Aerosmith's "Done With Mirrors" original US CD vs. Jpn. K2 remaster

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by ACK!, Oct 22, 2016.

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  1. ACK!

    ACK! Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    Many years ago, I bought a Japanese "K2" remaster of Aerosmith's Done With Mirrors since it's the only Geffen-era album that never got remastered in the US.

    Well, the K2 CD is louder, but definitely murkier sounding.

    The Geffen US CD can be cranked and has plenty of punch and power in the sound dept. It also sounds cleaner and brighter.

    I guess having the K2 as a Japanese mini-LP import is cool, but just because something is remastered, doesn't necessarily mean it's better.

    Of course, that's a given on this forum.
     
  2. ACK!

    ACK! Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    Bumpity bump.
     
  3. bcaulf

    bcaulf Forum Resident

    I like the sound of the original cd but can't really answer your question because I've never heard the 2K. Very underrated album and my second favorite 80's Aerosmith album, behind Pump.
     
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  4. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    I don't think he asked a question :laugh:

    You can bump this thread as much as you want, but I strongly suspect the number of people who like Done With Mirrors enough to buy a Japanese import and compare it to the original is going to be vanishingly small. So I'll just say thanks for the report, ACK! It's likely to be the only one :)
     
  5. ACK!

    ACK! Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    Oh, how wondeful of you to notice. Yes, I thought this thread would be the barn burner to end all Aerosmith threads. Thanks for your insightful post.
     
  6. Sentient Six

    Sentient Six Forum Resident

    Location:
    Annandale, NJ USA
    I had the K2 a while back and got rid of it, went back to the DADC US copy.
     
  7. owsley

    owsley Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston
    I have a few K2's. I've sort of soured on them especially with the latest SHM mastering
    The K2's I have are all very bright with lots of top end. However they are excessively bright and don't represent the original mastertape. They almost sound like the equivalent of a cassette recorded with Dolby then played back without it. None of the titles I have (Humble Pie, Procol Harum) appear to be new digital masters, just an EQ job on an existing old digital master. I don't even know if K2's are still manufactured in Japan. Did you check if the Aerosmith title you want has been reissued in SHM format?
     
  8. ACK!

    ACK! Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    No, and unless it's a new non-K2 mastering, not interested. I've heard mixed reviews on SHM-CDs and my feeling is that if they're using an existing mastering, there'll be no sonic upgrade.

    Done With Mirrors is the unwanted stepchild of the Geffen Aerosmith catalog -- save for a few tracks on Young Lust: The Aerosmith Anthology, it has never been remastered in the US.

    I see it in many ways as the last real Aerosmith album. Not their best, but it has a certain raw charm to it.
     
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  9. owsley

    owsley Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston
    Japan is usually good at releasing obscure or less popular American stuff. Regarding SHM, I have a number of them (Who, Cream, Animals...) and have been very impressed at the overall sound and smoothness. I haven;t heard any SHM clunkers yet but I don't have a whole lot of them either. But you are right about digital mastering, those SHM reissues probably aren't creating an all new digital master from mastertape. I commented on another thread how it's quite likely their are only a few digital masters in existence of just about every band's digital catalogue and new reissues are just EQ jobs of old existing digital dubs or just a reissue of digital master _without_ noise reduction and filtering(!) And there's no way to tell unless you fork out the money and cross your fingers.
     
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  10. DiabloG

    DiabloG City Pop, Rock, and anything 80s til I die

    Location:
    United States
    I love this album, but I'm not too thrilled with the standard US CD. It sounds a little too sibilant to me. A cheap way to get most of DWM remastered is with this compilation: https://www.discogs.com/Aerosmith-Classic-Aerosmith/master/415747. It's only missing Let the Music Do the Talking, The Reason a Dog, and Gypsy Boots. I used to have this comp a couple of years ago, and while I remember it being somewhat louder than the original CD, I never bothered to compare the two. Someday, I'm going to purchase the SHM of this album, Permanent Vacation and Pump just to see if there's any improvement.
     
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  11. npgchris

    npgchris Forum Resident

    As far as being uncompromising, raw, and not filled with outside songwriters, it IS the last real Aerosmith album! I love it, and still listen to it on a semi-regular basis. Their commercial fortunes soared after bringing in the Desmond Child's and the Holly Knight's of the world to co-write their songs, but for my money they never made another album as good as this one.
     
  12. npgchris

    npgchris Forum Resident

    What a strange compilation! I was unaware of the existence of this CD, so thanks for mentioning it. I'll have to pick it up to hear how the DWM tracks compare to the original CD. I still have the original release of this from when it was first released with all of the text on the cover, booklet and CD printed backwards.
     
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  13. kevin5brown

    kevin5brown Analog or bust.

    :agree:

    I have a few K2 CDs, and at least for the ones that I have, they sound worse than earlier versions of the same titles. So wouldn't surprise me at all if it's the case here too. I think the original for DwM sounds great. Love the mix, production, and the mastering.
     
  14. Mark7

    Mark7 Forum Resident

    The album was produced by Ted Templeman of Van Halen fame. The band kinda slagged it after saying Uncle Ted hit the record button without telling them with the idea of capturing their live sound. Sounds like a bit of revisionist history once the Lp sorta tanked.
    That said, this was the last TRUE Aerosmith album before all the corporate rock sensibilities crept in.
    The best tune for me:
     
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