Bob Dylan LP remasters by Mobile Fidelity starting w/Freewheelin' & Another Side...

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Sunsales, Jul 15, 2012.

  1. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    As I turns out, the Freewheelin' SACD arrived today.
     
  2. MikeT

    MikeT Prior Forum Cretin and Current Impatient Creep

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Are you talking 45rpm LP or SACD? I don't believe you ever posted if it was the LP or SACD that you received.

    I ordered my copy of the LP from Soundstagedirect.com - they seem to get MOFI product a day after Music Direct (not sure why, since ElusiveDisc and Acoustic Sounds don't get their allotment until a week or so later). The reason I ordered from SoundStageDirect (instead of pre-ordering from Music Direct) is I was on the fence about whether I was going to get this LP and SACD. Once I decided on the LP, I ordered from soundstagedirect since with the Steve Hoffman forum discount and free shipping I only paid $35.99 total.

    Once I heard how good the LP sounded I decided to order the SACD yesterday. I just have to hear the SACD in comparison to the excellent LP.
     
  3. FashionBoy

    FashionBoy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Sorry I wasn't clear - it was the LP I ordered.

    Listened to side 1 last night - absolutely superb - excellent dynamics, beautiful harmonic tonal correctness/richness, astounding top to bottom images, like someone said he is IN THE ROOM! I may have to order a second copy, this is an astounding set so far.

    Great jacket too, excellent image reproduction inside the gatefold.

     
    Kubricker likes this.
  4. Norm Apter

    Norm Apter Well-Known Member In Memoriam

    Location:
    Worcester, MA
    Bob Dylan remasters by Mobile Fidelity (2012-?)

    Previous discussion of this release campaign (along with Miles Davis titles) can be found in this thread, which I'll be asking a Gort to close so we can keep discussions of albums by these two artists separate.
     
  5. culabula

    culabula Unread author.

    Location:
    Belfast, Ireland
    Good call.
     
  6. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict

    I'll not be buying the MoFi hybrid SACDs of the early Dylan albums until I've heard opinions on the sound of Dylan's harmonica. It sounded very shrill/piercing on the Sony hybrid SACDs that appeared a few years ago.
     
  7. Linto

    Linto Mayor of Simpleton

    what's the latest on Blood on the Tracks?
     
  8. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    Does Mobile Fidelity ever announce release dates? I have all the Dylan, Miles, and Billy Joel SACDs on order from Music Direct, and thus far, I have only found when a disc is coming out when it has already shipped. It seems that upcoming titles are always listed TBD on their web site.
     
  9. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Senior Member

    Well, he's IN THE ROOM - in the wonky stereo mix of this album. :D This is most apparent in "Corrina, Corrina," the one song with a full band, where they mix Dylan's vocal, the drums, the bass, and his rhythm guitar in one channel, with the lead guitar in the other.

    But I agree with you, if you can get past the artificial stereo mix, the realism of Dylan's vocal is breathtaking - this was most apparent to me on "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," but his vocals are natural and lifelike throughout. The other thing that sounds incredible is the harmonica - the 45 RPM format allows reproduction of transients that the 33 1/3 versions just don't allow, and when Dylan starts wailing on the harmonica, you hear a pretty astounding facsimile of a real harmonica, in all its screechy, howling glory, as someone noted above, I think. The realism of this pressing is almost too real to do a lot of favors to Dylan's guitar playing - on a song like "Down the Highway," you can hear him miss fingerings and flub notes, but this album is what it is, and it's never sounded better, at least not in any version that I've heard. This does such an impressive job of turning a sow's ear of a recording into a silk purse of an audiophile record that I am on board for all of the other 45 RPM Dylan titles that MFSL does. If they got this album to sound this good, I can't wait to see what they do with Blonde on Blonde.

    The pressing quality of the records, and the quality of the jacket and the inner gatefold artwork is up there with the Music Matters LPs, in my opinion, in other words, as good as it gets.
     
    vonwegen likes this.
  10. MikeT

    MikeT Prior Forum Cretin and Current Impatient Creep

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Most probably know my feelings about the MFSL 45rpm vinyl edition of "Freewheelin'" - STUNNING (can't be beat).

    Today I received the MFSL SACD version of the same title (Freewheelin) - Sounds very good, but not as good as the 45rpm vinyl edition. I do have to say that the SACD sounds nice and smooth sounding (no brightness at all - where the Sony SACD can be a tad on the bright side).

    So I was curious to compare Steve's "Blowin in the Wind" from the new AF Gold CD to the new SACD (digital to digital). Again many might know I favored the 45rpm "Blowin in the Wind" over the Gold CD version on the Greatest Hits.

    Well Guess what???? Ok... I will tell,

    I played the song off the SACD 2 times through, and then the song 2 times through on Steve's new Gold CD, and it was SO CLOSE, that I actually played the first minute of each song again and listened for specific things in the mix. Again SO CLOSE... too bad the only from Freewheelin' on GH is Blowin in the Wind (so I can confirm what I heard with Blowin' in the Wind).

    So this just goes to show that even on a really nice sounding SACD (like the MFSL) the same song on a Gold CD (mastered by Steve) can sound nearly "exactly" the same. I guess I would really have to study the song off both discs more closely to really pick out any real differences in the sonic signature and sound quality of this song.

    What I did find interesting is that the MFSL vinyl was mastered by Krieg Wunderlich (assisted by Shawn Britton), while the MFSL SACD was mastered by Rob LoVerde (assisted by Shawn Britton). I would have assumed that the mastering would have been done by the same person (actually it seems that of all the current vinyl from MFSL I have - nearly all over the past few months have been mastered by Krieg Wunderlich instead of Shawn Britton or Rob LoVerde as MFSL vinyl was in the past).

    So that begs the question if the 45rpm LP and the MFSL was mastered at the same time? with Krieg doing the LP cut, while Rob did the SACD master? As I have mentioned, the 45rpm LP is the way to go if you have the ability to playback vinyl (it really is so good)... yet the SACD really can't be criticized at all, as it too, sounds really nice.

    I guess when I have the inkling to do so, I should pull out the Sony SACD and compare it to the new MFSL (but going from memory and the fact that I listened to Blowin In the Wind from the disc when I got Steve's AF Gold CD - I found the Sony SACD to be a tad harsh in comparison to Steve's CD).
     
    vonwegen likes this.
  11. dobyblue

    dobyblue Forum Resident

    I thought the sound was most lacking on Desire, so that's the one I am really looking forward to a 45rpm MOFI of. I think the best sounding Sony SACD for Dylan is Oh Mercy, absolutely terrific.
     
  12. tlake6659

    tlake6659 Senior Member

    Location:
    NJ
    Was there only one stereo mix of Freewheelin'? Is the MFSL, the Sony SACD/remaster and the old Columbia CD all the same stereo mix?
     
  13. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    SACD reviews? I love my Japan SRCS-6332 redbook, but I'd hope that a very well mastered SACD would beat it.
     
  14. eelkiller

    eelkiller One of the great unwashed

    Location:
    Northern Ontario
    No they don't, that is the way it is and hopefully no one loses sleep over release dates.
     
  15. crispi

    crispi Vinyl Archaeologist

    Location:
    Berlin
    As far as I know, yes. There was only one stereo mix and this title was never remixed, as opposed to, say, "Bringing It All Back Home" or "Blonde on Blonde".
     
  16. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    But, of course, folks do anyway.
     
  17. tubesandvinyl

    tubesandvinyl Forum Resident

    Just got mine from SoundStage Direct. Not a pre-order, just regular after release order. #2404.
     
  18. Bryce

    Bryce I drank what?

    Location:
    New York City
    According to Music Direct - MOFI's Another Side is shipping...

    Has anyone heard it yet? Reviews?
     
  19. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    Vinyl?
     
  20. johnborzatti

    johnborzatti Senior Member

    Those that have the MoFi LP(s), any issues with off center pressings? That is my main complaint with 45 PRM vinyl as the pitch drift from the slightest off centering is magnified my the higher speed rotation. For some reason, my ears can pick up on that without even looking and it drives me crazy.. Even more so that it should not be like that if the pressing is done correctly and carefully. Anyone know who is pressing for MoFi these days? Are they in house in Chicago? Otherwise, yous guys are hyping me up for some of these titles...!!!
     
  21. tubesandvinyl

    tubesandvinyl Forum Resident

    Mine is on centre. Three sides dead flat, one side has a bit of surf. Labels have the usual rips that are far too common. Not sure why records can't be pressed with perfect labels???

    Dead quiet vinyl.
     
  22. eelkiller

    eelkiller One of the great unwashed

    Location:
    Northern Ontario
    Yes vinyl only at this time. Same as the previous title.
     
  23. tlake6659

    tlake6659 Senior Member

    Location:
    NJ
    Finally got the Freewheelin' MFSL SACD and I am very happy with it. The mastering is very well done and sounds much more natural than the Sony SACD. It is less bright and the harmonica is much less shrill. Looking forward to the rest of the MFSL Dylan SACDs.
     
  24. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν

    Location:
    Sunshine State
    I bought the sacd this morning and so far I 've listened to it twice. This is a great sounding disc with great dynamics, clarity, and warmth.
    Dylan 's voice fills the space nicely and his guitar sounds very three dimensional.

    But there is more. When I first played "Blowin the Wind", I was struck with the sound of the harmonica, I said instantly to myself, "this is how a real harmonica sounds!"

    I also compared the AF "Blowin the Wind" with the MoFi and they sound extremely similar and when I say similar I mean it is very hard to tell one from the other with the exception of one thing.
    IMO the harmonica sounds a bit more natural and full bodied in theMofi and I am thinking maybe the higher resolution of the SACD has something to do with it?

    So if you like Dylan and have SACD playing capability do yourself a favor and get this disc ASAP. You won't regret it.
     
  25. MikeT

    MikeT Prior Forum Cretin and Current Impatient Creep

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    I can't remember if you purchased the LP, but if you like the SACD - you will love the 45rpm LP. It really sounds so much more lifelike than the SACD.

    And I agree about the SACD vs. the AF Gold CD - very similar overall, but the SACD does has a slightly more realistic harmonica tone.
     

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