Beatles Mono Box set: Interview With Michael Fremer video

What I like about Fremer is that he actually does stuff and push audio in a good direction. I don't regard him a guy with magic ears etc. But he is passionated and most of the time I agree with him.

 

Don't know if this is any help, but I recall hearing some bootleg CDs of the Beatles from the mid-nineties that must have been closer to the master/work tapes as the bottom was extended and dynamically everything was more "open" than the "official" versions.

 

Indeed. This discussion has been sort of burying the headline, namely that Fremer's criticism seems to have had a direct impact on a decision to do the mono vinyl box the right way (knock on wood). If those LPs sound great (and perhaps influence other reissue projects) he'll deserve a serious high-five of thanks.

 

No, but what we are bombarded with are comments, about how much "better" vinyl sounds. How "Digital" is so "Tiring, Fatiguing, lacking in so many ways etc etc", and if anyone mentions any of the two dozen issues that are a reality with vinyl, the same exact comments are made:

1. With good equipment and clean records there are NO issues at all, they utterly vanish ( the dead quiet vinyl example fremer used, and the host slightly disputed)

2. Anyone bringing up issues with vinyl is a hater, or trying to stop the "Rise" of vinyl. ( nonsense, in that the issues ARE real)

There is a fair bit of romanticism with vinyl over the last 10 years or so. Years before that, back when it was still being made (in the 70's and 80's) most audiophiles, bitched about problems and IGD and noise and rumble and warps etc. I never heard the praise we hear today.

It is as if the audio world has been tilted sideways a bit, and reality is slightly skewered into some new view.

There was no big outcry when vinyl vanished years ago, except by a very small few. Now it is in vogue to like it.

Sorry, just how I see it. A bit of false romanticism.

For the record, I have no hate, and in fact quite like it, but just do not see it being presented completely honestly.

It is not magic, it does not have hidden science that we simply did not realize back in the day. It is what it is. A record with music.

What has changed is how some view it and discuss it in recent years.

 

Those would likely be Dr Ebbetts or Millenium Remasters. Doubtful you heard these in the mid 90's, maybe more like the early 00's.

 

SO WHAT? Some people really do like vinyl much better than digital. Some people really do find digital fatiguing. Who are you to question those peoples' opinions and even worse their motives and integrity?

Dude. Here is a fact. The most neutral vinyl playback is pretty much audibly transparent. So most of the time when people start bringing up these "issues" to attack the preferences of vinyl enthusiasts it's annoying and borne from ignorance.

Here is a suggestion. Just speak for yourself. You will have a lot less problems if you do that. Telling people who have a preference for vinyl that **they** are romanticizing it is obnoxious. Don't speak for vinyl enthusiasts. Don't make obnoxious claims of agendas and dishonesty and delusions and you will get along so much better on these forums.

yeah the "small few" being most of the high end audiophile community.

Yeah, we get it. You think people with a preference for vinyl are delusional. When will you get that telling people they are delusional because they prefer something is really obnoxious?

Again, questioning other peoples' integrity is obnoxious.

 

I dont think he is questioning anyone's integrity really and most of his points are valid.

I'm a big record guy since the Beatles. I did the big shift to CDs in the late 80s and returned to vinyl again big time about 5 years ago but still buy and listen to CDs as well. I love both.

Both can be extremely wonderful if mastered well and there are crappy issues in all formats

 

Both have advantages, we all know that, though I think digital music has moved in a wrong direction the last 10 years. Before that a lot of great sounding cd's were made. Happy to see vinyl come back, just hope they will get the digital formats back on track again. We got a lot of good choices today.

 

Ahh sorry, there were some Beatles bootlegs called The Beats in the 90's. Those were likely made from a neat set of interesting cassettes issued by Capitol using the XDR (extended dynamic range) process.

 

I agree with you that there is much to love about both. But when someone consistently asserts that when one group of people express a preference that they are not presenting that opinion in an "honest" fashion and they are merely "romanticizing" vinyl then that person really is questioning vinyl enthusiasts' integrity, honesty and intelligence to boot. As Kevin would say, "that's just how I see it."

 

Gents, can't we all agree that this debate grows tedious and go listen to some music in our preferred formats?

Signed, a vinyl romanticist with 600 GBs of digital music.

 

I thought he was pretty balanced and likable in this interview actually. Yeah, he loves vinyl. But he said he likes digital too sometimes. He bashed digitla a bit for being less involving and early CDs for being bad (some of them are, despite what some around here say ).

 

FFS! Are people really getting all riled up about f-ing music formats?!?? I mean, really? LP vs CD?! What does it damn well matter? How about LP AND CD?! News flash: both have flaws! And they're merely carriers FOR music. Or meant to be. Not objects of fetishism... Or silly 'my format is better than yours' ********. No wonder we're going down the tubes as a race! Pathetic.

 

I bought a turntable in 2012 and started buying vinyl again. I still buy CDs.

I like vinyl, but I don't get the whole "vinyl as religion" thing. The tactile experience, etc. I mean, after all these years, how many times is someone going to hold the cover and read the Sgt Pepper's lyrics?

 

Back to the Beatles, do we really need yet another Beatles box set no matter what it is? I mean, I loved the Beatles as much as anyone of my generation (I was 13 in 1964) but I've heard all the Beatles music I'll ever need to and sure as hell don't want to buy the same things yet again.

 

I'm 31 years old and I'm flipping out. Pristine copies of most of The Beatles' work, in mono, transferred all analog? Yes, please.

 

You make a good point, but for someone like me who owns no mono vinyl Beatles, this set is manna from heaven.

 

I grew up with it on LP's and still have most of them. My point is I'm simply tired of their music 50 years on. Don't get me wrong, it's no knock on the Beatles or their vast accomplishments and how important they were to people my age (like so many, I became a musician because of their influence), I'm just fatigued after hearing it all literally thousands of times . Buying the latest box set of the same catalog no matter how differently it's presented is just not on my radar. For younger people still exploring their work, I guess that's different.

 

Vinyl collecting and playing may be great fun
But its never transparent......
Its pleasantly coloured, it makes a nice pop and a hiss when cued and it lasts long enough to look at the gorgeous (sometimes ) artwork and liner notes.
The wheels go round in a pleasing fashion and a cantilever device and stylus gently sways across a less than flat surface and encounters occasional clicks , pops and surface debris in the music.
Its wistfully archaic and its mechanics and science can be undertood by most listeners
Its a harmless,almost charming hobby,but its not transparent.

 

As someone who still plays vinyl, I agree with you about 100% Rolo. It's fun, it's old school, but it's far from transparent. I mostly play records in my collection for either nostalgia's sake or because it's the only format of a particular recording that I own.

 

I don't think it's merely a function of one's age or familiarity with the Beatles. I think the discussion on this board, and the number of copies Optimal is pressing, demonstrates the anticipated demand for these releases. Sounds like you're either just tired of them or content with the releases you already have. There are lots of people here who grew up with the Beatles and have these sets on pre-order.

 

Yes, somewhat and yes, I like the original albums as we had them when they were released.

 

A lot of things we use and rely on for modern life are like this. So what, it works.

Neither is jitter and switiching noise.

 

They are now.

 

1.It's never about need.

2. the problem with your question is the "no matter what it is" qualifier you hung on it. This isn't about another Beatles box set "no matter what it is." This is a about a Beatles mono box set of LPs cut directly from the original master tapes using the original pressings and mastering notes as a guide. It's never been done before and fits many audiophiles idea of how this should be done.