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Kansas Leftoverture CBS 1981 1/2 Speed Master Audiophile LP Kirshner

Sold Date: June 2, 2020
Start Date: May 19, 2020
Final Price: $26.95 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 129
Buyer Feedback: 264

This item is not for sale. Gripsweat is an archive of past sales and auctions, none of the items are available for purchase.


Kansas
Leftoverture
1981 CBS Half Speed Mastered Extended Range Recording LP
CBS Master Sound HZ 44224

Item Details
Manufactured in:USA
Recorded At: Studio In The Country, Washington LA, 1975-1976
Mastering: By lado Meller at the CBS Recording Studio, NY, on the CBS "DiscComputer"
Pressing: Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Terre Haute IND
Original Issue: 1976
This Issue: 1981
Label: CBS Mastersound HZ 44224
Runout Deadwax Matrix Numbers:
Side 1:(stamp:) HAL 44224-1F (etch:) 1T (stamp:) D
Side 2:(stamp:) HBL 44224-1J (etch:) 1T ○ (stamp:) D
Was bought new by this seller many years ago and now offered from his private collection (you have absolutely known provenance). Has had limited plays only on an expertly setup high-end audiophile turntable, arm, and cartridge. Has never been exposed to heat or tobacco smoke and always stored vertically in a specially designed record cabinet (Rackit) to prevent warpage.
Was cleaned on a VPI HW 16 with Audio Intelligent solutions and ultra-pure water rinse (50X purer than distilled water) before my pre-sale sound check. I wear nitrile surgical gloves while cleaning and play testing to avoid any chance of transferring finger oils to the vinyl.
Very sensitive play testing was performed straight off my Ayre P-5xe fully balanced phono preamp over Sennheiser HD 600 headphones using a Schiit Audio Valhalla 2 tube headphone amp fitted with Voskhod Soviet matched tubes (see last photo).
Track list

1: Carry On My Wayward Son, The Wall, What's On My Mind, Miracles Out Of Nowhere.

2: Opus Insert, Questions Of My Childhood, Cheyenne Anthem.

I never take "distant" photos nor the so-prevalent type with the LP sticking halfway out of the jacket. I take close-ups under photo lamps so you can see nearly everything I describe in the jacket grading. It is virtually impossible to know the true vinyl condition from any photograph. That takes very bright and close visual inspection PLUS play testing with thorough coverage on high resolution equipment.
Grading Details
Note: Record grading by text characters is subjective and does not fully describe quality levels. Please see photos and my detailed descriptions below.


Outer Jacket Inspection:
VG++
The The jacket grade would be NM but for mild rubbing  wear on all edges. You can see the small surface scrape in the middle of the spine on my photos. There is mild rubbing wear on all 4 corners and a noticeable corner bump in the lower right. Two very light creases are at the top left spine edge. Otherwise, both jacket faces are satiny smooth and very close to new condition. Lyric Sheet is NM.

Vinyl visual inspection:
GRADE
Surface visuals were first inspected under high intensity halogen light. I rotated and tilted the record in multiple angles with my eyes a few inches away from the vinyl. Both sides looked visually perfect to me, I couldn't find anything worthy of note.

Play Testing:
Extensive play testing was performed after cleaning. I listened to the beginning, middle, and end of each track for a few minutes on each drop. Some of them were played all the way thru when digitizing my favorites to 192k/24-bit WAV files. The lacquer is cut to the limits of the media's dynamic range but doesn't sound compressed. The first iconic cut (Carry On) explodes out of the grooves in all of its analog glory. It is ballsy, has lots of depth, presence, immensely wide sound stage, and is utterly clear. Has to be heard to be believed. There are a few gentler tracks such as "Cheyenne Anthem" that reveal this to be an exceptionally quiet pressing. My listening notes say: "nary a tick anywhere, even in transition grooves." In all of my play testing I only heard one small "tick" on S2:T1. There may be others on portions I did not play fully thru, but I feel confident that this pressing is much quieter than most. I thought that the tracks especially benefiting from the 1/2 speed re-mastering were S1:T1, S1:T2, S2:T2, and S2:T3. The vinyl grade to me is unquestionably NM, and of all the CBS half-speed issues I have offered for sale up to now this one rates in the top of the heap.

Packaging Record will be placed outside the jacket to protect against seam splitting. Original inner sleeve is included separately. Record has been placed into a brand new MFSL "Original Master" sleeve. This will keep vinyl surfaces clean during shipping and ultimate buyer usage. Outer jacket is contained in a new clear polyethylene protective sleeve. Sent in good quality record mailer with cardboard stiffeners.
Shipping Shipping will be via USPS Media Mail for a flat charge of $3.98 per single album sale. A combined shipping discount is available on multiple sales completed within 5 business days($3.98 plus $0.50 for each additional LP). If you intend to buy more than one LP do not pay immediately but wait for my all-combined invoice. A discount for the combined items will show on that invoice. Then, once payment is received, the items will ship.