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Gah, Beatles + Mono = Bad sound!!!

post #1 of 16
4/23/06 at 2:23am
Thread Starter 
I love their early songs the most (albums Please Please Me, A Hard Day's Night), but they are all in mono! Sure, Please Please Me was in stereo, but on vinyl! I happened to get a rip of that vinyl @ 320, but I wish I could enjoy their albums in stereo...

Sadly, that stereo vinyl rip is beyond a day and night difference w/ the CD in mono...totally owns the CD in terms of sound quality.

Well, at least there was an announcement all their albums will be "truly" digitally remastered recently...
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post #2 of 16
4/23/06 at 2:42am
Wasn't that addressed in the recent Beatles Volumes I and 2?
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post #3 of 16
4/23/06 at 2:42am
Thread Starter 
Yes, but not ALL the songs in those albums...i.e. Twist and Shout is still mono in there...
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post #4 of 16
4/15/09 at 5:45pm
i prefer the mono mixes over the artificial gimmick stereo of the 60's
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post #5 of 16
4/15/09 at 5:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by redshifter View Post
i prefer the mono mixes over the artificial gimmick stereo of the 60's
Me too. The hard pans and other gimmicks come across as dated and detract from the music. It's sort of like watching 1970s special effects in an otherwise great movie. I prefer the mono "Pet Sounds," too.
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post #6 of 16
4/15/09 at 6:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik View Post
Me too. The hard pans and other gimmicks come across as dated and detract from the music. It's sort of like watching 1970s special effects in an otherwise great movie. I prefer the mono "Pet Sounds," too.
Me 3! I also prefer the mono Pet Sounds. To me, the ultimate Beatles is in Mono up until The White Album. After that, Stereo is fine.
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post #7 of 16
4/15/09 at 8:33pm
The White Album mono is king!
I don't mind the stereo MFSL lps though. I know they are not meant to be in stereo, but I just like the way they sound on my turntable(just don's use headphones!) A bit like how I still prefer the original "Let it be" to "Let it be...naked" even though "Phil Spector puked all over it."
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post #8 of 16
4/15/09 at 8:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pcf View Post
The White Album mono is king!
I don't mind the stereo MFSL lps though. I know they are not meant to be in stereo, but I just like the way they sound on my turntable(just don's use headphones!) A bit like how I still prefer the original "Let it be" to "Let it be...naked" even though "Phil Spector puked all over it."
Yeah - I agree! The White Album in mono is awesome. The stereo transfers are fun and I do love me some Sgt. Pepper UHQR in stereo but my heart is really in the mono versions. That's the main reason I am so excited about the mono box set coming out.
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post #9 of 16
4/15/09 at 9:35pm
I agree with everyone else here. I like the mono versions a lot more than the stereo versions. Like uncle erik said, the stereo mixes too often feel like "look what we can do with two channels" rather than a perfect presentation of the music.
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post #10 of 16
4/15/09 at 10:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tintin47 View Post
I agree with everyone else here. I like the mono versions a lot more than the stereo versions. Like uncle erik said, the stereo mixes too often feel like "look what we can do with two channels" rather than a perfect presentation of the music.

Yup - because that's exactly what they were trying to do. However, with some tricks you can do some cool stuff:

Send big files the easy way. Files too large for email attachments? No problem!
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post #11 of 16
4/16/09 at 12:46am
To me, listening to mono music with good headphones is no different from listening to stereo with ipod earbuds; there's a good reason why mono music has become an outdated technology. How do you guys manage to stand listening to mono music anyway? The mono music of the Beatles is quite well recorded, so I don't mind listening to them, but that of Pet Sounds is pretty much completely unlistenable. It's bloody annoying whether I take out my Pet Sounds and Village Green Preservation Society and find the mono tracks at the front of the CD.
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post #12 of 16
4/16/09 at 1:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scytheavatar View Post
... but that of Pet Sounds is pretty much completely unlistenable. It's bloody annoying whether I take out my Pet Sounds and Village Green Preservation Society and find the mono tracks at the front of the CD.
I think the reason most of us like the mono version of Pet Sounds is because most of us on here own the mono DCC gold CD mastered by Steve Hoffman. HUGE difference in the sound quality.
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post #13 of 16
4/16/09 at 1:35am
Thread Starter 
HOLY CRAP, you guys! Good job pulling up one of my old threads from three years ago!

And as for my current position on this "mono" and "stereo," I still prefer stereo, but only if the soundstage is acceptable. Hard pans are just a real pain to sit through (*coughRevolvercough*).

Geez, this thread was made before I think I discovered the Ebbetts, Purple Chick, MFSL, pbthal, etc. stuff...
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post #14 of 16
4/16/09 at 5:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scytheavatar View Post
To me, listening to mono music with good headphones is no different from listening to stereo with ipod earbuds; there's a good reason why mono music has become an outdated technology. How do you guys manage to stand listening to mono music anyway? The mono music of the Beatles is quite well recorded, so I don't mind listening to them, but that of Pet Sounds is pretty much completely unlistenable. It's bloody annoying whether I take out my Pet Sounds and Village Green Preservation Society and find the mono tracks at the front of the CD.
I don't tend to focus on the stereo mix all that much, really. I pay a lot more attention to the music itself. Sure, you can get better imaging from stereo, but well recorded mono can be just as involving.

Some day (after I finish all the current projects ) I'd like to pick up one of those unloved mono tube amps and one quality singledriver for a mono only rig. It'd be kinda cool to have a dedicated setup for 78s, AM radio, and anything else interesting that turns up.
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post #15 of 16
4/16/09 at 12:27pm
@TMM - The Capitol Albums Vol 1 contains stereo recordings which I found easier to listen to when using headphones
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