JGJR wrote:Thanks for clarifying. I've seen the O.G. 3x12" in stores, but usually for much more than I'm willing to pay, so I appreciate this! The thread (or at least that part of it) was a bit hard to follow because of the different variations/formats, etc.
Yeah, the original Japanese vinyl. I think there was only one pressing. It says
Second Edition on the front cover, but
Metal Box on the spine. I owned the US vinyl in the ‘80s, then several CD versions, including the one in the little metal box. In the ‘00s, I had the original German pressing on vinyl, then grabbed the Japanese pressing. Since I had the original
Metal Box, and the Japanese
Second Edition, I got rid of the German pressing. I also got the 2011 remastered CD when it came out, which is the best version on CD, IMO. Then, I ordered the Japanese SACD, even though I didn’t have an SACD player at the time. Thankfully, Jah provided, and I found a nice Oppo on the free shelf in my building. The SACD is better than the 2011 CD, so I sold the CD. Oh yeah, I also had the 4MWB
Metal Box reissue, which wasn’t even worth it for the packaging, which just felt cheap compared to the real thing. The sound was nothing to write home about either.
Long story short, these are my favorite versions:
1. Original 3x12
Metal Box though it’s a pain in the ass to get out of the tin, and a pain to flip if you're in a lazy mood. Also, crazy expensive these days.
2. Japanese LP/SACD - these sound a lot alike. There might be slightly more detail in the SACD, which was a flat transfer from the master tapes (probably done at the time of the 2011 remasters, which came out in Japan first).
3. 2011 remaster CD - sounds as good as this record has ever sounded on CD.
I know there has been a lot of debate about the value of SACD as a format, but the Japanese really seem to do it right. IIRC, they are generally flat transfers from master tapes without a PCM step, straight DSD. The
Second Edition and
Sticky Fingers Japanese SHM SACDs I have sound amazing. The MFSL SACD of
Forever Changes also sounds pretty great. Maybe it’s more about the source and mastering (or apparent lack of on the Japanese SACDs) than the format itself, I don’t really care. These are all records I’ve known well for decades and have had multiple versions of, and the SACDs really do sound great. I believe there are Japanese SHM CDs that use the same source as the SACDs. It would be interesting to compare the two to see if the SACD really offers superior resolution or if the great sound is really down to the source and mastering.