Islander Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 If you want to hear an engineer's learning curve, check out One, the Beatles CD with their 27 number one hits. It goes from crappy mono to better mono, to crappy stereo, to better stereo. I hadn't listened to any old Beatles songs in a long time, and never on a fairly good stereo, and it was an eye-opener. Maybe the old stuff was mixed to sound good on a pocket transistor radio or a suitcase-style record player. That's certainly what my friends and I had back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 That'd be fine if they used the same engineer. They used a by-the-book EMI staffer for the "early" stuff. Geoff Emerick came in for Rubber Soul and Revolver and lasted as long as he could stand the acrimony. He was gone after Abbey Road, IIRC. Also keep in mind that stereo mixes were passed down to assistants until late in the game for the Beatles. The band, Martin and Emerick would usually not even listen to the stereo mix for quite a while. The money mix was mono. That's one reason why mono Beatles lps are so desirable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsear Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 I too note that there are reproductions that are better and worse. What I did was to develop a system with some flexibility. The speakers convey the signal and they needed to identical and excellent. Running Khorns with Alk's ES networks with modded midrange and tweeters. I went SS with Accuphase that gives me access to tone controls if I want them. I have a passive summation center mono channel with just a mid-range and tweeter that match the Khorns to use if wanted and at whatever volume I choose. I use strictly digital source but the Sony 777 also offers some filtration options for redbook CD's (not for SACD). So give me your tired run down recordings and I've got some room to move them around. The center channel is a real boon with live concerts. Yet the best playback does come from those recordings that require no massaging at all to sound spectacular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Most songs were very specifically mixed for mono in the 60's! Criticizing them now because you use a different format than which they were optimized is a bit absurd. You might try listening to them as they were designed to be played. For the most dramatic difference between a stereo album/CD, I would suggest listening to the original American Beauty (Grateful Dead) and then to the remastered DVD-A version done by Mickey Hart. A very coherent vision and goal (explained in depth in the notes) and superb execution. Almost like two different releases. HIGHLY recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 The sound you heard in college? Most of the stuff we had in college was lousy, most cranked up the bass and the treble to get the "HiFi" sound. Most of it was played loud on poor tables, scratchy SS amps, tone deaf speakers, and in concrete and cinderblock small dorm rooms competing to overcome the 85dB noise floor from everyone else doing the same thing... and out hearing was better back then. Correctly reproduced music does not sound like we heard it back in college with all the boom and twinkle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dp1954 Posted January 24, 2007 Author Share Posted January 24, 2007 I don't know where you went to college pauln, but for the day some of the systems I remember from college were pretty darned good. One friend I listened to often had a pair of ar3's and a marantz 2270.. Not to shabby.. My roomate had a pioneer ss amp with utah speakers. Dual turn table if I remember correctly. Not bad.. Others had jbl l100s with various amp configs. those weren't bad either. But the sound I really remember was a pair of cornwalls that I heard my first week of college during frat rush week. That's the sound that stuck with me.. They had some weird looking pie emblem on them and I couldn't tell what they were. Took me 20 years to figure that one out. But I'll agree that overall most of the systems were crap. Don't shoot me guys, but I also had a friend that had a mcintosh 1700 pushing Bose 501's. With the music of the day they really didn't sound all that bad... Give me hell boys... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Most songs were very specifically mixed for mono in the 60's! Criticizing them now because you use a different format than which they were optimized is a bit absurd. You might try listening to them as they were designed to be played. It's not the stereo/mono thing, the earlier Beatles recordings just sound like the studio staff barely knew what they were doing, and the improvements as you listen to song after song on the One CD are very noticeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 I've decided you can go too far and one of these days (and it won't be long) i am going there. If I survive I will report back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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