Getting To The Bottom of King Crimson On CD

For Discipline my favourite is 32VD-1087 (Black Triangle).

I'm not a great fan of Beat

Three Of A Perfect Pair was an early digital recording so the early CDs don't offer much in the way of improvements, at least to my ears. I prefer the 30th anniversary version.

You might find this thread interesting King Crimson - Discipline

 

I personally like the original WG Polydors for these 3. Ymmv though of course.

 

The early CDs for these titles are very good, either the Polydors or original E'G CDs.

 

It's not hard to find the original EG for TOAPP.

I never did find them for Discipline and Beat. They are very hard to find and identify as being different to the DEs that came later. (As we all know, the DEs aren't always marked as such! ) I've tried buying random discs 3 different times over the last 10 years or so too.

I even think I know what the EAC peak values are, still didn't help me find them. Ugh.

 

Sorry about that. I guess it's easier to find them in Europe. My local library had them.

 

On the blind listening test people overwhelmingly preferred the Original Master Edition.

King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King on CD: Blind Listening Poll

 

Is there an excellent mastering
of SABB ?
I have the pink-face (mini-lp sleeve)
not really digging the sq

 

You can try the 2011 cd/dvd Steven Wilson remix/remaster which includes a new mix in stereo and surround sound. It also includes the 30th anniversary edition and a de-clicked high resolution transfer of the original vinyl pressing.

 

Thanks

 

I have the 30th anniversary edition CD of Discipline, the version that comes in a jewel case with a clear tray, and even though it's clearly marked on the tray card AND the CD label as an HDCD encoded CD (just like the rest of the 30th anniversary remasters), when I put it in my Oppo player, the HDCD light never comes on.

As a test, I tried my HDCD CD of Emmylou Harris's Wrecking Ball and the HDCD light does indeed come on, so it's an issue with the Discipline CD.

Was there a run of CD's where they removed the HDCD flag accidentally?

FWIW, I compared it the West Germany EG/Polydor CD with the blue ring on the label (catalog number 800 099-2), and while I can hear how "open" the Polydor CD sounds, I can see why the HDCD remaster went for a darker, thicker sound. Belew's guitar on the Polydor CD can sound a bit peaky and hard on the ears, especially when he gets into some pyrotechnics like the "elephant talk" on the opening track. If you have the CD cranked up, it can be pretty grating. There are plenty of stretches on the Polydor CD where I wish they toned down the top end or the upper mids just a touch, but on the HDCD remaster, it never feels that way, everything's just right. It's also a really good transfer, incredibly smooth and clear whereas the Polydor CD can sound a touch grainy in comparison. The bass also sounds a touch fuller on the HDCD remaster due bottom frequencies in the bass cloud that seem largely absent on the Polydor CD.

 

Let's do another round of getting to the bottom of the mysteries that are KC 80ies/90ies CD masterings!

I got a new copy of court; expecting it to be a DE but something drew me in to check anyway. The EAC results do not match the values that I was able to find here.

These are the details:
-EGCD1
-E'G Marketed by Virgin
-Mastered by Nimbus EGCD 3-dots
-White sticker on the back with the number 257 936
-Strangely, the booklet is folded inside out, so the 'moonface' inner of the gatefold is the front, the lyrics are on the back side of the inlay, and the original gatefold is on the inside. There are no signs this was ever folded the other way.

These are the EAC values: 100.0 / 49.9 / 66.1 / 35.7 / 94.8.

These values match the DE for songs 1-3 per post #550 of this very thread (please see below), but songs 4-5 do not match any previous EAC numbers reported. Has anyone seen this before? And know what mastering is on this CD?

Please note: I als have an '0777 xxx CD made in Holland and that one does match the EAC numbers of the EAC for all 5 tracks.

 

Apparently the side 2 tracks were level shifted by 1 dB.

Album details - Dynamic Range DB (loudness-war.info)
Album details - Dynamic Range DB (loudness-war.info)

 

What about ITCOTCK 50th Anniversary Edition? Didn't listen this one yet just other versions.
Still prefer until now the 30th Anniversary Edition released in late 1999.

 

If you got to the original E'G issue of Earthbound then you got there.

 

The 50th anniversary remix (2019) is even better than the 40th anniversary (2009), surprisingly. The best version for sound quality.

 

Need to check this one!
Thank you for your review!

 

Was it ever decided which is the best cd/digital version of ITCOTCK original mix. My guess is it might be the 2004 remaster cd with the hi res file being on the recent box set and the earlier smaller blu-ray set.

 

I’ve got all the original mix CDs other than the DE.

All have got their own USPs and I’ve preferred each of them in turn. My current favourite is the 2004 OME but it’s by no means perfect.

 

There was a blind test and forum members ended up preferring the 2004 remaster IIRC.