Two different early CD masterings of Fleetwood Mac - Mirage

Hi.
In my humble opinion, the Sanyo discs have slightly better bass and sound stage (and, of course, the full length of each song from the tape source). But the difference is very small, and I would be happy with a later WG target disc as well.

As for any pressing after the 80's, I have not heard any of them and I cannot provide any information. From my experience with other "Record Service" or "Alsdorf" German pressings, however, I would guess that any later German pressings with "7599-23607-2" in the matrix would be sourced from the same mastering as the second WG target discs (Versions 3 and 4).

As for the basis for my information, I have been a collector for quite a while and I am lucky in that I get to see at least 1,000 used CD's each week (sometimes as many as 5,000 or so). I also purchased many of these CD's when they were first available in the 80's. I have an obsession (like many people here at The Forums) to find the best sounding CD (meaning a CD that sounds as close to the original vinyl mastering, or on rare occasions, even better than the original vinyl mastering) of 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's albums that I like. After having seen millions of used CD's manufactured in the 80's, I started noticing certain patterns that provide a clue as to which manufacturer pressed which CD and when. As for Sanyo Japan (at least up to '87) and Sanyo U.S.A. (from '87 to at least '88, maybe '89, I can't remember now), the discs have a "date code" (well, at least the year of manufacturing) in the matrix. For example, "[catalog number] 5#####" means 1985 ("#" stands for a number). Another example may be "[catalog number] S7#####", which means 1987 (in general, one would ignore the first letter, if there is one).

In addition, when Sanyo Japan had the honor of doing the very first CD mastering of a given album, they would sometimes also include "WNR" preceding the catalog number in the matrix. An example of this is Fleetwood Mac Mirage CD, which, on the original '83 CD has "WNR" in the matrix. Other examples are Fleetwood Mac Rumours CD from 1983 (which is a "pre-target" disc) and The Doors self-titled debut album CD from 1983 (which is a target disc). Most of the other "target" CD's, on the other hand, was first manufactured by WG Polygram (with some exceptions).

By the way, some of these collectible CD's can be very expensive (even if one is able to find a copy), and I am not sure whether it is good value to spend, say, anther $40 on a "slightly better sounding" disc, when one already has an excellent sounding disc. But I guess there are people who are as obsessed as I am.

 

^ Thanks for sharing the info with us. I, myself, find it interesting to know a bit more about the history of a mastering rather than just knowing it's 'the best' sounding. Although, ultimately, the best sounding mastering is all that matters to folks who wanna listen to it.

Well, that not-so-old German pressing we have sounded pretty good to be honest. It's not really something you'd listen to and say "hmm....needs tweaking", it's not something that shouts out to you to look for something better.
That said, I would like to one day hear and shoot out with the original Japan mastering, but not for $40
I am happy to move on and live happy with what I hear and what great folks, like yourself, in this forum have said regarding the difference in SQ. Sure, it's one that'll be in the mind in case I stumble across it cheap, and think 'why not', but I don't nee to knock myself out over it.

nothing wrong with a healthy obsession though

Cheers