Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon - Best sounding CD (updated)

I have the japanese 2011 remaster,mfsl udcd 517 and prefer the 2011.

 

i finally bought the 2011 to compare (which indeed have the "ticket to ride " at the end neat 1:59 ) and… my CDP doesn't have it ! on my material the CPD sounds much more deep and wide than the 2011 which sounds "compact". i prefer the CDP.

 

I've heard the following:

Black face CDP West German
Silver face CDP UK repress
1992 Remaster
Parts of 2011 remaster
MFSL UD 1

The MFSL CD and any of the CDP's clearly wins!

 

Sorry; i have to ask, what's TO or non TO

 

I have a 1994 remaster that sounds good to my ears

 

The Pink Floyd Archives home page

 

Same here, 93 US EMI JAX with peaks-67.9/69.1/76.9. I haven't felt the need to go further. Prefer it over the SACD 2 channel as well

 

Correction: I've heard the 1994 remaster, not the 1992 - sorry about that.

 

Knowledge is the key. The black face Harvests can get you Japanese mastering on the cheap.

 

True, but like the Black Triangles not all Black Faces have the Sony masterings... the Pink Floyd Archives provide the relevant information to identify which is which.

 

I am quite impressed that so many here can tell the difference between various versions. I think there are quite a few good versions, though I lean to the hi res extractions from the SACD.

 

A while back, I got to meet Robert Rich, ambient musician/artist, really nice guy. Somehow we got to talking about different masterings, and I brought some DSOTM's for him to listen to.

I half expected that he would say that there weren't any meaningful differences, I mean, in the big picture, a lot of us here at SHF really dig deep into the details of the small differences that different CD masterings reveal.

But bless him, he took each mastering apart in terms of exactly how we all would. I was actually impressed that there are people outside of our "world" who can spot these differences too. The differences are not insignificant. That's why we'll go to the ends of the earth (sometimes!) to get what we think might be the best sounding mastering. And lo and behold, the "consensus" that SHF can be sometimes, is usually not wrong (imo).

 

what version was released in 1979 ??

 

For US, the MFSL-
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon

 

+1.

The Blackface sounds fantastic. Very smooth and analogue.
Why it isn't combined with the Black Triangle in the poll is beyond me. Both basically are the winners of the bunch.

The silverfaced CDP sounds great. 20th Anniversary I didn't like at all.
Too bright and sterile.

 

Made In Japan on the rear page.

 

I have since changed my mind and enjoy the 2011 for the CD and the SACD for that layer.

 

Made in Japan on the rear insert is a guarantee. According to Vernon's site, there are some discs with the original mastering and no Made in Japan, but unlike Meddle and The Wall, it's a much more riskier proposition.

 

Later black triangles have that too. Not sure about the black face though.

 

Later black faces don't have the Made in Japan. They don't have the printed in Holland either, unlike Meddle and The Wall.

 

The black face for Wish You Were Here also has Made in Japan or Printed in Holland on the rear artwork.

 

is there a way to tell which I ripped by looking in iTunes only (and without figuring out which filing cabinet or box full of discs has the original CD)?

 

That's the black face that I don't own.

 

I currently have two, but I don’t have Meddle or DSOTM so it kind of balances out.

I liked the WYWH black face in @grandegi ’s blind listening test and decided to find one. The first one was only Good but ripped accurately, and 2 weeks ago I found a VG+ one in a shop in The Hague.

 

Grab your disc, go to Vernon's site. I'll even provide a link for the US releases.
Pink Floyd Archives-U.S. CD Discography