De Agostini - 'The Beatles Vinyl Collection' mail order set via subscription

Was your YS more 'swishy', a bit like a United or Rainbow pressing?

Did the Love pressing have the concentric circles? I see a lot of people praising the quietness of the vinyl on that one. I passed on it, partly because I was concerned about pressing quality after finding the YS to be a bit of a duffer.

 

It's not an exact science, I'm afraid. Mine seem to arrive on a Thursday or Friday once every 4-5 weeks. A rough idea can be gleaned by logging onto your account on DeAgostini's website and seeing when it has been "dispatched" - add 7-14 days to that and it should be there, there's often a credit card payment account entry which precedes delivery too.

My 4th delivery (for me this was For Sale & Love as I bought Abbey Road in a store but for you should be Submarine and Mystery Tour) arrived in two bits, with the premium subscriber storage box arriving a day later. Checking this thread most early subscribers tend to be getting packages within a day or so of each other but I seem to be a week or two out of kilter with your timings.

It's a shame DeAgostini can't give a day and date delivery as it would certainly help me but that doesn't seem possible for them.

So far, for me, the albums have been brilliantly packaged and sound great with no problems. The free gifts are somewhat naff (the mess up with the picture frame sizing was amusing) and I'm a little disappointed with the screw up on Hard Days Night but it is unlikely that will be resolved. Not sure that the £2 per album premium to get the storage box is quite justified - that's £23 for a stiff cardboard box - but if you are in the for the long haul then it's not so noticeable. I just have to keep remembering I am splashing out c. £40 per month on records which I forget about until they arrive.

Worst thing - I seem to be getting loads of direct mail offers from DA for their build a Jaguar/R2D2 type things now. And I'm sure it is DA that has put me another list for some really crap partwork series (but it isn't their name on the mail out), so I'll be pursuing them to remove my name from these lists.

 

At last! After a five day search I managed to get my copy of AHDN. None of the Tesco or WH Smith branches in the Kingston area have had any copies. My copy was located in the Steatham branch of Tesco, where they had quite a few in the original De Agostini display rack. I've emailed De Agostini to enquire whether there was a distribution problem in SW London, to plan my campaign for Issue 11.

 

YS was definitely a step down. Not bad but more surface noise and I regret buying it tbh. A different pressing than the others from this series. I have bought them all except Love. I have an as near to flawless copy of that as I am going to get.

 

So the new D'agostini of AHDN sounds better than the 2012 but has opening chord problem?

So faced with the choice......what one would you go for......apart from 'both'!

 

I don't own the DeAgostini version of AHDN. I highly doubt it is better sounding than the 2012 pressing. I may be wrong but most of the guys on this thread who have purchased the DeAgostini albums didnt previously own the 2012 pressings.

I'd go with the 2012 pressing. The sound is probably on par with the DeAgostini and there is no issue with the opening chord being cut off.

 

I know people have been raving about the MPO pressings but the 2012 EU albums pressed by Optimal are just fine. They are infinitely better than the trash that Rainbo churned out in the US.

The only DeAgostini pressing that I prefer over its 2012 counterpart is Help!

Anyone purchase With The Beatles yet?

I should receive my copy of A1 this week.

 

Hello Tommyboy, WTB sounds fine although no minor miracle like Help! or MMT. Usual clean listen

 

Thanks Leo!

Did you finish listening to A1 yet?

 

Loads of AHDN in my local WHSmith surfaced today which weren't there last week. I wonder if there had been a delay with distribution.

 

AHDN is now in mine and @jpchristian's local Tesco too. Annoyingly, whereas most of the copies they have had of the other titles were pristine, these were all much more dinged about. Squashed spines, dinged corners.

 

My local Tesco and WHSmith had them (AHDN) from day one...last Wednesday. So not convinced there is a distribution issue but possibly the retailers might be scaling back.

 

AHDN and Love were apparently despatched last Wednesday on 48hr delivery. Nothing yet. Crazy service.

 

I tried that argument with them a few weeks ago but apparently the 48hr only kicks in when it is with Royal Mail. I think it enters some time space loop between leaving DA and reaching Royal Mail. The mantra DA customer services chant is "must wait 14 days for delivery". But from which point, who knows and they've declined to answer the simple question of what happens in the middle.

Cust Services is unfortunately very disconnected from their actual process so no one appears to have a bloody clue apart from one guy a previous poster managed to connect with ("Steve"?), who seemed helpful rather. Might be worth a try if you want to get to the bottom of DA and their delivery process. I've given up. They'll come when they come. At least they are generally worth the wait.

 

Anyone know what is coming after AHDN?

 

I received my copy of A1 from Italy today. I'm in the middle of listening to some of the studio tracks from 1964: AHDN outtakes and Around The Beatles recordings. As Leo mentioned last week, this is a recut and I can confirm that these tracks do indeed sound different than the 1995/96 pressing. Sean Magee rolled off some of the top end and smoothed out the sound somewhat. So far, these tracks do not have the same slam as they do on the original pressing. However, they're not as hard/piercing sounding either. There's more midrange EQ and some top end on this new cut. Not a lot on the bottom.

I suppose this is a better sounding pressing. I'm far from knocked out by it, no fault of Magee. The problem is the source for A1. Too processed sounding for my taste. IMHO, the overall SQ in the subsequent volumes of the Anthology series is slightly better than A1. The Anthology series needs a total overhaul/remix.

I think Sean made the album more listenable.

The vinyl quality is much better than the original and the pressings are heavier. The LPs are housed in poly-lined inner sleeves, unlike the original.

 

Listening to the Decca audition selections. Different EQ as well.

 

I need to qualify my comment regarding the upper mids being more prominent in the new A1 cut. There seems to be an issue with my system. A few weeks ago I replaced the power cord to my power amp, as well as my wall electrical outlet with an "audiophile" outlet. I've been burning them in for the past few weeks and the sound changes from time to time. There have been periods where the sound opens up and it's terrific, then the SQ takes a step backwards. A few weeks ago it went from wide open to a bit murky sounding and then back again to open sound. Today, all of the sudden, the lower-mids aren't very prominent. I noticed this on several albums that I played after listening to A1.

As for now, all I can only confirm is that sound of the A1 recut is smoother than the original. I'll spin it again once my system gets past this current stage.

 

mmh.. I was away during the weekend (Italy's weather is very hot right now) and I was busy yesterday but I have listened to most of it. I confirm the same quiet vinyl typical of MPO pressings but the overall quality of the original recordings (excluding EMI studio recordings) leave much to the imagination

 

Thanks for quoting me, your review is so much better

 

Had so many problems with this company since foolishly taking out a sub with Issue 1.

Issues 2&3 turned up damaged so had to wait another month to get replacements. Subsequent package took an etinernity to arrive, and I believe that they only ever did after I made upwards of 10 phone calls to "customer service." Even the quality of the phone lines in the South African call centre are next to useless.

Next issues never arrived at all so I ended up playing email tennis with the team manager, Vincent, who knew less than his staff. After a lot of arguing he gave me a credit of £18.99 for one issue, but would not refund me for the issues which were four weeks late as he said I had to wait to receive them and then return them! They never arrived.

Obviously not impressed with that response so I spoke to his manager (at this rate I'll be on to the CEO!) I eventually got somewhere when speaking to her (Shirley Dreyer.). She promised to look into my account and phone me back and she did just that. She arranged to send me all of my missing issues via courier, with a guaranteed delivery date. I'm pleased to say that I did receive the package on the nominated day, only a few days after our conversation.

I am still missing the frame and the box, but cancelled my subs and purchased AHDN in WH Smith instead, much less hassle.

It's such a shame, because the quality of the actual product is excellent, but they are loosing subscribers due to sub standard customer service and a somewhat comical delivery service (none of my missing issues ever turned up - I doubt they were ever actually sent.)

 

Here's my post from a few weeks ago showing titles and dates (it's the Red album next).

 

No, it's not. We both made the same point.

 

Seems 'customer services' isn't improving and is unlikely to - I really feel sorry for those who continue to have problems and hope that they get some sort of satisfaction, in the way of getting the correct items and/or refunds.

I'm only glad I didn't bother to subscribe in the first place. A friend who has, is getting very similar headaches from them.. sent two the same when they missed another for no reason, wondering why they take so long to send the things and also not being told accurate information when he rings them. He's annoyed that he isn't getting them as soon as they're out in newsagents, also like many here and when I say that he will get them *eventually* that's some reassurance, eh?

I was only glad - and somewhat surprised to find the last two issues in a WH Smith's, on Monday and I'd not even gone in for that reason. A relief really, that I could avoid dealing 'directly' with the company - whatever that means or entails!

Seeing less and less places selling them now means a lot of us are having to firmly cross our fingers, yet I believe the Jazz At 33 collection is still being sold over the counter in some places...

On a happier note, now having the Love album as a 2LP set is fantastic - a very nice addition to the collection indeed. Although I did initially think it was something good for a listen around perhaps every few years at most. That's due to it being quite 'involving' in places and that some parts work a lot better than others IMO... I find it tough to listen to most albums over 45 minutes long these days anyway.. to be honest! I totally agree now with those who say it makes more sense to have it over 4 sides - a bit of breathing space is often beneficial, I find. And AHDN is surely an odd one with it starting the way it does but it's not like I wasn't forewarned. Still a great album - one of the first 'rock classics' maybe? Just bought the 2014 mono LP to go alongside the '87 mono CD and 2012 and 2017 stereo LPs.

 

I am in North Devon this week. Anyone know of a retailer stocking the De Agostini set in this area?

Thanks