Portishead – Dummy

I was worried about this being GZ press, as they can be hit or miss, but they must have at least one super good press, because this one got the love. It came in a black poly lined inner which is telling. More recent issues seemed much cheaper with cover and all and I wonder if they are really still being pressed at Pallas, so I went with this. This is nice and thick stock that's gatefold. Mine plays perfect on a very high end system, and was perfectly clean from the get go. This is a solid buy and press.

Excellent pressing. Good emotive & dynamic soundstage. Can see this is the predominant reporting on this product, and I see far too many complaints about sibilance, suggesting the "blame" rides solely on the vinyl manufacturer, mastering process, etc. Simple google, or perusing of Hoffman forums show that much (if not most) incidents of sibilance are due to poor stylus alignment, off-point tracking, or even a bad stylus/cartridge to begin with. The vinyl "resurgence" has seen all sorts of subpar turntables retailed, and yet expectations to be wowed by vinyl predominate. In my experience, this will not happened without good equipment enjoying a proper set up. Sibilance is a word that few knew, pre-Discogs, and like "launch-angle" in MLB broadcasts, it is oft overused and overhyped, and little understood. My copy of this plays pristinely, with clear clean separation on my Rega RP3 equipped with a Dynavector 10x5 cartridge. If you hate the sensitivities of vinyl and the reality of mechanical playback, Streaming is for you and you can (re)sell your Crosley (ironically, a bad stylus can permanently etch in sibilance for you).

Really impressed with this 2014 pressing having managed to track down a relatively cheap sealed copy. None of the sound issues details by some below but quiet wax and a lush soundscape. And how well has this album aged over the years? Terrific sonics and nice packaging, this is one of the 90's finest albums without a doubt.

As its been mentioned this is an adequate pressing... until you play it on a very revealing system and notice that pretty much each song is plagued by sibilance. For sure a lot of that sibilance is there in the original CD release and I can hear it listening to the album on Spotify etc. also. But this pressing really throws it in my face, and its hard to enjoy the music once you've heard it once. I have many albums that have recorded sibilance and none of them sound nowhere near as bad played through my system, the eSSses are faithfully reproduced, on this pressing though it is so bad that it sounds like HF distortion. Not sure if its GZ Media to blame here but the result is evident. I hope the OG press isn't that bad =]

Is Dummy one of the finest albums modern music has to offer? Yes. Full stop.

The pressing is adequate.

My only fear that prevents me from buying this one came after I saw GZ Vinyl in the credits, I think I'll pass

Can confirm that it sounds fantastic. Worth buying. Ten words.

Very nice edition, neat and clean pressing. Perfect kind of music to be played from a vinyl :)