I suppose the 2014 mono mix is a new mix, isn't it? Done to match the moves of the original as closely as possible, I believe, but a new mix nonetheless. I have the mono CD box and the RSD mono vinyl cut by Ryan Smith, reportedly from 1/4" tape, presumably the 2014 mono mix down to two track tape done by Mark Wilder.
I hadn't yet heard the MOFI KOB on headphones, so I'm spinning it now. My amp (Schiit Asgard) and headphones (Senn HD600) are far closer to neutral and have a wider frequency response than my speakers (Audioengine A2+). And I'm just not hearing any bass bloat. Chambers is brought forward when he's vamping or soloing and he's in the background at other times. He sounds nice and woody with a little reverb trail but not at all overbearing.
You wouldn't likely hear it on headphones. Headphones don't have the excursion of traditional drivered loudspeakers, so they're not a good way to gauge a recording.
Totally disagree. Again, depends on your system and headphones. There are no absolute facts to make this claim. Except in ones mind.
Name the headphones you are using which you think have the same sort of bass response, that push the same air that a full-range dynamic-drivered speaker does. Grado 325? Sure doesn't. AKG 240? Nope. Sennheiser 600? No, ma'am. Bass has much longer wavelengths and require much more space to reproduce the full impact and tone. If you have ever played the bass notes on a 9' grand vs. the same ones on a 5' grand, you can hear a huge difference. It's physics. From a blurb on headphone sound related to bass reproduction: "Headphone Bass Levels One quirk about headphone bass is that many consumer headphones are tuned to produce what is called elevated bass response, which is another word for saying the headphones boost the bass relative to the rest of the audio signal. The reason behind this is simple: headphone speakers not only have more trouble producing quality bass than larger sets, but they also produce a different kind of bass. Headphones only produce sound the listener can hear, not sound the wearer can feel. The speakers are just too small to produce the visceral sound that pulses from a system with a dedicated subwoofer. The only way to compensate is to boost the volume of the bass in an attempt to mask the lack. This booster is not a perfect solution, but it is the best that can be achieved with speakers that can be worn on the head." So, you're mistaken to think that a good set of headphones reproduces bass at the same level that traditional loudspeakers do. It's just not the case. There are cans like Beats which try to throw a lot of impact in the low end, but they're far from accurate. The more accurate the headphones, the less impact the bass will have, because the designer is trying to reproduce the tunefulness/pitch as best as possible. Only with a traditional loudspeaker can depth and large throw (to create the feel of impact) be achieved well, and then a large enough room for the bass notes to travel as long as they need to will you get proper bass reproduction. The lower the frequency the speaker goes, the longer the room needs to be. Room treatment can help absorb bloat, but it's not the same as a large space.
I have all the AP Verve 45s too. All those masterings sound fantastic, have great bass, and no mastering issues. It's another argument for me that the bass balance on the MoFi KOB is due to mastering and not system dependent. One can like the bass on it or not, but it is a function of the mastering and not the playback system.
Yeah, I agree. We all hear things different. I'll be listening to the Ryan Smith mono today. Should be interesting after all the good reviews I have seen of it.
Sure. But you need to acknowledge that a limitation of a system can limit or mask flaws in mastering (or recording).
I never claimed otherwise. It is the likely reason – IMHO – that others here like the recording and don't think the bass is ill-mastered. I was only clarifying that issues I hear are NOT due to my system; rather, that my system is capable of revealing them.
Many of us think our systems are great. That's fine and understandable to a point. Unfortunately, a very few believe their opinions are the final and absolute word on a recording. Even when they have not heard, or maybe heard once somewhere (on a fantastic system, of course), the new remastered release. Then they defend the version they bought prior to the new release coming out. Again, even if they have not heard the new remastered release! And keep doing it in multiple threads for multiple new releases! Comparing what they have to what they have never heard! Maybe it's a crusade or something. Back on topic - now that I have an original six eye stereo (1AA/1AA), MFSL 45rpm, Classic Records 33rpm and the remastered mono of this album, I can safely say I have enough versions of it! Looking forward to buying new remastered releases of many, many more albums.
Well, this thread has taken a sad turn... all the constantly questioning of other people's systems, why can't people just let other people have their opinions? If I say the sound of the bass on version "x" of Kind of Blue is the best, most natural sounding I've ever heard, people should just let me have that opinion, and not question my ears, or my system. I have no problem behaving that way. If someone hears it differently, (and as I always say, different people hear things differently) then they should just give their opinion on how they hear it, without any personal remarks toward another user. It gets ugly, and people get turned off from the whole thread, when they just want to come in and read some honest opinions about these reissues. If anyone even responds to what I've just said in an argumentative way, the post will be reported. Let's just keep the opinions about the reissues themselves, and not each other. So with that, I'd be happy to read more opinions, particularly about On The Corner. A user here claimed it sounded so different to the original that he thought it sounded like a remix at times. I replied to that post, and said that after my own very careful comparing, I thought OTC sounded very, very much like the original, more so than any of the other Miles MOFI reissues I've heard. Then there was no further discussion about it. Maybe we were the only two here to have bothered with the comparison....
I've reported on three titles. Of the three, Sorcerer sounds very similar to the original pressing. E.S.P. does not. KoB I don't have an original, so I used the Classic 200g. The Classic sounds very different from the Mofi. I will try to report on others, including On The Corner.
The Ryan Smith cut, pressed at RTI mono is really done well. Never heard the mono until now and highly recommend it. Having all the horns centered gives it a whole new perspective from the left/right on the stereo. Nice clear bass and treble. I could live with this as my only copy. Also listened to the Classic Records 33 and MFSL 45 again. Both are excellent but I prefer the additional clarity of the MFSL, especially the piano. Bass is stronger on the MFSL as many notice, but I don't mind that. Again, I could live with either but am happy to have them all! On another note, I listened to the MFSL versions of Jack Johnson and Bitches Brew again. Nothing to compare the JJ to but this one sounds excellent also. I sold my Legacy copy of BB after getting the MFSL last year. Enough said. Buy this one before it goes OOP and the prices double!
My experience as well as to all copies, except to add that I preferred the MOFI Jack Johnson to an original, and I preferred the MOFI Bitches Brew to the 40th Anniversary cut.
I have the RKS mono KOB, but haven't played it since I got it when it came out. I'll have to put it on my playlist for the weekend, along with the recent three AP Prestige Stereo releases I never got around to cleaning and playing. Been so busy with work and cycling I haven't spent any time playing records in a while.
I'd like to compare the recent mono with the current Sony stereo reissue (which I have). I asked up the thread a ways whether there was any objective difference between (a) playing the mono reissue and (b) playing the stereo reissue with my amp set to mono. I couldn't get a straight answer to that question, so I haven't bought the mono, and probably won't. I put the stereo record on the other night, and turned it off halfway thru Freddie Freeloader. It was like I needed some newer music, something that wasn't so "sleepy." I love KOB, but really, I think Nefertiti, Miles Smiles, and Sorcerer are superior. There's more variety to the compositions for sure. It's quite interesting to me how Miles made the quite groundbreaking KOB, then spent the next five years backpedaling. It took until ESP before he really got back into his groove, and that was a direct result of the excellent band he put together.
Playing a stereo with the mono button on will sound very inferior to playing a mono LP. I don'y know the detailed tech reason but know from years of experience. In fact, using a mono cartridge will kick it up to an even better sound....but that's a can of worms to discuss. Safe to say, get the mono! Sounds great.
I don't have a special mono setup, mono cart, etc. and I adore my mono lp. I'd say go for it. It's a much more engaging listening experience imo.
The mono mix is a distinct mix made from the three track recording. It will sound very different from summing your stereo copy.
