Sold Date: July 15, 2014
Start Date: July 5, 2014
Final Price: $162.50 (USD)
Bid Count: 22
Seller Feedback: 607
Buyer Feedback: 59

PLEASE READ AND CONSIDER THIS IMPORTANT SHIPPING INFORMATION BEFORE YOU READ ABOUT THIS RECORD:
Ebay does not let me specify a greater shipping amount than $4 for US shipping in the listing, but I am in Canada and shipping a record to you in the US costs $12, not $4, so kindly disregard the listed shipping price and follow the shipping charges below. I will send you an invoice with the correct shipping amount shortly after the end of the auction. If you jump the gun and submit a payment with just $4 shipping I will send you a paypal invoice to cover the remaining $8, so it's better to wait for my invoice.
By bidding on my auction you are acknowledging that you have read and understood my shipping terms.

SHIPPING PRICES ARE AS FOLLOWS

Within North America:
1 record: $12, 2 records: $17, 3 records: $22, 4 records: $25, 5, 6 or 7 records: $28

Outside North America:
1 record: $18, 2 records: $30, 3, 4 or 5 records: $50, 6 records: $75

LED ZEPPELIN s/t 1969 1st LP CLASSIC RECORDS QUIEX Audiophile 200 gram NEAR MINT

Classic Records was the premier audiophile reissue label of the late 1990s until it stopped production in 2010. Committed to using only the original master tapes and using mastering engineer genius and legend Bernie Grundman, the pressings are considered by many to be the sonic last word for many recordings.

In early 2001 Classic Records outdid themselves with their reissues of what could only be described as the apex of hard rock – the Led Zeppelin catalogue. I am currently offering for sale the first six Zep LPs from these Classic Records pressings in near mint condition.

In a review for “THE ABSOLUTE SOUND”, Frank Doris wrote:
“The improved sonics are not surprising, considering Classic used the original two-track analog master tapes as source material for all these re-issues—not the EQ'd production masters used to create many of the original LPs. According to Hobson, all the production masters sound different than the original two-track tapes, many of which sound as "if a blanket were thrown over the speakers."

The master tapes

The mastering chain used to create the re-issue LPs is the stuff of audiophile nocturnal fantasies: the original master tapes were played back on mastering engineer Bernie Grundman's Studer A-80 analog two-track tape deck, fitted with a one-Henry-impedance head that matches the Ampex 300 tube tape machine electronics. Judicious, mild application of EQ was used in spots, particularly on the Led Zeppelin releases, where Jimmy Page himself gave guidance (among other advice, he told them to use the recently-issued Led Zeppelin CD boxed set [Swan Song 82526] as a reference; which itself had little EQ used in its production). From there, the signal went to a Haeco stereo tubed cutting amplifier powering a Westrex cutter head mounted on a Scully mastering lathe. The records are pressed from "better than 180-gram" vinyl—averaging around 185 grams or so. The surfaces are so clean I almost couldn't tell if the needle was dropped at the beginning of a record. There's simply more "there" there, and you can hear subtleties in the original recordings virtually inaudible in the original LPs.

Classic Records license for this lasted until the mid 2000’s and with them being roughly $30 a pop, not many were sold except to audiophiles and usually from audiophile stores. I bought two copies of each release as I knew these were not going to last forever. By all means, buy the beautiful box sets that came out last month. Buy them for the extraordinary packaging and exquisitely curated bonus material, but the remasters of the albums themselves were created from 192 kHz/24 bit digital transfers of the original analogue tapes, and digital files are NOT the way to hear Led Zeppelin – who are best heard in analogue.

I am a record collector and have been collecting records my entire life – and with a young family to consider, doubles of collectable records aren’t in the picture anymore. (I AM keeping a set though – until I die thank you!)

So here is a chance to pick up the coveted 200 gram (!!!) pressings of the Zep catalogue. Lovingly cared for, they have been played once for quality assurance (see below) and then filed away – until now.

If you haven’t purchased a CLASSIC RECORDS LP then you will be in for a treat. The sleeves are constructed from the stiffest cardboard and replicate all the artwork that the originals possessed (yes the windows are die cut on Physical Graffiti and yep there’s a wheel on Led Zeppelin lll!)

For all of their greatness Classic Records were besieged by quality control issues…their choice to move up from 180 Gram to 200 Gram pressings was a questionable one as there were many problems doing so at the RTI pressing plant where these were manufactured. What that means is that many one of these had marks on them – what appeared to be surface scuffs from the problems inherent in pressing 200 gram records on machines not recommended to press higher than 180 Grams. There are sellers offering sealed copies of these LPs here on ebay, but unless you have opened and played the copy through fully to determine that there are no major issues in the sound, then it’s up to chance and MANY of these were returned to Classic Records as faulty. Every copy I am selling is thankfully flawless, with one or two tiny exceptions as noted in each auction.

The way these were packaged also left something to be desired as it was a loose bag (as almost all Acoustic Sounds/DCCs MFSLs etc. tend to be these days, which meant that the records were free to move around inside and possibly create problems for the cover. Three of these LPs have small split seams (LZ II, III & Physical Graffiti) which are clearly shown in the images.

So what we have here is a personally vetted set of these records – they are guaranteed to play beautifully. Don’t miss this opportunity to grab these records as I can’t see a further reissue done with this much love and care ever again – the music industry isn’t the same and many records are being released without regards to source (analogue tapes) or quality control.

This auction is for the Classic Records issue of Led Zeppelin – their first record. The vinyl is playgraded NM and visually it's NM. It has been played precisely two times since I opened it new. The artwork is NM. The inner sleeve has a two-inch seam split, but the outer sleeve is not affected as the split is on the right-hand side where the outer sleeve opens. It's not a custom inner sleeve (like the Led Zep IV, Houses Of The Holy or Physical Graffiti inners), but the standard poly-lined inner sleeve that Classic used.

I only accept paypal. If you wish to pay by any other means, please contact me prior to bidding.

IMPORTANT SHIPPING NOTE (in case you missed it above):
Ebay does not let me specify a greater shipping amount than $4 for US shipping in the listing, but I am in Canada and shipping a record to you in the US costs $12, not $4, so kindly disregard the listed shipping price and follow the shipping charges below. I will send you an invoice with the correct shipping amount shortly after the end of the auction. If you jump the gun and submit a payment with just $4 shipping I will send you a paypal invoice to cover the remaining $8, so it's better to wait for my invoice.
By bidding on my auction you are acknowledging that you have read and understood my shipping terms.

SHIPPING PRICES ARE AS FOLLOWS

Within North America:
1 record: $12, 2 records: $17, 3 records: $22, 4 records: $25, 5, 6 or 7 records: $28

Outside North America:
1 record: $18, 2 records: $30, 3, 4 or 5 records: $50, 6 records: $75