SXL 2117/20 Mozart "Don Giovanni" Krips Decca WBg ED1

	£		91
	$		121

ARTISTE, RECORD TITLE  AND LABEL 

MOZART "Don Giovanni"

Suzanne Danco, Lisa della Casa, Hilde Gueden, Anton Dermota, Cesare Siepi,Fernando Corena, Kurt Boehme, Walter Berry

DECCA 2117-2120 ( Wide Band grooved Decca with "Original Recording By..." text on label ; pressed in England) 

BACKGROUND :

 One of the rarest SXL series with The Rare Classical Record Price Guide, 2006 listing a mint copy at £500 (loosing out only to the illusive SXL 2100 and SXL 2215/7). It seldom comes up on offer and some consider it rare in any condition. As it fetches in excess of £300, on the odd occasions it does come up for sale, I have indicated a fraction of it at £40 as a starting price with no reserve.

This 4 LP box set comes with the 36 page booklet and the original inner sleeves are intact.

It is on the Wide Band grooved Decca label with the "Original Recording By..."text and with the grey sided box.  The original inner sleeves are intact though I have replaced it with a new custom made acid free inner paper sleeve.

GRADING RESULTS: 

The box looks Excellent on the front and VG++ on the back. Other than a slight peeling of the laminate 3/4 down on the right hand side, there are no other flaws on the front. There are some age spots on the back. ( I have provided a picture of the back together with the booklet) .There is slight wear along the sides The lettering on the spine shows some light fading though it is still very legible.

The booklet is in an Excellent condition.

Visually the following were observed on the 4 LPs:

SXL 2117 (Sides 1 and 8) : A light hairline surface scratch halfway down on Side 8 which also had 2 light "mounts". Side 1 also had 2 light "mounts". All these did not affect play.

SXL 2118 (Sides 2 and 7): No surface scratches or "mounts" were present.

SXL 2119(Sides 3 and 6): There were a couple of light surface scratches and between 7 to 10 "mounts" which did not affect play too badly other than an occasional pop.

SXL 2120 (Sides 4 and 5): These had about 10 "mounts" on each side which also did not affect play too badly other than an occasional pop.

These Decca "mounts" afflict early Decca pressings especially in this part of the world. I should point out that I use a uni-pivot arm which are good trackers. I did try them out on a friend's VPI/Graham Phantom,also a uni-pivot, and got the same result.

 Tracking at 1.7g on my Naim Aro arm and Lyra Helikon SL cartridge , the playing was generally  VG++ . There are some clicks ,pops  and some slight surface noise  but it was not intrusive. There was no distortion whatsoever.

How I Clean and  Grade my Records

Cleaning: Cleaning is usually done on a Loricraft PRC 4 cleaning machine using the US made Walker Audio stage cleaning solution.

Playback Equipment: Playback is through a Linn LP12 turntable/Armeggedon/Naim Aro tonearm/Lyra Helikon SL cartridge and through a brace of active Naim 250s/135s into Naim DBL speakers. For 45s I use a second Linn/Lingo/Aro/Linn Troika though I change them occasionally as the arm tubes can be easily transferred from one deck to another.

I use both Goldmine and Rare Record Price Guide grading system as a guide and came up with the following:

·       Mint  I only use this for sealed items. The record is virtually unplayed and is in a brand new condition. Cover is pristine. Up till now, I have never used this grading and, chances are, never will, due to my conservative nature in matters of record grading.

·       Near Mint  Very little or negligible flaws. Faint lines or very faint creasing  on laminated covers visible under a strong light is acceptable but nothing serious. Records which show some signs of having been played such as very faint spindle marks are allowed but there should be no lessening in sound quality. .

·       Excellent   Item obviously played, though not often,and enjoyed with some slight noise. The record should be nice and shiny but may have a few light marks which should not intrude on play. Slight wear on cover is acceptable. 

·         Very Good Many more imperfections which are noticeable but not obtrusive. The record has been played several times but there should be no major deterioration in sound quality despite some noticeable surface marks and light scratches. Normal wear and tear or writings on the cover  is acceptable but there should not be any major tears.

I do not offer any records below Very Good  unless its extremely rare. 

Shipping costs

I use brand new custom made  plastic sleeves  for both the vinyl and for the sleeve. Shipping is always by Airmail and by registered post as it allows one to track items in case of delays. Shipping costs in pounds are:

UK/USA/Europe                          18 pounds

Hongkong, Taiwan South Korea 15.60  pounds

Australia China Japan                16.80 pounds

Postage is via Airmail, "signed for" delivery. I prefer signed for delivery as it allows me to "chase" on my side if buyers do not get their items within 2 weeks though so far this has only happened with Italy.

 I will  inform buyers of the registration details through Email on posting.

Forms of payment that I accept include:

·       PAYPAL (preferred choice) 

·       International Money Orders