Sold Date: January 21, 2020
Start Date: January 11, 2020
Final Price: $15.00 (USD)
Bid Count: 1
Seller Feedback: 708
Buyer Feedback: 1

Richard Wagner: Die Walküre ("The Valkyrie") Second of four operas constituting Der Ring des Nibelungen ("The Ring of the Nibelung")
With Gundula Janowitz, Jon Vickers, Regine Crispin, Thomas Stewart
Berlin Philharmonic Herbert von Karajan, conductor
Deutsche Grammophon  2713 002 Stereo 1976 5-LP box set (originally issued 1968) Includes 48-page booklet in German/English/French, with essays, credits & photos, and libretto
Quoting the German critic Wolfram Schwinger, Alan Blythe, in his book Opera on Record, writes "Karajan's reading fascinates by virtue of its radiant clarity, its virtuosity of sound, its highly effective contrasts, its cantabile quality, and its noble vocal and instrumental beauty." I'll say, and it should come as no surprise, considering the roster of musicians listed above.
This set, I'm glad to say, is in great shape. I have a feeling it's hardly been played.
Vinyl Listened to all 10 sides. The vinyl looks clean and plays cleanly. Extraneous noise limited to an isolated pop on one side, and a tiny bit of quiet static at the outset of another. NM
Box  Cloth-bound, classy box. Hinged top to bottom, but top corner seams are slit. Relatively clean, inside & out. Some spine lettering has rubbed away. Cover stickers attest to international distinctions this recording had already garnished. A previous owner has affixed a small cataloging sticker on the back of the box (see photos). EX
Booklet Very nice. A little crease on the cover. NM
*Cleaned with Spin-Clean Record Washer MKII. Records will be housed in new archival quality inner sleeves* __________

About grading, and my priorities:

I’m using the well-known Goldmine standard, for rating vinyl records. But with this caveat: In rating the vinyl itself, only one thing matters to me: how it “plays”. The aural experience. I don’t care what it looks like. I’m not even sure how one can extrapolate how a record will play, based solely on a visual inspection of the vinyl. I’ve experienced shiny, pristine-looking vinyl, that proved to be intolerably noisy upon listening. And vice versa, vinyl that looked well worn, but played beautifully. I’m not even sure of what some of these descriptives mean, like “sleeve marks”. 

So basically, a vinyl rating of NM, near-mint, will indicate that the record, though used, plays cleanly, with an absence of extraneous noise--clicks, pops, ticks, crackle & crunch, static blips, etc. It implies nothing about the vinyl's appearance, because that is rendered irrelevant, moot. It is not a decorative object. And more to the point: it won't give me an accurate read on its sonics. Who can be sure, whether or not a scratch will affect play? And who goes around “feeling” scratches, to see how deep they are? I can only see visual grading playing a role of last resort, when neither buyer nor seller can give an accounting of the aural experience.

The upshot is, I will not list any used, unsealed records, without listening to them in their entirety. And my vinyl ratings will be based solely on the sound emanating from the grooves. I'm not talking about the quality of the audio engineering of the original vinyl (though I may make a remark when a record stands out for its sheer sound). I'm talking about the extraneous noises that come from usage, wear & tear. 

That said, there’s a certain amount of subjectivity in all this, the assigning of a grade. And you may become aware of something that passed by me somehow. Also, how a record sounds will vary from system to system. I want buyers to be pleased with their purchase. Everything I sell can be returned for a refund, minus shipping costs, for any reason at all, within 30 days. Provided it’s returned to me in the exact condition in which it was received. If you believe that I significantly misrepresented an album’s condition, please let me know. I’m a reasonable person, and will accept responsibility, assume shipping costs...if I’m dealing with a reasonable person, with a reasonable claim. We like to believe that such is always the case, but unfortunately experience proves otherwise. I won't be played. So don't even think about it.

If you're unhappy with a record you receive, please notify me so we can resolve the issue. Please take into account that I expend a lot of time & effort, in order to be as conscientious a seller as I can be. There's no need to assume a hostile or abusive stance.

About shipping:

Happy to combine purchases, to minimize the cost of shipping. Records will be shipped in a cardboard mailer specifically designed for records, capable of carrying 1-5 LPs. Base postage price will go up in small increments, only when USPS weight thresholds are crossed. 

What I've come to learn, about a record's condition, and "how it plays":

It's not an immutable thing set in stone; an objective reality that will be experienced the same way across multiple playing platforms. I used to think surface noise reflected vinyl damage...and there's not much one could do about it. Well, sometimes, that is the case. But I didn't realize how often noise is a by-product of dirty grooves that can be cleaned up, or a static charge that can be neutralized. I also wasn't aware of the role that equipment can play, in highlighting or bypassing the vinyl's potentially vulnerable spots. Turntable, stylus, cartridge--and how they're set up, aligned, calibrated--all play a role here. I don't have any expertise in the science of audio production. But I am a musician. So all I can do is relate, as accurately as I can, my experience & findings, in listening to these records on my own system: a vintage Technics Direct Drive Automatic SL-D500. My cartridge is an Audio Technica AT 3482P, and I recently replaced the stylus with the ATN81CP from the same company. 

It is time consuming, to audit all these records in their entirety. But I'm not comfortable putting used albums up for sale, when it remains a mystery to both the public and me as to what is contained within those vinyl grooves.