I personally like the first Jpn CD mastering better for Filles and Miles in the Sky, but it is probably worth getting a MFSL SACD of one of those over the In a Silent Way since the MFSL SACDs are the original stereo mixes. The Sony Legacy CDs are remixed. I do think that the MFSL SACD of In A Silent Way is the best digital version.
I'm listening to "Miles Smiles" on the 20 bit SRCS-9114 and it's really making me look forward to a Mobile Fidelity SACD version. The mix on this is wild! Sound could be improved. . . .
I have a rip of the original mono LP and that is by a long shot my favorite version of the album. You can hear Tony Williams clearly! Every stereo version I've heard (original Columbia CD, Legacy remaster, Japanese SACD) has disappointed by comparison. Curious to see what MFSL do.
I've never heard the mono Denti, I bet it rocks! The original mix stereo is so atmospheric. .. you can hear Tony clearly but he's everywhere and the space reverberation is astonishing today on my system.
Lon, I have that one as well. Do you mean to say it has the original Teo Macero stereo mix? That's the reason I originally bought it, but then I heard some conflicting assessments of what mix this contains.
It seems like original to me, but someone else says no. I don't have the definitive answer I guess. . . .
I'd be perfectly willing to buy an SACD of Miles Smiles until Mofi does that title (if indeed, they ever do) if we could ever come to a consensus on their being a good one.
I think you're set with the current version you have, at least until the MFSL SACD arrives. The Wilder remix of Miles Smiles is one of the worst in my opinion, it is too loud and bright. If you really need to listen to another version, try the red border from the early 90's. Mastered by Vic Anesini, also remixed but less tempered with and easier on the ears (I don't have it but I've read this numerous times) and no noise reduction as found on many blue border Columbia CDs.
I have only heard and own the red border Anesini Miles Smiles. I have always thought it sounded pretty decent and better than the Wilder remasters I have heard which are usually painfully bright.
Well, the November Music Direct catalogue felt confident enough about forthcoming Miles Smiles and Porgy & Bess titles that they made some assurance of their forthcomingness. That's not a guarantee, as we know, but it's better than a sharp stick in the eye. Myself, I expect we'll be seeing them later in 2018. And, if we don't, well, there will be other things to spend my spending money on...
Although I am sure the MFSL will better, I am good with the Wilder. I guess I like (or don't mind) things a bit on the bright side.
I too think a MFSL would be best and I would definitely buy it. Maybe the Wilder Smiles isn't bad, I haven't heard it. The Miles Davis Wilder remasters I heard and did not care for at all are ESP, Sketches of Spain, Nefertiti, and Bitches Brew.
Well I spent so long reading this thread and loading up the cart at musicdirect that by the time I went to check out hundreds of $$ of sacd the 20% memorial weekend discount had expired three minutes earlier. Does musicdirect often offer 20% off, or do I have to wait until next Memorial Day and hope some of these are still around?
The SRCS Japanese Mastersound version is a very good sounding version of the original mix. I don't know how, but the drums sound MORE dynamic on this CD than on the 1992 (Anesini) and 1998 (Wilder) remixed CDs. One downside of the original mix is that on some tracks the bass is on the far left with the piano and sax which makes the centre sound empty when Miles isn't playing. The remixes all seem to 'fix' this by moving the bass and sax to slightly left of centre and leave the piano alone on the left and drums on the right. I think a major limitation of the recording is that the piano wasn't recorded very well. I always want it to be louder and clearer than it is. Let's not forget that there are two Mark Wilder masterings. The one for the Complete 1965 - 1968 box released in 1998, and then again for the 2015 Freedom Jazz Dance: Bootleg Series 5 set. The later set has a better sounding mastering because it has more bass and less treble. I really don't think there is a huge difference between the mastering in the Complete box and the SACD released a couple of years later. I suspect if Mofi are able to release an SACD it will end up sounding a lot like the SRCS Masteround released in Japan in 1996. I say this as someone who has been very happy with the Mofi SACDs, particularly of Miles in the Sky, Filles De Kilimanjaro, Nefertiti, and In a Silent Way.
Not me. I'm with ShowsOn: that 20 bit SRCS with the original mix is excellent sounding, as is an original lp. The remix doesn't really hit me the same way. In part perhaps because I knew the music before the remixing, but on my system today the original mix really shines.
That could very well be it, for I got to know this album through the remix. I just listened again to the remix from the Perfect Album Collection (same as the mastering/mix from the Complete box) and it sounds great to me. I honestly wouldn't change anything about it. I love the clarity. I got new speakers and a new amplifier over the last few months and this disc sounds better than ever. I may not even get the Mofi. By the way, the 20 bit SRCS with the original mix you mentioned has some compression on 3 tracks. Listening to it, I find the sound too forward for me and I miss the superior clarity and realism found in the remix.
Actually, there are three Wilder masterings, the two you mentioned and the CK65682. Of the three, I much prefer the one in the Complete Collection (also in the Perfect Album Collection.)
Well, personally I don't hear a lot of superior clarity and realism in the remix, and like the wetter sound which is only marginally "forward" played back here. And my system is surprisingly good with some compressed discs . . . I'm not a compression snob as a result! To each their own, it's great to have options. I'm going for the SACD when it comes out, I'd love to hear MoFi's take on this (which is most probably going to be the original mix if all the others were taken into account.)
Thanks for sharing that, Lonson. You've been helpful with comparison info for me in the past (thanks for that!), so it's good to know more about where you are coming from. MoFi has done some great work, especially in the recent past, so I will keeping an open mind. And yes, it is absolutely great to have options, especially with an album this great.
Just to be clear, there are 3 Japanese Miles Smiles CD releases with the same prefix, Sony SRCS 5707, SRCS 9114, and SRCS 9710. Which one are you referring to, SRCS 9114 or one of the other two?
And to add another mastering to the confusion, has anyone heard the Japanese 2006 DSD remaster for the Original Jacket Collection, SICP 1216? Did that release use the original mix or the remix? What is the general opinion of these DSD Jacket collection releases?
The 2006 DSD Mini LP is a remix, unfortunately. I've listened to it and it's way too loud and bright to my ears, as is the version found on the CCAC box (similar mastering?).
I am referencing the 9114 release. Miles Smiles SRCS9114 , 20 bit as I mentioned. To me it sounds like the original mix.
