Don't worry about it...some issues sit in limbo coming from Amazon USA...as others have posted Amazon.com has yet to ship so we will get ours shortly after them
I received Mobile Fidelity's new SACD of Michael Jackson’s Thriller earlier today. Just got home...put this Mofi Edition of Thriller in the SACD player. Listening now to the first track "Wanna Be Startin Somethin." I have the 1999 Sony SACD and I can tell right away that the 2022 Mofi SACD uses a different mastering. The duet with Paul McCartney, Track #3, "The Girl is Mine" sounds spookily real...like both men are in my living room! The new Mofi mix sounds...calmer...more composed...more polished than the 1999 Sony SACD. It's not as brash sounding as the 1999 Sony SACD but still maintains the excitement and fun factor in the music. I have reached track #4 "Thriller." Mofi has done a fantastic job on this album! Just listened to "Beat It" and now I am listening to "Billie Jean." This SACD sounds fantastic! "Human Nature" is playing now! This new Mofi SACD really flatters Michael's voice...really brings out the beauty and complex harmonic overtones in his voice. Listening to "P.Y.T." now. I love the way this new mix presents Michael's voice! Finishing up the album with the ballad "The Lady in My Life." Michael's voice sounds exquisite! Mobile Fidelity have done a wonderful job with the remastering. This is the most polished sounding and satisfying version of Thriller that I have yet come across!
I’m 100% planning on doing a few needledrops of this and a first pressing to compare and share. Can’t wait. Really curious. Mine should be here on Friday, we will see!
Congratulations on your first post here. Care to elaborate on your sound quality findings? And how would you know it the One Step is a waste of money if you don’t have it? If you’re gonna stay around here, I do recommend adding your audio equipment to your profile information.
Wow. On track 7 “Human Nature” it has never sounded like this. Almost 3d. You can hear it in a 360 degree around. Like there is something so nice with the high extra bells or tympani or something. Unbelievable the bass is so clean and slamming for miles too. Almost suductive mids!!! Am I going crazy ?! This is amazing. Will have more later. Just in the moment had to share. I’ve listened to this disc at least 5 times today lol— can’t get enough. The One Step might have serious competition. This is a very analog sounding SACD !!!
+1 The more I listen to my copy, the more mesmerised I get. I also thought “It sounds like Michael is in the room with me”. And it *is* very 3D sounding. Not comparing it to anything, listening to it on its own, it’s an extremely enjoyable listening. And, it sounds nice on every volume setting (not like the Marvin Gaye SACDs that start to sound weird when you turn the volume up). It does have the same magic as MFSL’s Isaac Hayes SACD. BTW, the Redbook layer sounds just as awesome.
Thanks for commenting on the redbook layer. Great news that it sounds great…I have the One Step on the way but I would also like to get the SACD eventually but only have a CD player (for now).
Oddly my MFSL sacd isn't recognised by my Sony scd xb790 so I had to play the sacd layer in my 4k Sony Ubp-x800m2. CD layer plays fine on the old scd but I get a "not hybrid" when I try to switch it in the player. I'm surprised by the comments on the sacd myself, I do prefer the 99 sacd. The MFSL does sound good in isolation and then I put the 99 sacd in the player and go wow, now that's how Thriller should sound. If ever I had to find words to describe Thriller, mellow has never come to mind. Sony xa5400es Scd xb790 Monitor Audio Bronze Speakers Sony Ubp-x800m2 Marantz 6170 Turntable
Personally, I’m fond of a “smooth” and “warm” sounding presentation, and my Arcam gear and Jean Marie Renaud speakers do just that. I’m not a fan of a too “analytical” presentation or “lots of” treble in the sound. I don’t have or know the other SACD releases of Thriller, so I can’t comment on those. I can only compare the MSFL SACD to the 35 8P-11 mastering. Funny thing is that they sound largely the same on my main system, but this morning I noticed that the MFSL mastering is better at compensating the weak spots in the speakers of my car. Edit: to elaborate on the above, the fact that Michael’s vocals are more “on top” of the music helps to compensate the recessed mids in my car. The fact that the bass is a bit cleaner on the MFSL makes them sound less wobbly and booming in my car. My main system is very good at handling deep bass, and there the (a bit more) muddy bass on the 35 8P-11 is not a problem at all. (please note, I’m making the differences sound bigger then they actually are)
I received the SACD this morning. My only observation is the MOFI is a slightly less loud carbon copy of the 2000 SACD. Nothing more I can say about that. Steve said the 2000 SACD is as close to the master as you can get. So the MOFI is also. And in my opinion the 1983 Japanese release (35 8P-11) is too.
My guess is I will be waiting well into the New Year for my SACD copy to arrive (I ended up pre-ordering on Amazon.ca before they jacked up the price). The reviews sound positive for the digital release so I was willing to keep my order in place. I hope the rumors are true that "Off The Wall" is next in line. I would also not be opposed to "Bad" and some of the Jacksons/Jackson 5 albums and I am set with MJ material.
I'd welcome a sacd/one step issue of Off The Wall as having listened to this weekend it holds up musically but as good from the point of view of having the original mixes my European first cd is I can hear some graininess in compared to both my UK early orange label first pressing and comparing M J's voice between them and this sacd. I have the early 90's cds of The Jacksons as far as Victory . With the J5 there were around 2010 some vinyl and cd reissues done have the Looking Through the Windows cd and the vinyl and cd editions of Get It Together and Dancing Machine from that series with all else being original UK Tamla_Motown lps plus Soulstation box set but am unsure of demand from the usual Mofi customer base.
Thanks for your reviews Joost! I'll save my money and put it towards some CD/12 Singles I don't have At least a good mastering can be found now that might be easier to get than tracking down the 35 8P
I think that this particular title is much more interesting than previous ones in that it won't be bought just by the "audiophile" community, and more to the point, it's being bought by listeners who know Thriller like the back of their hands. So for once the "wow effect" (probably) won't be because "hey, it's a MoFi and it cost me a lot so it's got to be a revelation" but it'll be solely on the merits of the work done by the engineers. So far, it would appear that the new SACD isn't that revelatory, compared to good old Japanese CD and the previous, non-audiophile SACD ("non-audiophile" because it was aimed at the general public rather than the audiophile community, in limited number and with the clout that MoFi brings to any title they release). Thank you to the MJ fans, who can actually tell us exactly how things are, without bias either way
I think that the MFSL SACD is an easy recommendation to someone who doesn’t have the album in digital form, or has one of the compressed remasters. In other instances its price is harder to justify. But… it is an extremely nice sounding, very enjoyable mastering, imho. Easily one of the best MFSL discs I own.
I’ll let myself be the judge of that, personally. Having listened to the original DSD masters for a long time I’m pretty familiar with how the album sounds at its best and can tell what’s different EQ-wise, at least from the original SACD.
Do you know where I can buy the DSD digital download that aligns with the 99 US Sacd in the UK. I'd rather not have to do an analogue record into the computer for use on my phone and I had trouble finding a legitimate place I could buy it for the UK.
SACD turned up in UK today - Seems I need to re-read some sections of my Oppo / Marantz manuals! At risk of going a bit off topic.. My 8012 Marantz is offering DSD Pure or DSD Pure Direct - both disengage the subwoofer. Picking Stereo (from Music) re-engages the sub, but I notice Audyssey Multeq xt is forced off. It is also off in the Pure modes, but I think I would have expected that. It sounds great, but the high end is a little harsh, which I think is because Audyssey is being bypassed. I'll have a play with the Oppo later and remind myself what options there are to not stream DSD. Edit - quick Google suggests I'm right in that Audyssey is not available for DSD - makes sense, so I need to convert to PCM either in the Oppo or in the Marantz. I'll play with that later. (I also read Audyssey processing on any source applies downsampling to 48kHz - I never knew that! Not sure if that was a limitation in the era of thread I was reading)
Exactly what I was driving at. This forum is all about sharing impressions, as in "I'll tell you forum users what I think about this version"... isn't t? Edit: on a secondary note, not everybody here has the money or the inclination to spend €40/€45 (SACD) or €150 (One-Step) on any title, so reading other people's opinions may not be perfect, but one comes to trust fellow hoffmanites and make up their minds about whether to spend that money or not. Nothing wrong with that, I'd say.
Having lived with the 1999 Sony SACD version of Michael Jackson's Thriller for the past 23 years (it was one of the first SACDs I ever bought), I can say that it sounds a bit compressed, almost like a loudness button has been engaged. The dynamic compression used seems to enhance the "jump" factor and excitement level of the recording but at the expense of a tiny bit of distortion at musical peaks. The 2022 Mobile Fidelity SACD does not exhibit any compression (or distortion in musical peaks). It seems to preserve the recording's full dynamic range and also preserve musical subtleties in the mixes that are not as apparent in the 1999 Sony SACD. I can't help but feel that the 2022 Mofi SACD is closer to the artist, producer and engineer's intentions.
