| Review by time_to_hunt January 6, 2012 (0 of 18 found this review helpful)
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Performance:  Sonics: |
| Good sounds. I Bought at "disk union jinnboutyou shop" Jan.6th 2012.
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| Review by sonnysin168 January 17, 2012 (13 of 13 found this review helpful)
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Performance:  Sonics:  |
I own the German dvda version for years now and I like it better than the previous rbcds I owned in the past. I must admit that although I like the dvda for its details I find it a bit bright sounding at times and that there's a certain "edginess" in its vocals.
When musicdirect announced that its stocks are shipping, I readily ordered a copy. I got it on the 2nd week of January, courtesy of the local branch of my NY forwarder. After properly warming up my gears, I sat out to listen. The first thing I noticed is that this was mastered a lot less louder than the dvda, as I have to crank up the preamp gain knob to about the 11 o'clock position to get a satisfying volume level. Is this bad? No, it's not, to me it is a sign that the recording is not compressed. The sacd lead and backing vocals are clear and smooth, the instruments seemed to have that "rounded edge" treatment that for me represents a warmer recording without significant loss of details. I also noticed that the sacd is more quiet than the dvda, in the sense that the tape hiss is less pronounced in the former. But this will turn off the bass lovers: the sacd, though possessing firm bass, is leaner than the dvda in this department.
I played the sacd followed by the dvda, in three separate occasions the past week and I think I slightly favor the sacd. It is more "pleasing to the ears" or "ear friendly", I should say. But this doesn't mean the dvda sounds bad, it also has its strengths. It's just that it sounds different compared to the Mofi sacd. Although I'm recommending the sacd to fans of this album, I'm keeping both the sacd and dvda versions!
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| Review by analogue April 28, 2012 (7 of 8 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
After the horrible Dvd Audio with its tremendously compressed and bright sound any other release would be favored. While the previous dvd audio was a special edition release with lots of goodies its sound was atrocious. This Mofi sacd is so much better in every regard that a comparison is not worthy.
This new sacd is highly crankable and very gentle on the ears but buyers need to know exactly what they are getting here or they might be let down. There are tons of new discs all the time competing for our money so listen up. You must understand that what you will be getting is a Brian Wilson experiment and by that I mean that the sound on this album was very homogenized where nothing really stands out. You wont have vocals or any instrumentation jutting out from the sound mix. Rather what YOU HEAR IS A SORT OF SOUND SCAPE where its all mid range.
This is a very mellow disc in every regard and some listeners might find it very boring. The Beach Boys had the best harmonies in rock history in my opinion but again.its all mixed down on this album on purpose. There is an amazing mixture of layers of dense sound and the actual recording is very busy but its all mixed together to create a mood. So if you're expecting to hear voices and instruments floating out of the speakers in 3 D be forewarned. This aint gonna happen here.
This new Mofi sacd is so much more organic and natural sounding......but very laid back. There is nary a hint of any compression and it seems to be mixed just like the aforementioned Dvd Audio was. This is not an sacd where it will grab your attention immediately. Rather ITS MELLOW SOUND WILL SLOWLY TAKE HOLD OF YOU AND CALM YOU DOWN and put you at peace. Thats the best way I can explain what I mean..
This is a classic rock album and if you know what to expect you will be happy with your purchase.
Mofi did a good job and its recommended.
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| Review by progboy May 16, 2012 (3 of 3 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
How can you improve on a classic album like Pet Sounds that has been re-released a million times using the original masters? In Mono and Stereo?
Answer: Let MOFI have a round on SACD!
Once again Mofi has done a pretty awesome job in re-presenting a great album mixed in glorious full SACD quality. I have this album many times over but will say that this SACD version is THE BEST I have ever heard the stereo mix presented. The only bummer is that they didnt include the mono mix as well !
The SACD is very warm and rich sounding and you will hear things differently in a very subtle way (assuming you are very familiar with the original album). This one does not have huge speaker separation or a huge wall of 3D sounds like many SACD's do but still the gold is in the mix!
"God only knows" is breathtaking and i think the warmest and cleanest mix of this song ever !
This is not the disc that you will play to impress your company with in terms of sound dynamics but for those who love this album this is the definitive version no question in my mind.
Wouldnt it be nice......................
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| Review by tdunster December 1, 2012 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
The HDCD version of Pet Sounds released in 2001 on Columbia / EMI was my first extended introduction to this album. On a HDCD player the 2001 release has a massive soundstage and exydes the wow factor to all listners.
This SACD release is supposedly the same 1996 / 1997 stereo remix as that of the 2001 HDCD version - but to me it sounds completely different - due to the mastering.
The SACD does not have the huge soundstage nor does it have the deep bass I have become accustomed to.
That being said the SACD is a smoother presentation which while lacking the initial wow factor it more than makes up for it by being ultimately much better balanced and less over the top / animated.
Whereby I would often tire from the 2001 version, this SACD version is simply wonderful no matter how many times you play it.
Highly Recommended. Shame they didn't do a Mono version though.
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| Review by pvcmusiclover January 16, 2013 (2 of 3 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
For ages, the only decent way to listen to Pet Sounds was mono, as no true stereo mix existed. The best mono version I ever found was the Audio Fidelity HDCD mastered by Steve Hoffman.
This stereo mix is actually decent. It's pretty much what I thought a stereo mix of this album should sound like.
Mobile Fidelity's presentation is so-so. Bass is great, but the midrange is kind of peaky and the treble rolls off a bit - obscuring the space and detail in the album. I know I've said it before, but I wish Mo-Fi would add a little EQ now and then. It would really polish off the presentation.
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| Review by Marpow October 2, 2014 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
Pet Sounds Hybrid SACD-DSD 2012 Stereo Only.
This is my first Beach Boys disc as I have only been a casual fan seeing them live only once.
Back in about 1991 a friend told me about this album and how it got the Beatles attention before they made Sgt. Peppers, then a few years ago Rolling Stone magazine listed it as the #2 of 500 all time albums behind Sgt. Pepper. Needless to say starting with my friend I have always been curious.
Noticing on this forum there was an SACD version I thought what the heck, lets listen to it.
This is really not a Beach Boys album but rather a Brian Wilson album. All session musicians including the famous Jim Gordon on drums and Glenn Campbell on guitar. Vocals are added with a couple of the Beach Boys.
Performance: Really grabbed me, as described by others, kind of mellow, but I noticed my foot moving in time as I was enjoying all of it. A couple instrumentals have that oh, so 60's sound, that is always fun. For some reason I had it in my head it was going to be close to Sgt. Peppers, not even close, but there where a couple instruments and parts that I can see The Beatles using.
Stereo Only Sonics: Of course I have no experience with previous versions and mono. But this stereo only disc came out of my system as a beautiful, equalized, sound stage. The parts where very well balanced with no irritating instruments or vocals placed in the wrong speaker. It felt big and wonderful, maybe a tad bit bass heavy, but I just trimmed things to my liking and was great.
Packaging: Paper gatefold with probably the best liner notes I have ever read. No lyrics included but that's OK with me.
Well I heard about this disc 23 years ago and finally got it and glad I have the #2 disc of all time. My MOFI Special Limited Addition # is 06741.
Thanks for reading.
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