The Audiophile Record Collector's Handbook (ARCH) has been in print since 1991. It is aimed mainly at collectors of fine sounding analogue stereo LP records. In this sense it was responding to a worldwide interest in vinyl LPs from the standpoint of their great sound quality. During the latter part of the 1990s the enormous interest in stereo records began to reduce from its almost obsessive levels and people began to take more interest in the mono recordings of the 1950s. I am not ashamed to include myself in this. In a way it has been like returning to one's musical roots, replacing the...

This book is aimed mainly at collectors of fine sounding analogue stereo LP records. It concentrates largely on orchestral repertoire - that is what such collectors listen to in the main. I have started from the assumption that the analogue stereo recordings from the period late 50s to mid 70s are far more satisfying than any other recordings ever made. The great majority of good recordings from that period are to be found on the RCA, Mercury, Decca, EMI, and Lyrita labels. The information in this book represents the labour of many years, not just by the author, but by many others too. I have...