RCA-Victor LIVING STEREO LP thoughts. And: Just What is "Miracle Surface 317X "???

Nice socre, Tristan!

 

Great find Tristan. Check in the dead wax and see if it's an Indiana pressing(small letter "I"). Indiana pressings are usually higher quality then Hollywood(California) or Rockaway(New Jersey).

 

Thanks, Mike for the stamper info!
Here they are; I'm somewhat confused about their origin, however.
Could you kindly help?
"The stamper #'s are: Side 1-K2 RY1055-2S & Side 2-K2 1056-2S.. Thank you for your interest...."
Thanks and caio,
Tristan

 

Look real careful, you should find a single letter of either "I", "H" or "R" that represents where it was pressed.

*p.s. Judging from the matrix you shown, it looks like this is an Indy pressing.

 

I have a whole pile of mint condition RCA Living Stereo records, and I love them. They all sound very good. I also have many Mercury Living Presence stereo records, that were recorded on 35mm magnetic film, and they really sound good.

 

Thanks again, Mike. However I don't presently have this Lp to inspect yet.
I relied on the seller to provide my with the stamper #'s.

BTW, what are the letters for Hollywood or New Jersey? Nothing good can come out of New Jersey, anyways! Just kidding, my New York origins are beginning to show...

 

Originally posted by NinoHernes:
I have a whole pile of mint condition RCA Living Stereo records, and I love them. They all sound very good. I also have many Mercury Living Presence stereo records, that were recorded on 35mm magnetic film, and they really sound good.

Dear Joe,
Mint condition? WOWEE! I always wondered how much surface noise a mint Shady Dog had... Perhaps the answer is variable, but just curious...

 

I think both 317-X and WD-40 used to hang out with Maxwell Smart and 99...

 

What a great post!

 

Just my opinion. 317X was an anti-static gradient and it has been vapored after all these years.

 

I have some copies like that. Dead quiet as the best from the Japanese vinyl from the golden age.
They were all pressed at the Indiana plant by c.1960.

 

I listened to your Contemporary set a few days ago and was so impressed by the ‘gloss’ that defines the sound of the Golden Age.
I was blown away by the SACD of Way Out West and others again. Would like to thank you.

 

There’s magic in those SACDs.

 

Oh, it was not used for the first vinyl pressing?

 

I'd like to know why the Dynagroove variety of RCA Living Stereo gets such a bad rap? I own a few and the surfaces seem pretty miraculous as well as they should. Sound is very fine too. I think I read somewhere that this Dynagroove era sounds a bit "wooden" in comparison.

 

I actually enjoy "wooden" sound. I'm listening to Jim Croce right now on DCC... his acoustic guitar sounds very wooden.

Dynagroove LPs had some (what most would consider) poor limiting EQ choices to sound "good" on ****ty consoles. My guess if your dynagroove LSC sounds good because it is pristine because no one played it more than once!

 

Recorded with too much microphones.
Lesser mastering with their new device, sound re-corrector.
Thinner vinyl.

 

My Dynagroove examples are not thinner vinyl, that's for sure, not Dynaflex either.

 

Dynagroove was done originally to improve the sound of RCA's recordings on budget phonographs. It did not improve the sound on budget phonographs, and people with good audio equipment got even worse sound quality. This was done in the 1962 time frame, and quietly done away with due to the furor from music lovers and audiophiles (the two biggest record buyers as a group). The Dynagroove is a pre-distortion added in disc mastering, and best played on conical styli. When Dynagroove was in use, the dynamic range suffered on records, and RCA began suffering from boxy, closed in sonics on records. Not one of RCA Victor's better ideas.

 

Hi Steve,
could you tell me more about the CARMEN Realease?
Label, SACD / LP / Year?
Thanks