Vinyl Review

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How I Review

Scroll down a bit if you want to get straight to the reviews

I am not a record critic and I am also not looking to review bands. I am a bit of nerd when it comes to anything I love and I felt an open, honest review of the vinyl I have purchased myself could possibly help others when investigating records they might want to buy for their own collections. I include certain information like the matrix tags (which I read myself from the vinyl) so that anyone using my musings to research their own records can line up the exact pressing that I own.

An overhead photographic image of a dedicated vinyl review workspace: an open record sleeve displaying full artwork and tracklist, the matching vinyl record on a soft microfiber mat, and a small notebook-like card listing store purchased from, pressing info, and condition grade. The surface is a light oak desk with visible grain, minimally cluttered with only a carbon fiber brush and an aligned row of record storage boxes in the softly blurred background. Natural, diffused daylight from a nearby window evenly lights the scene, highlighting the textures of paper, cardboard, and vinyl grooves without glare. The composition is clean and modern with generous negative space, creating a calm, methodical, and professional atmosphere ideal for reviewing and cataloging records.

I have as mall listing room, about 2.3m wide and 3.5m long. I have spent a while (this is the nerd in me) perfecting the position of the speakers, dual subwoofer and wall treatment to make sure that I have the best quality sound in my chosen spot. Overall, I think I have done a very good job with this and am confident the sound in the room I listen gives a very good reflection on the quality of the record.

I am not a wealthy person, especially considering how expensive the hobby of listening can be. I thought I would list out below my current equipment, some of which is going to be upgraded in the near future (the turntable) and other parts I am confident are good enough for the space I have right now. Too much weight can be added to how expensive equipment is and it needs to match the space it lives in and the budget of the listener. I have heard speakers that cost thousands sound worse than a set of Edifer powered speakers for £100. All because the setup was wrong for the space and/or the space was set up poorly. ~getting into all of this is not the intended purpose of this website. I just want to show what I have so you know I am at least reviewing the quality of the records I own on something mostly capable of presenting the records in an acceptable fashion.

  • Turtable: Victrola Bluetooth from John Lewis. Mostly standard but with upgraded stylus and acrylic platter.
  • Turntable Plinth: Fluance, purchased from Amazon.
  • Speakers: Wharfedale Diamond 9.1
  • Speaker Stands: the most rugged and heavy ones I could manage from amazon with floor and speaker isolation spikes.
  • Subwoofers: Two Wharfedale SW150 powered units. Both on additional isolation pads and places on square concrete paving stones.
  • Preamp: Fosi ZP3 using XLR to monblocks
  • Amplifier: two Fosi Monoblock V3, with heatsinks added to the top and active cooling fans (these guys run hot otherwise)

The Reviews