The Beatles ... Mono Box

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I would be a liar if I claimed that we didn't love the Beatles catalog.  We have a large collection of pressings on vinyl, the stereo and mono CD sets released a few years ago, and they are in regular rotation.  Their music is timeless, and the enjoyment spans the generations in our house.

The Beatles were late to the digital game, and only recently allowed their taped to be converted to digital.  After lengthy legal negotiations with all the estates and remaining band members, they ripped the tapes to 24/192, but for some reason, only 24/44.1 downsampled has seen the light of day. 

Now we own and love the stereo box set.  Given the difficulty of locating an affordable copy of a quality pressing of their stereo albums, this was a godsend to many.  But ... purists complained (they always do!) that since it was rumored to have been mastered from those 24bit/44.1kHz digital files - the Vinyl fell short of expectations.  We had hoped the release would be a last word on fidelity, and it certinaly isn't it, but it is far preferable to a worn out abused piece of used vinyl.

But for someone seeking the best something can be ...

Recently, though, the Mono box, which is publishing a perfectionist all analog chain mastering stream from the tapes to a new high quality pressing.  Given that the mono releases for most of their catalog were the ones the engineers, at the time of the recording, sweated over, if you had to pick one ... this was the one!

We got ours in within a week of it's release, and for our favorite albums, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour  this was truly a sonic breakthrough only obtainable with exotic, expensive hard-to-find special pressings.

For those that know the stereo mix by heart, you will notice some minor differences, but the sound quality is first rate, and we highly recommend them to not only Beatles fans, but even casual fans - this is the one you want!

Check it out.

Comments

  1. regnaD kciNOctober 17, 2014 at 2:45 AM

    A correction: the 2009 digital transfers were made at a full 24/192. However, Apple/the surviving Beatles/whoever have only allowed downsampled 44.1 versions to be sold. Hopefully, that will change in the future.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bromo33333October 17, 2014 at 2:07 PM

      Thanks for the correction! I'll note it above.

      Delete

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