Just out of interest do you get occasional distortion in the left channel? I asked for a replacement because of that, and while the new LP is better there’s still a problem from time to time.
I was not sure what sort of distortion you are hearing. So I have had another listen to my copy this morning in case I missed anything and concentrating on Jim Hall and the left hand channel. A real pleasure, not a task with this music.
With one very minor exception it is an excellent pressing. I hear just one very minor pressing buss 2/3rds through side two 'God Bless the Child' of less than a second. No other problems and Nothing I would return it for, otherwise it is a clean and very quiet pressing even in the 'dead wax'.
The real advantage of this mastering and pressing is the detail on Jim Hall's guitar and Harry Saunders brushed cymbals. I get a beautiful (image) of Jim Hall's Gibson S175 in the plane of my left speaker, but not appearing to come directly from it. Lovely tone and detail on the soft plucked transients. Still to the left, but inside of that I hear Harry Saunders brushed cymbals higher than Jim Hall, who seems to be seated and way back behind my front wall. On some of this there is detail I have never heard before, some really beautiful delicate cymbal work, especially behind Hall's solo on side one 'Where are You'. I also hear some very soft, but clear tape hiss above the cymbal work.
Jim Hall does a lot of bending of notes, especially on tracks like 'The Bridge' where if the detail were blurred it could possibly sound like a form of distortion? But I assume you are satisfied that your cartridge and setup can cope. I used an Ortofon Cadenza Blue in an SME V and cross checked some of the inner tracks with a Denon 103D in my L-07D's own arm with no problem, but less detail with this cartridge.
The only slight promblem I have with this reissue is in the mastering. In comparison with my original pressing Rollins tenor tone is quite a bit harder and he has been brought more forward in the mix to be in the plane of my right-hand speaker. In the original he is a little behind the speaker and his tone is better. His tone sounds better with the Denon rather than the Cadenza. The result of making him more prominent is that it is somewhat detrimental to the 'balance' with Hall's guitar. So it's 'swings and roundabouts' for me with this one. Excellent pressing, with great detail from Hall and Saunders with a slight downside to the 'mastering' for Rollins.
