O.T.: Beatles box (stero)

[barry guerrero]

Oh my gosh, these new remasterings of the Beatles stuff sound phenomenal!!! Every true Mahler lover should get one of these. However, I'm going to half to sell off a bunch of my collection (but not Mahler) to pay for this thing. If I were a rich man, I'd get the mono box also. But even the second rate songs sound like first rate ones now. That's saying something.

Barry

[James Meckley]

Barry,

So you favor the stereo box? Everything I've read suggests the mono box is to be preferred for at least the first 2/3 of their output. Apparently they thought of the mono releases as the "official" versions and put most of their post-production efforts into getting them to sound "just right". The advice I've been given is to buy the mono box and augment it with a few of the later stereo discs (Abbey Road, Let it Be, The Beatles, etc.).

I'd be anxious to hear any advice you might have to the contrary before I take the plunge.

James

[Leo K]

I got the mono box and it is really incredible too...and like Barry said, the new stereo remasters are really stunning!  I'm getting the stereos individually since the mono box was pretty expensive.  I've got six of those stereos now.  I just can't believe how excellant the sound is.  The Abbey Road sounds better than my original UK LP, and my '70's blue box collection LP.  

If you are a Beatles fan, both stereo and mono are great to have.  At this point he mono set is very limited so if you really want now is the time...the stereos are going to be around for a long time.

For those wondering about the mono box, the transfers are excellant, and sound like my original UK mono LPs.  And the packaging (the mono boxes were made in Japan) is very beautiful, each album a perfect little minutature LP.  Opengates reproduced, flipback sleeves, with all cds in the Japanese inner plastic protective sleeves, the original LP inner sleeves reproduced (even the Sgt. Pepper psychadelic one), all the artwork in the White album (poster and four Beatles pics), all housed in the individual plastic resealable jackets. Magical Mystery Tour with inner booklet!










 

--Todd

[barry guerrero]

Some of the early stuff sounds really good in stereo. Nobody had a mono box in stock, so I just went with the stereo. Ideally, I'd like to have them both.

[Damfino]

Wow, Todd, you must have pre-ordered the mono box, because they are very scarce! For me, both boxes are too pricey. I have to say I prefer the mono mixes in many cases. I have hung onto my Japanese pressings of several mono Beatles LP albums and have already made CDs of those, so I may just stand pat with them.

[Leo K]

Wow, Todd, you must have pre-ordered the mono box, because they are very scarce! For me, both boxes are too pricey. I have to say I prefer the mono mixes in many cases. I have hung onto my Japanese pressings of several mono Beatles LP albums and have already made CDs of those, so I may just stand pat with them.

I got lucky on release day at Best Buy!  I got the second of only TWO boxes in the store.  I was very relieved.


--Todd

[sperlsco]

I purchased the stereo ones individually at Costco.  Rubber Soul and Revolver are a revelation in terms of sound improvement!  I've also listened to some of the mono remasters, but I just do not enjoy the mono sound as much.  I know that mono has its fans, but I am not one of them.   I was six when the Beatles broke up, and really got introduced to them from a) my neighbor's LP of Revolver, and subsequently b) my own LP copies of the Red and Blue albums.  The stereo systems to which I had access in those days were not near the level of what I have now -- so I feel like I am hearing much of this music anew!  As a side note -- for any of you with a DVD-A player and surround sound set-up, I would highly recommend the Beatles Love DVD-A.

I've got Beatles fever all over again.  I'm actually thinking about buying "my kids" a Wii so that we can all play the Beatles Rock Band game together.  I haven't played video games in about 30 years (and had hoped to keep my kids away from them for as long as possible), but this one really has my interest. 

[Russell]

Wow--I didn't expect to see a serious discussion of the new Beatles releases on this site, but so much the better!  The Beatles were very much part of my "formative" years of music listening, and I have to agree with the general consensus (here and elsewhere) that the new remasters do sound incredibly good.  I've only listened to Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper, and the White Album so far, and I've got most of the others (all stereo) in the queue.  I'd love to get the mono box set, but it's been largely unobtainable since the day it was released.  I've heard that EMI will be pressing more copies of the set, as they greatly underestimated the demand. (I'm actually hoping that they'll issue the mono versions singly.)

Russell

[barry guerrero]

Man, that's some awesome Beatles porn above. Anyway, I think it's interesting that Mahler buffs can immediately recognize the greatness of the Beatles (I'm generalizing - I'm sure not all Mahler fans are big Beatles fans also), while many pop/rock and urban music buffs refuse to acknowledge, much less enjoy the greatness of the fab four. Kudos to us, I say.

Barry