just received original BACK IN BLACK CD; please view

Hi
Its 19080 Leidseplein Presse B.V printed in U.S.A

atlantic A216018

Is this a decent press? I haven't heard any others to compare.

cheers

 

Just one man's opinion, but if you like what you hear after you've played it then I guess it's a decent pressing. I only have one single CD version of this album and it sounds fine. Let your ears be the judge. Otherwise you'll go ape s**t with varying opinions and will probably be more confused in the end.

 

Yeah that one might sound good but then again there might be better out there. He may be looking for the best sounding one. With that said there is the search function.

 

If it doesn't have "RL" in the deadwax, put it back.

 

Deadwax on a CD???

 

Oops, sorry I thought he was talking about vinyl.

Carry on.

 

Could be. But for some albums "good enough" would more than suffice... at least for me.

 

The search function can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

I wanted to be specific incase anyone was familiar with this cd.

any input i appreciate
thanks

 

There is only one Atlantic original mastering which many feel is better than the original Albert CD.

I prefer the original Atlantic over the remasters by a huge margin. From the description that is the one you have. If so there will be an extremely tiny [possibly only 1] cadre of folks here that will insist that the first Japan pressing 32XD is vastly superior. Be warned that it is the same exact mastering and sounds exactly the same. I got "rooked" into purchasing it when I was inexperienced. If you value your money please heed my warning.



P.S. If you want 100% identify which mastering your disc has, run it through EAC and post the peak values. Then we can tell you which it is.

 

The only CD I heard that is slightly better than the original Atlantic is the original Albert disc (made in Japan for Australia). The discs are real close in sound however, If you have one do not search out the other unless it is a great deal.

 

I've only heard the JVC Japan-for-US, and the W. German Polygram but I was told that they were basically a flat transfer of the original Robert Ludwig mastered vinyl.

 

really?. Who said that and how do they know? The OP should really just be looking at the Barry Diament pressing (unless he's really obsessive).

Big thread here for the OP http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=112245

 

I also prefer the Japanese pressing on Albert to the Atlantic CDs (32XD, 20P2, Japan-for-U.S., West German-for-U.S., U.S. pressing). Still, the Atlantic CDs are very good, and the U.S. issue is easy to find. It's a no-brainer to pick up a used U.S. pressing in the bins for $6.

 

The original Diament masterings of Back in Black and For Those About to Rock are spectacular to me. And the louder you play em, the better they sound.

 

Rick, I actually found out that there are two different original masterings (same artwork with the large AC/DC on the front). One sounded clearly better than the other one. I sold the inferior sounding one.

There are respective peak levels posted somewhere on this forum. It was a thread where Barry Diament chimed in and he even listened to some CD's to judge whether it was his mastering.

If the orignal poster posts the peak levels of his disc, I could verify whether he has the "right" mastering.

I think the inferior mastering I once owned is more rare than the other version with the right mastering, so chances are the OP has the "right" mastering.

 

I'm really hoping one day I can hear this Albert Japan pressing.

I really like the Japan 20P2 pressing that is a bit better, more natural sounding than the 32XD and much better than the original USA, Canada and Germany pressings.

 

Agree 100%, the BIB is the one time I will say that it does not matter if you own the Atlantic or Albert, both are excellent. Not the case for the others though IMO, Alberts win out.

 

I own the 32XD, the 20P2 (second Japanese pressing) and an early German pressing. They all have the same mastering.

There could be some small differences between them when played back directly from the CD (vs. extracted wave files on the computer), but we are talking about (if any) a very small difference that maybe can be detected on a very good system with very trained ears (Barry Diament has mentioned that he can tell a small difference, and I believe him), but it is not worth it to spend a lot of extra money. If you can find the 32XD or the 20P2 cheap, then grab it, otherwise the regular US or German CD with the same mastering will be just fine.

99% of people on 98% of the stereo systems out there are most likely not able to tell a difference between different CD pressings with the same mastering.

 

I remember someone on here saying most pressing of BIB were not true to Barrys mastering? They specifically said most BIB cds sound poor due to pressing.

 

There has been a lot of confusion with BIB.

I think even Barry Diament confused his own mastering at one point.

 

How can one identify the superior Diament mastering? \

Edit: as opposed to the inferior mastering on Atlantic that looks just like the Diament

 

I'm confused by this. Are folks saying that there is more than one mastering among early Atlantic issues (different peak levels among the 32XD, 20P2, U.S. issue, European issue) or are folks saying there are audible pressing differences? I thought there was just one Diament mastering. If so, then let's not talk about superior or inferior Diament masters. That implies that he mastered the album more than once.

 

I understood there were "two original masterings." One sounds "clearly inferior." I would like to know how to identify Diament's mastering among the two early Atlantics.

 

I know this is a CD thread, but just to provide all the facts, the Marino RI LP is not bad...

 

Really? That I had never heard before. If that's true, I'd love to know what folks are talking about.

I have these Atlantic Back in Black CDs:

Japanese 32XD
Japanese 20P2
West German-for-U.S.
Japan-for-U.S.
Early U.S. SRC pressing for Columbia House (no barcode on back insert)

I have not noticed a difference among these discs, and they all sound good (natural, no harshness). If one or more were "clearly inferior", I'm sure I would have noticed it. This is why I want to make sure we aren't talking about subtle pressing differences that are being made out to be major differences.