Here's a Japanese CBS/Sony pressing of Wish You Were Here that does NOT sound good.

There's been a lot of discussion here about the best-sounding version of Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here on CD. A few folks here, myself included, have stated a preference for the original Japanese CBS/Sony pressings with the album divided into two tracks. Specifically, the early discs that have been discussed are the original Japanese release with catalog number 35DP 4 and the original Japanese CBS/Sony pressing made for the U.S. market with catalog number CK 33453 and with "35DP-4" in the matrix code. I greatly prefer these discs over the MasterSound gold CD.

One disc that I have not seen discussed here and that I did not know even existed until recently is an early Japanese CBS/Sony pressing made for the European market. The catalog number is CDCBS 80955. Although this disc is a Japanese CBS/Sony pressing, it does not possess the same mastering as the Japanese CBS/Sony pressings with catalog numbers 35DP 4 and CK 33453. The CDCBS disc is divided into five tracks, and it sounds identical to "Now Made In The U.S.A." pressings with catalog number CK 33453.

In comparison to the Japanese pressings that are divided into two tracks, the Japanese CDCBS pressing sounds muffled. It does not possess that "breath of air". A scan of this CDCBS disc is provided below. In case it is not clear in the scan, the matrix code is "32DP-359 21A2 +++++". 32DP 359 is the catalog number for the second Japanese CBS/Sony release of Wish You Were Here, which is also divided into five tracks. I got the CDCBS disc off of eBay, and I knew when I bought it that it was divided into five tracks. The reason I bought it was simply that I am a collector and that it appeared to be an odd pressing. I only recommend that collectors buy this disc.

As I stated, I did not know that this Japanese pressing with the CDCBS catalog number existed until recently. I had always thought that the only early Japanese pressing released in Europe was the Harvest release. It seems as though the Harvest disc was the original European release, and by the time CBS/Sony got the rights to Wish You Were Here in Europe, the original Japanese mastering divided into two tracks was out of print. I'm guessing that this CDCBS disc was released in 1986 or '87.

 

Here's a scan of the back insert for the CDCBS disc.

 

One question Keith, how you determinate its the same mastered sound of the "Now Made In USA?"
I had skipped those editions, trying to find the japanese ones, but this is a good advice.

 

It should be the same. Japan got the master to use and then CBS/Columbia got them for the DADC plant. They should be exactly the same.

This issue doesn't sound all that bad at alllll

 

i need some help here.not sure which pressing i got.it says cbs ck33453 (didp5 0004).made in japan 1975 but split into 5 tracks w matrix# of 35dp-4 101a2 ++++.can anyone help with this.thanks

 

First pressing was 2 tracks. Later, they re-imaged discs as 5 cuts.

 

do you think it's the same mastering on both?

 

I'm not sure exactly what you are saying, but the Japanese pressings with catalog numbers 35DP 4 and CK 33453 and divided into two tracks do not sound the same as the CDCBS 80955 disc divided into five tracks. The CDCBS disc sounds identical to my "Now Made In The U.S.A." CK 33453 discs that are divided into five tracks. The five-track versions sound inferior to the two-track versions. To my ears, they aren't even close.

 

That's an interesting one. I had not heard of a Japanese pressing with "35DP-4" in the matrix code that was divided into five tracks. That's a new one on me.

Just to be clear, when you place your disc in a CD player, does it read five tracks? I ask because all two-track Japanese pressings with catalog number CK 33453 that I have seen actually list five tracks on the label side of the disc. It's just a CD player reads the disc as only having two tracks.

 

ok.the 1 i got in front of me has the cat#ck33453 matrix#35dp-4 5 tracks made in japan.

 

i'll give it a try+let you know.

 

ok.it reads 2 tracks 44:13 in the cd player but has 5 tracks on the cd.strange

 

I agree with both Keith and Sckott. Keith is right that thse are not the same masterings as I trust him to know. Sckott is right in that the CBS 5 track version doesn't sound that bad. It's not bad considering the majority of todays masterings, but the only way to get the breath of life is with the 2 track pressing that I've heard so far.

 

Dave,

So does that mean you are flipping back to the 2 track WYWH as your favorite version of this album? I know you started with it, but then flipped back to the Mastersound Gold after Steve said he liked that one the best. I'm interested to hear your thoughts now that you have an original 2 track version in your hands.

 

What if I told you the same PCM-1610/1630 tape and image was used to make the Japanese firsties and the Made In USA DADC Discs......Nothing went to analog after that for processing discs.

Go back and listen. Really.

 

I seem to remember, the original engineer used INDEX points for 5 tracks. This is why it shows up as 2 tracks in the total, but 5 tracks elsewhere. It was changed later on for the US market.

 

Really? Then why do they sound so different, I wonder? I have the U.S. DADC 5 track CK version as well as the 2 track CK made in Japan version with the 35DP4 in the matrix number and they sound very different to me.

 

Describe what both of them sound like.

Have you had anyone do the blindfold test on ya?

 

My thoughts are basically the same as what KeithH indicated in his first post. I have actually thrown all 3 discs in a changer (the 2 above + a Japan made Mastersound Gold version) and compared back and forth to determine which I liked best.

If anyone else who has both discs thinks the Japan made 35DP4 2 track version is the same as the original U.S. 5 track version, I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

Yes it does because it is so obvious and it's as obvious as your findings between the two.

 

I thought you might say that! Congratulations again on finding it.

 

Guys, I have compared the five-track versions to the two-track versions on my car system, and the difference is obvious. I'm talking about a standard Sony head unit and Honda factory speakers. Just today, I was driving with a colleague who is not an audiophile or even a music fan, and we compared the five-track CDCBS disc to the two-track CK 33453 disc. My colleague could readily hear the difference on my car system. No joke.

There is no comparison between the two-track and five-track versions. The funny thing is that I bought my five-track CK 33453 disc (with "Now Made In The U.S.A." on the back insert) back in 1988, and I knew then that something was wrong. Now, I only had a basic Kenwood rack system, and I had never heard the word "audiophile" at that time, and I had no other version of Wish You Were Here for comparison. Still, I knew back then that the five-track Wish You Were Here disc did not sound right. It just never pleased me.

 

Thanks. That makes sense.