The Beatles Remasters Review and Discussion Thread

[greenhorn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle_Driver /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have not yet received the Mono box, but I have always felt that the original CD releases of the first four albums had been butchered to begin with. First off, they transferred the mono tapes using a stereo tape machine! This alone begins the wackiness of the sound quality of the first four albums on the original CDs. Then, they used one of three methods of getting the "mono" sound onto a stereo CD: They simply took the better-sounding channel of the two separate channels for the transfers (as done with the first two albums); OR They simply left the two channels as-was (AHDN); OR They combined (folded down) the two channels into one in the transfer (BFS). The first method was best, but still failed to capture anywhere near the full spirit of the original mono masterings on vinyl because some of the sound got lost there. The third method was the worst because folding down a two-channel output from a mono tape creates serious phasing problems that weren't even on the original mono tape! Folding down a two-channel output from mono media worked well with vinyl but poorly with tape. Help! and Rubber Soul were remixed for the 1980s CDs, with additional digital reverb. It's somewhat unfortunate that the new 2009 stereo remasters of those two albums use the same 1987 digital remixes as the original CDs; however, the new ones sound a little better than the older CDs (which had been limited in sound quality due to the limitations of digital mastering technology of that era). Thankfully, the original 1965 stereo mixes are available as bonuses in the mono boxed set. The original Revolver CD had been transferred on an improperly-aligned tape machine, while a backup safety tape was used in the original Sgt. Pepper transfer (as the original master stereo mix tape had been misplaced at the time). And these are just the most noteworthy flaws of the original 1986-87 CDs. The original 1988 Past Masters (Volume I) used a thin, wonky-sounding transfer of the 1966 stereo mix of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" (the sound of that same track is fuller on the 2009 remaster of this comp). The two German-language tracks were stereo folded down nearly to mono, but still could be expanded back to the original twin-track-style wide stereo with digital processing. By the way, the individual 2009 remasters are all in stereo where stereo tape sources are available. (This includes the first four albums.) And thankfully, (original) mono tape sources are used in place of the fake stereo for those tracks which had never been mixed into stereo (the exception being the Ringo-on-drums version of "Love Me Do" on Past Masters I and Mono Masters, which was mastered from a declicked vinyl source). And in case of the Yellow Submarine album in the remasters, the actual mono mix of "Only A Northern Song" was used in place of either the fake stereo copy (as used in all pre-2009 stereo releases of YS) or a fold-down of the fake stereo (as used on the original mono YS album--in fact, that entire mono LP was a fold-down of the compiled stereo LP master, with the two channels combined into one during lacquer cutting; this was done because either a mono tape machine was unavailable at the time of mastering or no mono mix had been made of the George Martin instrumentals). The other three tracks which appeared on YS also use the actual mono mixes in the mono boxed set (they are in stereo on the individual CD). Also noteworthy is a seldom-heard stereo version of "Thank You Girl" on Past Masters I, which is essentially the mix used on the Beatles' Second Album (one of many Beatles albums assembled by Capitol from leftover album tracks and A- and B- single sides between 1964 and 1966) but without the added canned Capitol echo.

Hey... thanks for this excellent, excellent post.

 

[sa_ill]

Still am yet to get the albums. Was just curious, I have Creative Gigaworks T40 speakers on my computer and Shure E3Cs and Creative Zen 16GB as my portable players.
As much help as this thread has given me, other places people are telling me that only get the Remasters IF you have high-fi music equipment.

I wanted to know, does my present equipment qualify?

 

[Aslan123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sa_ill /img/forum/go_quote.gif Still am yet to get the albums. Was just curious, I have Creative Gigaworks T40 speakers on my computer and Shure E3Cs and Creative Zen 16GB as my portable players. As much help as this thread has given me, other places people are telling me that only get the Remasters IF you have high-fi music equipment. I wanted to know, does my present equipment qualify?

In my view, having a higher end system does help, but I enjoy the remasters almost as much with my lower end ATH-ES7 as I do with my ATH-W5000. Also, it's not like you are listening with something like a pair of iBuds, your setup isn't terrible by any means.

 

[evanft]

Holy crap I love With the Beatles in mono.

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Real Man of Genius /img/forum/go_quote.gif After spending a few days with both sets I prefer the stereo version overall but I am really disappointed that they didn't fix the panning. I really hope that they someday remaster the whole library like they did with the Love CD (without rearranging the songs though). The songs on that CD have the best sound I have heard with any Beatles tracks by far.

most of all(if not all) the original tapes were 4 tracks...not much headroom to play around as most of them were merged many times already.

hah, Love? this was such a lame attempt IMO..
Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif these remasters are a bit of a mixed bag [..] Take the while Album, the stereo remasters are extremely EQ tweaked to my ears while the Monos appear to me to very flat transfers. [..] The original LPs still to my ears hold the edge over both as a general statement but each release is really unique coming down to a song by song call for what is the better sound.

fully agreed, it guess there'd have been no glory to simply backup the original tapes, slightly denoise them....and that's it? some LPCM 24/96 DVD-A wouldn'th have hurt either(they did release LOVE in DVD-A).

 

[Rainbow Randy]

I'm 23, and I just bought my first Beatles album--Abbey Road. More than anything else, I'm struck by how fresh the music sounds. I was expecting boring, outdated oldies. If someone had played the unfamiliar songs to me and said they're off a recent indie release, I'd not hesitate to believe him.

(Abbey road sounds great on my HD600!)

 

[12Bass]

Abbey Road is a great album, IMO, particularly the medley on "side 2".

 

[alexbunardzic]

"My only complaint with the Stereo remasters is they seem too loud. I know that engineers want to give music punch, but everything seems pushed up and in my face (best way I can explain it). I really have a hard time finding the right volume. Sometimes it seems glaring and brash."

Hmm, interesting, because my findings are kind of the opposite -- most mono tracks sound louder than their stereo counterparts. I was actually very surprised when I heard that, because I was expecting that the stereo tracks will be at least 30% louder (seeing how they've refurbished them to give them a more 'contemporary' presentation).

But instead, mono remasters seem louder, with an overall larger, punchier bass.

Alex

 

[alexbunardzic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sa_ill /img/forum/go_quote.gif As much help as this thread has given me, other places people are telling me that only get the Remasters IF you have high-fi music equipment. I wanted to know, does my present equipment qualify?

The first time I've heard some of the remastered tracks was on September 9, while I was sitting in a very busy, noisy Starbucks. Even then, I was able to hear very clearly what a marvelous job they did with John's and Paul's voices (the first song I've stumbled upon that morning was "Thank You Girl")

So despite the terrible grinding noises of the espresso machine, and the overall lousy, crappy sound system installed in a Starbucks cafe, the difference was extremely noticeable.

Of course, once I've purchased the box and listened to it on my high end home stereo system, I was completely blown away!

Alex

 

[alexbunardzic]

Sorry about my flurry of replies to some of the posts in this thread -- I've just discovered this forum yesterday, and am enjoying the discussion. Hopefully it's not too late to jump into the frying pan!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif these remasters are a bit of a mixed bag, overall they are very good but comparisons of the Mono and Stereo are really difficult. Take the while Album, the stereo remasters are extremely EQ tweaked to my ears while the Monos appear to me to very flat transfers. The stereos sound great on the acoustic/mellow songs but are sonic overkill on the rockers while the monos sound a bit soft on the acoustic stuff but shine on the rockers. Going back and forth can yield very inconclusive results as the stereos are like drinking a very sugary drink and the monos are a light drink. When you hear the stereo then go directly to the mono the bass and upper frequency seem super weak but that is only due to them being very tweaked on the stereo cd. I like both but take them for what they are the stereo is the mastering team at Abbey Road trying to present a more modern take on these without committing the sins or brickwalling. The monos are a pretty pure version that may sound dull to ears that grew up on brickwalled cds or hyper eq curves on music. The original LPs still to my ears hold the edge over both as a general statement but each release is really unique coming down to a song by song call for what is the better sound. Help is extremely frustrating as the stereo sounds like crap to me while the mono is stellar and the 65 stereo mix included on the mono cd bettering the commercial stereo mix (George Martin's 86 digital remix of this release and Rubber Soul). If you buy any of these make sure to include Beatles For Sale as is sounds freaking fantastic!

I am endlessly fascinated by the variety of responses people tend to offer with regards to these remasters. Some of the disagreements/discrepancies are almost disturbing. For example, a guy I know claims that the 2009 remasters sound so unbearably crappy, that he was forced to disconnect his subwoofer in order to hear anything.

What may be even more concerning is my own observations, and how they change from day to day. Like, one day I'd be listening to a newly remastered track and get completely bowled over, and then upon revisiting that same track a couple of days later, find myself wondering what was all my initial excitement about?

And vice versa -- some tracks failed to make an imprint upon the first listen, but then later on got me jumping out of my chair!

For example, I've initially thought that stereo "Dear Prudence" really failed to deliver on the expectations; however, recently, upon revisiting that track, I was almost destroyed by the beauty of the transfer, the clarity of it all. Go figure...

I have, of course, obtained both stereo and mono sets. I then made copies so that I have the stereo and the mono versions of the same album on one CD. That way, I can easily skip back and forth and do some comparative listening between the stereo and the mono tracks.

Overall, I must say I'm more into stereo tracks. If you compare "Savoy Truffle", you'll no doubt be able to notice how the mono version is very flimsy and wimpy compared to the full blooded stereo version. While on the stereo version the horns menacingly cut through during the solo guitar section, on the mono version they sound limp.

I'll stop right here (even though I could write much more on this topic), not wanting to overstay my welcome.

Thanks for indulging my passion,

Alex

 

[leeperry]

well, the 24bit FLAC sound really sweet....talk about milking the cow

watch out for the 32/384 FLAC's special edition later next year in a giant apple shaped adult toy

 

[Aslan123]

I'm expecting that they'll release the 24bit Mono albums in a red coloured Apple USB drive in another month or two with a $50-100 premium.

 

[Displayman]

I have the original Beatle Box LPs which I really love but can't carry around and the new remastered CD's in Stereo are a much improved addition to the first try many years ago. After many hours of listening I really like these new remastered Stereo versions and think they did a terrific job. I would recommend them to all who love The Beatles.

 

[Asr]

For anyone who hasn't yet bought the Mono Box Set, Elusive Disc has their last batch in and is currently listing it for $199.99 here: THE BEATLES/THE BEATLES MONO BOX 13CD SET $199.99!!! - elusivedisc

And to sweeten the deal a little more you can get free shipping via coupon code FREEUPSG (UPS Ground) or FREEUPS2 (UPS 2-day Air). Both coupon codes expire this Friday 12/18 at 4 PM EST.

 

[Aslan123]

After owning it for these last few months, I think the only thing for me to really say is that the Mono Box Set is definitely worth the $199.