Chad Kassem moderates the "Stereo Mikes"- Fremer and Esposito In a "Lively" Lacquer Discussion

[@michaellourie4252]

We love you Mike....you heart is in the right place. Cheers....You killed it:)

[@Double-Exposure]

I am glad you took part in this and I was extremely impressed with your conduct and taking the high road during the heated beginning. I am sure it must have felt good to get some validation later in the conversation from the experts of Chad's team regarding Lacquers and their potential fragility - but I was also happy to see Michael calm down mid-way, that he was able to step away from attacking you and most importantly that you collectively managed to leave on a positive note. Well done Sir!

[@austinhunt4260]

Esposito, you acquitted yourself elegantly. You hold your own among legends, which not everyone can do. Take tremendous pride in that and change nothing. I’m proud.

[@BattManion1979]

He fielded everything Fremer threw out, and pitched it right back. I have purchased from Mike before, and will continue to do so

[@davids.816]

That was WAAAAY more entertaining than I could've ever imagined 🤣

[@zackamania6534]

We’ve reached the “debate me bro” of record sales resurgence

[@costume5922]

Hey Mike. I think you should feel really good about how you did.

[@yuriwalter385]

Aren't they both Mike?

[@VinylPiper]

@@yuriwalter385 he’s referring to the better Mike :)

[@yuriwalter385]

@@VinylPiper lol

[@philipdru9290]

Mike is a gentleman; a high compliment.

[@GhostFace_OG]

Mike - I think you killed it in this debate. You were calm, and collected; made your points concisely without losing your temper when things got heated. I am with you 100% and appreciate your shootouts and opinions. I love how they say don't buy the lacquer - if that's true, then don't watch opinion videos! End of story, go home Fremer. (Even though I appreciate his advocacy for AAA products and vinyl). I would argue if Michael Fremer actually purchased his records - his opinions would change drastically.

[@austinhunt4260]

Chad is the Don King of vinyl! I love him! About five minutes of this is on lacquers; the rest is QRP’s lineup for 2022+ lol

[@gustercc]

Like, for real! It was Chad’s commercial halfway thru. But he was preaching to the choir. So wasn’t necessary.

[@BattManion1979]

@@gustercc I think he is still on dope

[@-elijahriggs-]

@@BattManion1979 If someone could accomplish what Chad has done on dope I'd wish everyone was a junkie. Sure, he speaks a little slow, but everything I've bought from AP is amazing for the price. Show some respect.

[@-elijahriggs-]

The Don King of Vinyl. That is spot on.

[@BattManion1979]

@@-elijahriggs- I respect the guy for working all these years and building up his business the way he has. On the other hand, he is another music industry vampire who's product is grossly overpriced and not worth it. I'd rather have scratchy originals.

[@terrykeenan4308]

Finally watched this. I will say what I said before. I would never spend over $500.00 for an album. I don’t have that kind of cash. But Mike Esposito is correct....I’m sorry if your going to sell me a $500.00 album there better be no flaws what so ever! Period! Yes, Michael Fremer there are human flaws and mistakes, but it better be perfect for $500.00. A Mercedes is not comparable to a Hyundai. And that Mercedes better reflect that price.

[@around-about-recordsllc4243]

Mike bought a record from me and was very nice in our conversations. I’ve also bought several records from Mike and he was a very nice guy when I went to his store, and he has one of the top record stores in the country. Thank you both for continuing to spread the love of all analogue mediums with a focus on quality mastering! It would be more productive to the community for less contentious and more good-humored discussions.

[@montyperkins3590]

In what world does this guy live in that he believes it’s acceptable for a $500 record to show to your doorstep tarnished? I’m sorry mr Fremer but your opinion does not resonate

[@vcp93]

Completely correct. As Mike E pointed out in his video about these ERC LPs, if you are going to charge ridiculous money and only release 300 copies of these LPs, you should be expected to check every single one at least once before you mail them to the fool who purchased it. Fremer is one of these guys who is so consumed with being right that he doesn't even think about what poorly thought out statements he makes. I have respect for some of the things Fremer has done for the VC, but his character could use some work.

[@BattManion1979]

@@vcp93 Yes Black Francis and Monty. I bought records for years and years at $5.99 and never once opened a seam-split LP. For $500 scoots, it had better be better than perfect, or shove it up yer ass.

[@foogloo78]

“But they replace it,” is a goofy defense for ERC. Of course they do. Bottom line; it’s a given the higher the MSRP, the higher a standard of manufacturing is and should be. As for lacquers, if I can’t play it 500 times, I don’t want it. In other news, this video went off the rails with the reel-to-reel discussion.

[@jacksonkeeler]

I've regularly had $20-50 records replaced by the record label i got them from for free lmao

[@musicfan8253]

Thanks for having integrity Mike. I’ve always liked you and your videos and this conversation takes you up another notch. Thumbs way up!!!

[@LPfingstag]

2 yrs since the “Great Vinyl Debate” - always a fun watch!

[@ToneChaser79]

Fremer: People question your integrity because you’re a hothead who attacks every one who disagrees with you

[@AlanKPet]

Excellent video. Thank you for this, I learned a lot. I’m a long time In Groove shopper. A long time subscriber of both channels. Discussions like this are fun and educational. Thanks!!!

[@wgb113]

For the love of vinyl let’s all get along Mike & Mike

[@rickyblair8802]

Fremer is the problem

[@2fastdriving]

Great job Mike. You can guess which one I mean 😂. Actually, I'm a big fan of all of you guys. Keep moving vinyl forward. We appreciate everything you do.

[@BionicTooth]

This was a pretty good discussion. I love Chad, but a moderator might have been helpful towards arriving at some apologies- which I think were in order. As it stands, I think the discussion affirmed a couple things that most of us knew from the outset of this fracas: 1) Fremer has a history of theatrics and overstating his case. It’s part of his schtick and it works for him. 2) Mike E. Is a reasonable dude who is in touch with the average, working class audiophile Fremer stated throughout that he was incensed at those who called his ethics into question over the appearance of conflict of interest with ERC and their policy of giving him tens of thousands of dollars in free albums (a criticism that Fremer answered pretty well, IMO) BUT, his complaint is completely hypocritical seeing that he called Mike E’s ethics into question FIRST, by saying he knew some secret reason why Mike was critical of ERC’s work- a suggestion that directly attacked Mike’s ethics. Fremer should’ve apologized. As someone who saw his initial KZbin response first, I was a bit puzzled at the heat, negativity and snark he sent Mike E’s way. At the end of the day for a company that makes just 300 items at such an exorbitant price, ERC’s quality control should be near perfect. Apparently, it is far from that. Which only adds insult to injury in the debate about the basic durability of lacquers, in the first place.

[@willyumlouis]

This was very entertaining to listen to. Not just from you (Mike) but from Fremer and Chad. All interesting fellas with different roles in the vinyl industry. It was quite educational tbh. Thanks! On a side note - Chad Kassem is a awesome dude. Seems like a really cool guy with a high passion for vinyl records, which I really respect. Analogue Productions rules and so does QRP!

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

yeah I had no idea they were trying to pass off Lacquers to the public LOL

[@DeAudiofilosyLocos]

I review records too. where can I get a free copy?

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

I know right.. even when I was a DJ for 20 years.. I had to usually jump through hoops to get product - meanwhile I'd go intot the radio station and there was always this one online personality that was getting EVERYTHING without trying.. it's like the hidden job market - but these people are set up from the start while everyone is like 'what just happened'.

[@austinhunt4260]

Somehow Fremer doesn’t get the concept that receiving $50k-100k (!!!) worth of free premium merch from a company he reviews (and vehemently defends) presents a questionable optic. No matter how much he “resents” that implication.

[@AnalogPlanet]

Every record reviewer and disc jockey since the 1950s receives promo copies. Most every record review you’ve ever read was sourced from a promo copy. So yes I resent having my ethics questioned and so would you. I buy thousands of dollars worth of records every year. I do not sell those promo records. So yes I deeply resent having my ethics and honestly questioned.

[@austinhunt4260]

​@@AnalogPlanet Mr. Fremer, I don't pretend to know anything about your ethics and honesty. I'm not saying you're a bad guy, but this whole thing made you look a little bitter and petty. And if you don't like having your ethics and honesty questioned, how do you think Esposito likes it? Do you think you might be questioning his ethics and honesty when you suggest he's trying to damage ERC because they turned him down to distribute? That's exactly the same as suggesting you're a shill for ERC because you get $50k-100k of free merch from them. I find the latter more convincing based on sheer number$. Also, no one minds you guys making a living doing what you do. The public decides if you guys seem independent enough to give us truth. Hopefully, you've realized that Esposito is pretty well regarded in that respect. By the way, he read aloud the letters to and from ERC and it really makes this all look like much ado about nothing.

[@petertaylor8372]

The most hilarious part of this whole argument is Michael Fremer saying over and over, "I've listened to this Tommy lacquer hundreds of times and it still sounds great!" Right, but does as Chad Kassem points out, does it sound as good as the FIRST time you played it? How much has the sound quality degraded over those hundreds of playings? Do you know? No, you don't, and you can't say it does because you don't know. And the spectrograph analysis "evidence" is spurious at best because the conditions under which it was done is completely unscientific. It was digitally captured and analyzed so the "sameness" is of the DIGITAL FILES not the ANALOG RECORDINGS. It's entirely possible no degradation was observed because the analog to digital converter smoothed it out on every single pass. Mike E's point is simply that paid shills like Michael Fremer shouldn't be selling people on snake oil. Yes, lacquers sound great. Do they degrade over time? Yes, undoubtedly. Should Michael Fremer be on KZbin trying to convince people that he has perfect audio recall and can unequivocally tell you that his Tommy lacquer sounds just as good now as the first time he played it and you should use that information to inform your $500+ purchase of a Supersense lacquer? No, he shouldn't. The story here from all involved should be, "if you buy this, you're paying $500+ for between one and X numbers of unbelievable playbacks. If it's worth $200, $300, $400 for ONE 'unbelievable' listening, spend your money." If you are hoping to beat the odds and try to convince yourself, as Michael Fremer has, that a lacquer sounds as good played the 1000th time as the 1st time, and you are getting UNBELIEVABLE listenings at fifty cents to a dollar a pop, you are only fooling yourself. That's it. That's the whole story.

[@DingleBerry88]

If it still sounds better than any other version of tommy, does it matter?

[@petertaylor8372]

@@DingleBerry88 No, not at all if you're willing to roll the dice on 1 play sounding better than any other version versus 100 plays sounding better than any other version versus 1000 plays sounding better than any other version.

[@johngaldieri5535]

I appreciate everyone’s passion - It is important to be passionate about the things we love and everyone here loves Music - you guys are all invaluable to the Vinyl Community and help each and every one of us to learn new things about this wonderful hobby of ours - Northern New Jersey loves you :)

[@analoguecity3454]

I'm glad this dialog happened! I think both guys hearts are in the right place! Mike from the "ingroove" warned the public with the knowledge he learned over the years about his hobby and job! Michael fremer also made a video to give us HIS knowledge! I think both guys and EVERYBODY learned more about them from actual expert's in the field! Michael fremer plays lacquers at hi-fi shows , and has experience with their longevity! Then both guys learned that some lacquers wear better than some depending on quality and "personal care" of them! We will disagree, but we learn from those disagreements! It's important to have opinions and disagreement from time to time in a world where people kiss each other's ass just to be liked or popular! These guy's will definitely give you their honest opinions whether you like it or not! That's why I have very high respect for both guys!

[@hansthijs]

Nice to hear all these experts on our beloved subjects. I ordered the Supersense Martha lacquer. Gonna play it for sure, will keep you in touch about degradation

[@Big-J-8579]

Nice job In-Grove-Mike!

[@alanabentrod3963]

Meeting of the minds, great to see. 😎

[@isabellasedai]

I’m glad you two tried to talk it out. You are both entitled to your own opinion and if you start with respecting that fact that you don’t have to have the same opinion as everyone else and shouldn’t you can avoid situations like this.

[@matts9064]

Mike E, you came up classy here. It was nice to hear your perspective when you were given a chance to speak lol. You are gaining more fans each day and deservedly so.

[@davidpetersen7091]

It is nice to see these individuals who have a "passion" for music discuss LP issues. Thanks! Mr. Pete--------> aging hippie

[@salimadam104]

Hi Mike - you made some very sound points about the quality of vinyl and packaging you should expect at $500 and the QC for such a small number. They should be examining each individually for that price. Kudos to you. What I found very disheartening was Chad and Michael’s opinion about that - I really like them both but they’ve gone down in my estimation a little after this.

[@stuartstark]

Chad is not the guy for this

[@spasticdeadeyedhound1321]

"Stereo Mikes" should become a monthly or quarterly review show

[@JaymoJangles]

No thanks! I prefer it be in Mono! Only one channel: In-Groove

[@MarcoRistuccia]

Well done to all participants! We all have inferred the untold behind this discussion, and have now a clear idea of what the truth is. 😉💪

[@mattmcgourty7971]

“But every record pressing has defects!” So? I’ve gotten defects from cheaper records for $40 and they send a new one. Do they get a cookie for sending a brand new one? And on top of that the outrageous price doesn’t justify getting two defective records in a row. Fremer just seems like a snobby vinyl gatekeeper tbh, Esposito might make mistakes every once in awhile but i can tell he’s passionate and has integrity, I can’t say the same for Fremer.

[@TripleE76]

As predicted, heat then love. You are all doing great work, let’s keep moving forward.

[@toddhills3706]

Mike Esposito I will 100% trust every time, it’s just clear he’s looking out for the collector. Fremer is dogmatic about the hobby and his confirmation bias is off the charts. I’ll never take him seriously.

[@housecaptain8261]

I'm certain the two Mike's could have had a reasonable debate without the need of Chad's cumbersome interventions. Every time both the Mike's appeared to be making valuable points, Chad kept jumping in. If you ever have a part two, dispense with a moderator. The discussions about costly re-issues could have been made into a separate video. The focus of this video should have been on the two Mike's unfortunately it spiraled into the moderator taking the largest % of the video. The best referee's are the ones you never see or hear.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

someone was asking if Chad was drunk - I'm just getting back to watching it after having to bail at 20 minutes in.. and that was the first part where Chad first interjected.. hmm.. if what you say is true..not really looking forward to watching

[@cradio52]

You two were having such a good, lively debate and every time Chad chimed in his was just in salesman mode and redirected the conversation to talk about his upcoming releases. The whole thing went off the rails once he started blabbering on about reel to reel tapes.

[@ramblinwreck74]

I hope both of you realize that the fact you are having this discussion is a sign that vinyl is in such a good place

[@stevensmith8793]

Logic dictates that any $500 dollar record that only 300 copies or so are made of should indeed ship out with no flaws. Extraordinary care should also go into the packaging to make sure that the package can withstand a reasonable amount of handling so that a seam split does not occur. Also to Chad's point, all of the pertinent information regarding the source and mastering engineer and process should be known. I like Fremer, but he was on the short end of this debate.

[@michaelmerinar8355]

Hi Mike, I like the way you roll. (and rock) In relation to the comments about the "Bridge Over Troubled Audio" One Step, do the original multi track tapes exist, and if so, can't they just make a new, S&G approved master tape? You know, like Giles has been doing with the Beatles catalogue.

[@michaelhorgan9525]

Maybe there is a safety tape that exists so MoFi is cutting from that?

[@michaelmerinar8355]

I've heard both Mikes briefly refer to the master tape, in negative ways, without really being specific. Apparently, the master is sometimes not the best source, as is sometimes the case with film camera negatives.

[@rocdocs]

Fart at 2:41. Great discussion! Thanks for doing this.

[@false_binary]

I love that Chad is selling the Love Supreme tape as a talking point LOL!

[@georgerockwell5288]

wait a second.. THATS MIKE, OWNER OF THE IN GROOVE IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA!

[@jimmiescoffee]

Man, Chad took this one over….but at least we are finally getting our ‘kind of blue’ UHQR…?

[@idriveaufo2]

@Mike! You are the best, learned so much from you, especially now when I'm getting into jazz (and yes I was a putz that accidentally bought Waxtime crap)

[@Davidcastillo-rw2zi]

I think the problem with this conversación is that the point should be that as record experts the point should be educate people on any Subject vinyl wise. Michael was completely lost on that Subject he just wanted to prove that what he said is true. I think Mike is mire honest in that regard this conversation is not just to just "if you want you buy it whatever the cost" all this is about been honest and educated people. Now my personal opinion is that no new record should cost more than $100 period.

[@rickyblair8802]

People that would pay $450-$600 regularly for records should find some good charities to give to and go back to buying $15-$40 records.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

this whole thing won't last long.. the young people coming up have zero bread.

[@rickyblair8802]

@@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777 that is so true, so sad and so funny. Even though it shouldn’t be funny.

[@garygrice921]

People that would pay $450-$600 regularly for records should continue to choose where their money goes to.

[@audiotomb]

Thank God Fremer didn’t talk about this system and use it as part of the argument. There is a youtube ot Mike Fremer where he shows his system and he is ultra defensive “this is mine, I bought it with my own money” Like a 85% discount And $18,000 speaker cable given to him Awfully defensive and plays up his well deserved legend too much The biggest minds are the most humble

[@brucegelman5582]

Is the entire highend audio buisness any different than the nonsense of laquers? Its all suspect.Thanks Mike Espo for your integrity

[@dougreeder6774]

Mike Esposito won this debate hands down.

[@thackerc]

All of these guys aren't young and we know how hearing degrades with age. I'd like to see them all take an audiology exam and share their results.

[@boblauer5997]

Does Fremer ever stop yelling and talking over the others and calling people stupid?

[@rogernight7107]

True

[@thepaulhenderson]

I smell a "Cajun Cage Match" coming, Chad?

[@Twin_Hook]

Great job by everyone!

[@baron5432]

I agree with Mike E. If you have skin in the game, then your are biased towards that product. I doubt someone who owns stock in a company would say that the product they are supporting sucks.

[@hotdog_taylor]

Why does Fremer keep constantly interrupting Chad. It's incredibly off-putting.

[@Frip36]

1. The more a guy speed-chatters in argument, the more holes in his argument he's trying to fill. Subtract point from Mr. Fremer. 2. The guy who speaks more about the need for industry reputation-building, than short-term easy money, is on your side. Point for Mr. Esposito. 3. Excess talking points, repetition, sophistry. Subtract point from Mr. Fremer. 4. The guy who asks you to take businessmen at their word, does not prioritize the consumer and ethics. Subtract 10 points from Mr. Fremer. And by the way, Mr. Esposito's noting the behavioral traits of 200 customers a day for years is the opposite of "anecdotal" Mr. Fremboob. It's called empirical observation. And from a rather large sample pool.

[@frogdayb1763]

I'm definitely team Mike Esposito, especially after watching this. UHQR gives off a Ktel vibe that prevents me from considering their offerings. Fremer is a character...as for ERC...meh, no thanks.

[@davidlether4917]

MIKE YOU DA MAN

[@davids.816]

Hey Mike, I would like to know your opinions on the closing statement where Chad jokingly said "You can start your own company". I pray that your psych record is a success, and if so maybe you'll consider actually starting your own record company. You have a knack for what consumers want. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

[@UberPilot]

Yeah, you have to wonder if he made a mental note when Chad said that….

[@27altoids]

At the time I’m making this comment, there are hundreds of “Likes” and no dislikes on this video. As it should be. At the very least, I hope this video garners Mike more business at The In Groove. The man deserves it.

[@b18c1crx]

Alex S I believe youtube is now "hiding" thumbs down to everyone but the video owner.

[@27altoids]

@@b18c1crx Oh, duh… you’re right; I had totally forgotten that was now in effect. Still, Mike comes off well-informed and engaged in what was a legitimately entertaining discussion.

[@rogernight7107]

Yes, I just bought a record from Mike.

[@patrickfrost1]

"Can't we all just get along?" Rodney King

[@davidmcquaid2557]

Let's get ready to RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

[@NoEgg4u]

@1:37:03 "If they just want to collect them and hang them on the wall, it's art, let them do it. I don't care" That is fine. What someone does with their purchases is there business. But it can still be annoying when people waste the time and engineering that goes into quality products. For example: Some people buy Ferraris, and they do not drive them. The might have one in one of their mansion's livingrooms, or an underground garage that has dream car after dream car, that are never driven. Yes, it's their cars. But it is annoying because it is such a colossal waste. Yes, it is no one else's business. But there is no getting around that it is annoying. It is easy for Chad to say that he does not care. He has access to it all. He hears the best of the best. If I owned dozens of dream cars, it might not bother me as much that there are people that buy them and never drive them -- because I have mine. But frankly, if I had all the $$ in the world, I still would rather not see engineering marvels go unused. And I suspect that the people that work thousands of hours, manually and meticulously building each dream car, would prefer it if their hard work was on the road, and not in permanent storage. I am not suggesting that anyone be shamed, or derided, etc. It just seems a shame to have primo pressings and hang them on the wall -- never playing them. I cannot get past that it is a waste.

[@rickyblair8802]

The funny thing is, when it comes down to it. All it is, is a damn record. If we don’t get out of this crazy past time hobby all of our hair is either gonna fall out like Mike’s or it’s gonna look like Fremer’s rats nest.

[@rickyblair8802]

Fremer has lost all sense, and out of touch with the normal guy. If I buy a defective record from Chad for 40 bucks I will be disappointed but if I spend 450 on an ERC that’s messed up IM gonna be pissed ( very ). For that price all 300 a month could be and should be inspected..

[@petertaylor8372]

The other nonsensical part of Michael Fremer's argument is that runs of 10,000 have pressing defects. Yes, and? ERC purposely presses next to nothing in terms of volume to artificially inflate demand. ERC *could* press many more than they do, but they don't because they want to charge $575 for them. And that's fine. But if you want to offer the same quality control as an outfit pressing 10,000 and charging $40 per copy, that's bullshit. If ERC, and Michael Fremer, want the same slack cut to ERC that gets cut to the bigger producers, then ERC should cut their paychecks and charge $40 per record. Do we think Michael Fremer wants his $50k-$100k ERC collection suddenly worth 7% of it's intrinsic (Discogs) value? Do we think Michael Fremer has a VERY vested interest in the value of ERC records staying sky high and arguing that they can't be blamed for quality control issues because "everyone else has quality control issues"? Why yes, I think we do.

[@rickyblair8802]

@@petertaylor8372 well said

[@davids.816]

I think it was a major ego check for Fremer. He's been in the "hifi" business a long time. Hopefully this debate humbled him out a bit and made him realize the issues consumers face. Not everyone has the luxury of spending 500 bucks on a less than satisfactory product.

[@rogernight7107]

Yes, he has turned into Nancy Pelosi.

[@rickyblair8802]

@@rogernight7107 maybe so but thank God he’s not a trumper.

[@AmazonasBiotop]

Good job Esposito! That is so strange. M.Fremer saying o my laquer is sounding FANTASTIC. After many years/decades and many playbacks. Then Gray come in and tell us that time is of a essential, need to get plated on the day the laquer were cut. And tells about how delicate laquer is and that is lasting shorter time than my milk in my fridge! Yeh, some magic may still be present on a old laquer but SOME is GONE after a week it were made. Otherwise the professional plating guys like Gary would not make all the investigation and go to great lengths to plate it the same day as the laquer were cut. According to Gary and his investigation that he told in the video it contradict the link to the website that M.Fremer lean on. (Who to trust!) All I want to point out that there is a WIDE GAP between those who work and plates laquer for a living all day long AND those who running to audio shows with one and the same old laquer made in 2006 and playing it. (And nobody knows how big that gap in quality between a day fresh cut laquer and one from 2006..) Maybe M.Fremer should send his laquer to a plant to make test pressings from it and compare those against the original release vinyl from 2006. (Hard to evaluate when diffrent vinyl formula and plating guys and so on will still influence and be different.) So we have 3 quality levels: * Tape *

[@bigboy9661]

Fremer seems really concerned about being seen as bought-off. I wonder why...

[@awrogers3013]

Step back a second and look at this from the outside. We’ve reached a point where the original, the way it came out originally is not good enough. I have lots of these but conceptually there’s some play to this….still will take an original first, then audiophile, call me nuts

[@brucegelman5582]

Fremer is 75ish going on 10 years old.Quite depressing really.

[@jaytorr6701]

What Fermer does is called lobbying in politics. He has received substantial payments for supporting a company. Some "cynics" might call it bribery....

[@kevinjeffers8056]

Chad should have talked more! I really respect Chad for trying to keep the consumer pricing low to spread the resurgence of vinyl. A company wanting to make white stripes lps for over $500 is just not a favor to the widespread acceptance and enthusiasm for vinyl. We don’t want this hobby to be called “elitist or insanely esoteric” like the $10000 cartridge manufacturers and $10000 interconnects. Yes, if the market is there then let the company sell them but it doesn’t promote new young people with 5 digit incomes being in the hobby.

[@hangarsacto]

Clean up on aisle six, because Esposito completely took Fremer apart! Esposito rolls in like Storm’n Norman Schwarzkopf! Fremer was down on the Ho Chi Minh and Esposito just kept dropping bombs from the B-52!

[@brucegelman5582]

This is what men who never grew up look like and sound like. Passionate yes...passionate children Chad......

[@Josal]

I am with Mike Esposito on this instances. However, I am still Enjoy Framer video though 🤙🏽

[@chrispounds1946]

Sorry Fremer, the other Mike is right. $575 record should be absolutely immaculate in every aspect.

[@bigboy9661]

Bulllllll shitt this lacquer still sounds the same after 100 plays. Fremer lovesss to use 1 off examples and generalize it to broad topics.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

rhetoric and still didn't show the process nor the data.

[@williamsizemore5576]

I never heard.

[@cezarvasile1635]

👌👌

[@howiefeltersnatch69]

Why is Chad screaming? The dude sounds...um, yeah. Anyway, I'd love to hear the 2 Mike's just talk.

[@geochi13]

I’d rather spend $500 on 10 records than on one lacquer that I’d be afraid to play out of fear of damaging. Vinyl is to be listened to, not just kept in a sleeve so you can boast you have it. I respect Mike E’s opinion as he’s never steered me wrong.

[@nodlew8348]

Final Score: Mike E-1, Mike F-0 but the real hero is Chad K…K stands for King

[@edwinfermin9142]

Couldn't agree more with every word you said.

[@jamescaiafa6268]

im sorry but Mike from the ingroove is right again and again and again, if a record is gonna cost $500 at a limited number to 300 pressings it should be perfect, end of discussion, Fremer may be right that the medium isnt perfect but the fact is at that price range it should be

[@olavhegnar6777]

Fremer comes across as a bully in this video. I used to respect him, but hearing him talk like this is really grating.

[@-elijahriggs-]

One more vote for Esposito. That is integrity. I feel bad for Fremer, He's flew the vinyl flag in the face of its extinction and has earned his place in the vinyl community. However, he really pooped the bed on this one and he just kept digging in deeper and doubling down. I wouldn't have lost this much respect for him if he just would've been a good person and said, "I understand what you mean Esposito, but I stand by ERC and lacquers." He just kept tying himself in knots trying to misrepresent Esposito instead of understanding where he was coming from and agreeing to disagree.

[@zackamania6534]

Guess what: STILL NOT SPENDING $500 clams on a record!

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

I've spent $500 on a record once in my life. And I made double on flipping it. LOL 100% pure investment purpose but I don't like playing that game- but sometimes an investment knocks on your door..not usualliy my door though LOL

[@zackamania6534]

@@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777 true. I got a 1959 stereo WLP of Kind of Blue in mint condition for FIVE bucks. I sold it for $700, but I regret selling it now…

[@rubbinsracingvideos]

Here’s what I got from this: we are very lucky to have acoustic sounds pressing records for $40. He could get quite a bit more for his work.

[@robertlight3688]

The biggest takeaway for me from your comments (and which I think sometimes got ignored) is that (1) there are different strata of collectors based on experience and budget and (2) if people with influence like you don’t educate collectors about the differences, collectors will get discouraged and float away. For that I thank you. This began as a pandemic hobby for me and has become a passion (as my credit card statement will attest). You educated me about audiophile labels, and so I think I buy better quality thanks to you.

[@BCl137]

The way Fremer is talking about the ERCs I wouldn't be surprised if he owned stock in the company. There's no other rational explanation for his defense of a $575 record having QC issues

[@JamboLinnman]

His problem is that he doesn’t seem to be able to comprehend Mike E’s point that there should be a higher expectation on QC for a low volume / high price product, or that Mike wasn’t highlighting a single seam split as an issue per se, but that it was the minor defect amongst a series of worse defects.

[@chrisloomis4921]

I didn’t watch through the whole stream. Am wondering if there are data points to consider or available- such as defect rates for pressings from the 60s, 70s, 80s, etc.? Compare defect rates from past to present and see where the differences are. From the customer perspective, it’s HUGELY annoying to pay $$$ for what you expect to be a good record - audiophile or otherwise - only to get a defective product. The more I’ve shelled out, the more aggravating a bad pressing becomes for me. Replacing defective records is not the best answer to quality problems- just isn’t a good business model. As customers, we have the ultimate say by not buying records from labels that are problematic. I’ve been collecting since the 70s. In the day, I can’t remember buying any records that I had to return due to defects. Anecdotally, this seems to be an issue with the plants of today IMO.

[@alanabentrod3963]

@@JamboLinnman I’ve seen lots of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Bugattis with QC issues. Michael has no stock in ERC. You don’t get to his level of industry respect for over 40 years unless your that good.

[@JamboLinnman]

@@alanabentrod3963 I respect Fremer’s standing in the industry but, apparently like you, he doesn’t seem to understand the nuance of the point being made. You’re trying to compare CLEARLY VISUAL defects being allowed to leave a very small quantity of highly priced records (something that could be picked up with minimal human resource and inspection facilities and easily justified given the price) with general QC issues on high performance cars with thousands of high-precision parts. I doubt you’ve seen many glaring visual defects on those cars and, even if you have, you won’t have seen them on 4 out of 4 cars, as Mike E did on ERC records. ERC clearly need to look at Mike’s E observations and assess corrective and preventive actions. Mike F should just accept that it’s an issue for ERC and not defend it. Fine, he can give his own experience of them but not trash Mike E’s experience of them.

[@renr17]

He was even arguing with the A.S. guy 😆

[@bradwilliams5885]

Mike Espo…As a lifelong Music fan, I found this very entertaining. I think you are absolutely right on and it’s cool that you stuck to your guns. There is definitely a conflict of interests.

[@michaelscholar]

Fremer comes off looking desperate. Esposito calm, cool and collected. ERC comes off looking like shit. And Fremer seems crazy to defend them.

[@glenninsouthtexas2514]

Great job Mike! You more than held your own with some legends in the business. Hope you guys get together and do some more round table discussions, I think it is important and much appreciated throughout the vinyl community. Major props for a job well done!

[@bigboy9661]

Lol ERC video "Unfair"??? 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 It's unfair to point out flaws on a $600 product? That's hilarious

[@chadwalz5002]

Why was Fremer so anti-give away? Jeesh. People give to him, and he just takes?

[@dirtyths]

Despite what anyone can say about ERC, limiting each release to 300 copies is an artificial way to inflate the value way over what it's really worth, and that, my friends, is a no-no to me. So I'm with Mike on this.

[@edwinfermin9142]

I wished I had seen this live. Mike Esposito has my respect and trust. Every recommendation I've listened to from him has been on point. Thanks Mike Esposito for being a stand up guy!

[@therealdonelaitis]

Besides the incredibly entertaining debate, I think some huge news broke in this video - specifically that Chad will be repressing the Prestige titles (!!!) and a UHQR A Love Supreme. I also find it hilarious how persistent of a salesman Chad is - never lets a moment go without advertising his stuff.

[@i35photo]

I think Chad putting this together was a great PR tool and he used the opportunity to his benefit make no mistake! The guy knows what he is doing and does it well!

[@austinhunt4260]

Chad had a video with BG recently in which he discreetly announced that BG will be working on another UHQR title… does anyone recall what title that was? I don’t think it was ALS.

[@martinbroekhoven]

@@austinhunt4260 The Doors - s/t (and I heard Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced)

[@austinhunt4260]

@Martin, that’s it!!! Thanks man.

[@stevensmith8793]

As he should. He's one of a handful of people that actually gets what should be getting pressed. Too many of these companies are putting out the same record with 6 color variants, totally ignoring what the music should sound like when you put the record on. I like how he actually took a stand against Mike on doing Alice Coltrane records. At the end of the day. he wasn't for it and said "let someone else do it". It's a stay in your lane mentality, and he knows his lane very well.

[@amysarg]

Why does Chad have to yell constantly? It’s like he’s talking to someone on the other side of his house! The microphone is right there, dude! Just speak at normal conversation volume. So tiring to listen to