Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms 180 gram Double LP?

Has anybody bought the Brothers In Arms 180 gram double LP (half-speed mastered by Stan Ricker). I am just curious, because I compared to my standard Masterdisk version, and the intro to 'Your Latest Trick' is different than the standard version.

Is the same mix?

Any comments!
JG

 

James:

Do you have the Simply Vinyl version and, if so, how does it compare with the new 180g SR-mastered version?

 

I don't! I am not a great lover of Simply Vinyl. The vinyl is quiet but the sound of LPs I have sucks!

JG

 

I have the new 180g vinyl version and it sounds wonderful. The versions of the songs are the longer versions found on most, if not all, CD versions of the album. I haven't compared the mix of any particular song to any other version, but I can say, with almost 100% certainty, they are the extended versions of the songs

 

Remember...the new LP was cut from the same EQ'd digital master that was created for the recent DVD-A/SACD issues (IIRC). In essence, it is simply those discs on vinyl.

 

Spread out on 2 LPs though. I bet it does sound fantastic.

I learned my lesson with the Brian Wilson "Smile" vinyl release. Just because it is sourced from digital, doesn't mean it can't be a significant improvement over the silver coaster version. Rare, but definitely possible.

 

A Xerox of a Xerox.....

 

I have both the DVD-A and the SACD - and I did a cursory comparison of the SACD stereo layer of Money for Nothing against the vinyl version, and the new vinyl version, surprisingly, was better. The SACD stereo layer was MUCH louder than the vinyl version, and the vinyl had much better dynamic range.

I do have a question? If the new 180g version is 1/2 speed mastered, wouldn't it have to me mastered from an analog tape (even if that analog tape was a version of the digital master)?

Personally I wouldn't dissuade anyone from buying this new 2LP set - as it sounds more dynamic to my ears than what I sampled of the same material on the SACD stereo layer.

 

However unlike Smile, this was cut from the same tape - EQ and all -- that was used to create the DVD-A. Smile on vinyl was a seperate and distinct mastering.

 

Since they are all derived from the exact same EQ'd master perhaps you are mostly hearing the difference between your turntable rig and your DVD-A/SACD rig?

I wasn't aware that this was 1/2 speed mastered. Is that correct?

 

jeez, thanks for that tip! i'll stick with my mint 'RL' domestic copy and WG Vertigo CD (which is the best for this title, IMO).

 

Yes, it was 1/2 speed mastered by Stan Ricker.

How do you know the vinyl was cut from the same source as the DVD-A/SACD?

JG

 

As was mentioned, yes it was 1/2 speed mastered.

My turntable is a basic MMF-5, while my SACD player is the Sony XA777ES. While the Music Hall MMF-5 isn't a bad turntable, I would think the Sony XA777ES SACD player would be "better" if the same source material was used.

Even if the same EQ'd digital master was used, as you seem to believe (and I wouldn't know if that were true or not), it is a different mastering - as Stan Ricker mastered the vinyl and other parties (don't have a disc in front of me to name names) mastered the SACD/DVD-A.

 

You're not reading what I'm saying. Ricker cut the vinyl. He didn't master it. It was already "mastered". He simply cut the vinyl from the already mastered upsampled hi-rez digital tape used for the SACD/DVD-A.

See this thread...post#198 and picked up again with #201 and then again
with #231.

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=78628&page=10

So unless Knopfler and Co changed their mind (which is possible, I suppose, but why not just go back to Steve?) I'd say it's likely that the vinyl is simply the same mastering as the hi-rez disc but on vinyl.

 

Thanks - I stand "corrected". So based on what I read in the other thread (which I didn't remember reading before), they used the same master, cut at 1/2 speed by Stan Ricker.

Well, it still sounds pretty darn good, and whatever Stan did, he cut it so that it appears the vinyl has greater dynamic range (at least with regard to Money for Nothing).

Thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

The sticker on the front cover of the LP says 1/2 speed mastering by Stan Ricker.
JG

PS: Don't believe all you read!

 

What's your point?

 

My point is you are saying that Stan Ricker didn't master the LP, he only cut the vinyl. I am saying Warner Brothers are saying: Half-speed mastered by Stan Ricker on the front sleeve.

JG

 

I just finished listening to the WB version mastered by Stan Ricker. In comparison to my Quiex vinyl pressing, it doesn't quite stack up to that pressing. There's a bloom in the bass on the Quiex version that's missing on the Stan Ricker pressing. It's not real bad, but something is missing. Listen to "One World" and you'll know what I mean. Nice pressing until you compare it to the Quiex version. However, the vinyl is very quiet and the pressings are flat. Has anyone else compared this WB release to different vinyl pressings?

 

I've compared cuts form Mark Knofler & Dire Straits - Private Investigation(also listed as cut and mastered by Stan) to my WB US, German and Uk Vertigo original pressings and I afraid to say that it suffered the same fade as the Brothers In Arms reissue you described.To me, the clearity is just was not quite there, and along with midbass boom, music just became less involving. I ended up giving it away to a friend....

 

That's disappointing. Good thing you passed.

 

Wasn't this session digitally recorded? It has to have been cut from a digital source tape. There is no analog source tape.

 

My impressions exactly Steve. Oh well, now I have to sell it on ebay. What a waste of time and money. And so many people have said it was decent sounding. Fremer said it was "drier," but did not mention the lack of bass slam in comparison to other pressings.

 

Sam, Please educate me, what is the Quiex vinyl version, did Classic Records release this on vinyl?? I am only aware of three vinyl releases: original, Simply Vinyl and the latest 1/2 speed cutting.