Linkin Park – Meteora

I buying the CD when I was a kid. One of my favorite childhood records.

This is hands down the best representation of the album sonically. The CD was super crushed and the recent vinyl reissues (almost all of them including the 45 RPM RSD release) didn’t sound that great. This is the best sounding version of this album (even when I did a volume matched A/B with Qobuz - this one won).

HOWEVER, just because this is the best sounding version of this album doesn’t make this an audiophile record in my humble opinion. The bass is a bit boomy but the drums kick makes overall low end punchy. Vocals clear but not really holographic. Distorted guitar parts (i.e most of the loud ages) are bit too heavy on the mid range and lacks a bit of presence/bite. Drums cymbals and hihat are not harsh but they are not lush as well.

I used both my microline and elliptical stylus but outside of the microline picking up more details, the record still sounds overall a bit veiled. Reference albums of similar style/same era that I prefer the sound more: Audioslave (S/T) MOV press, Songs For The Deaf - QOTSA (recent reissue cut by Levi Seitz as well), Massive Attack - Mezzanine (2013 reissue) or even the MOV version of A Perfect Cirlce - Thirteenth Step. I know none of them are NU metal bands but this is the best example I can give from my collection where I thought despite poor sounding CDs/digital versions, the vinyl mastering was much superior.

I believe no mastering can help to give this the audiophile treatment as d primarily because the mix was done with CD format in mind (this is just my assumption). I love Levi Seitz and confident he did his best.

Good sounding record for super fans but not worth the $$ (esp if you live abroad and pay import fees) only from sound quality objective.

Can't compare with other releases, but sound wise it sounds OK (comparing with lossless digital). Hit hats are little bit pushed forward, decent amount of bass, Chester's screaming parts are a bit pushed to lover volume, compared to Mike's rapping parts.

BUT - this is my 5th vinyl which I know it was pressed by GZ media in CZ -> All of theirs products have defects? I clearly hear pops even among loud instruments, which I didn't expect.

Not an audiophile by any means…tbf, if it sounds ok but has a cool aesthetic, and the price is affordable, I am probably getting it. This is THAT. Sounds fine, looks great…also super nostalgic

Hi hat and cymbals sound really strange. Chris Bellman misfire. Would like to change the One-Step version once I can afford to buy it.

Vengo a contar un poco mi vida

Versión larga: Soy nuevo con la música en vinilo y este ha sido el primer álbum que me he comprado. Lo he tenido 2 veces. La primera lo devolví por que pensaba que tenía algún defecto de fabricación por los sonidos más agudos. Me lo vuelvo a comprar y suena exactamente igual. Dos discos de fábricas diferentes en países diferentes ¿Qué pasa aquí?, pensé. Entonces me pongo el mismo disco en Spotify prestando atención. Resulta que no son defectos, ¡Son matices que se atenúan en Spotify! Casi inaudibles.

Resumen para vagos: Cómpralo, es excelente.

Haven’t heard any other pressing of Meteora besides this one, but to my ears this sounds great. The live look contains some great performances and is a highlight of the set. Everything is punchy, clear and dynamic. This sounded great on my lp60x when I picked it up and sounds even better on my rt82.

On my copy the higher pitched sounds are not precise, they sound somewhat crunchy and distorted.

This pressing sounds really good!
Im playing it on a high end hifi system.

Mixed review, the design is great (honestly much better in person) but the sound is sometimes not that good. It’s a bit tiny and i agree with others comments saying that instrumentals are louder and in some songs Chester’s voice seems a bit low in volume (in don’t stay it’s easily noticeable)
Overall it’s not that bad and you can still enjoy it, but there are better pressings than this one

My top 3 :
1 - From The Inside
2 - Faint
3 - Easier To Run