Beatles Sgt. Pepper Limited Edition UHQR #1786 (MFSL)

$

265

ITEM The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's UHQR Audiophile LP (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Limited Edition #1786) INFO The only thing better than an MFSL stereo pressing of ‘Pepper’ is the UHQR variant.  Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab issued Ultra High Quality Records for select titles (limited to only 5,000 pressings each), and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was the sole Beatles album to be pressed on their super heavy, ultra quiet vinyl. This auction is for the 1786'th pressing made from the master stamper at the Victor Company of Japan (JVC) plant in Yokohama, Japan during July, 1982.

I am very familiar with the Mobile Fidelity pressings of the Beatles catalogue, particularly Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper. I have owned, inspected and/or auditioned dozens of these vinyl LPs (new and used), including three of the UHQR pressings. Let me say at the outset that you should be very cautious about any UHQR box that is reported to be "sealed." Not only is it likely that the box was re-sealed, but it is also likely that the LP was handled and played. You have to understand that the JVC vinyl is of such high quality that these LPs can be played dozens of times and show ZERO signs of wear or handling if the owner is careful. In fact, truly "new" MFSL LPs often produce the most artifacts (usually soft clicks) and will play quieter the more they are played. This is because MFSL LPs were not fully de-burred when they left the stamping plant. Most of these limited edition UHQR pressings have traded hands more than once; and you can assume that each owner enjoyed at least one listen before passing it on. The people who pay premium prices for vinyl LPs tend to have turntables; and the Mobile Fidelity UHQR LPs have always been expensive.

The aforementioned groove damage is consistent with a dropped needle on a stationary record. The damage does not produce a prominent pop or click when listening through loudspeakers (the JVC vinyl tends to be forgiving in this way); but you can detect the artifact when monitoring through headphones. I have played both sides of this LP twice as part of a recording project, and I can verify that all other tracks play at mint grade (for MFSL vinyl standards).

To summarize, UHQR pressing #1786 suffers from a single point of groove damage and above average wear to the box and sleeve (relative to the other 4999 sets). Otherwise, this LP belongs to the smaller mix of UHQR pressings that can still please and amaze the most demanding vinylphile; and I am one of them.