The Beatles in Mono Vinyl Box Set Review

Paul Rigby reviews The Beatles In Mono vinyl box ready, provides an extensive comparison test bench with other pressings and various mono cartridges of different upkeep types and looks back at archetype Beatles boxed sets from the past

Arriving in a sturdy flip-top box, the express-edition 14LP box set includes the grouping's first 9 UK albums, upwardly to The Beatles (The White Album), the American-compiled Magical Mystery Tour and Mono Masters, a collection of not-album singles and tracks, all pressed on 180gm virgin vinyl featuring replicated artwork and packaging plus an LP-sized, 108-page hardbound book. Each mono LP is also available to buy, individually.

This is not a feature on how the records were produced but devotes itself to sonic comparisions, to form a sort of Buyers Guide, if you like. What I must add, though, is that, to produce the mono editions, mastering engineers at Abbey Route actually utilised the original primary tapes for this projection: not a set of digital transfers. They really handled the crown jewels for this project. I wouldn't be surprised if, due to the tapes' growing fragility, that will be the last time they volition be used in such a way.

Before we go any further, the footing for all of the post-obit Sound Tests was a suite of mono cartridges. I was, after all, virtually to play mono pressings. Sounds obvious but please let me to emphasise the indicate: do non play mono pressings with a stereo cartridge and don't think that pressing a mono push on your phono amp will do the task, information technology will not. Not because of possible harm or anything like that but because the audio will be no where well-nigh the potential of what the mono disc can produce. There is no betoken in paying out and wasting skillful coin on a mono pressing by playing it with a stereo cartridge as you will only be hearing half of the disc'due south capabilities. The differences are that obvious. Would y'all swallow soup with chopsticks? Well then.

RERERENCE HI-FI SYSTEM 1: SOUND TEST

I began the audio test by utilising Reference Howdy-Fi ane (see below for details). This could exist termed as the budget approach for mono playback and used an Ortofon 2M Mono cartridge priced at around £240.

I wanted this test to be as thorough as possible. Hence, earlier I went head-to-caput with other vinyl mono pressings, I wanted to estimate the personality of these new discs past bringing in other releases of different formats and types. To meet where these mono reissues fit in the overall Beatles canon, as it where. This meant looking at stereo on vinyl plus stereo and mono on CD. Here, I wouldn't be testing the analogue mono element yet of course and I wouldn't be enjoying a level playing field, sure, merely I could still take a measure of the basic mastering and EQ, in relative terms.

On that basis, I selected the championship track to A Hard 24-hour interval's Night from the Mono set and compared it with The Beatles In Stereo, 2012 vinyl edition. A tough test because the anthology, even in its original class, has e'er been idea of as 'lively', in hi-fi terms. The Stereo LP was able to offer lots of interesting EQ information that revealed the core of the mastering.

Playing the Stereo LP was revealing because I was immediately faced with a measure of midrange elevator. Experiencing that initial, iconic, dramatic chord from the guitar of George Harrison was comparatively harsh enough to induce wincing at high volumes. By the time I recovered from the slight shock, the song was already 10 seconds old.

The relative harshness of the Stereo pressing was noticeably gone when playing the Mono version. That same Harrison guitar chord now teased the ear and beckoned me further into the mix that the Mono exposed equally being noticeably 'produced', defective the clarity and sweetness treble of before albums. That is, this Mono pressing revealed the extra amount of studio manipulation that the original recordings had received. Such was its revealing nature. As the track progressed, the Mono edition connected to display the truthful nature of the music on the original master tape, baring all in quite dramatic fashion.

For similar EQ reasons, I so compared the Mono vinyl edition with the Beatles In Mono CD version. Abbey Road might have had a 'hands off' policy for the Mono CD edition, in terms of compression, just at that place was still a singled-out digital tension that ran throughout with an unfortunate upper mid hardening. Shockingly, the new Mono vinyl editions utilize vinyl of such high quality that the silences were quite startling in their inky blackness. Wasn't the latter supposed to exist CD'south unique flim-flam?

Moving to the U.S. Albums CD version of the song, the all-time bachelor in any digital format, while the top end was definitely airy and spacious with actress solidity in the bass, the Mono vinyl opened up the soundstage tremendously, in comparison. The Mono vinyl also emphasised that homo beings made this song because it added emphasis behind the strings of Harrison's guitar, for example.

Finally, I returned to the counterpart source and an original 1964, mono version of the album. The title runway on the original pressing was a trivial lively in the midband, shining a torch on both Lennon'south vocal and Harrison'southward atomic number 82 guitar that obliterated some detail. The reissued Mono edition toned downward the midrange and encouraged smoothen tones from the Lennon vocal, revealing greater emotion, along with a layered Harrison performance of greater complication. Welcome additional benefits were a slightly more than rounded McCartney bass guitar and lower bass from the Starr drum kit.

Moving to the original mono release of Sgt. Pepper from 1967 and an oft-ignored rails, George Harrison's Within Y'all Without You, resplendent with variable percussion and string effects. How did the reissued Mono edition audio, in comparison? Have yous always seen a cat's ears monitor the sounds around it? During the first few seconds of the track, I was moving my head and ears in various directions. My attention sped from ane aural warning to the next. Not bad for a mono soundstage. So much information was available and such was the new establish complexity heard within the gamut of percussive and cord combinations. The original release failed to match the sheer smoothness of the midrange on the new Mono edition, coupled with a high degree of detail and the relaxed, capacious nature of the Harrison vocal from the latter.

While the rendition of A Twenty-four hours In The Life, on the original mono mix was highly creditable, the reissued Mono release presented the initial Lennon song every bit positively vulnerable while Ringo Starr's treble-infused cymbals were fuller deject forms of treble. This is a particularly busy track. The Mono release volition reward you with a host of new, subtle, tiny details (the alarm clock effect, for example) and extra finesse on the larger noises (i.eastward. the concluding, building, crescendo).

Where this reissued box gear up actually wins, though, is when you play the early albums. Playing the track Please Delight Me, for example, was an accented revelation.

Despite the technical drawbacks of the initial LP recording, on I Saw Her Continuing There, the lack of whatsoever subsequent production and annihilation else that would normally get betwixt the band and your ears, provided an absolute feast of detail. The immediacy of the music was quite startling. Vocals were right there, up shut, well-nigh animate down your ear while guitars and drums were awash with a detailed clarity and sheer freshness that plastered a big grin on my face.

Anna (Become To Him) benefited from a 3D spacious result that belied the mono signal. It was also wonderful to hear ambient details such equally the hum of the guitar amp, after the singing had finished and simply before the track ended to enter the inky black silence of the virgin vinyl. While the song, Boys, was and then make clean in its presentation, information technology just flowed through the speakers. This album is a truly remarkable recording in terms of immediacy and energy.

REFERENCE HI-FI SYSTEM ane: CONCLUSION

Listening to The Beatles In Mono has inverse how I at present retrieve of The Beatles. As entities in themselves, I accept a new appreciation of the early releases. The lack of production, the lack of studio trickery, the lack of 'bouncing down' from track to track and the lower risk of tape azimuth inaccuracies, all means that the early albums are more than direct. The group is there, in the room with yous. The alloy of voices, the structure of the musical accompaniment and the arrangement is also and so fine and, oddly, so natural, that hearing this music is akin to fine dining. That is, each element of the runway is a taste in itself. You find yourself being delighted. Delighted at the treble in a guitar solo, delighted at the dash of a vocal harmony, delighted at the free energy within bankroll percussion and more. As for the afterward albums? Beatles fans will be thrilled. Yep there are, I doubtable, possible historical azimuth issues that have reduced some essential treble within the original master tapes and, because of the track billowy, there is an essential veil that screams "This track has been 'produced'!" merely, when it comes down to it, this music has never been so approachable. Gone is the harsh pinch of the Stereo releases, for example, simply too yous tin hear the mechanics of the track there in front of yous and the pluses and negatives of the restricted technologies that The Beatles had to use alongside the limitations of the processes. It's wholly fascinating.

REFERENCE Howdy-FI SYSTEM 1

Icon Audio PS3 Phono Amplifier

Quad II-eighty ability Amplifiers

Tannoy Kensington Gold Reference Loudspeakers

Technics SL-1210Mk.two (modified) Turntable

SME 309 Arm

Ortofon 2M Mono SE Cartridge

Cyrus CD t transport

Music First Passive Pre-Amp

Audiolab K-DAC DAC

REFERENCE Organization ii

For those who take a larger budget and are not restricted in terms of hardware selection, the story is not quite as straightforward.

The reason? Considering the nature of the 2 all-time Beatles mono vinyl sources currently bachelor (this Mono suite of releases versus the original pressings) offers greater complications than you might call back and, thus, requires more attention to detail. You lot can only really attend these details with a larger budget, however.

The issue relates to groove size. The subject is large and I don't want to requite you the full chapter and poetry right hither but the essence is this. When vinyl records first appeared, in mono, they were pressed with a big groove size spanning 1mil. This is how records were sold right up to the mid-60s (with many exceptions, the cut-off line is confusing and not clear). From that point, stereo became popular and the primary vinyl format. Stereo is cutting with a smaller, 0.7mil groove. The pressing plants of that fourth dimension didn't desire to totally exclude the possibility of cutting mono records ever once again, though, at that place was still also much mono record business out in that location to ignore the mono format. Hence, stereo cutting lathes of the time tended to have a plug-in mono cutter pick, when required. Not bad. Problem was, though, that you're no longer using a 1mil lathe whatever more than, you're using a 0.7mil groove sized stereo lathe. Hence, 'new' mono pressings had to adopt a smaller, 0.7mil groove size. That is what the new Beatles in Monopressings feature, 0.7mil grooves (every bit do all modern mono reissues, incidentally). The original pressings all use 1mil groove sizes.

As you might imagine, if you lot are playing a new Beatles in Mono vinyl tape with a 0.7mil stylus then that stylus will fit the groove exactly. You will hear all of the information available. Wonderful. Problem is, if you lot then swop discs and compare information technology with an original pressing (with a larger, 1mil groove remember) then the smaller 0.7mil stylus will wobble and bounce all over the identify. At that place'southward far too much room in this original groove and so not all of the information will be heard.

This is what was happening in the tests in a higher place simply, as that was a budget arrangement, not a lot could be done well-nigh information technology. This, college-terminate organization though is different.

To get effectually the issue, I brought in ii superb mono cartridges from the Japanese outfit, Myajima. I tin can confirm how good they are because I have performed tests on both HERE (0.7mil) and HERE (1mil).

With both of these cartridges, I would be able to play each pressing type with its own preferred stylus size, to become a perfect groove fit every time, thus assuasive me to properly hear what was going on while allowing each pressing to reach its maximum potential (while also utilising a top flight reference back up system).

REFERENCE Organization 2: Sound Examination

The start test saw the plumbing fixtures of the 1mil Zero onto my turntable and I wanted to hear what the reissued Beatles pressings sounded with it every bit a sort of balance to the above tests. Why? Because the budget system used a 0.7mil Ortofon mono cartridge throughout. Yous'll remember that I tested both the Beatles in Mono set and a serial of original pressings with this one cartridge. We now know that this test favours the vinyl reissues because the Ortofon stylus better fits the grooves of these pressings, whereas it wobbles around a chip in the older original pressing grooves.

I selected a range of tracks from Rubber Soul and Beatles For Auction as exam subjects.

Well, I have to say, the 1mil stylus withal blew the Ortofon cartridge output (utilising the 'correct' 0.7mil stylus) to the four winds in every part of the sonic spectrum. This was down to the pure quality of construction from Myajima (which was, information technology has to be said, much more than expensive too). The latter is a mono cartridge built from the footing up to do a single job, the Ortofon, is a mono cartridge modified from a stereo design…and it shows.

In sonic terms for this test, though, the output was excellent. The band offered new and previously unheard realism. The soundstage was broad and clear with plenty of air and space. Drums were crisp and characterful while the tambourine was beautifully portrayed, showing the ear the difference betwixt the skin of the tambourine being hit and the later noise of the attendant bells around the tambourine's periphery. Bass was meaty and crunchy while atomic number 82 guitar was detailed. Only the piano sounded slightly anaemic in its presentation. Vocals, on the other hand, were forceful and emotional.

Switching to the original pressings with a perfectly fitting 1mil cartridge, for the firs fourth dimension, was intriguing. Firstly, the volume increased, which demanded that I lower the gain to attain the same volume. The presentation was also less 'poppy' than the new 0.7mil grooved reissue. The reissue attempted to draw the ear here and at that place. As if information technology was pointing a finger with the comment, "Look at this! Now this!" The original cut with the 1mil stylus seemed to nowadays the music more as a whole, forcing y'all to selection out your own highlights. This could easily be done only required a touch more work on the ear, nevertheless. Drums were more than characterful and meaty equally was the bass and the tambourine was simply as clear and concise although the bass was a bear on less articulated on the original pressing. Lead guitar was energetic and boisterous merely the 2 primary differences resided with the piano, which at present offered a broader and more tonally realistic presentation and the vocal performances of McCartney and Lennon. Lennon provided the harmony but his voice was more than easily followed and the vocal separation between the two men was clearer.

To give the new pressings an even, fighting chance, therefore, I needed to compare the original pressing while playing a 1mil Zero cartridge and a new pressing with the 0.7mil Zero.

Doing so was very intriguing because the differences in sound quality, now that each vinyl offering was using the right stylus type, were now very pocket-size indeed. With the 0.7mil fitted, the reissue now pushed that 'poppy' bass farther into the mix while likewise firming it upwardly, retained the notable tambourine, allowed the percussion to became sharper and punchier, offered a more tonally detailed piano and, to add a reddish on the pinnacle, Lennon's harmonic vocal was every bit clear as day.

That is, the changes and modifications that the 0.7mil stylus made to the new pressings made that pressing sound very like to the original pressings using its own preferred 1mil stylus. Very similar indeed.

If I could prize the two apart – and it was tough – and so I would say that the noise on the reissue was a touch lower than the original pressing which as well offered a slightly quieter cutting (playing the reissue with the 0.7mil Zero, I had to upwardly the gain effectually four notches on my pre-amp over the original pressing using the 1mil original cut, to accomplish the same volume.) The reissue also exhibited a slightly smoother midrange and a slightly more open and spacious soundstage.

REFERENCE HI-FI SYSTEM 2: Determination

The ultimate Beatles mono experience demands that you get yourself a top quality mono cartridge that includes a stylus fabricated for the correctly sized grooves. That means a 0.7mil stylus for The Beatles in Mono reissue set up and a 1mil stylus if you make up one's mind to stick with the original pressings. Yep, I used the Myajima Zero as my preferred choice but I'g sure that there other decent mono cartridges out in that location that will also produce a highly creditable task.

As far as the 'software' itself is concerned. I reckon that the new reissues simply border out the original pressings in terms of pure sonic ability. The corporeality of work to get to that point has been monumental from Abbey Road who should be hearily congratulated.

REFERENCE HI-FI System 2

Origin Alive Sovereign turntable

Origin Alive Enterprise 12" arm

Myajima Nada 1mil cartridge

Myajima Zip 0.7mil cartridge

Icon Sound PS3 phonostage

Aesthetix Calypso pre-amp

Icon Sound MB 845 Mk.II monoblocks

Quad ESL-57 speakers with I Thing mods

Vertex AQ & Atlas cabling

WHICH MONO CARTRIDGE Type?

As I have said above, you should really utilise the right mono cartridge stylus size for its preferred groove size. That means (in general terms) using a 1mil stylus for vinyl produced before 1967 and a 0.7mil stylus for discs produced after that (up to today).

You will notice that, when I accept had the chance, I have reported on the sound quality of discs when played with the 'incorrect' stylus (i.due east. a 0.7mil stylus in 1mil grooves and vice versa). One good reason for this is to meet how each faired in sonic terms. Why? Well, if you lot are now assault ownership yourself a mono cartridge to improve the sonic capabilities of your mono purchases then yous might not accept the cash to buy two cartridges (i.due east. 0.7mil & 1mil). You lot might not accept a 2nd turntable to fit the second cartridge or infinite to install it or the thought of changing from 1mil to 0.7mil and back over again might fill you with dread.

Hence, yous might decide on one type for your preferred format and 'make exercise' with the rest. Which is fine and very workable. Your all-time bet, in this case, is to take a broad view of your vinyl collection. If your collection features 10s, 100s or even 1000s of primarily pre-1967 mono vinyl pressings then you might be improve advised to stick with a 1mil stylus and the Beatles original pressings. If, on the other hand, your record collection is decidely more modern in flavour and then go for a 0.7mil stylus and the reissued vinyl discs (as a box fix or bought individually).

WHICH BOX SET?

Beatles' fans are now faced with a host of box set choices. Here is a definitive buyer's guide covering the more recent and popular box sets available on the market today.

THE BEATLES IN MONO (Vinyl)

FOR: The ultimate box fix. The best way to hear The Beatles' music: on whatever format.

Confronting: Does not include the stereo albums, not a definitive Beatles collection.

THE BEATLES IN MONO (CD)

FOR: The but fashion to purchase the unabridged mono discography on CD.

Confronting: Reportedly, no compression was added but a measure of digital stridency does remain.

 THE BEATLES IN STEREO (CD)

FOR: The best style to hear the complete stereo collection on CD.

Confronting: Added limiting supplies a harsh tone to the upper mids.

 THE BEATLES IN STEREO (Vinyl)

FOR: Superb stereo renditions of the later albums.

Against: Based upon a 44.1kHz suite of digital files. Pinch adds a hardness to playback.

THE U.S. ALBUMS (CD)

FOR: The best digital offering, in terms of sound quality, of The Beatles music currently available.

Against: Simply focuses on the unique United states catalogue.

CAPITOL ALBUMS VOL.one & VOL.2

FOR: Features the unique American output of The Beatles with all of the quirky EQ and mixes intact.

AGAINST: Of interest to dedicated fans but.

 OLDER COLLECTIONS

The Beatles collectables/memorabilia manufacture is rampant. Respected auctioneers, such as Bonhams and Christie's, encounter the ring equally the nigh collectable music outfit on the planet while, during the recent financial crisis, many people stopped buying stocks and shares and started buying Beatles memorabilia, to secure their pension investments, instead. Hence, older sets, listed below, take bang-up collectable value.

THE BEATLES (CD)

FOR: Released in 1988. Original CD problems. 'Bread bin', box presentation.

AGAINST: The 16bit sound quality has now been surpassed by more modern, 24bit, editions.

THE BEATLES COLLECTION MONO & STEREO (VINYL)

The stereo set (1978) was released in the UK, USA, Nihon and Australia. A mono version (1982) was released in more limited numbers.

STEREO

FOR: Collectable investment

AGAINST: Rather harsh higher frequencies.

MONO

FOR: Collectable investment

Confronting: Better sound quality just below par when compared to the new set reviewed here.

THE BEATLES: THE Drove

Released in 1982 on one-half-speed mastered vinyl by Mobile Allegiance.

FOR: Collectable investment.

AGAINST: Supposedly, the ultimate in audiophile sound quality. No doubt, at the time, information technology was.

THE BEATLES BOX

Released in 1980 this eight LP collection lists 124 tracks in chronological order.

FOR: Hidden culling rails rarities.

Confronting: Compared to electric current productions, mediocre sound quality, no original sleeve art.

NOTE: Thanks to the 'Back To Mono' vinyl tape shop (Tel: 01522 537988; email, [electronic mail protected]) for their help on this commodity.

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Source: https://theaudiophileman.com/beatles-mono-vinyl-version/

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