Pink Floyd CD's

Digiverse

Active Member
Hi All, I wish to ask of you all, which Dark Side of the Moon cd should I go for ? 1992 20th anniversary ? remastered by Doug Stax, boxed, the mfsl gold ? or the 2011 remastered by James Guthrie, these are all the stand alone stereo versions, now which sacd multi should I go for ? or is there just the one ? and will the accompanying stereo layer be also a better version than the stereo stand alone's ? Thanks.
 
Well, there is ALSO a remastered surround version out on the internet, allegedly by Alan Parsons, who did the original album and this QUAD mix ...
but you REALLY have to look for it on the torrent sites ...

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Alan Parsons wrote this article "Four Sides of the Moon" about the QUAD mix -

https://stereosociety.com/20/FourSides.shtml
 
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The mofi disc sounds the most balanced to me, but the SACD is pretty easy to get a hold of and has many options. The Shine On box set is also a steal and has great mastering.
 
The 1983 Japan for US "black" CD is my favorite version of DSotM on CD. Supposedly a flat transfer made from an original 1973 dub tape (1 gen away from master). Smooth and dynamic. That being said, the nice thing about Pink Floyd is just how good every CD sounds. No dogs in the bunch. But since we are splitting hairs, here's a picture for reference:

DS1label.jpg
 
Get lost in the insanity:

http://pinkfloydarchives.com/DUSCDPF.htm#DSOTM

The nice thing about Floyd discs is that they often had the same version on multiple releases. For example, the example Ken gave can be found on the Toshiba 2nd release, etc. Just check the track peak levels to match a known "good" one. That black face goes for $$$ but I found the same thing, later release, for $2. If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, head over to Hoffman's site.

FWIW, the last batch of remasters (2014 Discovery) sound great and are dirt cheap. Sonically, to me, DSOTM isn't that much different than the black face and is much easier to find.
 
If I was only getting one it would be the 2003 SACD because it also has a surround layer. If I didn't care about surround sound I'd go for the one Ken mentioned - the '83 Japanese release.
 
A possible warning on Ken's version. I can't remember if that's the same as the Toshiba "black triangle" or not (my God, they had WAY too many versions of this album), but that Toshiba had pre-emphasis applied. If you rip via EAC or some other method, you'll need to use SoX or some other converter to de-emphasize the tracks or it will sound very harsh and trebley. My old Denon CDP has a nice "Empahsis" light that comes on for discs like these to let me know it's being handled. My Rotel and my car stereo does not and I'm not sure CDPs all had the converter/chips in them.
 
Hey Ken are these rare? looks as cool as it sounds eh?

The 1983 Japan for US "black" CD is my favorite version of DSotM on CD. Supposedly a flat transfer made from an original 1973 dub tape (1 gen away from master). Smooth and dynamic. That being said, the nice thing about Pink Floyd is just how good every CD sounds. No dogs in the bunch. But since we are splitting hairs, here's a picture for reference:

DS1label.jpg
 
If I was only getting one it would be the 2003 SACD because it also has a surround layer. If I didn't care about surround sound I'd go for the one Ken mentioned - the '83 Japanese release.

The 2003 hybrid SACD is my favorite. I'd like to find that '83 Japanese version.
 
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This is the only CD copy I own. I traded for it back in '86/'87. Obviously it's a very early U.S. Capital release and it sounds fine. I didn't know the source but decided it'd be interesting to find out. So I did some research. This appears to be a 5th or 6th issue. Capital with DIDX-226 in the matrix. It's still not clear which mastering was used. There's a claim out there that this particular matrix code was never released outside the U.S.

S.J.
 
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View attachment 961297

This is the only CD copy I own. I traded for it back in '86/'87. Obviously it's a very early U.S. Capital release and it sounds fine. I didn't know the source but decided it'd be interesting to find out. So I did some research. This appears to be a 5th or 6th issue. Capital with DIDX-226 in the matrix. It's still not clear which mastering was used. There's a claim out there that this particular matrix code was never released outside the U.S.

S.J.

I have a fairly early Capital release of Meddle that sounds very nice. DIDX-250.
image.jpeg
 
View attachment 961297

This is the only CD copy I own. I traded for it back in '86/'87. Obviously it's a very early U.S. Capital release and it sounds fine. I didn't know the source but decided it'd be interesting to find out. So I did some research. This appears to be a 5th or 6th issue. Capital with DIDX-226 in the matrix. It's still not clear which mastering was used. There's a claim out there that this particular matrix code was never released outside the U.S.

S.J.
Go up to post #5 and click on the link. Try to find your version on the list. If you have Foobar and EAC, rip it to a wav file, load it in Foobar, then apply ReplayGain. It will tell you the peak levels for each track. Compare those to the versions in the link and you can tell which version/mastering you have. Although it's a Capitol, it could always be the same master as the blackface that Ken posted above.

IMHO, other than the "cool" factor, it's not worth it (to me) to shell out big bucks for the blackface, or the Toshiba Black Triangle, when there are much cheaper and easier to find versions with the same master. YMMV.
 
Go up to post #5 and click on the link. Try to find your version on the list. If you have Foobar and EAC, rip it to a wav file, load it in Foobar, then apply ReplayGain. It will tell you the peak levels for each track. Compare those to the versions in the link and you can tell which version/mastering you have. Although it's a Capitol, it could always be the same master as the blackface that Ken posted above.

IMHO, other than the "cool" factor, it's not worth it (to me) to shell out big bucks for the blackface, or the Toshiba Black Triangle, when there are much cheaper and easier to find versions with the same master. YMMV.


Thanks. I'll check it out.

S.J.
 
From the Discovery Box Set, I think that DSOTM is fantastic.

The Animals disc is the best from that box though. It's literally eye-opening.
 
I have the 30th anniversary SACD Hybrid and it sounds like it should. I have some Steve Miller,and Jimi Hendrix remasters that sound dreadful....
R-1619236-1491324177-2472.jpeg.jpg
 
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