Weren't they cut from higher rez files? I was amazed by how much better some needle drops that were posted through this forum sounded compared to the CDs.
It has a "thicker" texture than the originals from 1970 sound but with a compressed quality. The 2012, even though from a digital source, actually sounds more natural.
Sort of. 24 bit files, but at 44.1 kHz. (Remember, rebook CD's are 16 bit and 44.1 kHz.) If you can get the vinyl cheap, that's great, but don't spend too much on something that should've been done better. The '80s pressings made from the original vintage stampers were once really cheap, possibly still cheap - if I saw one of those and a 2012 vinyl edition for the same price in similar condition, I would never buy the 2012 one.
For me, absolutely. My American pressed copy of the 2012 Abbey Road had a ton of surface noise...not just clicks and pops but a weird swooshy sound throughout..very hard to put into words. The EU pressing is all but dead silent.
well it depends on what you mean, there are copies from the 80's with parlophone jackets but these are not export copies. True export sleeves are laminated with PPCS on the spine and without the Apple records. They come in two batches, the first batch have thin spines and dark apple labels, usually 2u 3u or 3u 2u matrix and date from mid/late 1970, the second batch date from late 1971 to early 1972 have pinched spines and the Matt apple labels, and can be 2u 3u or 3u 2u or 3u 3u. It would seem that the export sleeves must have been over produced and so EMI used them up with standard apple discs ( true export copies have both the export sleeve and 1 box emi parlophone p-pcs labels ) but that does not explain the export sleeves re-appearance in 1971 so we can only assume that that was a simple mistake by the printers using the wrong artwork in error, again nothing was wasted and so they were put to use again with standard apple discs by this time with matt apple labels. As for the audio imho there should be minimal sonic difference for any of these pressings.
I think it is time for the boys at Abbey Road to give us an all analog new release, like the mono releases.
It would probably be the original GET BACK album which is far superior to the LET IT BE album. They should have LET GET Back BE.
i think we are going off topic a bit, i think the op wants just to know the best version of the as released 1970 album sonically , hopefully if i am wrong on that the op will correct me.
That's correct, although general discussion about the album is fun as well. I've gotten a good bit of information on sonics from the replies here, so thanks everyone. But carry on with the discussion!
No question about it, it's the UK 1st -2U/-2U. This is the pressing that came in the original box (with the booklet of pictures, etc.) -- rare and expensive (especially if it has the box) but absolutely the best. .
I've never had a -3U / -3U to compare it to, but I have (or have had) the UK White Vinyl and a MFSL and a German and Japanese AP and a U.S. Original First Press with the Red Apple and a U.S. Rainbow Reissue and the -2U/-2U beat 'em all. Plus, I've read in the many threads we've had about "The Best 'Let it Be'" LP over the years, and the majority of people who have heard the -2U/-2U, say it's the best they've heard. And Cassius, who seems to have a zillion pressings of about everything, and listens to them very carefully (as anyone who has seen his "For Sale" listings can attest), also says it's the best he's heard (note he says this above in this thread). Given all of that, I feel confident about my statement. Fresh tapes, more care in mastering / pressing... who knows? .
i doubt there is any difference between the 2u2u & 3u3u but an audiophile will need to compare the two back to back to confirm this. I believe that these are likely to be superior to any other pressings but there is a lot of love for the UK white vinyl
Just over a year later, I can speak to this to some degree. I've really wanted but have had a heck of a time tracking down a clean -2U/-2U copy over the past four months. Suffice it to say I haven't got a big budget and my system is budget as well (Pro-Ject Debut Carbon with OM-5E, built in preamp), which may explain why the copies don't seem "clean." Two copies came and went, although the second was cleaner than the first. The problem was that the playback was plagued with groove distortion, in particular the title track, "The Long and Winding Road," and "Get Back." Last weekend, I hit up the London Musicmania show and found, at 15 quid a pop, a -2U/-2U, a -2U/-3U, and a -3U/-2U. The cleanest -2U tracks were all of side 1 of the -2U/-3U, side 2 of the -2U/-2U except for "The Long and Winding Road," which was cleanest on the -3U/-2U (confused yet?) After digitizing, kudos to ClickRepair...the stuff is quite listenable now, the music remaining, mostly, digitally unharmed. Still quite a bit of surface noise though. Then I tried out the -3U sides. Quite a bit less surface noise and groove distortion, but the latter was still there, It's happened enough that I think it's my equipment (maybe a worn stylus, although it's not been played more than 500 hours). Sonically, I really couldn't tell the difference most of the time, although that little drumstick click or whatever it is at the beginning of the title track sounded much clearer on the -3U (again, I suspect due to less surface noise). I've heard clean needledrops of -3U/-3U copies, although it's tough to say definitely how clean they started out versus how much processing was done to them. There's more I can say about it all if anyone's interested...
Certainly not Macca's 1985 Live Aid disaster [although not his fault]...but alas less than 2 years later he has to take some responsibilty for this..
