Sold Date: April 25, 2018
Start Date: April 20, 2018
Final Price: $25.00 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 9050
Buyer Feedback: 7

This listing is for a BILLY JOEL - THE STRANGER - HALF SPEED MASTERED - VINYL LP - HC 44987 in at least NEAR MINT CONDITION in my opinion (I am not an expert, and I am not a collector).  It does not appear that this CBS MASTERSOUND LP has ever been played much. The original album cover cellophane is included.  
According to the information on the inside brochure, MASTERSOUND HALF-SPEED MASTERED RECORDINGS preserve more of the original studio master tape sound...including accurate bass and more high end "air"...than conventionally mastered recordings.  With the master tape and cutting machine running at half normal speed, every nuance of sound can be more accurately etched.  Furthermore, the reduced load on the cutting head and power amplifiers results in sound that is measurably and audibly cleaner and more distortion-free.  This more expensive, more time-consuming technique cannot be profitably used for mastering mass produced records.  It is used exclusively for Mastersound discs, along with the most advanced cutting system in the industry, the CBS DisComputer.  The DisComputer allows all that added signal to be cut onto a disc with no loss in volume.  Further along in the pressing process, a new, more time-consuming procedure is used that allows discs to "set" longer before being removed from the press.  This, together with a new vinyl compound, and a visual inspection of every single Mastersound disc, makes flat, quieter pressings possible in the U.S. for the first time in over 20 years.