Revisiting THE WHO's TOMMY - The new ABBEY ROAD HALF SPEED vs ANALOG.
Vložit
- čas přidán 12. 09. 2024
- #audiophile #vinyl #thewho
n this video, I take a listen to a couple of copies of TOMMY, and give my impressions of the new Abbey Road Half Speed Remastering and a Japanese copy from the analog era. I felt compelled to hear this after such a positive experience with Roxy Music's Avalon, also mastered to digital and cut at half speed by Miles Showell. You can watch that review at the following link:
Roxy Music Avalon and Flesh and Blood Review • ROXY MUSIC - AVALON - ...
I also had a very favorable review of the Sade This Far box set from the same source:
Sade This Far Review • SADE: THIS FAR - Have ...
Is this another winner from Abbey Road?
The links below are provided for your convenience. If you choose to use these links, you are helping support the channel in a small way, and getting some great recommended records as well!
Amazon Order Links:
The Who: Tommy (Abbey Road Half Speed Remastered LP) (2 LP Set)
amzn.to/3IRfwJC
Roxy Music: Avalon (Abbey Road Half Speed Remastered LP)
amzn.to/3yLRL0M
Roxy Music: Flesh & Blood (Abbey Road Half Speed Remastered LP)
amzn.to/3IPbrWc
Sade: This Far (Abbey Road Half Speed Remastered Box Set) (6LP)
amzn.to/3RFFVhs
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
The Pressing Matters Links
Instagram:
/ the_pressin. .
Reference System
-Basis 1400 Turntable
-Rega RB300 Tone Arm
-Hana SL MC Cartridge
-Audio Research SP9MK III Preamplifier
-Emmeline Nighthawk MM/MC Phono Preamplfier
-Odyssey Stratos Amplifier
-Magnepan MMG Loudspeaker
_Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 Loudspeaker
_Definitive Technology ProSound Subwoofer
_VPI 16.5 Vacuum Record Cleaner
@abbeyroad
~-~~-~~~-~~-~
Please watch: "RCA Living Stereo - Analogue Productions Resurrects A Legendary Label"
• Golden Age Classical R...
~-~~-~~~-~~-~
l bought an original Track copy of Tommy in 1969, i loved the music then on my little old record player but many years later played it on a decent system and was amazed how brilliant the sound quality was, stunning.
Hi!,
Oh I'm sure the UK Track just sounds right.. they were pretty rare here in the US at the time. I came around to Tommy much later, and I picked up that Japanese copy in the "80s. I'm happy with these, but I'll always want to hear an original Track someday.
I think the new half speed master sounds great. I felt the drums needed a little more kick, maybe just how the tape was. But I think it was jaw dropping how clean it was. Can really hear the performance. Amazing
I felt the same, it's unreal the clarity on this and I was riveted to the whole album, not just my favorite cuts. Perhaps the drums might have had more kick, but I think that is just how it is on the tape too. I expect some good things are to come from Abbey Road.
I have quite a few copies of Tommy in my collection including 2 1st UK pressings and a later 3rd UK pressing. I will have to pick this one up. Thanks.
I just picked a copy up of Tommy half speed remaster, but haven’t listened to all of it yet. I missed out on the Classic Records reissue in the past. My go to has like ny been an early 70s West German Polydor pressing. But, will be listening to this new pressing more before deciding how I feel about its sound.
Awesome! I think it sounds very good. I've not heard the German but it has a good reputation too. I think you'll enjoy the clarity. This is one of the better Who half speeds. Nice to get such a nice jacket too!
Please let me know what you think once you e had more time with it.
Just a tip: do not bother with the half speed of Who's Next. Disappointing.
The problem here is opinions and ears appear to differ widely. Just came across someone on Hoffman slagging off the new Avalon. However he was one of those insisting the original is always best so I recon some people's minds are kind of preprogrammed to hate reissues, especially Abbey Road half speed masters.
Of course there are many original pressing diehards that refuse to even consider anything with digital in the chain. Sure there are originals that can't be topped for many titles. I've had people damn the Avalon reissue and hadn't even heard it! The bias against digital goes way back, and wouldn't it be surprising if more than a few highly acclaimed MOFI's turn out to have a digital step! I just report what I hear with my ears on my system. I don't proclaim the new reissues to be the best. In both of these cases I express what I heard and conclude these are well done, very engaging presentations of material we are all familiar with. There are those that will prefer one or the other. There's no denying the extra clarity on the new pressings. Whether that is your cup of tea is another matter, but all is so dependent on so many variables. Thanks so much for watching and commenting. I have contributed to the Hoffman forum for many years. You can find me under the name Vinylfindco.
Modern reissues sound different to originals, not necessarily better or worse but different, which you like is your personal choice. "has to be turned up" reminds me of the loudness wars on cd's. As a caveat I would add I think what you grew up with is a heavy influence. I grew up in the 1960's and 70's with UK 1st pressings and the way they sound, to ME that is the original sound, the music and the sound you grew up with is what is personal to you. To my ears on my system MOFI's and many digital "amended" recordings sound very different and wrong to me BUT I grew up with the originals. I started collecting in the 1960's and have more than 2000 1st UK pressings and many 1st US pressings, (the terre haute santana pressings are better than the UK 1 st pressings TO MY EARS.
Here’s a reissue that I should snatch up soon. A couple decades ago I purchased the Simply Vinyl version that quickly replaced my original US press after comparison. A few years later I bought the 200g Classic Records reissue and after comparing the 2 I still preferred the SV, I remember it had a fuller bass and better clarity (over years I’ve recognized that I prefer pressings with more bass than most audiophiles… just my preference) my Classic also had some pretty bad pressing defects compared to the perfectly pressed SV. A few years pass and I sold off the Classic for an embarrassing sum, but today I kinda wish I still had it to spin especially after making a number of system improvements.
I did see Pbthal’s shoot-out for Tommy and wouldn’t you know it… I preferred the SV to the others he compared.
Thanks for the great review, you’ve convinced me to seek this out and give it a shot against one of my favorites, it’s always fun to compare what IMO is a top-tier sounding rock album. Cheers!
I think this particular title got mostly positive reviews, it has wonderful depth and clarity, a more modern sound, but not objectionable. Definitely worth checking out. It's miles better than the Who's Next half speed. I couldn't bring myself to review it because I couldn't get through a side without giving up on it.
I’ve read other positive reviews as well, so I think it’s worth a try.
As far as the other Who titles, I’m sticking with the Classic Records releases, they’re all uniformly amazing.
Yes, I don't know what I was thinking when the Classic Who was available. I think I was focused on the classical stuff! Oh well.
@@ThePressingMatters oh the vault, it is so very impressive. Thanks again for the wonderfully informative content.
Ha the Vault is a weight around my neck. Trying to make time to sort and cull to get rid of several hundred at least. Tom Jones, Sonny and Cher and Johnny Mathis are in the giveaway pile, and I'm having second thoughts about Tom Jones lol
I was on the fence with this one, since I have all the editions you’ve referenced. Also, Avalon is on the way as well. I always appreciate the detail you put into you’re reviews. Thanks as always, Scott.
Hi Jody, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. You have some very good editions so I'm not sure how it will stack up, but it seems you love Tommy and I think you'll find this great as an alternative listen.
The Mofi controversy still dominates in lp collector videos; new ones are still popping up like Whack A Mole at an arcade. I can see where a lot of these Mofi collectors are coming from. Many of them seem like they'd be willing to make wooden signs and start marching. Maybe something like "No More Hide & Seek With Digits," "Analog Not Digilog," "PhonO Not PhonY" "Transparency..Oh that word won't fit on the sign. Thankfully! Can you imagine how difficult it would be for the protesters to explain the situation to the police whey they arrive on the scene?
"Records? Digital? Let me get my note pad out and write this down. You mean to tell me they're still making records? Those flat round things they used to put on a record player? Don't brush up against me with that sign. I don't want to get a splinter. That's my shooting hand. And you say there are actors in there making these so called records? How many actors are in there? They won't say that either and you're not sure since it's a factory? I see. And they're using these digits to make records and there's not enough digits? Oh, there's too many digits and the digits are no good? You say even one digit is no good? And you say they're still making records, but they won't say how they're making them and they are charging $125 for one record? I still don't think I get it. It looks like rain and later on it's going to get really hot outside here."
Hahaha that was a good one!
@@ThePressingMatters I just added to the police officer part. That actually IS about how I think it would go.
@@sidesup8286 Let me ask your opinion, would you like to see a video from me on the subject or no. I'm thinking of doing my thoughts in my typical low key style in a short video.
@@ThePressingMatters It would be one I'd watch. But of course I have watched every one that I see that is on. I think if I'm still watching any Mofi related videos in a week it will be because I won't believe people are still raging. Its is good for getting View numbers. Some record guys videos on here who mention MoFi-gate in their heading have gotten far more views than usual. It has given a real "bump up" in numbers for many. When it dies down, I think many are going to be disappointed with the downfall of their view numbers. This is just a temporary ideal situation for ones like those, who usually get less than 1500 views. Ones that have been on for quite a while and average 7 or 8 thousand views per week, some of these have double or triple the numbers they usually get.
I am thrilled to have picked this up, I was waiting for a really good pressing and was initially skeptical of purchasing it because I feel mixed about some of the Abbey Road remasters. I was blown away by the sound quality and am excited to finally add this one to my collection!
I actually had an equipment upgrade since I published the video and I am even more impressed with this version. Glad you are enjoying it! Thanks so much for watching and commenting.
Did you have a previous copy of Tommy you were upgrading?
You guys are nuts man, the only song I would ever consider skipping would be Acid Queen, of course most you viewers are babies when it comes to Tommy .. I've been playing this since it first came out,yup, I'm 67 and thankful to go thru " my" era of music including the great Tommy album
Hi Joe, thanks for your comment. I'm afraid I'm not far behind you at 61, but Tommy did come out a bit before I was starting to collect records at about 1975 I guess, and even though it still loomed large in the Who's discography, I didn't really get into it or the Who until much later. Honestly this reissue has given me a new appreciation of the complete work and that is a great thing! Thank you for watching and giving us your perspective.
Great video once again. The high frequencies are something that are especially enhanced with half speed mastering since high frequencies represent the tiniest squiggles in the record groove. When you think of really loud concerts, The Who is probably the first vintage rock group that comes to mind. There's even an expression "Loud as a Who concert." Actually the group KISS was probably the loudest, having been measured at 136 decibels, about 13 decibels louder than The Who. A lot of people's favorite group is The Who, even though they might have only put out about 4 or 5 titles that were really great records. I think Who Are You is a real underrated one. When the old company Nautilus cut half speed master lps, if you compared the regular original with their half speed version, there was always noticeably less bass on the Super Disc. Cutting down the bass enabled them to make the grooves wider. Their release The Captain & Me by The Doobie Brothers might have a higher quantity of musisically interesting detail than any rock album I know of. Listen to it through headphones. Extraordinary. A real chestnut. Of course widening the groove is still popular today with the multiple LP 45 RPM releases. They are not 2 & 3 record sets just because of the faster speed. 45 rpm is only around 30 some % faster than 33 and a third. It gives them a chance to widen the groove. In some cases a single LP is stretched out to 3 pieces of vinyl. Not too bad if your turntable is at arms reach; otherwise each listening session can be a bit of a workout. Mofi released Tommy as a Gold cd, back when things were more analog.
Thank you. I have just got home from updating my preamp with some high end Vishay resistors and a better set of tubes. I've only played Avalon half speed so far and all I can say is wow! Setting loading in this way (having to solder in a resistor value is a Royal pain in the a**) really does seem to benefit the sound by keeping the signal from going through extra circuitry whether that be an external phono stage or an extra set of cables. I'm going to be re listening to Tommy now. I'll let you know what I find.
Agree about Who are You. New Song, 905, Sister Disco, Music Must Change, Guitar and Pen, Love is Coming Down on Me…. So many underrated tunes
@@SoundlabStudios63 Yes, Who Are You has some very good writing. Disco music was cutting into rock lp sales, and I think Disco was alive and well still, as Roger Daltry sang Goodbye Sister Disco. The Quadrophenia album has two different mixes, and covers. The soundtrack mix is very different than the dark cover mix. You'd get some disagreement on which is the better album, that or Tommy. Other than those albums and of course Who's Next, I only like the other Who albums I've heard in places. Like The Grateful Dead whose only 3 classic albums are American Beauty, Workingman's Dead, and Out Of The Dark, The Who developed quite a following with not that many great albums. Of course I could be overlooking some that I'm not aware of. Nice to know about the Abbey Road label. I'd like to see someone do a good half speed mastering of Decade by The Allman Brothers. It's a very generous 1 CD compilation of their greatest hits. The blue label CD sounds artificial. There is a newer cd with a different color top, which sounds like it's re-mastered, that sounds noticeably better.
Give a listen to The Who sell out. Their most underrated in my opinion
Original album only, not with bonus tracks
I do love this album and missed the classic records version back in day but might get this one as it's had good reviews .
Tony, here's an update! I just replaced my tubes in the preamp and now am using the internal phono with Vishay Z Foil resistors setting it right at 390ohm, perfect for the Hana. It's even better than I described!
@@ThePressingMatters that sounds like the perfect result for you . The Hana cartridges have a good reputation for sound for the money 😁.
You are so right about Tommy’s ebs and flow! I cherry pick with that album it never put it on from front to back! I will probably pick the Abbey Road version now after your review! Appreciate you Scott!
I appreciate your comment, thank you. I think even if like me, you don't always play Tommy in its entirety, and consider yourself a minor fan of the album, the greatness of much of the material can't be denied. With the vivid presentation here, you might find yourself glued to your listening chair for its entirety. That's gotta mean something! Is it the end all be all pressing? That's entirely subjective, but I'm certainly glad to have a copy I can enjoy straight through. I can't imagine a Who fan who wouldn't want to hear it. Thanks for watching!
And meanwhile the world is waiting with baited breath for an utterance from MOFI or Mike from the In Groove! I wonder if we'll find out that the highly vaunted One Step series has actually had digital steps in its creation. People gonna lose their minds if true. I personally have no problem is a record has a digital source if it sounds good. Just not at $125!!
There is a numbered book in the 1st UK press which eats this release for breakfast, yes I have both this reissue sounds "brittle" and the treble is overly edgy. Musically and sonically IMHO I feel Who's Next is the best outing, but it's a mood thing.
Part of that Japanese pressing’s haze could also be because most foreign records are cut from copies of the master tape, not the tape itself. So it’s already a generation removed. But then again that’s how a ton of records were cut back in the day.
Hi Craig, Yes if course I realize it most probably is a copy tape, and I want to clarify that the record does sound very good. Perhaps haze was not the best word, just that compared to the new one there is a noticeable difference in detail and a rounding off of the treble, that while pleasant, had me straining to hear what was clear on the half speed. Time will tell which I will ultimately prefer, but for now the new one has my full attention!
People seem to trust your sonic opinion, and yourself as a reviewer, and those are the important things. I'm all ears when you review something, and that Hana cartridge is a great evaluative help to you I'm sure.
Well, thank you, and so far, everyone who followed my recommendations and bought the albums have agreed. I'm sure it won't always please everyone but I do try to relay my experience clearly and without assumptions. I've loved several digital records and gave thumbs down to others that I really wanted to like. Same with MOFI, and the other audiophile labels - I didn't care for the One Step of What's Going On but praise many others. I buy all my records so I'm not beholden to anyone or need to make sure I don't offend a company. I think just being myself and clearly stating where my system is at helps people when evaluating my opinions.
By the way I wanted to thank you for so many great comments over the last few months. You always are so generous with you knowledge, and it makes the comments section a great resource to exchange thoughts on whatever topic. I always light up when I see you've contributed, so thank you. I really do appreciate your presence here.
Excellent!!! 'Tommy", Track Records OR Classic Records.... Thanks!
Well unfortunately I won't be discussing either edition, but will comment on the new Abbey Road Half Speed and how I found it differed from an older Japanese copy I've had for decades. I hope you'll take a look even though your favorites are not included. I do wish I had the Classic!
Great Video ! The Who Tommy also sounds much better on the Remastered CD than the previous CD. Tommy is one of of those albums that is better on CD as you are not turning things over. The Abbey Road Half Speed Master are fun because you do not get the volume right staight away as your video rightly informed the You Tube viewer !
Thank you, David. Your right, Opera is better on CD, even a Rock Opera! The absence of breaks is important.
Have you ever had a chance to listen to the Half Speed master re-issue of Blind Faith? It was also remastered at Abbey Road.
Hi Filipe, no I've only heard that one, is it considered one of the better ones or no?
@@ThePressingMatters I still haven't listened to it or read anything about it, yet. I was willing to buy it, but it vanished. The most common re-releases I see for sale are the Music on Vinyl and Back to Black editions, which I believe there's nothing special about them, IMHO.
@@fbt25 I really need a copy of Blind Faith in my collection, so I will do some sleuthing and figure out the best original and the best reissue. I'll report back!
@@ThePressingMatters This is a record that's truly worth having.
You didn’t talk about the best track on the album, Go to the Mirror, Boy!
Hi, thanks for your comment! I have to listen to that one specifically! Have you heard this new version yet?
No. I’ve only heard the Decca pressing
Just cancelled my Thriller MFSL and Still Bill MFSL. Three arrogant jerks run that company. The one step's are being discounted below purchased price on the secondarily market. MFSL will be forced to cancel most of their upcoming one steps.
Yes, it's appalling and I will be cancelling my preorders for all one steps. It's more on principle than sound. I'd prefer if I choose to get a digital record to know in advance and be charged accordingly. Exactly what Abbey Road is providing with transparency. Not saying they all sound great or beat analogue copies but we know what they are.
@@ThePressingMatters Yes but also MFSl's attitude towards Mike. Just bugs me.
@@taralewis9916 Yeah the whole thing was painful to watch. Mike did good though. He got the answer in the first 5 minutes. They all looked uncomfortable they had to appear and answer. The marketing team was absent!
@@ThePressingMatters I did purchase the stable singers which is advertised as original analog tape which should be here shortly. I am considering from Run out The Grove, Super Fly
Well said Scott about the MOFI situation. Let the blowhards blow,they’re desperate for content.
Yeah I didn't feel jumping on it just for the sensational aspect. It is not my style. I'll give a sober follow up now that the video is out from Mike. Haven't seen it yet but I've heard.
The truth has been told today..... Sad News
Yes, at least we know what we're getting with Abbey Road.
Compared to US Decca, this 1/2 speed reissue has no life, it’s boring and rolled-off. 1/2 speed is 1/2 as good.
That's interesting, in my comparison admittedly not with the US Decca, I thought it had a lot of depth and clarity. Not sure if that translated to life, but I would never call it boring. It's funny how perceptions can differ.
And systems. But in general, all the Abbey Road Reissues are disappointing…in my opinion
@@user-wz3hn4mm7eI will say their Who's Next was pretty bad.