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Location: los angeles | Has anyone compared the new releases to the original vinyl releases or the half-speed masters on vinyl? |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | I am pretty sure that the new releases would beat the original vinyls.
half speed vinyl masters....interesting. I would need to listen to them side by side and I don't know of anybody that owns them. |
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Location: Tennessee | Originally posted by scooterboy:
The quality of these 5.1 DTS DVDs is quite high for not having access to the original multi-track tapes. I can only imagine what it could sound like if done by Apple with the original tapes. If you want a sneak peek (or should I say listen), get a copy of the Beatles Love CD, the one with the DVD audio disc. George Martin, along with his very talented son Giles, used the original master tapes AND mastered out to 5.1 DTS as a bonus. Put the DVD into your player and crank the sound. There's no video, just the 5.1 DTS soundtrack. Sort of like Seven Bridges Road at the end of Hell Freezes Over. In addition to just being a cool new way to listen to the Beatles, it is stunning to hear the Beatles totally surrounding you. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | +1 to Bobbo.
I had totally forgotten how blown away by that CD I was when I first got it. Like you mentioned, a stunning example of the Beatles in surround. |
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Location: New Hampshire, USA | Originally posted by stonebobbo:
If you want a sneak peek (or should I say listen), get a copy of the Beatles Love CD, the one with the DVD audio disc. Definitely - I had that the day it was released. They did a terrific job.
I hope they do the entire catalog that way sometime before I die. |
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Location: Flahdaw | Anyone else out there still have Beatles 45's?
I've got Daytripper, We Can Work It Out, etc. on 45 that my older sister was gonna throw out. A bit scratchy, I'm sure.
(sorry, this has nothing to do with this thread, just curious) |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | I still have lots of 45s gathering dust....Elvis, Beatles, Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone....
I even have some of the mini-Eps (mainly Elvis) that had 2-3 songs per side.
Very cool stuff if I ever felt like dragging them out to play.....cd's are just so much damn easier. |
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Location: Tennessee | Yup ... I have an original I Want To Hold Your Hand/I Saw Her Standing There. Also Help/I'm Down and Ticket To Ride/Yes It Is. And yes, they are all mono. :-)
But I think my prized one is my original Magical Mystery Tour EP ... the one with the two 45s and the whole comic book and pictures. It's an EMI/Parlophone, Made in England release I bought in 1967 with some birthday money I got and have kept it to this day. It's still in pretty good shape too because my dad bought us the US album version right about then and that's the one that got played all the time.
Stephen, they're worth dragging out. Especially with that rig you've got. I know CDs have gotten real good, but there's just something "warm" about vinyl that isn't there in digital. |
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Location: Flahdaw | I was looking through this collection and there's Steppenwolf, Iron Butterfly, Doors, Animals....very cool stuff |
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Location: Round Rock, TX | When the CD's came out in the 80's I was very excited to be able to replace my very well worn vinyl with a format that wouldn't wear out. That excitement lasted for as long as it took me to listen to one track. Since then I have been anxiously awaiting a remaster. The Yellow Submarine Songtrack and the Love CD's sounded so good, but only served to make me even more frustrated that the entire catalog didn't receive the same treatment. I have now received and listened to the box sets. It may not be the vinyl I originally fell in love with, but it'll definitely do.
I was able to play several of the mono's for my 20 year old son, who had only ever heard the original CD's, which he had heard his whole life. He said, "Is this what they were supposed to sound like?" I nodded. He said, "It's like I've never heard them before now." For me, it's like I am finally getting to hear them again. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Originally posted by stonebobbo:
.
Stephen, they're worth dragging out. Especially with that rig you've got. I know CDs have gotten real good, but there's just something "warm" about vinyl that isn't there in digital. When I was at my mom's last month clearing out a lot of the old stuff I came across a ton of my old albums and some of my dad's also. Stuff by Ace Cannon, Boots, Ventures, etc and also a bunch of 78's that are about a 1/4" thick. Most of the 78's looked kinda scratched but I seem to remember that the extra thickness made them almost indestructible compared to the 33 1/3 albums and the scratches weren't that noticeable
when playing them.
Unfortunately my turntable does not have the high speed so not sure what I am going to do. |
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Location: los angeles | OK, I bought a couple of the new cds and ordered the mono box. The cds I have played are Sgt. Pepper (stereo) and Help (stereo).
Compared with the Mobile Fideity 1/2 speed master LPs. Verdict: The vinyl contains almost all of the detail of the new cds and is way more natural sounding, especially on cymbals and tambourine which on the cds are harsh and digital-sounding.
But. . . Here's the kicker. The cds are way punchier and just plain more fun to listen to. The music is in your face, and I find myself way more involved in listening to the "music", the voices, the guitar, and particularly the bass, and having fun - nothing analytical to get in the way. The LPs sound much more laid back and distant.
Really looking forward to the mono. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Ahhh the old CD vs Vinyl debate..
The problem with the debate is that there are two many variables and no rules.
Most/Many times an Album is just essentially "copied" to CD. In this case, the CD has little chance of being good for obvious reasons... the main being it's a 2nd generation copy, there's ways to compensate, but lets not go there... lets not even talk about these..
Remasters on the other hand... hopefully, are "REMASTERED". That means taking the ORIGINAL master used to make the vinyl and eq-ing, compressing, expanding, etc.. for digital.
While this is the best method, it's also up to the mastering engineer to decide what it sounds like. Those "cymbals and tambourine which on the cds are harsh and digital-sounding" don't have to sound that way... it was someone's choice for better or worse. It was NOT the digital act of making the CD, it was the HUMAN act of mastering.
Now that all likely makes sense, but here's the real kicker... What makes Vinyl "sound" warmer? It relates to an old engineering trick, even used today in the digital world. Noise. Sometimes to pull a mix together, we inject hiss or just ambient sound. I have clips of ambient room sound I use when I create voice-overs for training. You don't actually hear it unless you are listening for it in an isolated room with headphones, but on normal playback, that noise changes the recording from "cold voice" to "pleasant". Vinyl has a built in hiss generator. It's called a needle. Even on the best machines, there is enough there to make a difference. It's in general why Vinyl sounds warm. Can one make a CD sound warm in the same manner... yes... For the most part, what a CD sounds like, is a human choice, not a technological imperative.
The best way to make YOUR choice is to compare the CD to the Vinyl and choose the one you like. Some times it will be the Vinyl, sometimes it will be the CD. Not real practical, but we all hear things differently, and that is made more dramatic by CD. There are CD's that I think sound much better than the Vinyl while others find the Vinyl better on those.. |
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Location: los angeles | Very informative Miles. I agree to a point, but the point where I diverge is that I understand that the cd technology is limited by the number of bits available, and that the analog has a lot more room. Also, analog tape does not have the needle factor but it also has a lot more room. In the end though, I am still finding the new Beatles cds a lot more enjoyable the way they did it. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Does anyone know how many of these box sets are made? I bought both the MONO and STEREO sets. The mono box set says it's limited to 10,000. and each box is numbered. But I can't find anything about the number of stereo box sets. I'm guessing based in the price that the stereo box set is much less "limited".
Both boxes are home waiting for me (I'm in europe right now). I'm thinking of not opening the mono box and see what it might be worth in the years ahead, but I'm also curious as hell to see how it sounds. I have most (I think 6) of the mono LPs and they sound wonderful. That's how they were originally intended and by comparison the re-edited stero versions just soud way too artificial. I'm sure the stereo box set fixes that, based on what I've read, but none the less there is real magic in the mono versions which is no doubt why the mono box is priced as it is.
Btw, for comparison here in Holland the Mono Box and Stereo box are available right on the shelf of local shops but they are about 20% more expensive than in the US. |
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Location: New Hampshire, USA | I believe I read that the decision to only produce 10,000 has already been reversed and they're making more.
So tear into that shrink wrap when you get home... |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Cool, something to look forward to ... |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | The mono was supposed limited to 10,000 "numbered" sets...like the original white album's embossed numbers. It is my understanding that the 2nd batch will not be numbered.....again like the original white album.
The stereo set was never limited and individual CD's of each album in stereo are available for purchase. Supposedly the Stereo Box set CD's also had some extra DVD content. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Billboard is reporting that 626,000 Beatles CDs sold last week, including 89,000 of Abbey Road. The Stereo Set will be #15 on the Top 200 Chart and the Mono will enter at #40. If they counted the sets as 16 and 12 CDs, the Stereo would probably be #1 and Mono in the Top 10. The Beatles will occupy 9 of the Top 10 slots on the Pop Catalogue Chart. Here is one more amazing stat. The Beatles have a chance to become the Number One selling artist of this decade, 40 years after the release of Abbey Road! They are in second at this time (behind Eminem) but with all the sales this week the gap is closing. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | These are stunning sets. I bought both of them (Stereo and Mono).
Ironically I just realized that I also have the first release Parlaphone CDs which were released in Japan and the UK in 1991 (mfg in Germany). THESE ARE MONO !!! I might box up those original Parlaphones and stick them on ebay. Need to A/B them to the new Mono set first. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | The Beatles are so yesterday. |
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Location: Texas | Originally posted by Jeff W.:
The Beatles are so yesterday. Yes, but Yesterday is so The Beatles… ;) |
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Location: closely held secret | Ovation siting! (crappy sound, though) |
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Location: south east Michigan | I think I'm gonna pick up Abbey Road.
I'm not really much of an audiophile. With that said, should I get the mono or stereo?
Have you every been in a restaurant or store playing background music? And if it was Beatle songs, have you heard just one side of stereo being played?
Those old mixes really divide and seperate the vocals and instruments. |
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Location: Tennessee | Easy decision. Stereo. Abbey Road is only available in stereo. That's the way it was originally mastered and released. |
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Beatles Remastered Box Sets
