Rolling Stones Target $255 and counting

Serious money. Seems like the cd market is flying.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....m=360019741571&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=023

 

Wow, I don't know if 'the CD market' is flying', but there are surely some obsessive collectors out there. Still Life should have been a double album, and probably taken from different shows - I can't imagine paying hundreds of dollars for a marginally (I assume) better pressing of this disc.

 

I bought my first Target CD, Linda Ronstadt's What's New, and I'm not impressed with the sound quality at all. I'll be listening to the more revealing sound of both the LP and the later CD versions, for sure.

 

Yeah, Steve said there is nothing special about most of the "Target cds". Some were very good but not all. I have several targets and the majority are just so-so.

 

I also have an early Japanese copy of Lush Life coming. I got so excited when I found the What's New target, I ordered the second one, too. Hope it sounds better. (If someone wants to make these Target CDs "fly" out of my "market," LMK.)

 

The thing is, a lot of these people don't care if it sounds good or if it's a good album. They just collect targets and rare discs, and they'll pay whatever they can afford to complete their collections.

 

I guess I have an expectation that when something's mentioned here, there's at least a whiff of "sounds better" about it.

Now that I've done more research, I have learned that there is that whiff. There just isn't much more, sonically speaking, to the target phenom.

No biggie, though. I'm only out two CDs, one of which was really cheap.

 

Anytime you are talking about rare items from the Beatles, the Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zepp, etc., it is NOT audiophiles or target collectors that drive the market.

 

Take any series of CDs, and you will find people who will say that some sound good and some don't. When you consider listening preferences and all the other versions of an album out there on vinyl and CD, you are going to find all sorts of opinions.

No one should be paying top dollar for a target with the assumption that the sound is best just because it's a target. As has been said here, many people collect targets for the sake of collecting since they are first issues and are generally hard to find. Collectors are willing to pay a high price for a target knowing that if a better-sounding version exists, it is likely very common and very cheap by comparison. So, they can have the best of both worlds.

I like the sound of many targets, but some are just average. No big deal.

 

If you want to sell the targets, please state prices. No taking offers, per the rules.

 

It takes all kinds, I guess. However, I think many of us collectors are hoping for at least decent sound. As a target collector, I keep every unique disc I can add to my collection. That said, it is a letdown when I find one to be lacking soundwise. I will never give up my West German "Vanz" target of John Fogerty Centerfield (yes, "Vanz", not "Zanz"). It's a very rare disc, but I grab the original European Bellaphon disc or the remaster because they sound better than the target.

Of course, the collecting mentality is not limited to targets. Many folks pay big bucks for Japanese mini-LP CDs that nowadays normally offer the same mastering as discs made for other markets. When you look at today's masterings, that means that many mini-LP discs sound pretty poor. Maybe the collectors don't care and are willing to pay big bucks for the artwork.

Also consider the old MFSL gold discs. Look at the prices some people pay on eBay. Then consider the observations many folks here have made concerning the sound of some of these gold discs. Many of them are lacking when compared to aluminum counterparts (early or recent pressings). $150+ for Who's Next? Are you kidding me?

 

In all fairness, though, one thing that you can say about targets (and the same is true of early Japanese pressings 35DP's, 32XD's, black triangles and the like) -- you will most likely (but not always) get a flat transfer, without compression, clipping or excessive no-noise. Correct?

So from that perspective, it is a relatively safe purchase. The only problem of course, is that a flat transfer of a crappy tape is still, well . . crappy.

 

The only target you'll ever need is the Pretenders S/T .... Fabulous!! ... and maybe 1 or 2 others

 

AFAIK, you'll never get NoNoise. It wasn't around when Targets were being pressed.

As far as NR, I'd bet that at least some of the master tapes used were encoded with Dolby A or dbx. You'd want them to to be properly decoded before converted to digital, or they'd *really* sound bad.

I think you are correct, though, in saying that many Targets were flat transfers and were mastered at low enough levels that there would be no digital clipping. However, many Targets, too, were made from EQ'ed LP cutting dubs, and not from the actual masters (often marked in the vaults as "do not use," according to Steve)! That's why you can't make any hasty generalizations about Target CD's sound quality--the sound quality varies on a case-by-case basis.

But what do I know--I only own a few Targets. In fact, one of them, The Nightfly, sounds exactly the same as my standard US CD.

 

Thanks for posting this Christian, I was hoping to get this for a bargain

 

I remember a member here having allot of trouble selling this for $100 on the forum!

 

Yeah, me too. The market's a weird thing...

 

It could be too that many members only buy on here and don't realize how much things go for "out there"

 

Oh, that was really me being rhetorical. I'm going to keep it for auditioning speakers.

 

If you did not sell it, good time to list it again!!!

 

But I think enough of them know that if something were really a bargain, they'd grab it. I mean, if I knew I could buy "Still Life" target here for $100 and quickly sell it for $250 on ebay, I'd do so.

The current $250+ auction is an aberration, though - I don't think "Still Life" target has gone for nearly that much in the past. The $100ish price was much more typical. Does this mean future auctions will also hit the $200s? Dunno, but I don't think we should assume that $250+ will now be the going rate...

 

I sold it for $80.00

 

Timing is everything I guess

 

I still remember Abba's GH Target selling for around $365 a couple years ago.