Review
Ed1 : Vinyl Polydor ref 3549780 – 2021
Presentation
This is the classic version of vinyl pressed in black.
| Label | Polydor |
| Reference | 3549780 |
| Format (speed) | single vinyl |
| Type | 33.33 rpm |
| Master | Digital |
| Mastering/Pressing | Sterling Sound (US) / Europe |
| Original recording | Digital |
| State | US |
| Year original | 2021 |
| Year production | 2021 |
Waveform
The waveform represents all the tracks of the album.:
This edition is dynamic, we can see many attacks of the instruments that gives this dynamic rendering. As opposed to the Ed4 CD version which is compressed.
Spectrum
The Spectrum allows to check the tonal balance of the music (balance between treble, medium and bass sounds) and to detect process that may have been carried out during the recording, the mixing, mastering or manufacturing phases. It is also possible to detect frequency interference issues.
The curve represents the average frequency distribution over the sample “Let Me Love You Like A Woman”.
The interesting features on this curve are the following:
- The two curves are superposed up to 7 kHz.
- The treble level above 14kHz is higher (Green) than on the Ed4
- The high frequency cuts at 20kHz (Yellow) in the Ed4 CD, due to the digital master. This is not present on the Ed1 vinyl due to the analog noise.
Spectrogram
Spectrogram is another representation of frequency versus time of a track. For each channel (right and left), horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents frequency. The amplitude is represented by the intensity (brightness) of the color of each point in the image.
The spectrogram, the green arrow as for the spectrum (in yellow), reveals the limit around 20 kHz due to the digital mastering. Beyond 20 kHz, there is noise or distortion due to the vinyl playback method.
Noise
The graph represents the comparison of the surface noise between the Ed1 Vinyl (blue) and a reference record Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms Vinyl MOFI – ref MFSL 2-441 (white) which is very quiet.
The two editions are compared with respect to their maximum level.
The difference between the two albums is very important with more than 10 dB of difference and almost 15 dB below 100 Hz.
The surface noise is thus more audible for the ED1 vinyl even on the very weak passages. The pressing is not of high quality.
Ed2 : Vinyl Polydor Color Beige ref 3549797 – 2021
Presentation
This is the same album pressed in color beige.
| Label | Polydor |
| Reference | 3549797 |
| Format (speed) | single vinyl color Beige |
| Type | 33.33 rpm |
| Master | Digital |
| Mastering/Pressing | Sterling Sound (US) / Europe |
| Original recording | Digital |
| State | US |
| Year original | 2021 |
| Year production | 2021 |
Waveform
The waveform represents all the tracks of the album.
Like the Ed1 Vinyl, this edition is dynamic, we can see many attacks of the instruments and many variations of sound levels that give this dynamic rendering. As opposed to the Ed4 CD version which is compressed.
Spectrum
The curve represents the average frequency distribution over the sample “Let Me Love You Like A Woman”. The interesting features on this curve are the following:
- The two curves are totally overlapping, the “beige” vinyl (Ed2) is made with the same master as the black vinyl (Ed1).
- A small peak is present on the Ed2 at 35 kHz of 5 dB, but remains in the background noise below -90 dB, thus without any impact.
Spectrogram
Spectrogram is another representation of frequency versus time of a track. For each channel (right and left), horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents frequency. The amplitude is represented by the intensity (brightness) of the color of each point in the image.
Below 20 kHz (green arrow), the signal represents the music, this limit is due to the digital master made in 44.1kHz (or 48kHz). Above 20 kHz (yellow arrow), the signal is due to the distortion and noise generated by the vinyl support.
Noise
The graph represents the comparison of the surface noise between Ed1 Vinyl (white) and Ed2 Colored Vinyl.
The two editions are compared with respect to their maximum level.
We can see that the Ed2 is 5 dB louder above 400 Hz (Yellow zone).
But the Ed2 is 5 dB quieter than the Ed1 below 200 Hz (Green zone).
The difference below 200 Hz induces a less audible surface noise than the Ed1 version.
The pressing of the color version would therefore be of better quality if there were no crackling present.
Magic Vinyl vs Digital 
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