Who's Next!!!!!!

Just listening to my Steve Hoffman MCA "Who's Next" right now. I know this has been covered many times before, but I've just got to say....good gawd! This disc really does sound amazing.......leaps and bounds better than any version of this cd I've ever heard. Talk about life-like!

 

Glad to hear you found one! Yeah, it's a nice little jewel of a CD...!

 

prix, which Hoffman pressing? Canadian, US, or original Japanese? I got the Canadian version cheap from hmv.com recently, and it is great. I am also waiting for a US Hoffman version from someone on eBay that I will compare to the Canadian version. The seller told me that the running time is 43:23, so it must be a Hoffman.

 

Mine is the Canadian version. I've got the Canadian "Meaty, Beaty,..." also. Let me know how the US version compares. Have you compared the MCA Ultimate Mastersound gold disc to Steve's? In my opinion, Steve's blows it away. It's warmer with much more depth and better soundstaging, seems less compressed and much more open. I could write several paragraphs comparing the two, but what's the point? The Hoffman version kills as usual.

 

The Gold MCA was mastered from a tape copy, god knows where. I agree, it's an oddity compared to the simple transfer Steve did.

 

HOLY HELL ON EARTH!!! What the hell? My Canadian "Who's Next" clocks at 43:26, not 43:23????? Now I can't even trust my own ears?? Do you mean to tell me that I don't have the Hoffman version and all this time I've been convincing myself that it sounds better? Am I going crazy???? Help!! What gives??

 

What's the #? Chances are if you answer correctly, you have the correct version.
It sounds, from your description, that you do.

 

If you own catalog number - MCAD-37217 you be fine.

 

A disc will sometimes show a different total time depending on what player it's in. My Canadian copy of Who's Next shows 43:26 on my CD player too.

 

Mine is MCABD 37217. Then there is another number that says DIDX-152. Does this mean that I have Steve's version? It still clocks at 43:26, though. Please tell me my ears are okay and that I really am hearing what I think I am hearing!

 

You have Steve's version, While there are differences in the letters, the "37217" means Steve.

Your ears told you that before the catalog number. Yes?

John

 

That's the SH version. Relax, your ears are fine...

 

Yes, my ears told me that. That's why I went so insane when I thought I had the wrong version. Nobody wants to believe that their bodies are failing them. I thought for a moment that I may not be hearing as well as I used to. Glad that's not the case. Thanks for helping me figure this one out, guys!

 

For the record, I don't think we really know if the gold was taken from a tape copy or not. For all we know, it used the same tape that Steve's CD did. And, for all we know, as unlikely as that is, Steve *didn't* use the master.

The gold was done by Glenn Meadows at Masterfonics in Nashville - it does say this right on the back.

As far as the total time goes, the various versions do vary a bit. There are several small differences between the various Japanese/US/BMG pressings (all mastered by Steve, and all seemingly from the same original digital transfer), and the Canadian CD actually seems to be a different digital transfer, possibly from an analog safety Steve made. That's in addition to the fact that some CD players count the 2 second pause before the first track, while others don't.

 

Crank up "Gettin' In Tune". The Steve version allows you to hear the music with minor but steady hiss in the background. You become involved.

The '95 remaster lets you hear pumping with each piano chord. When the tasty bass line bomps in, you hear more of that same ugly sound - the hiss goes up then down then up again. The rise and fall of the hiss dominates the soundstage.

Steve's mastering lets the music live.

 

You da man, lukpac! I also noticed that the MCA claims to have been done from the "original 2-track master tapes". Have you heard the gold side by side with Steve's? The gold almost sounds like a different mix. I'm sure it's not, but it sounds totally different.

 

That's what I'm talkin' about!

 

Yes, I've A/B'd them a number of times. The gold uses massive amounts of noise reduction to remove almost all of the tape hiss.

I posted this a few weeks ago. Try and guess which version is which:

http://lukpac.org/mp3/samples/bbe_comparison.mp3

 

Well it's pretty hard to tell on my sub-crappy computer speakers, but just off hand it sounds like the sample starts with the MCA gold, then goes to Steve's second. I'll have to check it with headphones to make sure. I noticed earlier on my stereo that on the MCA gold, the vocal sounds pretty lifeless and crushed and the acoustics sound overly bright.

 

Prix,

details to the extreme here:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12105

 

Like I said, impossible to tell on my computer speakers, which are actually burried in stacks of papers to further add to their worthless abilities. Thanks for the key, but I kind of wish you hadn't spoiled it for me. I wanted to listen with my headphones later to see what differences I actually heard in the samples. You should have PM'd me the list so I could shock lukpac with my amazingly accurate guess work!!

 

Oops... my bad. Sorry about blowing the test.

 

That's alright. I thought he was only giving me A/B versions of Steve's and the MCA gold. I didn't realize there were five different cds in there. I probably would have either driven myself crazy or humilated myself with incorrect answers. This way I can go on believing that my ears are golden.

 

Now I'm bummed. I just learned that my "made in Japan" MCA version of "Who's Next" is the non-SH one!

For the record: clocks in at 43:15 (or 43:13 depending on the CD player). Inner ring info is: MCAD 32717 M3E1

Darn, looks like I'll have to get that Canadian version after all....

 

Go get that Canadian version before they decide to delete it! You won't regret it!