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Why do the new 2009 Beatles CDs sound so good?

It seems a small (maybe big) miracle what they've done with the Beatles 9/9/09 cd box. These were always piercing and grainy (since 1987), and now they are just about the best CDs I have (and this includes SACDs). If it can be done here, it seems like this could be done with other popular music discs.
It seems that the problems in digital are not in the medium itself, but the way the recordings are made.
Companies like DCC and MFSL tried to improve things, but the Beatles box seems to surpass these by far.
A lot of people are quick to criticize digital vs. vinyl, but, to my ears, the Beatles now sound better than vinyl ever did. Anyway, if anyone could shed light on how this was accomplished, I'd be curious.
rgs92

Showing 2 responses by rgs92

rgs92 OP
974 posts
 
Thanks for the comments. I've got the stereo box and it sounds as natural as anything. There is one new song version that is great--Only a Northern Song on Yellow Submarine, which the accompanying booklet says was not remixed from a "faked" stereo version, as were all previous releases. Again, i can't get over how nice these sound.
I wish they would apply the same treatment to McCartney/Wings, Lennon, and Harrison's other material.
All Things Must Pass really deserves it...
rgs92 OP
974 posts
 
I have the Yellow Sub. from a few years back and have listened to it happily several times (really love this album),
but the box-set one just is more balanced for me, with no ear-bleeding sounds. And that goes for all the albums,
especially the early ones, which bordered on unlistenable for
the high-pitched overtones [unless you were listening on Harbeths or Sennheiser 650 headphones :) ].

The latter albums were much better (Abbey Road, Let it Be, and Let it Be Naked), but still, I much prefer the rounded vocals and overall sound of the box set ones.

Is that Band on the Run a CD or a FLAC file that I need to burn or something? I'm not really up on computer audio.
(But I LOVE my Quad 9L speakers with youtube music. I spend way too much time with them.)
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