MFSL now doing 7 Bob Dylan titles in mono (hybrid SACD)

If you get a chance to compare it to the one in the mono box, please post your findings?

 

Don't have the mono box.

 

OK.

 

Less harsh and warmer, as compared to the mono box set?

 

yes

 

I compared the MFSL SACD with the mono box for Bringing It All Back Home, the MFSL adds a bit of midbass. The mono box sounds more like what I imagine a 45 single would sound like and the MFSL sounds more modern.

For instance on Outlaw Blues on the MFSL the opening bass guitar is louder then gets quieter as the bassist goes up. It does sound like the Q is pretty narrow on the MFSL (to me it sounds like they were mostly trying to bring a bit more life out of the kick drum) so it doesn't muddy things up much and Dylan's vocals sound very similar to the mono box with the tracks I compared. I have a slight preference for the MFSL since this extra oomph in the midbass does add a bit of drive to the album. And I generally tend to prefer a flatter presentation, I just think the MFSL sounds a bit more "interesting".

YMMV since my Quads are lacking in low bass so a bit more midbass in mastering helps these speakers. I might change my mind when I move to the more neutral Giya which measure pretty much flat in an anechoic.

 

Interesting. Is your mono box vinyl or CDs?

 

More modern is not good

 

CD. I used to have the vinyl box, the first pressing by George Marino, not the Ryan Smith recut.

I didn't mean it in a bad way.

 

I listened to the stereo Sony SACD and compared it to the MFSL mono, Bring it all back Home, and the MFSL sounded a bit muffled in the bass and had more bass than the Sony. I actually like the Sony better.

 

I realize you're only giving your opinion on which you prefer of the versions you have at hand, but it's really an apples-and-oranges comparison. Stereo vs. mono, modern remix vs. vintage mix, etc. Better comparisons would be between the Sony mono cd and the MoFi, or between the Sony and MoFi stereo discs, so that you're comparing the mastering rather than entirely different mixes. Just a thought.

 

I just ordered two Dylan mono titles from Music Direct. Very exciting. Also, to those who own Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited, how do the 2003 Sony remasters stack up to the respective stereo MoFi remasters?

 

I can say that the Mofi Stereo Bringing It All Back Home is excellent! While I might like a bit more bass (perhaps spoiled by the DCC HW61), it contains none of the compression found on the 2003 Sony remaster.

For HW61, I say go for the DCC CD. You won't regret it.

 

Invalid comparison. They are two different mixes. Try comparing it to the mono box instead.

 

I agree with @George P @Aoide I think the Mofi SACDs are a nice bit better-- less strident/glassy; more natural/organic-- but I go to the DCC HW61 and the mofi mono BIABH each and every time.

 

My mono MoFi copies of Freewheelin' and Times came in today! There will be listening, enjoying, comparing and reviewing this evening.

 

Mofi all the way. Goosebumps.

 

Just got the mono MFSL BIABH on your recommendation. Sounds really sweet so far.
Thanks! RH

 

I am wondering the same.

Here's what the blurb at music direct offers:

Mastered from the original master tapes and strictly limited to 3,000 copies, Mobile Fidelity's restored SACD delivers the landscape-shifting music in reference-quality mono sound that transports you to Columbia's Studio A. Reflecting the austerity of the topics and Dylan's mood, the sonics are direct and unadorned—each word hitting with weight, each phrase lingering until it pulls you under, each storyline echoing as fact. The hollow body of Dylan's guitar, internal mechanisms of his harmonica, and graininess of his throat come across in full-on detail.

As the preferred mix at the time of the recording, the mono version presents Dylan as he and his producers originally intended. Since the separation of the stereo versions isn’t as sharp, the mono edition places Dylan’s vocals in the heart of the musical action and as one with the accompaniment. It paints listeners an incredibly accurate portrait of the attention-getting, concrete mass of sound that features no artificial panning and straight-ahead immersion into the music. This is how almost everyone first heard this timeless album—making the mono mix all the more historically valuable and truthful.​

So, unless I'm overlooking some weasel words, the claim is that the MFSL TTTAAC mono SACD (and LP) is the original mono mix.

 

MoFi has advertised all of the stereo remixes they've re-used from the SACDs (which were also advertised as being drawn from the "original source tapes") as "Original Master Recordings" just as they did their John Lennon releases and some others—I think this is because to them the important thing is not whether it's the original mix or not, but whether it's taken from a first-generation tape or not. The remixes were done straight from the original multi-tracks and printed to tape. For those mixes, these are the "bona fide" original master tapes.

What I still want to know is what the source used for Sundazed's mono vinyl was.

 

And to add to that, possibly the only thing the artist or label will now allow as being the master tape, so a "New Original Master Recording", which of course won't fit on a sacd/lp banner head.

 

The mono Highway 61 Revisited SACD is now available and shipping. That just leaves Another Side Of Bob Dylan still to come.

 

Yes, I got a shipping notice as well. Exciting! One more to go! (And maybe one day Blonde on Blonde?)

 

It really chaps my ass that Paul Simon won't authorize mono/single mixes but allows America to be used to sell Volkswagens. I get really pissed every time I see a commercial.

 

My understanding is that this is merely speculation based on something he said once about personally preferring the stereo mix of "Fakin' It"—which is incidentally the only song that has been re-released on CD in its mono single mix—and has never actually been substantiated as a general proposition. There could well be other obstacles, such as tapes being missing, perceived lack of a market for them, or whatever, though that too is entirely speculation. It certainly is possible that it is Simon preventing it. And if so, that definitely disappoints me, too. But as far as getting "pissed" at him personally over it, I'm not sure it's entirely warranted.