Yes, sir. I have two of them, actually. The first NZ box I got is the best sounding of all of them, at least among the 8 different countries of blue boxes that I own. It's so good in fact, that when I saw another one, I grabbed it. That said, they aren't identical. It's been a while since I scoped out the matrices on those, but I do know that one box is entirely local re-cuts, and the other is a mixture of local cuts and stamped UK metal. Strangely, I suppose, in the second box that I acquired, two sides of the White Album (one side on each record) have Capitol stampers on them. But sound quality-wise, I'd rank the NZ boxes as the best of the lot. I don't know what the explanation for this would be, other than perhaps NZ is such a small country, the cutting engineers likely put great care in the work, and had quality control as their highest priority, but that's just a guess.
I'm sure that a lot of releases by Emi Aus are garbage, but I'm not highlighting them. The records that I'm highlighting are ones that I listen to. I'm lucky enough to earn really good money right now. I live in Melbourne. We have been in lockdown for the most amount of days compared to any city in the world (280ish out of 365). I spend about $1000 a month on records because there is nothing else to spend money on. I try to share with people what sounds good. I have 0 other reason to do so. Everything I write is about a record that I've listened to, in good gear. I only write about records I want to share with others, nothing else.
I am lucky to be in Perth in the People’s Democratic Free Republic of Westralia . Seriously though, glad you’re enjoying the music.
Thanks, and yeah no ****. It sucks. As I said buying and listing to records is one of the few good things. I've worked from home for the past 2 years. The positive thing is that I've being able to listen to records for 10 hours a day for the past 2 years. I think that gives me a little credibility to be able to judge what sounds good vs what doesn't...
Just curious, not to threadcrap an Abbey Road discussion, but does anyone here have a Aussie blue box? I forgot who it was, but at least two people from there told me that if I already have the NZ box, to not even bother with the Aussie box. Is there any reason the pressings in there would be inferior?
That's actually a terrible example. Have you read this thread Wow and flutter, etc. Tape Speed Issues - Tone Poet / Blue Note 80th anniversary vinyl LP problems. about the problems with some of his Blue Note 80th Anniversary cuts vs. his Music Matters cuts from a few years earlier?
It's not anything other than a copy of the ONLY AR mix that was ever commercially released. Millions upon millions of people have heard the Abbey Road 'mix'. If you're going to trumpet your music biz experience at least get the terminology right.
I haven't but will have a look. I can't imagine that there will be issues with the tape in this instance given the tape that was used in this case was a brand new fresh copy that was made in 1979. One cut was made in 79 and a second in 84... But ok
I don't actually have the box itself, however pretty much all the records from within the box apart from a Hard Days night. If you have the NZ one there's not really any point getting the Aus one. They'd essentially be the same from what I can gather. EMI Aus and EMI NZ were very similar. I'm fairly certain (And can't be bothered looking into it) that the NZ box also used UK stampers for most releases. And if they didn't they most likely used Aussie ones. Best way would be to do a bit of a search on discogs.
Ohhh good question! And a very hard one to answer haha. 1 and 2 are pretty easy though. 1) This one is easy. Without a question the best sounding record in my collection. DSOTM OG Quad SQ. My copy is A-2 B-1. It uses the original UK metal and was the first ever cut, so made from the freshest tapes imaginable. The SQ quad folds down brilliantly into 2 speakers and gives a HUGE 3D soundstage. In headphones it sounds like things fly through the back of your head. The vinyl is amazingly silent. It KILLS the 30th anniversary issue. And you can still get a copy for $100ish - Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973, Gatefold Sleeve, Vinyl) 2) This AR cut Hard to break down the rest, so I'll throw in a few of my favs. UK metal - The Beatles – With The Beatles (1979, Vinyl) US and AU cut - The Beatles – The Beatles (1981, Vinyl) UK Metal - The Beatles – Please Please Me (1978, Vinyl) Aussie cut - The Beatles – Help! (1978, Vinyl) RL metal - Donald Fagen – The Nightfly (1982, Vinyl) UK metal - The Alan Parsons Project – Eye In The Sky (1982, Vinyl) 1st UK metal - The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1979, Vinyl) UK tube cut - The Beatles – Revolver (1978, Vinyl) UK tube cut - The Beatles – Rubber Soul (1969, Vinyl) UK metal - Pink Floyd – Meddle (Gatefold, Vinyl) Sounds as good if not better than the new AAA mono box cut. This is stereo obv. Tipping it was an eq'd production master. Silent vinyl - Bob Dylan – Bringing It All Back Home (1965, 2nd label varient - Allan's pressing, Vinyl) Sounds as good if not better than the new AAA mono box cut. This is stereo obv. Tipping it was an eq'd production master. Silent vinyl - https://www.discogs.com/release/9846378-Bob-Dylan-Highway-61-Revisited Sounds as good if not better than the new AAA mono box cut. This is stereo obv. Tipping it was an eq'd production master. Silent vinyl Bob Dylan – Blonde On Blonde (Vinyl) Sounds as good if not better than the new AAA mono box cut. This is stereo obv. Tipping it was an eq'd production master. Silent vinyl - Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1967, Vinyl)
Thank you for the detailed response! I have the UK blue box and of course I love the Beatles, but I feel like that is enough for me. An album I usually blow minds with is Abbey Road from that. I'm definitely gonna seek out that copy of Meddle you listed. I'm also gonna try out those Dylan albums you listed. Of course here in the US I don't see many Australian pressings but if they're worth tracking down, then I shall track them down!
I'd say the Dylan Aussies will be VERY hard to find. I was very lucky I picked up all of Dad's originals that had gathered dust at the farm for 35 years haha. They're all pretty much unplayed haha. Super find! If you want great Dylan grab the mono box. It's still in print on Amazon I think. The First 9 albums. AAA cuts by George Marino from the original masters. Pressed at RTI, all in tipon jackets. Aussie Meddle is AMAZING and significantly cheaper than the OG UK cut.
Beautiful! Remember that we have VERY opinionated members here. Don’t let that detract you from what you know. The pics are beautiful! Now I have to find one for my collection! Beave
Non-US/UK Beatles. Down the rabbit hole you go. Sure would like a Japanese mid-70s Abbey Road, though.
That makes sense. The blue boxes ... it's not like I'm in some contest to have the most of them, etc. The biggest enjoyment I get out of them, is hearing the differences of how the different countries did them. It's fun to hear and compare them. Not good vs. bad. Just the differences. I don't have a single Australian pressing in my collection. For a while, I was chasing that Aussie "poor man's AUDIO 5" Sgt Peppers red wax, but gave up after a while. When you collect records and love so many bands and so many albums, it's difficult to keep the priority list in order. We can't have them all, lol.
The red flag is brilliant. See my collection above to see which one. I think I paid about $30aud for a NM this year
The Aussie peppers I posted above is 100% worth tracking down. Silent vinyl and it's the original 1st UK -1 -1 cut. It's beyond demo worthy. My jaw hit the floor the first time I heard it. The kind of feeling that immediately validated why so many millions of people in the 60's lost their minds to it. I think I paid $35aud this year. $40 max. You'll never find a better original UK either as it was the kind of record that people played to death haha, so will be near impossible to find a mint unplayed copy
Every master / re-master of Abbey Road sound different. UK mastering is different to US, Japanese, German, Australia. They're all different. Some sound great. Some sound less than great. It's Abbey Road, it's hard to make it sound bad. It is difficult to make it sound better than the best presses of the album ever made though. I'm not sure what your point is here sorry?
I agree. I'm fortunate to own a first UK press of both mono and stereo Peppers, both of which are in NM shape - I got lucky, in that the seller's description was honest and that the grooves weren't worn out by the much heavier cartridges of the day. That's the challenge of those ... it can look spotless overall, but the actual grooves can't exactly be seen without a microscope, lol. But yeah, it's a treat to listen to. That said, I've learned over the years, it doesn't need to be "first pressing" to sound amazing. Some of those "budget" green label Capitol copies are some of the best sounding records in my collection. I'm not entirely sure what years those were issued, I'm gonna guess 1980-1981, pretty sure that was it for those. No, they aren't better than the Analogue Productions pressings, those are second to none. But they are way better than the originals. Just my opinion. Sadly, the Beatles catalog was never issued on those, other than RnRoll Music Vol 1 and 2. A few Lennon solo albums were issued on those, too. Sorry, I rambled on. I'll spin that NZ Abbey Road now ...
