Led Zeppelin – Presence

I had this on order when by a stroke of luck I found the Classic Records version. I waited until the new remaster arrived and I actually played it first, and was completely blown away from the start by Achilles Last Stand. Just sounded amazing. I compared this album to the Classic, and to be honest the difference is so close that I could take either one depending on the song I’m listening to. Sometimes when comparing I forgot which one I was listening to. The remaster is a little more compressed, but in the case of Achilles it actually makes the track hit harder to me than the Classic. The Classic is a bit sweeter and open sounding, but honestly if you don’t have Presence on vinyl just get this remaster and be done. Seriously. Best of the remasters I’ve heard so far.

This pressing is awesome. The details in the guitar tracks in Achilles Last Stand is great. The sound is clear, bombastic and magnificent. This song is a juggernaut. The chugging rhythm is almost a blueprint for Iron Maiden's chugging rhythm in the 80s.
For Your Life, one of my favourite tracks kicks ass. Bonham's solid beat is locked in tight. I get the feeling Presence was recorded live in the studio for most the part. The band is a finely tuned machine. Jimmy Page plays a Strat as you can hear him messing with the whammy bar!
People complain about the stickers being stuck to the sleeve in this series. If you want to remove the sticker without damaging the cover, just get a cigarette lighter and just heat it quickly. The sticker when heated will come off easily then. I mean slightly heat it. Do not keep the lighter there too long!

Good reissue. Vinyl is dead quiet, bass and drums especially excellent sounding. Maybe not the best separation of instruments, but I don't have an original copy to compare, that could very well be how it was originally mixed/recorded. Insert, gatefold, and anti-static sleeve are added bonuses that make it worth the price, in my opinion.

Its ok- however it is what I imagine in my imagination is a digital source- its laking a 3D quality I get from many of my 1970s albums

This is a nice repress, however I am deeply disappointed by the fact that the 'The Classic 1976 album...' sticker has been applied to the actual album sleeve, and not the shrink wrap!

Good repress, although clearly digitally sourced ... but who cares if it sounds good?

This EU pressing Sounds better then USA JP repress they share the same master plates difference being the type of vinyl used.
Hence why people buy this copy over the US I have owned both the EU pressing is much quieter in the sound floor.
Also comparing with my classic pressings it holds up very welll...
The bottom end bass and kickbdrum is less muddy at volume @ 70db this album comes alive!
The classic loses composure...
Too Boomy if you like,compared to ORG this EU pressing seems cleaner pages guitar sounds dead accurate lets say Bonzo's drums sound real symbols have a nice simmer kick sounds accurate also
John Paul Jones Bass is not buried in the mix like some earlier pressings.
Roberts voice is centred as it should be, just like their live shows loud when it needs to be without being to forward.
For the money this by far the best bang for buck my Classic pressings are not better @×4 the cost.
They are very heavily re_engineered by Burnie Grundman who isallybgets it bang on with the soundstage.
In the case of the audiophile world the classic pressings vary from pressing to pressing.
Bass heavy boomy and tad muddy when push decent db.
System used set_up 1/ Luxman pd 277 Ortofone MM 2M Black_Schiit Many phono stage!
2/ Luxman pd 290 MC DL103R
Rotel AX290 phono ^ Rotel RB1080 Canare 4S11 /14-AWG 2x2
Speakers Infinity's Kappa 8s....😇

This vinyl sounds great! Remaster succeeded and this 180g vinyl will give you everything you need. Presence as the whole album I ire the most of the Led Zeppelin music. There is a mysticism with good lyrics. The first song is a masterful 10-minute work where you can enjoy Bonham's exact punches and Jimmi's guitar madness. For me, this vinyl is the most they have done.

So what people talk about when they think this sounds bad is most likely the digital mastering. I myself was expecting this to be a great sounding issue but after listening I felt like it was missing something and still prefererad my older 70s issue. I thought it had a lot of detail with a clean press but for some reason sounded very flat and sterile. If you are looking for the best sounding new versions of these albums I hear that the Classic Records releases are a good choice. They are very expensive but are made by people who really care and do great mastering for vinyl. I myself am getting one and doing a blind test to see which I think sounds best between the 70s issue, 2014 remaster and 2007 Classic Records version. In the end its a good record and if you dont mind that much its just a great deal, but personally I would go for many 70s reissues that are in NM condition over this.

Update:
The Classic Records release by Grundman are easily superior for some albums and closer with others, they are never worse than the 2014 reissues however.

Equipment used:
Rega RP1 with Nagaoka MP-110 Cartridge
Cyrus 2 Amplifier
Sustem Fidelity SF-3050 Tower Speakers
Custom made HQ Cables

my favorite album - listen to it all of the time