If you found your way here through one of my review videos: welcome. If you don’t know me yet: I’m Michael Ludwigs, and for over five years now, almost everything I do has revolved around one question that sooner or later occupies every serious collector – which pressing of an album actually sounds best, and is the extra cost of an audiophile reissue really worth it?
How it all started
In May 2020, I started my YouTube channel 45 RPM Audiophile – purely out of curiosity at first. I wanted to know whether you can actually hear the difference between a standard first pressing, a European pressing, and an elaborately mastered 45 RPM or UHQR edition, and how big that difference really is. That curiosity has since grown into a channel with over 1,100 videos, around 48,000 subscribers, and more than 8 million views. Several times a week, I compare pressings head-to-head – often UHQR against a US first pressing against a European pressing – talk about new Analogue Productions reissues, and cover the equipment that makes these differences audible in the first place.
What I’m particularly proud of: Acoustic Sounds, the distributor behind labels like Analogue Productions, now links to my reviews themselves. In this scene, that’s not something that happens automatically – it only happens when your judgment holds up over the years. That relationship has gone further than links: in 2026 I was invited inside the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London, where I got to watch Acoustic Sounds founder Chad Kassem and his team at work on the remastering sessions for the remaining Bob Marley and The Wailers titles. I wasn’t part of the mastering itself – I was there purely to watch and learn – but Acoustic Sounds filmed the session themselves for their own channel, and it’s worth seeing:
Why it became a shop
Many people who watch my videos eventually asked me where they could actually get the pressings I was reviewing. That question is how michael45.com came about: a shop that – like the channel – focuses on audiophile reissues, currently carrying over 640 titles. Not a mass catalog like the big retailers offer, but a selection I’ve personally listened to, evaluated, and judged worthwhile before it ever makes it into the shop.
Alongside that, I also run a second shop, The Vinyl Room (vinylroomshop.com), with its own physical store in Düsseldorf. That one is about something different: rare original pressings for collectors who are after the original release rather than a reissue. It has its own, smaller YouTube channel as well.
What sets me apart from an anonymous online shop
When you order here, you’re not buying from a shop that just imports catalog data. You’re buying from someone who has probably already made a video about nearly every pressing in the shop – or is about to. I compare pressings against each other before I recommend them, and I put my name and face behind those judgments. That’s the difference between a generalist like jpc.de and a niche specialist: I don’t sell everything – I sell what I’m convinced is genuinely worth the extra cost.
Conversations worth watching
Reviewing records is only half of what the channel is about – the other half is talking to the people who actually make them.
Chad Kassem, founder of Acoustic Sounds, Analogue Productions, and Quality Record Pressings, on how his companies grew out of a record collection into the biggest name in audiophile reissues, over nearly 40 years:
Chad again, this time on the UHQR pressing of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme:
And on the Steely Dan UHQR titles, plus an open Q&A:
Bernie Grundman and Ryan K. Smith – two of the mastering engineers whose names you’ll see throughout this shop – joined Chad to talk about what actually goes into cutting a great record:
Michael Fremer, one of the most respected and outspoken voices in this hobby, has been on the channel twice. The first time:
And again, sharing his perspective from Tracking Angle on the MoFi story:
The channel has crossed over into the mainstream press too – Geoff Edgers of The Washington Post joined me to talk about his own reporting on the industry:
Where to go from here
- Check out the pressing comparisons for albums you’re interested in on 45 RPM Audiophile – you’ll find the matching products linked in each video’s description.
- Browse the Shop directly for audiophile reissues, sorted by label, pressing plant, or format (45 RPM, UHQR, Clarity Vinyl).
- Looking for a rare original pressing instead? Check out The Vinyl Room – online or at the store in Düsseldorf, backed by its own Vinyl Room channel on YouTube.
Right next door, at Ludenberger Str. 13, is our record store The Vinyl Room – a real walk-in shop with used records and original pressings, online at the-vinyl-room.com. New audiophile records are available here at Michael 45.
Questions about a specific pressing? The fastest way to reach me is in the comments under my videos – I answer those myself.
Michael 45, Michael 45 – quality vinyl and 45 RPM Audiophile are business names of Michael Ludwigs Agentur, sole proprietor Michael Ludwigs. The online shop at michael45.com is operated by Michael Ludwigs Agentur.
