JAZZ百貨店 - UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN » JAZZ百貨店 - UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN » A bunch of non platinum SHM jazz reissues coming out next month. Sorry didn't feel like creating a new thread. I wish several of these had come out as platinum flat transfers. A little crazy that this is something like the fifth SHM reissue of A Love Supreme (and maybe Ballads). And none of them will be able to top the platinum SHM flat transfers unless they reuse its mastering.
I've been hesitant about buying these because I already own the Japan DVD-A editions but I love the other platinum shm cds I own so what is the verdict Flaming Torch, are the King Crimson platinums better, worse or equal to the dvd-a?
In my opinion they are equal. The packaging is in the 7 inch by 7 inch style bot otherwise matches the other 5 inch releases of these albums as cd/ DVD-A done in Japan.
Thanks Flaming Torch for the info. I would love to purchase just ITCOTCK on platinum to compare, but I can't seem to find it on sale individually, only as part of a set so I will keep looking.
Yes I got mine in sets of 4 in a very nice Union style promo boxes. Jolly expensive and that was before my currency the £ crashed! Probably not really worth the money and only one ebay dealer seems to have them.
The sound will be the same (exact same digital master for the DVD) but the packaging is obviously different. So, don't buy if you expect a difference in sound.
Sometimes, rarely, when the release is very limited to 1,000 or even 500 copies, DU provides boxes for all of them. (cdjapan hardly offers Box sets. Box sets are sold within Japan). You can buy individual CDs on eBay, only if dealer wants to break the set. And they do, when they not able to sell it, as a set. (As a rule, DU Box set dealers do not sell individual CDs and wise-versa). WOWOW Platinum KC release looks like this case. Nobody is selling individual CDs, since they all are in the boxes. However, very often, they do a second printing without boxes. It depends on the demand, sales, agreement and on... I think they will not do that this time, since they just announced new release again on Aug. 31: "Cardboard sleeve reissue from King Crimson features HQCD format and K2HD remastering. This series features the following titles "In The Court Of The Crimson King," "In The Wake Of Poseidon," "Lizard," "Islands," "Earthbound," "Larks' Tongues In Aspic," "Starless And Bible Black," "Red," and "USA." This is Victor/JVC release and I personally do not believe in this "K2HD remastering", as a real thing. Please be aware: In most cases JVC did it from digital sources, not from original master tape. It cannot be considered as upgrade. Yes, JVC can do from OMT, but I am very doubt they will. Even more - I'm sure. I bought Platinum In the Court, Poseidon, Larks' and Red, as a part of the Box 1 set ('In the Court' box) because dealer agreed to switch Larks' and Red from the Box 2 to Box 1. I will comment on a sound.
Just received a few of the Riverside Mono Platinum SHM titles Both "Blue's Moods" and "Kelly Blue" are 2016 24-bit, 192 kHz remasters. プレミアム“紙ジャケ”復刻シリーズ - UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN »
Really is fresh 2016 Remaster. It just came out, but one smart ass (from Japan) is already selling Kelly Blue for $59 on eBay . Please let us know about sound.
King Crimson In the Court of Crimson King Japan Platinum 7" Mini LP SHM-CD vs. Japan 40th Ann. Mini LP HQCD vs. EU 30th Ann. Mini LP CD. It was a question at another thread, whether 40th Ed. sounds "more compressed" vs. 30th one. I remember, when I bought 30th Ann. Edition (one of the first 24-bit remaster), I liked it a lot against 16-bit discs. Believe me or not, but this edition in heavy cardboard covers (Made in Holland stickers say) defeated Japanese version in the quality of the covers. I left only beautiful 'In the Court' DU box and 30th Ann. Euro Edition is still in it. Track #5 'In the Court of Crimson King': This over 9 min. track has it all: soulful Greg Lake vocal, gentle flute and bass guitar interplay, kicking drums, choruses and wall of the entire band sound. In short, 40th Ann. HQCD with Steven Wilson Remix knocked off 30th Ann. reg. CD. Sound was more crispy, more precise and more 3-dimensional. Vocal and flute were close, but even so, the timbre was more natural, so was the sound of the strings. Though, bass on both disc was well presented, 40th Ann. disc won in this department with very clean bass. While, bass, choruses and big sound of entire band were a bit muffled in 30th Ann. CD. I'm not sure what exactly is a cause of that. Whether it is better equipment and technology Mr. Wilson used in 10 years or it is HQ CD material my upgraded system can feel in a better way now, or it's everything above... However, truth is: HQCD sounded better, despite the fact that 30th Ann. disc had a bit better dynamics and ability to play more loud without distortions. (In most cases better dynamics lead to better sound - not in this case, thou). I didn't find any sign of compression in the sound of 40th Ann. disc. So, 30th Ann. CD surpassed original CD and 40th Ann. disc surpassed 30th Ann. one. Is not it the way it supposed to be? Did Platinum SHM win over the 40th Ann. HQCD? Naturally, it did so. As I mentioned before, I did comparison Platinum SHM vs. 40th Ann. HQCD, but didn't have opportunity to post it. Now I found 5 pages of my paper notes about this test. Also, I retried Tracks #9 and #7. The following is a kind of mix of old experience and new impressions: From the very beginning I listened to entire album in Platinum SHM. I was so impressed with the sound that I immediately posted: "King Crimson In the Court of Crimson King Pt 7" Mini LP SHM-CD is one of the best Platinum discs I ever heard!(So far...)." (I wanted to let people know - I thought at the time that Platinum King Crimson titles will be issued individually. Not so fast...) Steven has done a very good job with this remix, lifting details and moving vocal to the front, where it sounded from afar. Separation between channels was different and.. it is a matter of preference. (30th Ann. disc also had a good channel separation and I liked it in some places even more. Thus, both CDs will stay in my collection). Another strongest point of the 40th Ann. release is the availability of bonus tracks. (There are 5 of them 'In the Court' album). They are instrumental versions or alternate takes of the album tracks and they alone are worth the price. I don't know why, but in all four 40th Ann./Pt albums I have, they surpassed the main tracks in sound quality. Perhaps Steve worked on them more (?) My favorite song of the 'In the Court' album would be Epitaph. Unfortunately, it isn't the best sounding track of the album, while bonus track Epitaph is. It's 9 min. pure instrumental version with orchestra. Both versions of this track (PT and HQ) has stunning bass performance. It's very deep and clean bass, and being on the more warm and ambient side, it is hitting so hard (after 4:20), when kicking bass-drums strikes during one minute over the riffing guitars. I cranked the volume to 60 dB and left it like that to the end - it's chilling and trance experience, if you will. It is not that Pt had better presented bass, no, but everything was much clearer and airy, especially guitar strings. Further, when orchestra string group started its part with big sound of piano and band, I noticed remarkable improvement in clarity of violins and cellos sound. (I'm glad nobody was home, otherwise they could see a crazy man standing in a front of two speakers and waving his hands as conductors of big orchestras do). (Taken from my notes): I caught myself several times that I did not listen to the sound, but the music itself instead - this is a very good sign... The more I listened to the Pt version, the more I enjoyed every bit of this music. Robert Fripp did great job more than 45 years ago by putting Rock, Psych and Experimental music into perfect balance and later by adding tastefully selected extra tracks - solid joy and musically, and sound-wise too. Thank you Robert, thank you Steven and thank you WOWOW Records for using Pt discs... How about HQCD? I put it on and it also sounded pretty darn good. So, I began to compare track by track A/B/A. All the same, but not so clear... Extra track #7 is instrumental version of the song 'I Talk to the Wind' called Duo Version. It started with interplay between an acoustic guitar and flute. I felt full body guitar sound here, each string is separate - it is amazing. Platinum made its magic... So, I put this Track #7 again. In Pt flute also sounds smoother and more natural. Transparency of the sound and separation between the instruments makes a major difference. How big this difference is? I would say about 15-20%. I also put 'In the Court' against my best non Flat Transferred Pt CD John Lennon 'Plastic Ono Band'. My first impression that 'In the Court' surpassed 'Plastic Ono' was premature. Each album has its own strongest and weakest sides. I prefer better dynamics and more punchy bass of 'Plastic Ono' and more smoother trebles and overall more even through entire album sound of 'In the Court'. Both albums easily deserve top position in The Best Platinum CD (non Flat Transfer) section.
P.S. Speaking of the rest Platinum KC albums I have: 'In the Wake of Poseidon' is going to stay next to 'In the Court' with equal sound quality, and one a little let down track #3 (4:38min). While 'Larks' Tongues in the Aspic' has first 3 songs like this (24min) and 'Red' has 4 first songs with lesser SQ (27min). I'm glad that the bonus tracks with alternate versions offsets most of these shortcomings. It pushes them down to the 'Good' category. King Crimson In the Court of Crimson King - The Best King Crimson 'In the Wake of Poseidon - The Best King Crimson 'Larks' Tongues in the Aspic - Good King Crimson Red - Good
related reviews: High Fidelity » Polish audiophiles test a lot of KC remasters and publish their verdict(s).
...Or, you know, the fact the the 40th Ann. HQCD is a complete remix from the multitrack tapes. I mean, there's not a shadow of a doubt why you are hearing what you are hearing. They are different mixes, 40 years apart. It trumps any sort of material the digital masters are pressed on.
Yep Comparing SQ of different mixes is totally Apples to Oranges. Valid SQ compares must use the same mixes - unless of course one's goal is merely is comparing mixes and not SQ.
Thanks for that breakdown on these sets. It does appear they won't be sold individually and neither do the sets appear to be easily available.
As I posted before, WOWOW has/had plans to proceed with the rest KC albums in Platinum SHM. There is only one Japanese dealer, who still offers Pt KC Boxes for the Retail price ($290). This price, while it looks expensive, it is simply not. It includes: cost of 4 albums $50 x 4 + eBay/PayPal fees (15% +4.53%) + Shipping cost, which is not cheap due to 7" Box + not 4, but 8 discs + 8 Gate-fold covers (7"), only Japanese are willing to do. Also, the price Y5093/$50 for each album is also damn cheap, as it's two the best sounding to date KC discs (Pt and DVD-A) in two individual covers ($25 each). To tell you more, just after release date, parallel with Japanese dealers, Australian DU retailer and the other smart-asses listed them for $450-$540 each. Then, they all ended their listings and are waiting now, when release will go OOP. This is nothing, but Real Collector's Items.
Agree to disagree. Goal is to give people info that they can avoid bad sounding CDs. On this way any comparison tests are appropriate: not only with different mixes, but absolutely different bands. Why does industry offer Demo and Reference discs? To have a sampler of a good SQ. That's is why I compared SQ of Pt KC CD to SQ of Pt John Lennon CD - to know how does it stay within a common scale of Sound Quality. I did compare SQ of Pt KC disc to SQ of Lennon disc, not the Music of KC to the Music of John Lennon - that would be Apples to Oranges comparison.
What is your opinion on the Judas Priest SHM Platinum version? Especially about the quality of "Hero Hero"?
Yes, I still have them both. And I remember I answered to this question long time ago. I remember I said in two words: "Almost good". And I explained what I meant. But now I will retry them in upgraded system and I let you know soon. I'm intrigued myself...
I recommend the digital download from High Definition Tape Transfers, I like it better than the SHM disc.
They are a lovely product and I am glad I got them. I only follow KC up to RED/USA and I do like the dvds with all the audio available. I have the standard editions released in the UK along with the 4 box sets (Court, Larks, Starless,Red). I don't think my ears are good enough to tell a big difference between the Pt and standard cd layer issued in the UK. My usual cd player is the Arcam CD92. Thanks for your earlier review of these discs. I think KC have done a fine job with the back catalogue.
I've never heard any other SHM version of Ballads. In general non flat transfer SHM jazz discs are compressed. The MFSL gold CD is also fantastic and was my previous favorite version. HDTT are taking their transfers from commercially available reel to reel tapes. Those tapes would be far removed from the masters/safeties and also run at a lower speed. IIRC they use some tube electronics for amplification of the tape head that might add to someone's enjoyment.
