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

The SACD's are hybrids right? Has anyone had a chance to listen to the redbook layer? Thoughts?

 

Thanks Mike, no, I haven't purchased the LP yet, unfortunately my local Newbury Comics had only the SACD. But I will definitely place an order for it soon, I mean, does it really sound better than the SACD? Wow!!!

 

Yeah, it's a hybrid disc, did not had the chance to listen to redbook yet though.

 

Wow.. I just read through the thread, opened another browser and ordered the LP !!
THIS IS GOING TO BE GOOD !!!!!!!!!!
Glen

 

It looks like the SACD of Another Side is shipping. I just ordered a copy from Music Direct.

 

I'm watching for it to show up on Amazon.com. So far it looks like only the vinyl is available for pre-order.

Kind of a bummer to be spending more money on MFSL SACDs for the same titles that I have in the Columbia/Sony SACD box set, but I have to keep reminding myself that I got that Sony SACD box set for dirt-cheap via Yourmusic.com (wasn't it like $70-90, shipped?). And I'm confident that these MFSL SACDs are going to sound better. (The early reviews of Freewheelin' are encouraging; mine is supposed to be delivered today, but it's a very hot day in Portland today and I think that's slowing down all the delivery vehicles... Usually my Amazon Prime deliveries are dropped off before noon! )

The big question for me is whether these MFSL SACDs can measure up to the astoundingly good Greatest Hits gold CD that Audio Fidelity recently put out.

Craig.

 

Defective MFSL 45rpm lp

Just took a quick look through this thread & it seems that I may be the only one who has received a defective copy. As soon as the left channel comes alive with Dylan's harmonica on Blowin' in the Wind an awful, distorted sound accompanies it. Clearly a pressing defect. Am I the only one?

 

I hadn't been keeping up with this but MAN is this good news. Really looking forward to Highway 61 and Blonde on Blonde. Whew!

And they have GOT to do a 45RPM of Blood on the Tracks, right? They have to change their minds don't they?

 

I don't believe MFSL is doing Highway 61 unfortunately.

 

More views on Freewheelin SACD sound quality vs AF greatest hits and in general? I haven't found my few MFSL SACDs to be as good as titles from Analogue Productions.

 

I'll be perfectly happy with Blonde on Blonde!

 

Can anyone post a short snippet of the Freewheelin' 45 RPM vinyl in a hi-rez format? I'm curious to hear the quality...

 

My copy shipped from Music Direct yesterday. I should have it today or tomorrow.

 

Same here ...

 

I'm listening to the 45 vinyl of The Freewheelin' now. As others said, yes, Dylan is here in my room.
What a warm, natural and transparent sound this is! Just awesome.

And the surface of my copy is absolutely perfect so far. The only quibble is the label design.:thumbsdn:

 

I got my 45rpm MOFI LP version of "Another Side" today, and it sounds nice - but I wouldn't put it in the same league as Freewheelin'.

First off, according to the credits on the inside jacket, the mix on this LP (which is sort of narrow stereo) is the newest stereo mix done for the Sony SACD. There printed inside the jacket of the MOFI is:

Mixed by Michael H. Brauer and Steve Berkowitz / Quad Recording Studios. So that begs the question, is this truly an "Original Master Recording"? Is it a hi-rez digital mix?

Anyway, I went nuts and pulled out the Mono LP (from the Mono box), the SACD from the Sony SACD box, and the original Columbia CD from way back when.

I compared All I Really Want to Do from all the above and it gave me a real headache... not because of the quality of sound, but because it really made my brain hurt trying to figure out which sounded best.

The old Columbia CD sounded flat and the least "real"... well that was easy (even though the old CD sounded better than I remember it to sound). So why did my brain hurt.

Because between the Mono LP, SACD and new 45rpm MOFI LP... I really had a hard time deciding which I liked the best.

First the Mono LP, not as open sounding or as immediate sounding as either the SACD or MOFI, sounded nice and smooth. Real nice tone, if not a bit "muted" in comparison to the new "stereo" mix on the SACD or MOFI. (I have to laugh at "stereo" - since even in stereo this album mostly sounds mono - at least it isn't stereo in the same sense that Freewheelin' is.) Regardless of the fact that the Mono LP was true Mono, which made it sound a bit more closed in, in comparison - the sound was really nice.

Next the SACD, sounded very similar to the MOFI LP, with a touch more brightness, but not as much as I remember the SACD having in past listening sessions. In fact I was taken with the fact that the SACD sounded very similar to MOFI 45rpm LP (going from short term memory of what the MOFI LP sounded like - since I had just finished listening to it).

So I finally put the MOFI 45rpm LP back on... right after listening to the SACD, and it was clear that the MOFI was, to my ears in this quick comparison, a slight bit more open and "real". The harmonica had a more natural tone, but not as drastic a difference as I found the Freewheelin' LP to have over the Sony SACD.

In the end, I felt the MOFI might have a touch of brightness on the vocal, similar in tone to what I heard on the Sony SACD. Needless to say, I was bit let down that the 45rpm LP of Another Side didn't stun me like the Freewheelin' LP did. Don't get me wrong, the 45rpm LP does sound nice, and the harmonica was very natural sounding, as was the acoustic guitar. It is on Dylan's vocals where I felt the MOFI was a bit "bright" - they had a touch of harshness, similar in tone (as I mentioned) to the Sony SACD. That might have to do with the fact that the MOFI is sourced from the same mix created for the SACD.

I was thinking of getting the MOFI SACD, but I'm not so sure it is going to add anything to the myriad of versions I already own. I might just get it to complete the collection, since I plan on getting all the MOFI Dylan titles (on LP and SACD).

Take my comparison with a grain of salt - only because my comparison was done with only one song from an album of 11 songs.

The MOFI vinyl was super quiet, with no ticks or pops at all. And actually, I was quite taken with the overall sound of the song "I Don't Believe You" on the MOFI LP. The guitar and harmonica sounded just right (even if there was a touch of brightness and hash in the vocal).

I am looking forward to other "reviews" on either the LP or MOFI SACD.

 

Well - a glutton for punishment, I decided to compare the Sony SACD, the new Gold Audio Fidelity Greatest Hits and the new MOFI 45rpm "Another Side Of Bob Dylan" LP on the cut "It Ain't Me Babe".

Here the Mofi LP, although having a very similar tone to the Sony SACD, clearly was the better listen. The guitar and harmonica sounded very real, yet the voice still had that bit of bright/harsh tone to it (similar to the SACD). Regardless, I thought the MOFI LP was pretty darn stunning, if even a bit too close in sound to the Sony SACD.

Well, anyway, much to my surprise, as the Audio Fidelity Gold CD starts playing, I hear "magic" coming from the speakers. Steve nailed this song in comparison. I know that I felt Blowin' In The Wind on the MOFI Freewheelin' took the AF Gold by a nice margin on that song, but here, with "It Ain't Me Babe", things were different.

The Audio Fidelity Gold CD didn't have a touch of harshness or brightness to the vocal. Dylan's voice sounded real, with nice overall full bodied sound. The guitar sounded nice and full, maybe a bit darker overall, but still real (where the MOFI had a more immediate sound to the guitar strings in comparison - but probably adding whatever eq Krieg Wunderlich added to the guitar, caused the vocal to sound a bit unnatural).. anyway, the AF Gold really made my ears stand up and listen. The harmonica was natural, without any harshness at all - very similar to the MOFI, but again a slight bit darker. Even though I use the word "darker", the AF Gold on this song is far from being bereft of a balanced tone (highs to mids to lows) - if anything the song was silky smooth.

I guess the eq choice, or tape used (since the AF GOLD didn't seem to have the same narrow stereo separation - and although not Mono, the AF Gold had a more centered sonic presentation, so I might assume Steve used a different mix than the new one created for the Sony SACD - and supposedly used on the new MOFI LP), lent itself to a more overall natural sounding presentation on the AF Gold than I found to be present on the MOFI LP or the Sony SACD.

Ok - now that my brain really hurts - I just have to let myself listen. Yeah - so what if I own 7 versions of the same album, and can only listen to one at a time.

 

Nice review Mike.

 

I'm gun shy when it comes blowing $30 on mofi SACDs. I'm so tempted to try Freewheelin.

 

Thanks for the review!

I think I am going to pass on the MOFI. Another Side is not one of my favorite Dylan LPs.

 

can you back this up with photographic evidence? are there any known EQ moves to remove the hashiness?

 

Hey 5-String,

I was in the Norwood Newbury this weekend and couldn't believe the over-price they wnt on their MFSL stuff now.

What were they getting in Manchester?

At one point- you could get 2 or 3 bux off, then it was strictly list, and for the last 3 or 4 yrs they were charging 2 bux OVER list. My first time n there in a few months- and their MFSL stuff is now $4 over list price


Chris

 

Hey Chris,
I agree, they have terrible prices on MFSL releases, both cds and vinyl. Their prices on everything else are decent though, especially on used stuff and they have a lot of sales, like get 1/get 1 free etc.
But yeah, the Dylan SACD was $33.99 + 2.16 state tax, which came to $36.17.
Usually I don't buy MFSL or AF from them since I can get those much cheaper online. But this time with Freewheeling, I could not resist, I wanted to hear it immediately.

 

It sucks if the new MFSL SACD does not have the original stereo mix for Another Side.

 

Back to the Dylan topic I was never a real fan of Dylan. My first listen that I remember was when Nashville Skyline was released, and Lay Lady Lay was a hit.
Over the years I came to love Nashville Skyline and Blood on the Tracks. I can't wait till BOTT is released.

Based on some of the reviews I've read I should go grab Freewheelin too- either on SACD, Vinyl or both!!!

Chris