DSotM: Harvest UK(Japan) Black Label CD versus MFSL UDI

Just in case you were wondering if there could ever be enough Dark Side of the Moon threads, here is one more.

If you have heard both, please compare/contrast the MFSL UDI gold disc versus the original UK Harvest disc pressed in Japan (i.e. the "Black Label" disc).

 

I too am surprised that this thread has yielded no opinions. I am curious. For the record, I have the UD1 version, and it's great. I've never heard the Harvest version.

 

I sent my brother my Harvest CD and am waiting for him to ship it back. Hopefully, I'll get it next week. At that point I'll compare the two, if someone doesn't beat me to it.

 

I'll be dying to hear your results Robert. I believe I remember hearing somewhere that the Harvest is exactly the same as every other EMI Pink Floyd DSOTM mastering with the exception of the MFSL's. Let us know.

 

Dave, I can tell you that it was NOT anything like the first US CD that came out after it, but how it compared to any EMI versions, I do not know.

 

I have the UK Harvest disc, but do not have the MFSL disc. I can tell you that it does not sound anything like the US/Capitol disc.
The UK disc is real smooth sounding....VERY pleasant to listen to.
I picked this up used a few months ago and am glad I did.

I'll also be waiting to hear responses from anyone who has both
discs.

JF

 

I saw this Harvest disc (made in Japan) a while back in a CD store. I knew it was rare, but passed on it because, really, how many copies of DSotM do I really need??? With the SACD coming out soon, I'm sure my MFSL and the SACD will keep me satisfied

 

What is the difference between the black label Harvest and the regular label Harvest? I have the U.K. Harvest CDP 7 46001 2 stereo that says made in U.K.

 

The very first US copies of DSOTM were supposedly made from the quad mix. I had the very first Harvest made in Japan so I never got the us one when I heard the rumors of the quad mix I checked out some used discs but never found one.
My Japan Harvest is at my mom's Im going there next week and will be back the 25th. I can then compare to my UDI. and a week later to the sacd.

As to the black label harvest I believe these were the Made in Japan this was before the US had cd plants. They were great looking discs flat black. I have The Wall and Wish You Were Here and I believe even Meddle.

 

Mine says made in U.K. though, so it must have been made in the U.K. Were there any Harvest cds made in the U.S.

 

Well, I've got the black-label Harvest/Japan, but NOT the UD1! The only other CD I had was (I believe) the first US pressing. No contest--the Japanese was far more "tonally balanced," sounding like a well-handled flat transfer of the master tape, AFAIK.

Mark

 

I don't have the Japanese black label Harvest, but I do have the US Capitol, the UK Harvest and the UD1, as well as original US and Harves prssings of the LP. The UK Harvest is a little cleaner with a touch more high end, but sounds thinner - the sondstage is not as deep. The MFSL has a bit more bass, probably due to a slight boost in the EQ. The UK Harvest is closer to the UK vinyl, but it has a digital TONE. The MFSL is esthetically more pleasing, and has more of an analog TONE. However, when I listen to the MFSL it SOUNDS like the bass has been boosted slightly, and I am aware of this the whole time the disc is playing. I'm listening on new speakers that pump out a LOT of bass, and my turntable is a B&O, which is not exactly high end. So there COULD be more bass on the UK LP I am not hearing. However, the vocals are not QUITE as clean on the MFSL as they are on the UK Harvest, and it SOUNDS like an EQ thing. That being said, the MFSL sucks you in more than the UK Harvest does, and the horns sound more life-like.

I think what I'm hearing is this, although I can't swear to it:

I think the UK Harvest is a flat transfer of the source tape, but it has the digital solid-state character of some of the early CDs that I attribute to some of the early converters. It is not IRRITATING, but it's there - although it's probably not enough to really bother anyone. Let's say it's an EXCELLENT transfer that could have benefited from being run through Steve's tubes. THAT would have made it PERFECT.

The MFSL sounds more tubelike, but it sounds like there's a VERY slight tweak in the bass EQ that affects the midrange slightly. It's a PLEASING tweak, but it's noticable. If you can get past that, or can't hear it on your system. I could not hear it on the KHorns I've been using for 20 years, but it's obvious on my Mahlers - unless the speakers have a bass peak. But that isn't what it sounds like.

Verdict - neither is 100% perfect ala SH, but both are about as good in their way as you could get anywhere else. Both are excellent, but they ARE different. I'd give a slight edge to the MFSL - because of the tubelike quality, it is more pleasing. But the Harvest is probably more faithful to the source tapes.

 

Finally this has come up. I originally bought the Black label Harvest cdp7 46001 2 DSOTM. I was, at one point, told this was preferred and valuable vs. the domestic US release, I don't think there was one at the time I bought this. Anyway I,like many here, have many pressings of this in both CD and vinyl. I also had the MFSL UDI along with the Twentieth Anniversary Edition UK version Doug Sax mastered. I got rid of the MFSL because I felt the Black Label Harvest was as good and I just had too many versions. It has been a long time since I listened to the MFSL but it didn't impress me enough to keep it in liew of the Harvest. I actually prefer the Doug Sax 20th over the MFSL and the Harvest which I really think prompted me to loose the MFSL.
I also have the MFSL vinyl, the UK, and the domestic. I prefer the UK version here too, in fact I have thought of dumping the MFSL if it was worth more than I paid. I bought it new back in the late 70's and had it replaced by MFSL due to excess surface noise, the replacement was no better.
I don't know but maybe it was the Master used in the case of the UK versions vs the rest???

PS After reading the above posts , quickly, I have to agree it is a little thinner sounding than the MFSL but in my system that was something I didn't need.

Does anyone have the UK EMI 20th Ann. Doug Sax version out there and what are your thoughts? It is my favorite CD version but I prefer the UK EMI vinyl over all of them.

I too have several other Black Label Japan Harvest Pink Floyd CD's. Are they considered more desireable than others, besides US versions?

 

I have the MFSL, 20th anniversary edition(UK pressing) and the current remaster(Holland pressing).
The 20th anniversary edition is my favourite.
Although both the latter two are credited to Doug Sax, they both sound different. The current remaster is much brighter and in your face. The 20th ann. ed. is smoother, but not as smooth and lush as the Mofi, which is too bloated in the Bass IMHO (like many Mofi's ) I hasten to add.

 

Well, while this album's being flogged to death once again--and as the SACD is coming(we hope)next month--might as well put my nickel in, since curiosity has gotten the better of me(and haven't played the old black label disc in years). That, and this a.m. I found the black label Harvest, which wasn't readily available yesterday.

I took one section of the album--the chiming intro to "Time"--and did an A/B. The original mastering sounds fine, but the top end is a tad harsh. On the MFSL, this was not only more detailed, but smoother and easier on the ears at the same volume level. Everything was, indeed, smoother and had better tonality than the original Harvest CD, and the bass, as I hear it, is tighter(and a bit louder), but this hardly a sonic deterrent--some of this album should have a bit of inherent rumble the compressed US and UK vinyl tend to lack. I would say the differences between Harvest and MSFL are not major, but certainly apparent.

That said, the original MFSL vinyl pressing remains a favorite. It's one of only a handful of MFSL vinyl titles that I can state really knocked my socks off--and still does. As to the 20th Anniversary reissues, they seem to my ears closer to the MFSL in style, but overall, not substance. Since they're all listed as 'digital remasters' that means Harvest/EMI have remastered the PF albums at least twice-- assuming the SHINE ON box wasn't the source used for the reissues(I'm not sure about that).

I'd also recommend that Quad vinyl--I like the mix variations, whetting my appetite for the SACD, however it turns out. While I wish EMI had taken the Quad master and put it out ala TUBULAR BELLS, well....the temptation with such a classic album must have been too much to resist. I hope the extra wait means some more last-minute tweaking(in a positive sense)is being done(maybe some aspects of the mix weren't to some PF members' satisfaction?)

ED

 

I have the 20th Ann. Doug Sax, the Mofi UDI (Japan, UTC), the Mofi UHQR and regular vinyl, and several others. I agree with a lot of what dwmann said in his post. The UDI, in my system, sounds very tube-like and warm. I find the 20th Ann. to have a digital edge and to be a bit too harsh. Additionally, the UDI had a wider soundstage and superior imaging when compared to the 20th Ann. disc. Both the UDI and the 20th Ann. are good transfers. I think your system and personal taste will determine which one sounds better.

AJH

 

The Harvest (Jpn) CD was mastered from a copy tape, according to Q magazine's sleeve notes for the album a few years ago. It does sound like a flat transfer. I prefer the MoFi UDI for its dynamics, although the bass gets annoyingly heavy in places...

 

O.K., I have a 20th Anniversary version of Dark Side of the Moon. Is the UK version folks are talking about here different than a US version? I assume that since I live in the US, I would have a US version. I don't have my copy handy to check. I bought it in a mall record store in 1993. The disc is packaged in a box that opens like a book. In other words, the top flips open to the left instead of coming off. I always thought this disc sounded quite good, but I have never compared it to my MFSL UD1 disc.

 

yep, that is the 20th anniversary edition. In a box that opens like a book. Different animal to the other doug sax remaster. Not heard a us version of the 20th anniversary. I'm sure the 20th anniversary edition is discontinued now. It is not the same as the normal remaster.

 

Is the 20th aniversary edition the one that comes in a thick black box that has postcards and a larger-than-normal sized booklet? Retailed for about $18?

 

Yes, that's the one.

Mine has a silver CD label with a graph-looking design, and it's pressed in Holland.

 

O.K., I'm going to have to break out my copy of the 20th anniversary disc and check out the particulars. You guys have me very curious.

 

Um, 10 tracks instead of 9?

 

Nine, I believe.

Is there any other DSOTM CD besides the MoFi that's indexed for 10 tracks?