Queens Of The Stone Age – X

Pressing - N/A
I bought this in VG+ condition so not going to give a rating on the pressing, because likely a lot of the surface noise comes from it being played. But, what I can comment on is that it’s a nice, flat, centered record, and has crisp sound in the inner grooves despite being on a single LP.

Mastering - 5/5
Can’t imagine it sounding any better. Perfectly balanced, great soundstage, very dynamic in all the right ways. I also have a copy of the 2019 Grundman press as my regular listening copy, and this one is much more balanced and more dynamic (and, that one happens to sound pretty darn good so for this to beat it means it’s special)

Packaging - 4/5
The (in)famous X rated packaging is here on full display, but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary.

Overall - 5/5
This is the copy to get if you can find it for a reasonable price. The 2019 sounds great if you’ve never heard this one, but once you hear this one, you’ll notice a clear difference.

I too owned the 2019 reissue and was never really satisfied. All reissues are pressed from the very-compressed CD master. But this is truly on another level. The difference in dynamics is night and day. Less EQ'd too. Really wonderful sound, probably analog, it goes hard!

This is the best sounding pressing of this album.

Flat, quiet, vinyl, centered labels, quality gatefold.
Clean, dynamic and powerful sound that begs to be turned up!!

Grateful to own this.
My copy is signed by Nick Oliveri and Troy Van Leeuwen, signed it during the
Songs for the deaf Tour in Sydney 2004

Haven’t heard other versions but this one sounds really great! The only very small problem in my copy is a bit of background noise at the start of side B. Cheers!

This is probably the best sounding version of this album. I got the 2019 reissue for the original artwork but this one blows it out of the water.

I listened to a reissue for years, and thought it was ok. Not great, but good enough. The low volume didn’t bug me too much, I just turned it up. But finally, after reading the comments on here I bought this original UK/Europe pressing. And there is indeed a very big difference in quality. Definitely worth the extra money.

My version has the sticker on the right corner. What does that mean? Everything else looks like this original version.

Doesn't sound that different to the CD. However, the sound is clear, balanced and punchy. Everything sounds hi-res and there is good instrument separation. Sounds teriffic on my Rega RP3 turntable. I recommend.

I got one from a third party seller on Amazon and it had seems pretty good so far, except for the stickers being on the wrong side and the grainy porn on the inside of the cover. When I drop the needle on "Side A", I get Into the Fade. I'll have to look at the catalog number. I wouldn't be surprised if it's an unlicensed reproduction, but I don't really mind.

Today I found this with the "sharp cornered" sticker at a local store and picked it up. It sounds fine and the cover and labels look fine. Heafty vinyl too.