Porcupine Tree – Signify

So I ordered this and the latest reprint of Sky Moves Sideways directly from Burning Shed and both came super warped! Surprisingly, my turntable was able to handle it without skipping, but man does it look wobbley! Otherwise, sound quality is ok. Dead quiet vinyl, which is pretty necessary for the atmospheric electronic texturey parts. Packaging is shite -- paper sleeves not poly-lined, jacket is thinner than onionskin. They coulda done better.

I compared this pressing to the 2011 pressing (https://discogs.cinepelis.org/release/2914949-Porcupine-Tree-Signify ) and the result really suprised me: This 2016 remaster has the album spread out on 4 sides and is pressed by Optimal. The 2011 pressing (that has the 2003 remaster) has the album packed on 3 sides (with the fourth side being bonus tracks) and is pressed by the inferior GZ plant. So I was expecting the later pressing to be the obvious winner - it's quite the opposite though!

The only advantage here is that it has less surface noise thanks to Optimal. Apart from that this 2016 remaster sounds a bit lifeless to me compared to the 2011 pressing, less organic and even less dynamic, with a slightly smaller soundstage despite having wider grooves, which is odd. What this pressing adds is quite a bit more low end - but at the expense of a more balanced, detailed sound like the 2011 pressing. Last but not least the 2011 pressing has a much better packaging.

So in my opinion, other than the first pressing (that I haven't heard though) the 2011 pressing is the one to own.

Wtf?! No pics? Lazy AF
Seriously not even the cover? 😮‍💨