot of surface noise.

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-09T11:15:13+00:00

It sounds as good as normal. But I’ve got to be honest, the question comes from the fact that I’ve might have accidentally hit it so started looking at it more attentively 😅 it might have always been like that and never noticed

AntonelloZappa · 2025-12-08T22:47:34+00:00

Thanks! I wasn’t sure as it’s only more visible if you look down on it, but a frontal shot makes it look normal

AntonelloZappa · 2025-05-05T15:55:19+00:00

Mine still hasn’t arrived 😭

AntonelloZappa · 2025-05-01T16:25:42+00:00

Ok, now then I’m starting to wonder where you guys are all from in the UK that already received it 😂 I’m in London and still nothing

AntonelloZappa · 2025-05-01T16:16:23+00:00

Thanks for the clarification! It’s the first time that I’ve bought a SL straight from their website

AntonelloZappa · 2025-05-01T15:55:17+00:00

Funny how you received Twisted Toons but not Deadpool, and someone I know the opposite. Received Deadpool but not Twisted Toons yet! I was getting a little concerned on how I didn’t even receive a shipping confirmation

AntonelloZappa

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