45rpm reissue....Prices

 

I don't know how some of you guys feel, but the average price for a 45rpm reissue is around 50 USD. Sorry, but i refuse to pay that even if they do split it between two disk. I currently own two 45 rpms records and hardly play it. I don't consider myself an ultra audiophile but someone who loves music and appreciates great music accompanied with a great sound. It must be a very niche market. Can anyone imagine paying that equivalent for a record or cd say 25-30 years ago? There is no way I could have afforded that when I was a teenager.

Well, I don't think things will get any better in the future. 90% of music consumers today is made of casual listeners, to whom mp3 is a synonym of good quality, and that don't know what it means to have a good quality hi-fi stereo system and to dedicate some time solely for listening to music, the way it should be done...
So vinyl reissue, albeit is a growing market, will always be a niche and prices won't decrease significantly. 

I own a few 45 RPM reissues and while I do enjoy the slight edge in sound quality (on some of them), I do agree the price premium over the 33 RPM issue is a major drawback. You can't simply be paying for the extra slab of vinyl since I recently picked up a few 33 RPM releases that were 2 disk sets for under $25.

Plus, some of the 45 rpm's I have actually sound worse since my Zyx cartridges tends to be picky and temperamental playing at that speed. Zyx cartridges become very sensitive to anti-skate force when tracking @ 45 rpm resulting in slight distortion in either the right or left channel, depending on anti-skate setting. 

I am looking forward to one reissue coming soon from Analogue Productions on 45 rpm: Stevie Ray Vaughn's 'The Sky is Crying'. It's one of my favorite Stevie Ray Vaughn's albums, but at $49 I am hesitant. Especially when $49 can buy a nice stack of used records in near-mint condition at my local record store.

But then again, I'm really curious to hear how good 'Little Wing' will sound @ 45 rpm.   

I am looking forward to one reissue coming soon from Analogue Productions on 45 rpm: Stevie Ray Vaughn's 'The Sky is Crying'. It's one of my favorite Stevie Ray Vaughn's albums, but at $49 I am hesitant. Especially when $49 can buy a nice stack of used records in near-mint condition at my local record store.

Yeah, the same for me with the Analogue Production 45 rpm reissue of Muddy Waters "The Folk Singer".