Death Cab For Cutie – Transatlanticism

A strong pressing in of dynamics and volume, but I'm getting some sibilance on enger Seat, which is a bit annoying.

I bought this album on 2024/06/22 in and I really do wonder if my copy is from 2003 or it is a repress of this one. I noticed that the matrix / runout of my copy on Side A is B390340-01 A2 HL, which differs from the one for this issue. Other than that it looks exactly as shown in the images here.

My vinyl copy sounds pretty good!

Alright to preface this, I’ve been on a bit of a quest to find the best pressing of this album since I love it so much. So far I have heard this pressing, the 10th anniversary KG cut, and the 20th anniversary VMP press. Out of the 3 I would rank the 10th anniversary first, followed by the VMP, with this one placing last. Not to say this isn’t a great sounding record, but in comparison it is the worst of the 3. It’s cut much quieter and has a very laid back feel to the album which some may appreciate but the vocals are a bit less prevalent in this one. The VMP press has the vocals shine, but leaves a little to be desired with how the instruments sound. The 10th anniversary KG cut on the other hand is best of both worlds, it’s extremely loud, and the drums in particular sound incredible. That pressing has the most dynamic range of the 3 and boasts beautiful front and center vocals while not missing any of the gorgeous instrumentation. My final test will be getting my hands on an original and seeing how it fairs against these three. Overall this is a great press but it can be better, plus this one has the most barebones packaging, no gatefold sleeve and for some reason the cover printing is very bright, just an observation.

I'm trying to figure out what exactly is going on with this pressing. Am I correct in understanding that likely anything for sale on this particular listing is not actually pressed in 2003, but rather pressed at some later date? But it's still considered the 2003 pressing because it's done at the same plant, using the same lacquer plates? (sorry if I have the terminology wrong). I'm just trying to understand if these represses would effectively be the same as the original product.

The reason I'm interested in this is because I understand this album was a fully analog process, studio to vinyl record. It's somewhat rare for a lot of the music I listen to, and it would be interesting to know that whatever I'm buying has not been digitized somewhere along the way. I'm hoping to understand if whichever version of this 2003 german pressing I might buy, I'd be getting a product that is still in line with that fully analog process.

Sounds fantastic, this is the one you want. words x2

geez this is loud af - and the bass is all up in your beak

Just recently scored a sealed copy of this German pressing sealed from an eBay seller here in the US. Record sounds tremendous, with minor pops and crackles in one spot.

So if you do score a copy of this version you will be very pleased

The content seems very contemporary, and the sound more of how things sounded on vinyl when that was the focused medium. No, it doesn't sound like Zeppelin II. But it does seem mastered for vinyl, and also the long lingering notes seem to play to vinyl's strengths. There are a few crackles here and there but overall very good pressing, and overall an engaging listen. I play it often

Perfect pressing , why buy reissue or usa issue when you can get original from @ 1.9.2020

People aren’t lying, I almost spent the cash for the 2003 US press but this German pressing is fantastic sounding.