Review by sgb December 11, 2005 (11 of 11 found this review helpful)
|
Performance: Sonics: |
I was curious about how this recording would sound, but was reluctant to buy it since I already owned a copy of the previous Sony SACD. That release was superior sounding to the much earlier MFSL CD released a decade or more ago in several ways. I thought to myself that it would be impossible to improve upon the Sony since it was one of the better DSD transfers among their various pop recordings available. I thought incorrectly. This new MoFi reissue of BS&T is significantly better sounding than the earlier Sony, and in significant ways.
It is more transparent. The voices and brass instruments convey a better sense of texture and air. By comparison the Sony sample sounds slightly constricted in the higher frequencies -- especially the brass, which can sound slightly dry and strident. I suspect few listeners would detect this dryness without the context of this competing version; they say ignorance is bliss. On its own the Sony can sound very transparent, but if this is one of your favorite albums and your equipment is up to the challenge, the MoFi will prove to be money well spent.
Imaging is markedly better. This is especially true in terms of depth and specificity, adding a heightened sense of the palpable that, again, wouldn't be detected without a direct comparison. There's a solidity to images within the sound stage that blurrs slightly on the Sony release. Width and height are also improved on the MoFi.
Dynamics -- especially micro-dynamics -- provide a greater sense of aliveness on the MFSL. The harmonics of drums and cymbals bask in a degree of thereness here that's immediately recognized as reticent when one switches back to the Sony. This reticence is most noticeable in several instances within "Sometimes In Winter" where the vocalist can be heard taking a breath on the MoFi, but not on the Sony. Meanwhile, the sound of the drumsticks rapidly tapping the cymbals sounds more convincingly real.
In all, this is a very positive example for having SACD enthusiasts encourage Mobile Fidelity to step up its DSD reissue program. I, for one, would very much enjoy seeing them venture into other Columbia artists -- Simon & Garfunkel, for one. I cannot provide any plausible explanation for why this album would sound significantly better here except to say that perhaps the master tape had been biased more precisely before it was sent through the digital workstation. There is no evidence of tricks with equalization. While I found the sonics on Mobile Fidelity's release of BS&T 3 to be just as excellent, I had nothing with which to compare it.
|
Was this review helpful to you?
yes |
no
|
|