All relative I guess. The studio box set released a few years ago and made in Germany by Pallas is good. There is another version done later in Czechlosvakia by GZ which is atrociously packaged and dirty - needs thorough clean before even first use and has more surface noise - best avoided - unscrupulous sellers will try to pass off the GZ as Pallas by using one of the original photos.
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Heard a test pressing of the MFSL 45rpm Love Over Gold album at this years Axpona show. Had them play Telegraph Road; sounded excellent to me, albeit with noticeable tape hiss. I have the disc on pre-order, can’t wait to get it. I am sure the soon to be released MFSL 45rpm Dire Straits debut album will also be excellent. Again, have this on pre-order and anxiously await its arrival. |
I would guess the 45 MFSL would be the “best” from an audio perspective judging by how good a job they did with Brothers in Arms (I’m eagerly awaiting them finally releasing “Love Over Gold”).
However the original UKs are readily available and sound great as well as providing a point of reference so you should always own this version if you can - of course it’ll be a crap shoot to find a good condition copy ... |
Brothers in arms is brick walled by the original Digital technology of that day (when it was recorded).
If they had made analog safeties at the time, they could probably sell you a premium copy by now, that would easily outshine any prior pressings.
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I listened to my Simply Vinyl/DS "S/T" the other week and was impressed.
I own several pressings, just saying that this may be an exercise in pursuit of nothing more than bragging rights?
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Brothers in Arms sounded best on the original CD IMHO. Everything since was not as good. The CD has an early digital sound but overall pretty impressive - very dynamic like Supertramp Crime of the Century - really breathes.
To this day, Chuck now runs tape on everything and usually analog is what gets selected in mastering for most tracks.
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@slaw can you explain what vinyl/ds “s/t” means?
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@marktomaras that would be Dire Straits self titled ie their first album |
@folkfreak thanks!
So after some digging around online, and some philosophizing into the nature of record pressings, I decided to use this particular record, Dire Straits self titled debut, To do a real world sound quality experiment for my own beneficial amusement and education.
I’m going to get my hands on a near mint copy Of the original UK pressing, the original Japanese pressing,and the soon to be released mobile fidelity 45 RPM re-issue to compare the sound firsthand, side by side. I’ve just invested in a top of the line record cleaning machine, so naturally they will all go through the wash first so they will play with a fair and equal cleanliness.
it will probably take some time to get the records, especially as the MoFi is not shipping yet, but stay tuned for a report from me!
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@marktomaras - you will have fun doing this comparison. I've found that such comparisons often, not always, reveal different strengths and weaknesses in pressing/mastering with no clear winner. Probably not a bad idea to have an SPL meter to check loudness differences among the different copies when you are listening. |
Dire Straits first album is a little dark sounding no matter what pressing or mastering you end up with. It’s close to neutral but quite obviously a bit dark.
So one can use it to evaluate, but one should probably never tune a system to it or via it.
I must have 9 copies, as there is always a a time in each given well known album’s sales or use, that it ends up for sale used, and you see it often. At a buck a piece and near mint, generally, it was always a tough purchase to turn down. Locally, the first ’simply red’ album was the same, and sold well and thus many of those, as well as Fleetwood Mac Rumours. Must have 7 or 8 of each of those.... |
I actually like the originals quite a bit |
Another +vote for the original CD of 'Brothers in Arms'
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I like the original as well. I think it's very well done, as is the case with all Dire Straits. Great music, well recorded. What could be better? |
I cannot comment on any pressings other than original US vs the MoFi Gain 2 45s. I had really nice copies of all the original pressings so resisted getting Brothers in Arms for a few years. When they recently released the 5 albums on Gain 2 45rpm I thought I should try. I mean you get 10% off and free shipping, it really isn't that bad. I started with Brothers in Arms, Communique and Making Movies as those were in stock. The debut and Love Over Gold were awaiting repress. I was immediately blown away!! The dynamics of these Gain 2 albums is just phenomenal. They are nearly as quiet as the UD1S albums and just sound so lifelike. I immediately ordered the 2 awaiting repress and somehow they had a copy of each and I got them 2 days later. Now I have the full set of 5 and it was worth ever penny.
I did have a very unusual finding with Love Over Gold. Track 1 had very loud whooshing static for 32 seconds and then a loud pop and all was quiet. I played several other records, cleaned the stylus and record but every time on this track....the same 32 seconds. Then on the final track the Gain 2 album sounded muted. The dynamics were notably less than the original pressing just for track 5. Seems that there is a physical defect in my track 1 and possibly a transfer defect in track 5. They are great so will be sending me another copy once available and hopefully my copy was just an outlier on both issues. |
I have the Pallas box set as well as all the CDs. The Pallas set is certainly premium vinyl. The only problem I have with it is that the cover box was not put together to well (delaminating) and I have had to make repairs. |
I have the mofi 45 RPM Telegraph road and on every street they are really dynamic in sound quality. |
If you have a great DAC you can’t beat the original surround release of Brothers In Arms. Beats all the other SHMs (Love OG, Making Movies, etc) which to be are a bit bright and edgy in comparison.
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If you have a great DAC you can’t beat the original surround release of Brothers In Arms. Beats all the other SHMs (Love OG, Making Movies, etc) which to be are a bit bright and edgy in comparison.
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