There are many threads comparing various CD versions of this album. I have several versions and prefer the early Capitol CD. However, this is one of those albums that I prefer the vinyl version over the CD. I have an early UK and AU (both sound similar) which has been my go to version. They are a bit too rolled-off on the top end but better than the CDs which sound opaque, like they came from later generation tapes. The other night, a colleague brought around the US, Japan, German and French pressings of this album. We compared all of these with the UK and AU pressings and this was the broad subjective consensus. 1. The French pressing came ahead. It had the greatest clarity, detail and the best top end of them all. The bass was good too without the overpowering pervasiveness of say, the MFSL CD. 2. Second was the US copy. It had nice clarity too, particularly in the mids but the top end was tame compared to the French copy. 3. Third was the UK/Au pressing. Generally pleasant in a warmish way but lacking in the top end and in clarity compared to the top two. 4. A close fourth was the German pressing. It had a nicer mid than the UK or the US copy, a bit better bass but seemed more veiled in other areas. 5. Least preferred was the Japan pressing. On its own it sounded ok, but compared to the others above it was a bit harsh and just sounded odd in places. Anyway, I know that like the CDs this has probably been done to death, I was wondering what are other opinions here on these pressings. I didn't take the matrix details but all are very early pressings.
Which copies were cut by Doug Sax at TML? Agreed the Japanese was overhyped, & was a quickly discarded.
TML U.S. pressing for the win when compared to the Japanese first pressing. No luck finding the others mentioned.
Not sure, can't say I'm an expert with Pink Floyd's The Wall LPs. I don't have the LPs with me but I will borrowing the French LP to do a needle drop. The US, French and German LPs all had TML in their dead wax.
I should have phrased it better,as the deadwax was my question. Machine stamped TML will be the real deal the rest will be folks cutting from dubs. I appreciate you posting your shoot out details.
Remasters aside, doesn't The Wall sound great on every LP and CD issue? I've not heard a bad release yet.
Not to these ears, though it is subjective of course. With few exceptions I haven't heard too many CD Or Lp issues that sound consistently as good as say the various issues of DSOTM or WYWH. Most seem a tad dull, particularly on the top end detail and overall clarity. My UK pressing (and capitol CD) sounds fine but compared to an early UK, Japan Pro Use DSOTM LPs or the early B/T CD, they are anaemic and don't have much top end clarity. I assumed it must be the recording or master tapes but the French, US and to a lesser extent, German LPs were very good.
The UK is likely the best. Fantastic dynamics and I prefer warmth and body over bright top end. The 2016 BG gives it a close run even though from a digital transfer? So for price v quality the current version is a winner. The 2011 Sax cut is a limp disappointment though likely from same source.
My CBS Sony pressing (40AP) has a lot of bass and beats the US and UK first pressings easily. I think it is rather rare that a Japanese vinyl sound less bright than the others as in this case.
That's the only one I have as well. I'm satisfied with it and have no desire to find another pressing of this album.
I've got the original US LP from 1979. I thought the Columbia C2K was pretty close to its sound, but I prefer the MFSL CD. By comparison, the 2011 sounds like someone turned the treble down a bunch.
Without more specifics on the pressings, a review of a huge selling album like The Wall based solely on "country" doesn't really tell much except the relative differences between whatever cuts were tested. And even then -- assuming that many of these were from TML lacquers -- the variances could simply be variances and not necessarily consistent.
Obviously mileage may vary with their audio set up. The Japanese first cut sounded very tame and veiled compared to my four side TML-M cut. The difference was noticeable once I changed catridges; going from a Grado Sonata to the Lyra Delos.
I agree that the results could to a significant extent, have been the result of normal variation in any pressings. However, I have heard enough UK pressings to know this is not the case, at least compared to the UK pressings, as I have always just accepted that the recording itself must be a bit muddy and lacking in top end detail. I thought I'd share the comparison we did as another anecdote, not a definitive study. After all, it was one record of each rather than a large sample of each and it wasn't a double blind test, just three dudes relaxing over a beer comparing the pressings. I wasn't planning to post the subjective comparison on the forum but having done so, I wish I had noted the matrices on the records. My colleague will be dropping off the French LP for the needle drop in a couple of weeks so I'll ask him for the matrix details of the other albums. If you want, I can also post a sample of the needle drop. As for you preferring the German pressing over the US, that doesn't surprise me from the comparison we did. Our consensus was that the US pressing came out slightly ahead, mainly because of clarity and better separation of instruments, but the German copy had nicer mids and bass.
Ok, my colleague dropped off the French, German, Japan LPs which I needle-dropped earlier today (he forgot to bring around the USA LP). I can confirm the needle-drops they identical to the LPs played on my donor Linn on the same stereo. For anyone interested, I have provided samples below of Hey You from the three albums plus my UK copy for comparison. The matrix run out on side three of each album is as follows: Japan - 40AP 1751A1 Germany - TML MMC 330419 1 France - TML M M6 330419 1 UK - SHSP 4112 A-1U TML-M1 To make it interesting, it is a blind comparison (they don't necessarily follow the order above) which I'll reveal in about a week's time. I'd be interested in your preference order of the samples and why. While of course it is possible that any difference between the LPs (the German and French copies in particular) could be just normal variation that occurs in any pressing, I can add that all four albums are in pristine condition and hardly played at all. Dropbox - Hey You A .flac Dropbox - Hey You B.flac Dropbox - Hey You C.flac Dropbox - Hey You D.flac Apologies for not doing a poll as I don't know how to do it in an existing thread and I'm not sure there is any interest in any event. Sorry I don't have the Canadian version.
Ok, my colleague dropped off the French, German, Japan LPs which I needle-dropped earlier today (he forgot to bring around the USA LP). I can confirm the needle-drops they identical to the LPs played on my donor Linn on the same stereo. For anyone interested, I have provided samples below of Hey You from the three albums plus my UK copy for comparison. The matrix run out on side three of each album is as follows: Japan - 40AP 1751A1 Germany - TML MMC 330419 1 France - TML M M6 330419 1 UK - SHSP 4112 A-1U TML-M1 To make it interesting, it is a blind comparison (they don't necessarily follow the order above) which I'll reveal in about a week's time. I'd be interested in your preference order of the samples and why. While of course it is possible that any difference between the LPs (the German and French copies in particular) could be just normal variation that occurs in any pressing, I can add that all four albums are in pristine condition and hardly played at all. Dropbox - Hey You A .flac Dropbox - Hey You B.flac Dropbox - Hey You C.flac Dropbox - Hey You D.flac Apologies for not doing a poll as I don't know how to do it in an existing thread and I'm not sure there is any interest in any event. Sorry I don't have the Canadian LP.
Dropbox is not cooperating very well tonight but I was able to give these a quick listen. I haven't quite decided which I like better among BC and D, but I find A to be really veiled and congested in the top end compared to the others.
If anyone is interested... A is the German pressing B is the French pressing C is the Japan pressing D is the UK pressing
I prefer my German pressing because the vinyl is much quieter - and this album demands quiet vinyl. Otherwise they're basically the same.
So you are saying they are basically all the same, with the normal variation you get from record to record? Makes sense to me, given they are all TML stamped. Btw, as can be heard with the samples, all five copies played quietly. The German pressing did not stand out in that regard.
