Japanese Pressings sound particularly good.

So why do they sound better?

A lot of products produced in Japan from this hay-day period were focussed on a high-quality product. Look at Manual Film cameras of the period. No surprise then that record pressings are the same. The quality of the pressings from Japan from the 70’s and 80’s was so good that the American company Mobile Fidelity had some of their super rare pressings made in Japan.

At the end of the day, the sound is what it is all about. Quiet, is what people first notice and detailing and finesse.

Japanese pressings generally have an Obi around them. This is the strip of paper that wraps around the cover. They were only produced for the domestic market and were often issued in exceedingly small numbers (which now adds even more value to these pressings). Japanese and English being vastly different languages, the Obi was essentially the translation.

The Record jacket was generally of a much higher-quality material than other countries. They often contained translated Lyrics, bonus photos and lots of little extras making them a wonderful collector’s item. And we have to acknowledge the Japanese collectors who have looked after them for us.

If you are a completist collector, then you must have some Japanese pressings to fill the shelves. Many of our client’s already know this secret, and simply enjoy their Japanese pressing. You should to.