Dead Can Dance – The Serpent's Egg

The present reissue faces a problem that goes beyond the mastering, which, while acceptable, is not the main issue. The true defect lies in the quality control of the vinyl pressing, a matter that has become a norm in numerous current productions. This unfortunately creates a buying experience that relies on luck for the end consumer.

The A side of the record exhibits some crackling and pops, especially in the first track, “The Host of Seprahim” (in my case). Despite being a masterful opening, these unwanted noises significantly affect the listening experience, resulting in discomfort. In contrast, the B side shows a notable improvement, offering sound quality that, while not perfect, is acceptable.

It is worth mentioning that the record does not present serious issues with background noise, which is a relief. However, this situation is disappointing, especially in the context of the recent reissues from the 4AD catalog. In summary, the brilliance of The Serpent’s Egg is compromised by production flaws, a concerning aspect in the current state of the vinyl industry.

Wow, this record just sounds absolutely amazing. I'm using a Technics Quartz turntable, an inexpensive Harman Kardon amp and Bang & Olufsen vintage speakers. The sound is almost otherworldly.

Beautiful rich sound off of my copy. Nothing but praise for these re-issues.

Got one of these...The wax is flat, sound production is not bad (However, I would recommend at least one Sub to manage the Bass bookshelves alone won't cut it IMO) (there is slight distortion in the vocals on spots of Ulysses, probably from pushing the volume up, tapping the threshold, and ambitious bass), surface noise is far from zero but not horrible (seems to clear a bit with cleaning & a few weighted plays to break through some sticks in the groove, as I have found with many newer presses). If you have bad distortion on 1st or 2nd half of a side this may be a sign of Anti-Skate pushing/pulling on the inner/outer groove, check it. My copy had glue toward the end of Ulysses, resulting in a click for about 4 rotations (after a thorough cleaning, probably going to have to dig out the grooves). A Great LP (tarnished by bad QC), all in all, sounds good on my modest set-up...

(Fluance RT-82 w/Acrylic Platter, ATN-XP cart/5 stylus. Nobsound T3 Phono Amp, Aiyima A07 Pro, Kicker KB6B, & 2x Polk PSW10 Subs...Simple Low Cost Setup)...Happy Listening

Proper audiophile quality, so dynamic, one of my best sounding albums.

Setup: Modded Technics Sl 1210 mk 2 with silicone tonearm damper, vm540ml cartridge, Parks Audio Puffin preamp, Golden Gate interconnects, Denon Pma-800ne amp, Dali Oberon 5 speakers.

I gotta say my pressing of this happens to be a very good one. I too found others in this series of MRO pressings to be kind of crappy (my copy of 'Aion' is not so great), but this - this is spot on. Someone else commented on the quality of the remastering, and I have to agree. "Ulysses" in particular is outstanding. That's always been a favorite DCD track of mine, but the vocals always seemed buried in the mix. They brought them out really amazingly on this edition. I'm willing to sell my copy for the right price if anyone's interested ;)

This MPO pressed reissue is truly awful. In fairness the mastering sounds good. However as well as the ticks and pops and minor background noise other people have mentioned below mine also has audible distortions through a number of the tracks on side A. Presumably these are caused by pressing flaws even through the record looks clean. If there are decent copies of this pressing then mine definitely isn't one of them. If you choose to buy this version its a risk.

there are lots of pops on this copy, otherwise sounds good

Bought two MPO pressings (the serpents egg and spleen and ideal). Pressings were not done correctly. The hole is not centered. There are pops and distortions on both. Even in the second track on this one I recognized the same pops someone talked about in his comment. Will send them back. Again MPO did a shitty job. The vinyl looks also not quiet - it was removed too fast from the machine.

Another release destroyed by a horrible cardboard inner sleeve. My copy has so many scratches, I'm returning it for a refund. The copy I have was pressed by MPO - I wouldn't bother with the GZ copies either as their vinyl is even more prone to scratching with these crappy sleeves. If all record companies used poly lined sleeves, we would rarely ever have a problem.