Miles Davis - Kind of Blue 45rpm UHQR - is it the definitive version or just hype
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2024
- My musings on the latest UHQR release of Miles Davis’ jazz masterpiece Kind of Blue, including a sonic comparison between it and the Mobile Fidelity version, the Classic Records version and an original 6-eye mono. See below for my equipment set-up used for this vinyl shoot-out. KOB is one of those jazz albums that everyone should own, the problem is there are probably hundreds of versions of it out there. This video will tackle my opinion on the best bang for your buck.
If you like this shootout, check out another I did on Bill Evans’ Waltz for Debby!
• Bill Evans Waltz For D...
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00:00 - Introduction
02:51 - Mobile Fidelity
06:54 - Original Mono
10:53 - Classic Records
14:16 - 45rpm UHQR
Check out the video below for the full run-down on my set-up:
• Vinyl Collectors vs. A...
#jazz #milesdavis #jazzmusic #jazzcollector #audiophile #vinylcollector #hifi
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I got real lucky three weeks ago when I stumbled across a used Miles Davis KOB 45rpm, UHQR in one of my local record stores for $99.00 with everything in it. I got home, cleaned it and wow, it is the best copy of the album that I have ever heard. I also own the KOB UHQR 33rpm. They went all out on it and it shows, it is extraordinary to say the least. I also have the original mono, stereo a mid 90s copy and the Mofi. This copy is everything that you said that it is.
I was skeptical about the UHQR myself since it was so expensive, but glad I pulled the trigger. I can't even go back and listen to other copies I have because it's just so good. What a time to be a jazz collector!
Be careful though! Albums like this will tempt you to get better gear and it's a dangerous rabbit hole as you know hahah
Both 33 1/4 and 45 RPM UHRQ sound excellent!
I used to own the Classic Records (200g), the MFSL 2 x45 RPM, and also the new UHQR 33rpm. have sold them... My (to my ears) best version is a copy that i have bought at Better- Records (Hot Stamper), which is a vintage Columbia Red Label, stereo copy. (Scores of differently mastered versions have been cut over the years, but to find one that’s lively and dynamic yet still communicates the relaxed nature of this music is a trick that few of them can pull off!) I do also have a 1963 Mono copy : it has its own charme too..., but stereo is the way to go.
When I turned up the mofi, I found exactly what I was looking for! Nice review!
Great review, enjoyed your perspective. Keep at it.
Nice one. I got mine on Friday and I love it.
Great review. Thanks
We own the UHQR 2x45rpm and a first stereo USA press that is slightly noisy (more during the first track on each side - common). The UHQR is an excellent modern pressing, but on our highly resolving system we can clearly hear the tape degradation, particularly on side 2. The original press is dynamic, clean and clear, as well as very musical. The original literally blows away the modern UHQR, in every way with the exception of the noise floor, which shouldn't be surprising given our pressing is 60+ years younger than the worn out master tape. And even though we have to listen to the wear of a well loved 60 year old record, on the plus we don't have any tape degradation - none, the master tape was brand new when our record was pressed.
Great observations. Thanks!
I just subscribed to your channel. Great video. I have the 33 and 45 UHQR plus MOFI. The 45 is ahead of the other two for the reasons you mentioned but also because the 33 is a bit noisier. Keep up the good work.
A friend of mine did a comparison between my Classic records(blue vinyl version) pressing and the UHQR as well. We heard some differences but they both were great and really was just what your preference might be on any given day. However since I bought mine still sealed for only a $1 versus $125 for the UHQR we deemed mine the winner.😁
Thanks for this KoB tale! What you could do in the one of the following videos is a comparison of the 33 and 45 RPM UHQR versions! 😎💪🏻🙏🏻
I would love to, I probably should have borrowed a copy of the 33 from a friend so that I could include it
Amazing video! I also heard new notes by Chambers😂
I'm with you. This is possibly the best record that I have in my collection period. The sound is stunningly good. It's a 63 year old recording and yet... Of course I listened to it with 63 year old amplifiers and preamps (modified of course). The realism of the instruments and musicians is wonderful. All the detail in the horns when loud and soft, the piano detail and the bass. I can't wait to play this for friends.
Agreed, this is one of those albums you demo your system with when company comes over
You could surely upgrade your cart.. I was very happy with my MP-110, even bout a new stylus. But recently changed to the Denon DL-110 MC High Output. Been very pleased. I can only imagine how good some of more expensive and highly rated MC carts will sound. I am probably down the rabbit hole now.
A fun analysis. I've just got the 2011 (I think?) 180-gram reissue, plus a decent CD edition. Would love to pick up the UHQR at some point, but it's just not in my budget at the moment.
great review brother! just came across your channel. i'm aware of the OG at the wrong speed but can't remember: were both the original 1st pressings in mono and the stereo both released at the wrong speed or was it just the stereo that was released at the wrong speed? i'm still looking for a nice 1st pressing but i do have the MoFi 45rpm and the AP UHQR 33.3 along with several later re-issues just for everyday listening so i don't wear out my audiophile pressings. But i'm not sure if i'll spend 150 bucks the UHQR 45rpm, i figured the 45 might go up to $125 but i wasn't expecting $150 although it doesn't surprise me as Chad knows he'll sell every copy of the 45 UHQR-lol... shit! for $150 bucks i can buy 3-4 nice Analog Prod. re-issues of other artrists i've been waiting to pull the trigger on. with that said i totally understand the need(addicting want) to have all of the more audiophile pressings of the greatest Jazz album ever made, i get it and and already have 10-12 pressings of that great title in one format or another-lolol.. we'll see i guess... diggin' the Mac gear-great stuff!!! and you did very well getting/having the MP-110 cart. ,i have the same cartidge and i'll tell ya man, for the price point of that Nag 110 i think it's probably the best cartidge on the market- i love mine-it's one hell of a cartridge. , Jerry in Indiana
A fellow Hoosier (where I was born anyway)! Yea the Nagaoka has treated me well over the years. I do believe the speed issues are present for both mono and stereo versions. I don’t think it being a quarter tone off is enough to ruin anyone’s experience with the music though.
Great video! I have some kef ls50s as well and love them, but get a REL ti/tx series sub and then reevaluate everything you are talking about;) its the next door to walk through in the audio world! Its a blast and only enhances everything you are hearing!! (Rel subs somehow make your main speakers sound better then they ever have, serious wizards over there!) have fun!
very interesting... I have a buddy who works at a local hifi shop so I may actually be able to audition one. Appreciate the tip, and you're right it's amazing how a sub can enhance not just the obvious - bass - but somehow adds detail at all frequencies
IIRC the Classic stereo is from the original or a 2nd-gen stereo tape, and the two MFSL issues both use Mark Wilder's digital remixes.
That might account for slightly different stereo "staging". Someone will surely step in and correct me if I'm wrong LOL
Really nice presentation Bro! First of your videos I've seen. Nicely done! It was rather sad hearing your thoughts about the MFSL pressing, bummer... 😕 Very good comparison and explanation, most helpful.
The only proviso is that although you have a very nice system, I honestly just don't think you can get a full presentation with the good quality, but very small bookshelf speakers Bro, sorry... I'll try to put a link to my system, and you will see what I am talking about (tall multi-driver open baffle dipole line arrays with 13 drivers a side + 2-15" open baffle woofers, biamped with an Ayon Orion II Class 'A' integrated tube amp running the line-arrays and a bridged Crown runnin the 2 woofers wired in parallel @ 4 ohms. Not that my system is THAT great, but I just can't see you getting a full presentation out of those small bookshelf speakers. Maybe I'm wrong because you did sound very well informed though with your impressions. Thanks for a great job mate! 👍 (Ah... just now hearing your comments about your system - Good point!)
Ah, no... I can't put a link to pictures of my system. I tried and the post was automatically removed, sorry Bro...
Great info. Especially re the original mono. I have the KOB UHQR 45. It’s good. It didn’t blow me away. I’m very surprised to hear you say that it’s the best sounding jazz record you have. For me, It doesn’t even come close to some Ellington records (ex: Blues in Orbit, at 33!) that I have. Also, Nat King Cole/Just One of Those Things, Carmen McRae/Lover Man, Oscar Peterson/We Get Requests, George Russell/NY,NY….
The titles you reference are absent from my collection, with the exception of the George Russell which I have an original of (not the recent reissue). Sounds like those are each worth checking out
@@jazzvinylcollector definitely worth a listen. Sound quality wise most of the Dexter Gordon and Andrew Hill BN titles sound amazing. Also check out the Getz/Gilberto reissue and other AP Impulse and Verve reissues.
@@lukedermott1589 picked up the Oscar Peterson title just today and wow it sounds fantastic! Appreciate the recommendations
@@jazzvinylcollector anytime. Enjoy the music!
Just so you know the Acoustic Sounds UHQR is mastered from the same master from The Classic Records version which was mastered by Bernie Grundman.
The same metalwork was used to make stampers for the UHQR, they didn't have to master again. AS inherited the metalwork when they took over CR.
I never bought this album because of the speed issue. Thank you for letting me know that the 1995 and later versions have that fixed.
From what I understand it’s also the spacing of the grooves that has an impact.
As a jazz musician who grew up on this music, and has transcribed many of the solos, it makes me kind of blue (hehe) that these remasters are gate kept behind limited releases and high prices. Luckily with Roon, a single toggle can now make any recording mono. But I wish all of the remasters were available to be streamed., and not vinyl or SACD only.
Thanks for the tip, how do you use mono in Roon? I’ve not seen that toggle
Is the '95 release a different mix than the other stereo releases or is it just mastered differently? Still waiting for my UHQR to arrive... great video review!
The UHQR uses the same mastering as the 95 Classic Records release, so the differences seem to be due to the vinyl material which left out the carbon pellets to make the vinyl black (supposedly allows for “cleaner” sound) and then whatever else they may have done to the mix in terms of levels. I’m not familiar enough with the process to say with any more clarity than that, but the music certainly speaks to the difference
@@jazzvinylcollector If the stampers are the same, then only the plastic is the difference. Same mastering means re-using an old stamper. If you cut new lacquers to make new stampers, it is by definition a new mastering (even if levels, tape source and EQ are all the same).
bonsooor I have a 1962 edition it sounds pretty good..
What’s the best cd version to get?
I told my wallet to behave but it didn’t listen to me. Great review.
Nice review I got the 33 don’t think I will get the 45. Though I did want it originally.
Yea totally fair, it truly doesn’t make sense to me to own both. I’m not even keeping some of the copies in this video now that I feel like I’ve landed in a spot where I feel like I have a great product
@@jazzvinylcollector got that grant green repress in your first video. Maybe if I see the 45 cheap.
I just can’t get my head around $150 for a new album 🤔
yea it's an unfortunately too common part of the used vinyl collecting hobby, and I'm surprised it's entered the NEW vinyl collecting part of it as well
Chad Kassem...I think you owe it to your customers to come up with an itemized list of costs associated with the manufacturing of these records and explain why they are so bloody expensive. You are exploiting the zeal of these collectors who think being a real record collector is owing every version of an LP that is available several times over. I and others want to see where you get the bottom line for these LPs, which is gouging at its worst.
would you be able to go through your setup
Sure can. Not a bad idea for an upcoming video or at least in the description for my next shootout.
gonna put it on apple music and listen to it through my homepods lol
I think you figured out your issue. Loudness between UHQR and MOFI. Loudness plays a huge role in your perception of “good”. Even turning up is different. Also, Are you using headphones or a proper setup speaker setup (triangle). I see guys doing reviews with headphones. Not a good way to do it.
Good point. I don’t use headphones in these types of comparisons nor even in day to day listening. Practically it’s easier to not be tethered, but I also just prefer hearing music through speakers in the room. I did attempt to “correct” for the MoFi copy by turning it up and yet still felt like it wasn’t as detailed as the UHQR (but it did make an improvement)
Modern MoFi pressings sound lightly to heavily veiled to many of us no matter how loud you turn it up. It’s not a MoFi gate thing, or a digital thing. As a matter of fact, I prefer an 80’s or early 90’s silver CD of an album to almost all of the 2000s MoFi LPs I’ve heard (I have about 20). It’s apparently steps they’re taking during mastering that lead to this?
I'm gonna wait for next year's pressing🤣
HA! would not surprise me one bit
Why or how would there be any more bass notes ?
Nice comparison, and I’m enjoying your channel. But just a heads up: if you’re doing these comparisons you might get a bunch of audiophiles jumping down your throat if you don’t say where they can see what equipment you are using. I don’t care personally as I’m more into the music than the equipment, but there are a lot of those other folks out there on UA-cam (more than on IG).
Interesting. I don't consider myself an audiophile in terms of knowing/caring about my equipment that much, but I know I have some nice things at least. I also have no interest in that constantly upgrading game, and multiple setups and such that seems to pervade the equipment focused crowd. It's a good point though, maybe I'll create a video that highlights my setup (or I suppose I could start listing some of the details in the description for these shootout videos). I appreciate the heads up.
@@jazzvinylcollector Sure thing. Most of the audiophile guys live on the Steve Hoffman forum and over there it is a requirement to list your gear if you comment on sound quality. I’m more like you and Jazz Shepherd - focused mostly on the music. My system is very humble and I also don’t get caught up in upgrading all the time.
Schoolkids Records! Right on, went there today and grabbed a pizza at Ruckus.
Perhaps…Jimmy Cobb gave a bigger tip after the session…:)
U hearing "more" and more "clearly" things? Simple: loudness compression and 'smiled-faced' EQ.. like 99% of any remaster from the 90s to now.
Modern MFSL and the '95 Grundman (Classic) do NOT use compression or smiley-faced EQ, period. Even vintage MFSL did not use compression (but they made EQ mistakes).
" Umm" is such a trigger for me for some reason.
I want a nickname like “Cannonball”
Never could understand the people's obsession with rhis record and how Blue Train is in its shadow.
thirty three and a third rpm...
Another reviewer just rated the classic above the new one
Is the classic in mono?
@@travelthebest2676 no
Do you have a mono cartridge? With respect to your comment about the OG mono having an elevated noise floor, a stereo cartridge has a tendency to pick up vertical modulation (as noise) whereas a mono cartridge with only horizontal compliance will be more forgiving and quieter. I have a demo OG mono and I prefer it over the 33 UHQR. I don’t have the 45 to compare, mostly because I prefer the listening experience of LP over 45, even if I give up a few percentage points on playback quality.
Long story short uqhr clear winner, dont thank me later 😂