Which Weezer Vinyl Pressing Reigns Supreme? Stereo Showdown!

[@lawfvader6]

I subbed to you 10 years ago when you posted your Blue Album review, and 10 years later I’m watching you review the blue album again! Your channel is such a comfort channel for me, thanks for all you do Eric!

[@penepleto1210]

I love the fact that "the Weezer album called Weezer" can refer to Weezer (1994), Weezer (2001), Weezer (2008), Weezer (2016), Weezer (January 2019) or Weezer (March 2019).

[@SB_182]

i immediately knew which was the half speed. absolutely my favorite blue album pressing and worth every penny i spent on it. i love it so much.

[@Keither754]

@@SB_182 where did you get yours ??

[@SB_182]

@@Keither754 it was an interscope exclusive, sold out a couple weeks ago

[@Keither754]

@@SB_182 gotcha I’m fairly new to this side of the Weezer/vinyl community. Thanks for the info!

[@SB_182]

@@Keither754 no problem. If you dont have one already, make a discogs and keep an eye out on there. I see a few for sale right now that are about $10-$20 more than I paid on interscope.

[@phonokilleddigitalstar]

The 45? I’ve got 122/1500 and the highs a lost/buried on mine. It’s just dull

[@benjamincundiff9813]

B sounded best to my ears, but i didn't have headphones on. Thanks for showcasing this!

[@JCBSPNCR]

Listening without headphones, not knowing which is which, I find B is my overall favorite for its brightness and mids, D and A being close together at 2nd and 3rd, and I think E might be whatever the newest pressing is, because the lack of highs makes it sound like some tape degradation. C sounds tinny at its worst, which it’s at more than I’d like. Edit: not surprised by B, C shocked me! D and A both impressed me considering, and E was a wild card. Didn’t expect it but not surprised. I simply accept it.

[@thehighllama8101]

I have the Mobile Fidelity Super Audio Disc of the Blue Album. The SACD sounds noticeably worse than the original CD or the remastered Deluxe Edition from the early 2000s. Since MoFi generally presses its LPs from the same Direct Stream Digitial (DSD) files it uses for its CDs and SACDs, I'm not surprised the MoFi LP sounded the worse.

[@Keither754]

I much prefer how you handled your older “Stereo Showdown” videos. I like knowing which sample is which and seeing the record spinning on screen to see the differences in spacing/position of the stylus. Still an interesting video tho. I’ve been looking forward to this since you did the unboxing video.

[@Keither754]

Update: I think B was my #1 favorite! (By far, at least to my headphones.) While, C was #2….By far, E was the last 😬surprisingly bad.

[@k__505]

Yeah, no idea why he insists on playing games, just give us the info straight up.

[@maplekaaa]

@@k__505 I think it's less about playing games with us and more that a non blind test would be more susceptible to biases about which we percieve to be better.

[@ShaneLogun-tb7tk]

Thanks for the review! This was a great video!

[@autocorrect15]

i played the buddy holly lick and then got this notification

[@NKRevolution]

Never stop, Vinyl Rewind! I have the Mofi edition and the quality is fantastic

[@dombrown-tz3zu]

Great vid. Informative and entertaining.

[@MedalionDS9]

Thank you for your analysis and recommendation. I have the Blue MOFI version, which imo even before you said anything... I was always rather underwhelmed by it even back when I got it...

[@SoundlabStudios63]

I have that 2002 reissue and it sounds amazing (and has the correct dividing of side 1 and side 2)

[@marksilgalis9400]

I’ve got the Target blue Marble version sounds great to my ears. Just waiting for the “your system isn’t resolving enough” comments. I truly appreciate the attempt at a comparison. What you did is more than enough to satisfy my curiosity. And I did think about picking up the new release.

[@SchneL]

Oh man… the wife picked B and I also picked C. So cool! You put so much work into this, much appreciated! Love the OG feet version… now I need it haha. We have the 2016 version and never realized Surf Wax America was swapped?! Wth were they thinking?! Love your vids man! Super entertaining. Gotta go, watching you pull the thread on the box set now. Don’t do it!! Lol

[@Stonecutter334]

Nice job!!

[@carravagio16]

Friday night here, decided to bust out the blue album and a red blend wine and have a blast! You should see my air drumming LOL

[@pascalc7493]

Really great video and milestone of an album. I prefer in some way D but agree in putting in the last position E, and I was astonished too to realize being the MoFi pressing. I only got the original CD I bought in the 90s when I was 20 (sigh)... How do you compare the vinyl pressings with the CD soundwise?

[@fullforcehi-fi]

Got my Blue Album years ago and it gets lots of spins! Not as much as Pinkerton though (Obligatory Pinkerton supremacy) Kinda tempted on that half speed one... 🤔

[@nicholassheffo5723]

The MoFi Super Audio CD sounded better than the 2024 CD, but it could have sounded better had the DSD been transferred at 4 times the original 64-level rate. Thanks for the excellent video!

[@tubapunk]

I found B to be my fav, just hit everything and had the warmth, D was a close follow, and then A. C/E felt lifeless: Using my HIfi desktop system - Schiit Bifrost 2 ->Burson Soloist 3x-> Hifiman Arya Organic - To me B is worth it if you have a decent turntable/hifi setup

[@albertguffanti8414]

Fantastic shoot out. My favorite by far is B. E is by far my least favorite

[@ryangarrettofficial]

I think the reason they switched Surf Wax America to Side 1 is due to duration issues. A vinyl record sounds best (most volume and dynamics) at about 22 minutes per side. With Surf Wax America on Side 1, you get a perfect 21'39 side one duration. Side 2 clocks in at around 19'39. The original 5-tracks-per-side edition had a relatively short Side 1 at 18'33 which left Side 2 at a whopping 22'44, which isn't horrible. I've definitely heard worse (I have some records at over 30 minutes per side), but it just makes more sense to balance it at the first 6 tracks on Side 1 and the last 4 on Side 2, even if it does disrupt the flow of the album slightly. (Also I used ' instead of : to avoid posting timestamps in the video) Also the copy of the record I have is the black MoFi copy which sounds alright UNTIL you get to Only In Dreams in which there's a huge volume drop in the middle of the song. I almost wonder if that could have been avoided by using the 6-tracks-on-side-1 method, as the MoFi does have the original 5-tracks-per-side sequence.

[@efficiencygaming3494]

I agree that C stands out among all these pressings. I think it sounds better than the others most of the time, especially on the drum hits in "The Sweater Song" and the guitar intro to "Say It Ain't So". With headphones, the "Say It Ain't So" intro is panned heavily to the right in most of the pressings, but on C it sits closer to the middle and sounds nicer. I'm surprised at how good that original 1994 pressing sounds, seeing as vinyl records were not exactly part of the zeitgeist of the '90s...

[@Lance37a]

The original still sounds the best to me.

[@Orangienblue]

was there not a remaster with the original 2004 deluxe version?

[@BrandonPGeneral]

Wow! Genuinely surprised by these. I was convinced that C was Mofi. It sounded the best all the way through. D was a close second

[@saml302]

i like my version just fine, but first time i heard surf wax start after sweater song i said "bullshit" out loud to myself

[@ausmo1308]

It's hard to give a fair opinion to this since I was listening with speakers. I think for a general listener you really have to focus to pick up the subtle differences. So in a way I find it cool how the different pressings can hold their own and still sound good if you just want to pop the vinyl on and listen. But it's cool how with the right set of ears and equipment, you can make a video like this. And yes, I'm actually very surprised the MoFi Original Master Recording version scored the lowest. Every youtube video out there has programmed me to think they are by default, the best that money can buy. This opinion makes me reconsider them as the only standard of listening. But still, out of all of them I feel like it has the best chance of holding it's value or going up in value. Due to scarcity and the cool banner

[@thewintereaglefly]

The nerdy type of video i love hell yeah

[@hydrocityharry977]

Man I've been here so long that I remember that the Blue Album was No. 1 on your albums you would take if you were deserted on an island (I think that was what the video was about right?)

[@TigerSquidCA]

Love this! I have some notes though.. Your 2024 single LP from the box set is NOT the same as the standalone 2024 retail copy, those still credit George Marino. I agree that the 2001-2002 pressings were not remasters, the first release marketed as remastered was the 2004 2CD deluxe. Curiously, the credits read “Originally Mastered by George Marino” with no remastering credit given. It’s possible someone else at Sterling Sound simply did a flat transfer of the 1994 master tape to a higher resolution digital file than was available in 1994. George Marino died in 2012, it’s possible he did a vinyl-specific remaster in ‘12 or earlier that simply wasn’t used until 2016 or more likely the 2016 and later pressings are using the high resolution digital master from 2004 as their source. It’s possible Marino never actually remastered the record and he was credited as “Remastered by George Marino” beginning in 2016 simply because every use of that digital source had been marketed as a remaster and his name was the only one ever given.

[@Joekbands]

Pinkerton is my go to Weezer record and I did a shootout with all of my copies of it and I felt the UK 2002 just blew all the others out of the water (tbh one of the best sounding records I own)the MOFI ones just don't sound right in my opinion. I have the same opinion about the MOFI of blue vs the 2016 master. this has inspired me to get a 2002 of blue to see if it stacks up to the 2002 Pinkerton.

[@Ozma2]

I'm surprised the Blue MoFi is so bad! My MoFi Pinkerton sounds great

[@albertguffanti8414]

This experiment brings up a larger issue about MoFi. With few exceptions, I’ve been really underwhelmed by the MoFi sound signature. I think it’s time to lower our expectations of MoFi as a top tier record label.

[@R3TR0R4V3]

B - the 45rpm half speed is definitely my favorite.. It has the most detail and clarity. A is very close though, followed by D. C is seems the brightest, but the Mofi - E sounded the worst, sadly! I have the Mofi, so guess I'll be seeking out another version. It just pisses me off they only pressed 1,500 copies, which doesn't make sense.. Why go through all that trouble just for that little amount of copies.

[@n8great321]

Don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else besides me with that UK uncropped version! Definitely trips people out who have never seen it

[@Gamemaster365-6]

Imo 2020 and 2024 were definitely in top for me, E Sounded soo bad compared to the original, for a second I thought E was the original vinly pressing, and was shocked to find out it It was a mofi?

[@mikemoffatt6610]

E was the Mofi, my guy. Not the half speed. Half speed was B.

[@Gamemaster365-6]

@mikemoffatt6610 ohhh thank you i got the two confused! I was a little busy typing this 😭

[@shsrpr]

Just listening on my TV with a crappy sounding speaker, C sounded best most times. I assumed E had to be the original '94 pressing though and it's been touched up since, and figured C was the MoFi or at least a recent remaster. Shocked that the MoFi ended up being E. It's so muddy by comparison to all the others, especially in the vocals.

[@jujitsu8238]

B sounded the best in my headphones.

[@phonokilleddigitalstar]

Does anyone else feel that the half-speed 45rpm lacks something? Besides the obvious the highs get lost/buried, it’s sooo dull to listen to because the highs are practically gone. I’m not 100% but seeing others enjoying this pressing I wonder if it’s my tube preamp?

[@tubapunk]

For sure probably the Tubes giving it that warmer/lush sound hiding some of the peaks. I use my Darkvoice Tube Amp when I use my brighter headphones to take the edge off. With B already warmer than the C/E variants, B probably might be best to run through a solid state amp or swap tubes, or honestly, just listen to C/E or maybe A :)

[@phonokilleddigitalstar]

@ I might have to do that, I almost feel like my own comparison video I have planned for tomorrow might be ill timed. Yet, on both the 45 and single I’ve noticed that at the higher and lower end of the frequencies it gets a bit muddy. Which only get every thing else lost in the mess. The Target exclusive is beautiful

[@phonokilleddigitalstar]

@ haha, my left channel RCA was hang half way out of my preamp. It has to have been like that for a few days now.🤦🏼‍♀️

[@rockdontrun]

I just looked and found out my copy is a 1994 Dutch copy. I wonder if it sounds like the 1994 British copy?

[@5wavesup]

Has anyone compared the German "320" pressing to these? I have the "320" sounds amazing to me.

[@PhantasmSt]

B is best i thought E was way too dark and muddy in some points

[@jamesisabeastieboysfan]

I think C sounds best

[@tedlogan5628]

The one that plays “Wonderwall”?…..

[@BrenttheBlackSheep]

B was too hot, e was the worst and so flat and compressed, d was fine, a and c were best, I feel a might have been the all around nuanced

[@pinkertonlover1996]

NOT YOU WEEZERING US😭😭

[@Leaman001]

C sounded the worst D was the better one

[@AlexanderGreensmith]

Really intrigued to see what the bands next move will be.

[@lennonnicolas5994]

😄