Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems The Beatles

My take on the mono vs stereo thing is up to the white album I prefer the mono but Ive really only had the stereo on CD before. (I do have the mono British LPs somewhere). I went and bought both sets but the mono is coming in the mail and the stereo is playing on my office computer right now- it sounds good but thats via little dinky speakers.

Why would anyone buy both? Well thats just good marketing by the record company.

I saw a show where the hosts asked people on the street if The Beatles were selling out with this and the video game.

My 2 cents for what its worth: I think they are not really selling out. I think selling out means more than a minor sacrifice of artistic vision for commercial success. They are just giving us what we want. The place I think there is a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth is that they have the two box sets- why not just make it one set featuring both mono and stereo and charge just a few dollars more on it and be done with it. Then we could compare and have a definitive set. As it is, I will say this Abbey Road (my favorite Beatles album) sounds nice

Very sad that members only know the Red and Blue Albums....
There is confusion it seems between noise reduction and limiting
Only 5 mins of NR guys
The Beeb has been thro a Beatle Fest
George Martin on R4 Record Producers dissected the Abbey Rd multi tracks
and BBC2 showed Beatles in America and Beatles in the Kremlin
All fascinating
Those remasters have taken 6 yrs...

Roger, Im worried about how the record companies don't hold to the CD Red Book standard (indeed these discs do not say "Compact Disc" on them, and that the companies like to do a lot of sonic compression.

You know, I understand your point on the red and blue albums, but the Beatles were really about the music first and those albums are so full of hits that I could see someone thinking- what else is there?

They were so good.

I really love the early Beatles albums and I'm looking forward to hearing A Hard Day's Night in all it's restored glory. Wonderfully simple songs with striking harmonies and brilliantly produced.

Just out of curiosity, how does Trifield (for example) handle a mono source? Does most of the sound get steered to the center cannle, or is there at least some semblance of a broader soundstage. Not sure I've ever played a mono source on my kit before.

As there is no difference signal between L+R, Trifield will produce mono from the centre speaker.

Does anyone use party mode for mono?

I was lucky enough to secure my mono box set yesterday at Borders. They had one copy and I was paying for it as the clerk took a call from another Borders store asking if they could hold it for another customer. I haven't cracked the seal yet.

I bought the stereo box set as well and played a few tracks of Abbey Road on the F80 in my office and quickly compared it to the 1987 CD. Two words came to mind: Huge and Clean. The 1987 CD was coming from the F80 and 2009 CD surrounded the F80 and was crystal clear. I can't wait to do more listening.

The "rationale" for owning both sets has sort of been answered. The Beatles actually produced both mixes but in many cases, they didn't use the same tracks for both mixes. The differences are listed in the materials in the mono box set.

OT: I also played Day Tripper on Rock Band. It was the first Beatles song I learned on guitar when I was a kid. I'm done now. My guitar plays better.

Love DVDA came yesterday, it's wonderful.

I just ordered Stereo Boxed Set from Amazon. $180.00

I had the chance to listen to the newly released box set, but only had time to listen to Sgt Peppers that I compared with the original CD edition. The remastering is wonderful, the dynamic is incredible, very very nice sound quality, but the old edition wasn't that bad at all. I could spot difference in the low registers, especially Ringo bass drums and Paul bass lines. They were more profound with better definition. IMHO, the Paul bass treatment was the most noticeable because in comparaison the old version was muddy and you can't really distinguish the genuine sound of his bass plus amp combo. On the remaster the sound is really clear, with much more nuance on the bass. Also John's voice is really better, more clear and dynamic. Overall I'm really tempted to buy the box set now!
Also bought the beatles rock band game and it is so much fun! Any hikers with a xbox should buy it, you cannot be disapointed trust me! They made a lot of 3d animation, it includes rare movies cleaned up when you won the songs etc...
VK, imho you could not keep those box set untouched in a safe for collection value because the booklet will call you to be read over and over again!

Anyone know if Costco will carry the box set?

Thanks in advance.

Tim

The guitar riff from Day Tripper is one of my all time favorites to this day. One recording I had as a kid and have misplaces is the "Live At The Hollywood Bowl"- I wish they would remaster that. The version of Day Tripper on that is a drop faster and I love it.

Im curious to see which sound modes work best for the mono recordings- I suspect with my setup it will be- ironically- stereo!

I listened to Abbey Road on the Meridian setup today. Short version: believe the hype. WOW. Finally it sounds like I've imagined it should sound. I also listened to Revolver at my computer tonight. The first thing that strikes me is the bass. Its just very clean (this statement recalls Paul talking about his little ol dad in A Hard Days Night ). I think the original CDs were really very muddled in this department. The next thing that strikes me is the clarity- the basic songs are the same of course, and we all know them, but now there is a life and a sparkle to the details. I also fired up A Hard Days NIght and you know what- I dont mind the stereo mixes at all. The sound has a real energy and clarity to it. The people who worked on these remasters (Im sure George and Giles Martin) should be commended- they did a fantastic, wonderful, job that aside from commercial considerations, had to have been a labor of love. It shows.