To upgrade to a newer remaster/reissue or keep the existing version?

Keep these for sure, two of my favourite discs and as good or better than any other edition out there:

Dump these, newer remasters or earlier editions can be had for not much money and big sonic improvement:

 

I would generally keep what I already have. The only time I would upgrade is if it's one of my favorites, and the remaster includes some unreleased live recordings. If it's a straight up remaster with no new content, I'd pass.

 

I like the Bowie '99s and think the new remasters sound like mud. But, to each their own.

 

Above have never been remastered.

Above is the re-master. Original is better.

Get the latest versions of these.

Never re-mastered.

 

Agreed.

The 2012 Ziggy LP/DVD-A and 2015/2016 Diamond Dogs, Station To Station, and Ziggy Soundtrack LPs are all ace.

 

Regarding my comments on the Velvet Underground, I should clarify. I don't own the 45th anniversary sets of WL/WH and self-titled, but if they're anything like Nico, they'll be a big improvement. I had the 1996 and 2002 remasters of VU&N and the 2012 blows them out of the water. For Loaded, you'll probably be fine with the WSP CD. The Rhino remaster has some bonus tracks and extended versions of two songs but is quite loud and compressed.

I'll probably pick up the LPs as I have no Bowie on wax. And honestly I don't care for the audio quality of records, just the tactile interactivity. Stone me if you must.

Digitally, I prefer the '99s even despite their glaring flaws - the new ones are too muddy, the Rykos are too thin, and the RCAs are honestly too dynamic for me. Either I can't hear the instruments, or the drums hurt my ears!

I've been really tempted to pick up the box sets, but I can't justify the price against the content. "All tracks previously unreleased in this configuration" adds $20 on to the price tag. If anyone wants to dump their boxes for $70 apiece, I'm your man. Until then, I'll stick with my '99s.

 

keep these, they're all great:
Brian Eno - David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts - Sire - CD 6093 - Canada
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica - Reprise - 2027-2 - USA
Frank Zappa - Jazz From Hell - Rykodisc - RCD 10549 - USA
Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 1 - Rykodisc - RCD 10561/62 - USA
John Coltrane - Giant Steps - Atlantic - CD 1311 - Canada
John Coltrane - My Favorite Things - Atlantic - CD 1361 - Canada
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme - Impulse! - GRD 155 - USA
Ornette Coleman - Free Jazz - Atlantic - 1364-2 - USA
Pink Floyd - Ummagumma - EMI - 7243 8 3120 2 2 - Europe - 2CD with outer box
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother - EMI - 7243 8 31246 2 6 - Canada
Pink Floyd - Meddle - EMI - 7243 8 29749 2 5 - Canada
Pink Floyd - Obscured By Clouds - EMI - 7243 8 36609 2 9 - Canada
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon - Capitol - CDP 7243 5 82136 2 1 - USA - Hybrid SACD
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - EMI - 7243 8 29750 2 1 - Canada
Ramones - Ramones - Warner Archives/Rhino - R2 74306 - Canada
The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers - Virgin - V2 7243 8 39525 2 6 - Canada
The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main St. - Virgin - V2 7243 8 39524 2 7 - Canada


not sure:
Pink Floyd - Animals - EMI - 7243 8 29748 2 6 - Canada - some US editions sound better than the UK ones for this. can't say if the Canadian matches the US or UK. you might have to do more research or buy the newer remaster

upgrade these:
Can Tago - Mago - Mute/Spoon - 9054-2 - Europe - track down an original
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out! - Rykodisc - RCD 10501 - USA - get the MOFO
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Absolutely Free - Rykodisc - RCD 10502 - USA - get the UMe remaster
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - We're Only In It For The Money - Rykodisc - RCD 10503 - Canada - get either the 1995 Rykodisc or the UMe
Frank Zappa - Hot Rats - Rykodisc - RCD 10066 - USA - get the UMe
Frank Zappa - Chunga's Revenge - Rykodisc - RCD 10511 - USA - get the UMe
Frank Zappa - You Are What You Is - Rykodisc - RCD 10536 - Canada - Mastering issues - get either the 1998 Rykodisc or the UMe
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass - Capitol - CDP 7243 5 30474 2 9 - USA - oversize box - get the current remaster
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band - Capitol - CDP 7243 5 28740 2 6 - USA 2000 remix - get the current remaster
Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love - EMI - 7243 5 25239 2 4 - Canada - EMI100 - track down an original
Miles Davis - A Tribute To Jack Johnson - Columbia/Legacy - CK 47038 - USA - get the box set or the MFSL
Paul McCartney - McCartney - MPL/Parlophone - C2 0777 7 89239 2 3 - Canada - get the newer remaster
XTC - Black Sea - Virgin - CDVX2173 724385063626 - Europe - get the Ape House
XTC - English Settlement - Virgin - CDVX2223 724385066023 - Europe - get the Ape House
XTC - Skylarking - Virgin - CDVX2399 724385069024 - Europe - get the Ape House

 

Three of your Zappa cds are well worth replacing with the 2012 editions, Absolutely Free, Hot Rats and particularly Chunga's Revenge as they revert to "original LP" mastering. Significant improvements IMO.

 

His copy of "Moondance" has the underdub of "Into The Mystic" like all pre-2008 CDs. The Japan Warners WPCR-75420 reissue has the correct mix, and also doesn't suffer the dropout at the beginning of "And It Stoned Me", which afflicts the 2013 reissue. But he's ruled out Japanese discs, so the 2013 would be OK (the dropout is only really noticeable on headphones, I find).

 

Your copy of Zep IV is the 1994 remaster. The 2014 remaster is brighter and a tad bass-lite in comparison, though by no means is it bad. I'd say you're good to go with your current disc, though many forum members would recommend the original CD mastered by Joe Sidore instead. If you do decide to buy the 2014 remaster, you might as well pick up the deluxe edition since it has a bonus disc of alternate mixes. Whether or not the mixes are worth listening to is an entirely different matter as people here are split on that.

 

I'm pretty much agreed with all of your opinions: it seems the old CBS label masterings were easily the ones that left the most to be desired, while WEA generally knew what they were doing with their earlier CDs.

 

NEVER GET RID OF THE ONE you are replacing...you will regret it...speaking from experience...thankfully it was only for a short while.

 

Keep your 1990 release of Turnstiles b/c it has the original Richie Cannata saxophone solo on "New York State of Mind." Since 1998, all CD versions of the song have featured the Phil Woods solo (from the 1985 Greatest Hits compilation).

 

My Japanese WPCR-75420 was really cheap though: a couple of Pounds mint with obi.

 

Which did the MOFI hybrid SACD have?

 

The original.

Billy Joel - Turnstiles (MFSL Hybrid SACD)

 

I bet its cost has nosedived since the 2013 reissue; I think I paid about $25 for it in 2011 or thereabouts - nice buy for you

 

I love the sound of the original cd , when you raise the volume the music becomes even more powerful and enjoyable, the opposite from the remastered, there you have to reduce the volume to prevent from the music to become unpleasant/

Brian Eno - David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts - Sire - original CD 6093 - Canada also includes one of the best tracks in the album---- Qu'Ran/
this excellent track is absent from all the remastered editions and from all the European original cds because Brian Eno and David Byrne got threats regarding the track/

 

It still shows a hefty price tag on discogs. I guess I was lucky, although I see these 90s Japanese issues fairly regularly. I never know whether they are worth picking up or not. The one I messed up was the 3CD + Blu-ray Moondance set. Sainsbury's (an UK supermarket) had it on their entertainment website for £11.99, but I had already reached their limit of 3 orders per day. I've never seen it that cheap again.

 

Hi, sorry, there was another thread on Tom Petty CD's but its closed to further replies, so thought I would add to this one instead of creating my own. SOrry if I am high jacking the thread. I can create my own if its better.

I have been looking at my own Tom Petty CD collection and I see there are remasters of the following titles.
- Damn The Torpedoes
- Hard Promises
- Long After Dark
- Southern Accents

I believe I have 90s CD pressings and I see these ones where remastered and released in late 00's. Just wondering, is this worth upgrading? Some even claim "
Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing. Universal. 2008." Is the sound quality going to be that drastically better?

 

The HDCD remasters of the Tom Petty catalog are too compressed sounding to me. I would keep the original MCA CDs, or even better get the HD Downloads if you can handle digital downloads.

 

Though the above version of Meddle states that it is the Doug Sax mastered version, the Canadian version actually used the wrong master and contains the original 80s master. The only way to get the Sax master is to get the US CD from that time, CDP 0777 7 46034 2 3. It's not hard to get, or expensive, and sounds much better to my ears.

 

Don't upgrade any CDs, upgrade your system.

 

XTC you should purchase again. My originals from the 80s are very inferior to the Ape House reissues. As another poster said, get the ones with the 5.1 mixes. I have "Black Sea" on blu-ray and "Drums and Wires" and "Nonsuch" with DVD-A. I posted a week ago regarding that my "Nonsuch" DVD-A will only play on my ancient Sony DVD player circa 2001. It will not play on my newer Panasonic DVD machine. Anyway, the sound on the reissues is fantastic. Especially D&W and "English Settlement" Throw on your headphones and it will amaze you.