Bought the vinyl, listening now. Sounds flipping fantastic. The textures of the instruments come through really well. The acoustic guitar and bass in particular basically sound like they're being strummed right in front of me. Music has miles of room to breathe. Quiet, centered pressing too. Super pleased.
In about 30mins (2.30pm GMT) Mark Radcliffe is interviewing Mike Mills & Michael Stipe specifically about this reissue on BBC 6Music
I didn't do a direct a/b but I've had the OG CD for ages and have it stamped into my memory. The vinyl was much more engaging on a good majority of tracks. There were a few tracks that didn't seem to be much different but overall I'd say it was significant enough that I'm really glad I picked it up. Unfortunately don't have a DVD-A copy (or player for that matter).
This may mark the point where I go from "cutting edge!" to "old fuddy-duddy". I don't like the Dolby Atmos mix. I love, love, love, love, LOVE surround sound. Love it. I love the Elliott Scheiner surround mix of this album (as well as Monster, and OoT, and... you get the idea.). The Atmos really punches the hell out of the vocals (both lead and backup). Grant you, this can be fun to hear for the first time, but when Mike Mills' backing vocals during the verses are competing with Stipe's lead - that's a problem. The DTS mix on the DVD from 2005 kicks the pants off this. And get off my lawn. (Edit: detailing my gear. Denon AVR-1200 with Dolby Atmos, a mix of favored speakers from the 90s and 2000s, Sony BDP S5100 BluRay/SACD player)
Thank you, I really appreciate the surround comparison. Especially after reading the fawning published review of the Atmos mix. It made me consider purchasing a new AVR to get that feature. So, you just saved me over a grand!!
I have been through the 2 CD set a couple of times. I have been quite pleased with the sound. I had sworn off the REM remasters. I had originally owned may of the earlier 2 CD sets, and sold them. I found them to be loud and compressed; not listenable. However, I have enjoyed Out of Time, and really am enjoying Automatic. The live set is great.
I picked up the LP today and thought it sounded great. It’s my first time hearing it on vinyl, so nothing to compare it to...
IMO he also co-produced the rhythm section on Ignoreland as it reminds me Zep's impressive 'tsunami'-sounding on some tracks of Presence (e.g. Hots On For Nowhere)
A guy on discogs claimed the new pressing has a less bright sounding top end and overall more even tone. Personally If I had the German press I wouldn't bother with the remaster.
That's too bad. I'm just glad that the US pressings don't suck for once. Having to import EU editions gets tiring.
I've been coming back to this set all week, between the bonus tracks and the great sound of the 24/96 version of the album I feel like I keep hearing new things. Fantastic box set, one of the best of the year, in my very humble opinion.
In fact all REM 90s WB-catalogue pressed in Germany sounds terrific. Cannot wish better clarity and balance. But! I wish to get any original some day ( except OOT which been done from US matrices) to compare as any WB US copy I heard before ( from other artist ) had beaten its German peer.