Pink Floyd The Wall - CD from Harvest/EMI - Could be best ever.

It is a counterfeit pressing. Very VERY low quality.

There is only one Chinese pressing of The Wall that is official. EMI China catalog number A3136. And even the official Chinese release is not up to the standard of the Japanese, West German, U.S., or U.K. pressings.

Vernon Fitch
Pink Floyd Archives

 

I got the "HDCD" version on ebay as a lark, cost me 10$ and as far as I can remember there were gaps in between the songs

the HDCD light did come on though.

now, can anyone tell me about the Argentine pressing? 1994 Doug Sax remaster

 

It sounds like the early pressings are by far the best but out of curiosity is the Doug Sax mastering (92?) really a huge step down? Or is it just that people really like the early pressings THAT much. I seem to remember reading here that his work on the rest of the PF catalog is fairly well regarded....

 

There is nothing "wrong" with the Doug Sax masters per se.

It's just that people here tend to prefer a certain sound signature, one that the masterings they seek are better able to offer them.

 

There is nothing wrong with any of the Sax remasters I have. The Wall is great bang for the buck compared to the mega-expensive MFSL, 50DP, 48DP discs.

The Sax disc does not have the famous click at the start of Comfortably Numb. Maybe that is what some people are missing with the remaster.

 

I guess what I mean is, Is it terribly compressed or have funky EQ, etc. Im happy with my Sax mastered Animals, Im just wondering if someone can point out a negative about his mastering of The Wall or if its just a matter of....whatever. Im not a big enough fan of the album to buy the black faced harvest, and the click on Comfortbaly Numb on the early Columbia copies would kick my OCD into hyperdrive....so Im just wondering of theres a reason not to buy the '97 Columbia (Sax)

 

Since it sounds like your a casual fan of the album, and you're not a anal Pink Floyd collector, just get the Columbia Sax CD set, and you'll be more than happy.

 

The Sax masterings are not bad and you could definitely do a lot worse. If you don't find the Sax masters veiled like I do then you're good to go. Another inexpensive option for you might be the USA C2K original.

I can only speak for myself, but I want every little ounce of detail and clarity I can get and is why I prefer the 50DP Japan 1st pressing. The Japan 2nd 48DP is no slouch though either and was the one that replaced my C2K pressing.

YMMV

 

What do people mean when they say "veiled"? I assume its something like it sound like theres a sheet over the speaker or something? What causes a mastering to sound like this?

 

The unremastered Harvest/EMI disc does not have the click either.

 

Modern digital NR technologies. Old "compander" NR technologies behave much better.And without NR is the best.

 

Not sure if it will help you guys or not as I don't own that particular copy, but there's a software program called audiograbber that allows you to create a single file for playback, all the way up to an entire CD. It's excellent for DJ mixes or on continuous albums like Dark Side Of The Moon or the Beatles LOVE project.

Of course, this means you no longer can jump to track 6 for example, but if you love the whole album from front to back then you don't need to worry about that.

Here's the software: http://www.audiograbber.com-us.net/

Here's the instructions to make a single file: http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10166_7-6280745-1.html

Cheers,
Dan

 

So, he's saying that Doug Sax used no-noise on the PF remasters? Why have I not heard of this elsewhere.....

 

Because he didn't.

 

You assume correctly although I'd describe it sometimes more like a thick wool blanket.

Who knows? A bad hair day at the pressing plant? The equipment used for manufacturing? Second rate discs to save a few dollars? Two degrees cooler in the plant that day? It's really unlimited.

 

Considering that there are three different pressing of this mastering (shine on box, 97 Columbia % '00 Capitol) are you suggesting that theres something wrong with the glass master? Or is your experiences derived from only one of these pressings?

 

Actually not only digital NR, other digital re-mastering technologies sometimes add additional jitter & distortions to original signal.

 

That is nonsense. There is no noise reduction on any Pink Floyd release.

 

I'm not telling about NR was used by Pink Floyd releases ,I just answered question what can create "veiled" sound.Nothing more,nothing less.

 

I have this same version and it sounds awesome. I don't have time nor money to compare to MFSL or the Japan pressing... this sounds great so I'm gonna stick with it.

 

Inexpensive is right - I got my copy off of Amazon for $7! Sounds fantastic, I thought it was much nicer than the remaster (and the remaster is pretty nice - the original just had a bit more clarity, as others have said.)

 

You can also just rip the disc as one file, then cut it with a program like CD Wav Editor, which cuts directly on sector boundaries so you don't get those fraction-of-a-second gaps that you can't get rid of in other programs. Free, too. Should be in every audio freak's arsenal of tools. I use it all the time.

 

Are you asking me?

 

Just to let you know, the third U.S. issue of The Wall CD (the Sony DADC pressing), catalog number C2K 36183, with the silver label and made in the U.S.A. is the same mastering as the Japan 50DP issue.

There are slight variations of the U.S. C2K 36183 Wall issues due to very slight mastering changes. But all sound very good.

Vernon Fitch
www.PinkFloydArchives.com home of The Pink Floyd Discographies Page

 

I am..