2019 Beatles UK Singles boxed set (Was: "Beatles Mystery Boxed Set")*

It IS what was discussed by the person to whom I responded.

1) Debate it if you want. It is an explanation I have read from engineers. I didn't say I was an expert on that.

 

No, it's not. Digital mastering is being discussed. Not CDs.

 

Some did complain about the sometimes thin, harsh top end. Since these are largely analog, it does say that you can produce that sound quality in the analog domain.

To @lukpac, CDs is where many form their opinion about digital sound. Personally, I have heard digitally mastered records sound very good. But I'm pointing out why some used that technology to describe the sound.

 

All I know is that my ears tell me these do not sound as good as the original vinyl pressings or the newer vinyl album compilations. The packaging and vinyl is terrific but the end product is underwhelming. It would be easier to accept at half the price. But nobody forced me to buy these.

 

I’m gonna go out here and just say some things that have been said are completely false. High Quality Flat Digital Transfers have:

No effect on DR numbers
No effect on EQ
No inherent compression
No inherent distortion

those are all things inherent to either the source material or the mastering choices

 

I finally got the chance to listen to this set this week after getting it for Christmas. I'm am very happy to report that I had ZERO warpage and do not remember hearing so much as a pop or click throughout the entire box.

I have to admit that I was a bit nervous as I began listening due to the horror stories I've seen in this thread, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. My only disappointment was From Me to You/Thank You Girl, which sounded very sibilant and thin to my ears, but I had no complaints about the rest of the set.

 

OMG. I was not planning to buy this set because of everything I'd read and at it's then price of I think $250+ CAD at Amazon and $300+ CAD at local shops.
The price has been up and down at Amazon.ca and has been dropping for the last 48 hours so right now it's at $151 CAD.
I don't have any other singles to compare to but do have the Stereo and Mono sets etc that were released over the last decade.
At that price even if the sound isn't the best I'm getting the itch to get it just for the sake of having it!

 

Then I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

This box is fun for those who don't already have the singles. I ordered it in late October (I think) when uDiscover Music offered it for $128 and received it three or four weeks ago, after all of the excitement on here was over. I got caught up in the excitement and I love singles and box sets of them. But I did not need this as I have the singles several times over -the early '80s set and individually. What swayed me was the packaging in international sleeves, which was my idea to begin with. I also love the reproduction of the international labels. This set was not exactly in my budget, but I consider it my last hurrah.

Although I feel like an idiot for throwing money away like this, I would have felt better about it if the quality control was a bit higher, sonically and packaging-wise. A little more attention to detail would have assuaged my regret: the covers are nice, but the material is a little too heavy. Something closer to the lighter original heft would have been preferable to me. "Flipbacks' where they originally occurred would have been preferable to me. Spindle holes that were as original -large or punch-out- would have been preferable to me.

And then there's the sound: not too lively. The '80s box sounded better, I believe. But, at least mine weren't warped.

This is just my two cents.

Looking forward to the Capitol Singles Box and the International Singles Box, both of which would be more interesting. Not that I will buy them. I can't afford to.

 

Well, it dropped another couple of bucks. Don't know how much lower it will go but I went ahead and ordered it before it starts going back up again.

 

these look good,... Artwork | Shop the The Beatles Official Store

 

These are the UK singles, where all 45s have spindle holes, so they are 'as original'. If Apple do the same with the Capitol singles, they'll come with large holes.

 

I did too on Friday, when it hit $162.74(CDN) or about $120(US).

I certainly didn't need this set, since I already had these mixes on the mono box and numerous stereo records and the CD Singles set. However, I was intrigued enough by the international picture sleeves and labels and the controversy over the sound to bite. I love the packaging. As for the sound, I've only played four of the singles from different periods. I played them on my Rega P6/Exact 2/Aria playback system and they sounded fine to me. I didn't find they sounded digital at all. Based on the booklet, it is my understanding that the mastering team sought to replicate the sound of the original singles, whereas with the mono box, they simply wanted to create the best sounding records possible. Whether they succeeded in capturing the sound of the original singles, I cannot say. My only original Beatles' singles are Canadian pressings.

 

Help! Scarf | Shop the The Beatles Official Store

i'd buy that

 

...and call me crazy but I think apple might have been very thankful for my recreation or maybe even embarrassed into a better result

(but then again I could be crackers)

 

Looks like the beatles would too

 

All singles -all records- everywhere have spindle holes. How else ya gonna play 'em? But these singles are meant to replicate the original releases from other countries. And some countries had large spindle holes. For example, the Italian issue of "Please Please Me":

 

Or better yet receive it for Christmas or Birthday,
it doesn't give the length and width

 

I bought the scarf. Too cool to resist.

 

And hopefully a Beatles 45 adapter. But I heard Crosley already has a few different ones available.

 

That isn't a spindle hole. The adaptor goes on the spindle. They are meant to replicate the label and sleeve. And the UK does not have large hole singles. If Apple did the same for the USA market for all American singles, would the one from the UK (assuming there was one) have a spindle hole instead of the large cut out hole? Of course not.

And I have no idea why the USA and many other countries had/have cut out holes.

 

Cut out holes are what you find on the jackets of overstock or promo LPs. I think we're getting into semantics here. I thought my desire was clear here: I want the size of the hole in the middle of the record to match that of the original release of the country that these records are attempting to reproduce.

 

I wonder if they have fixed the sleeve artwork?

 

45 rpm 7 inch records were invented by RCA in 1949, with large spindle holes for their tall stack players:

 

Since it was a limited run I’m gonna say it’s a no