Zep 4 typically has very little bass , and what there is not of high quality. I thought Zep 1 sounds much improved: much more clarity, definition, punchy bass. I was not impressed with the Paris concert sonically
After listening various remasters in last 6 month I found (it is just for my ears), that new LZ (and Pink Floyd, and Beatles) remasters on vinyl to my ears sound better then original, not worse for sure. Perhaps I never listened to that special NM hot first pressing, but for average, "slightly beat up" old copy it is. For other, "not so big" bands picture is often different )). As well as remixes (However I am huge fan of Steve Wilson remixes).
I love every single remaster. Houses of the Holy is the only one where I prefer the 80s issued disks, but even the remaster Davis did sounds great I would be perfectly fine with it overall
I love the new remasters. They blow away the masters used on "The Complete Studio Recordings" box from 1993, IMO. I had a few of the original US 80's CD's and I thought those were better than the '93 set, but not as good as the new remasters.
Not so on the entire album. It’s the Zeppelin album with the least bottom. The 2014 remaster improves it only slightly.
Agreed DK, To my ears the Marino seems to go a tad lower than the Davis though the latter reveals a tad more detail.
Bumping this thread, was listening to Presence the other day and Achilles Last Stand in particular just pops in a way that I never heard on any other previous digital mastering. This really was overall a great remastering campaign overall
I think the 2014/2015 remasters sound great. My only gripe is the poor packaging. These should be in jewel cases or in Japanese Mini-LP style packaging. What they have for these remasters is cardboard packaging, with the discs sliding in and out of the sleeves, with potential for scratches on the CD surfaces. Even digipaks would be preferable to this!
This is another classic example of when people love to make blanket statements about one particular series when they don't apply. The Davis remasters are generally very good but not always. For one thing, "Houses Of The Holy" comes from a lousy tape source (as did the Marino). The original Diament sounds like a DCC/MFSL in comparison. I generally prefer the original Diaments but the third album sounds lousy, and the fourth varies from track to track depending on the series. The one thing you can definitely say for sure is that none of them got everything right, and any hype coming from Page or his engineer of choice about "original masters" being used "for the first time" is a lot of nonsense no matter how you look at it.
Did you buy those yourself? Those sleeves were so tight, I can't imagine trying to fit a sleeved CD inside them.
The Ocean distortion has always bothered me too. Are you saying the 2014 remaster cd gets rid of this? Thanks
If anything, the 2014 sounds like a tape dupe compared to the Diament (which it apparently is), so maybe that aspect has blurred the sonic details.
I just had a look through my SDE boxes. All CDs have the 'semi-circle/D-shaped' poly inner sleeves except ITTOD main disc which I assume they forgot to add it. And, most CDs also have a paper sleeve (with hole in the middle) outside the poly inner. So, cardboard 'vinyl style' jacket (with insert of original inner sleeve art where applicable), paper inner, then poly inner. And, most fall right out of the jacket, so a nice loose fit. Also, I believe all of the boxes are the European issues, or at least the vinyl portion is.
No complaints here in regards to the 2014 Davis remaster campaign. Except As others have noted, "Houses" does not sound as good as the 80s era cd. I also prefer the Marino ITTOD to the Davis. I find the latter has a strange "sizzle" in the high end that sounds unnatural. One of my litmus paper tests for a good sounding "Out Door" is Bonham's cymbals on "Fool In The Rain."
Ok, I got the American issues individually, so that would explain no inner sleeves, as American CD reissues tend to be done on the cheap with flimsy cardboard packaging. Sound is most important, obviously, but the standard got lowered from jewel case to digipak to cardboard sleeves.
I have great sounding versions of the whole catalog (RL cuts, a few Classics, etc) I am interested in maybe picking up a box set for the extras. Which SDE is worth owning if considering the whole package - the extra bonus material and book?
