Tales Of Mystery And Imagination (Alan Parsons) - best CD?

[concorde1]

For Tales Of Mystery And Imagination (TOMAI) I have the original release CD and the MFSL Gold CD, both of which I think sound pretty bad.

I'm curious about the deluxe versions (2007, 2012, 2017) of TOMAI, because the Deluxe Anniversary version of A Turn Of A Friendly Card is on the way to me which according to the preview mp3 sounded pretty good.

I'm hoping TOMAI is not doomed to have no good sounding releases! Does anyone here have input on what CD of TOMAI to get?

 

[Blumlein 88]

I only have the MFSL Gold CD, and I don't think it sounds bad. I used to have it way back when on LP. I suppose I take it that it sounds like it sounds and it is enjoyable without regard to it being the finest sounding CD ever.

 

[raindance]

You might want to try the Steve Hoffman forums.

 

[concorde1]

I only have the MFSL Gold CD, and I don't think it sounds bad.

I'll give it another go. It's certainly better than original CD which I think is jarring (it is one of the exceptions: a lot of original CD's of Parsons are excellent).

You might want to try the Steve Hoffman forums.

Well, yeah, but I wanted to try here. I have left my account there, although I do still use that forum often as a reference for CD info. I don't like some of the points of view there - I filter through the recommendations there.

 

[concorde1]

Yeah the MFSL Gold is fine actually

 

[levimax]

Since I grew up listening to Alan Parsons I find the original vinyl the most familiar mastering and I usually prefer it to the later digital versions. There are needle drops floating around the internet you might want to give a try. The vinyl versions have their issues of course but "jarring" would not be one of them.

 

[raindance]

So I did some research and the Deluxe Edition seems to be what is recommended. It includes the original mix as used on the MFSL Gold CD as well as the 1987 Remix. It's a little pricey on Amazon at $29.99. It's interesting because I always wondered what was different between the CD I have from 1987 and the record from 1976, which I preferred.

 

[MC_RME]

Which Vinyl LP's sound better than the version on a corresponding CD?

This has come up a few times, most recently in the why do LPs sound better thread. So, which LP releases sound better than CD?

www.audiosciencereview.com

I got that Deluxe version and the CD indeed equals the old 1976 vinyl record. Just no clicks, noise, rumble and distortion

 

[concorde1]

I will get the Deluxe sometime for comparison with my MFSL Gold - at least it's not as expensive as the latter

 

[fordiebianco]

Does someone know how the 1987 remix version differs from the original 1976 version?

 

[levimax]

Does someone know how the 1987 remix version differs from the original 1976 version?

From a post over on the SHF the remix has "more Orson Welles narration and extra (now dated sounding), guitar, drum and etc. fills."

 

[fordiebianco]

Just listened to it: I quite liked it, and yes, you can tell it's eighties by the gated drums, but I have no concerns re that. Still a great album!

 

[Blumlein 88]

Just listened to it: I quite liked it, and yes, you can tell it's eighties by the gated drums, but I have no concerns re that. Still a great album!

The gated drums always brought to mind the swinging pendulum from Poe. Those drums were definitely an artistic choice and intentional.

 

[Albert Dagger]

I vote for the hi-res remaster included in the 2016 blu-ray. In my opinion, the definitive version is the 5.1 (the Fall of the House of Usher in surround is spectacular) but for the original, either the 2016 remaster on blu-ray or the MFSL will do. The MFSL sounds darker, while the 2016 remaster is a tad brighter. I’d say it’s a matter of preference but it’s clear from the remasters of the past 15/20 years of the APP catalogue that AP himself seems to have a preference for brighter versions.

Regarding the other albums, the blu-rays with the hi-res remasters and the surround mixes are hit or miss. I own multiple versions of the entire AAP catalogue and I absolutely love the Atmos mix of Pyramid. It’s immersive, high fidelity, perfect tonality. Demo material. Eye in the Sky in 5.1 is also great (the 2026 blu-ray is mastered lower in volume and has minor EQ adjustments). The atmos mix is good but brighter, and might not suit everyone. Ammonia and Turn are too bright in surround and need EQ. For the stereo mixes, I’d go with the 2024 remaster of Ammonia in 24/44.1 and with the hi-res download of Turn of a Friendly Card in 24/176.4 (used to be a DSD download in 2015, now it’s a flac download). This is the best release for dynamics and tonality and source material. Second would be the 2015 deluxe on CD and third the hi-res 2023 remaster. The 2026 CDis based on that but EQ’ed and peak limited. For I Robot, I’d go with the MFSL SACD for stereo or the 5.1 mix. The atmos is bright as hell with a bump above 2KHz. It’s quite immersive but needs EQ, which is difficult to do with object based mixes. The stereo remaster included in the blu-ray is okay, good tonality, a bit peak limited. Good but not as good as the MFSL. I’ve done extensive A/B comparisons, level matched, and also compared the frequency responses. It’s a challenging catalogue, but most releases sound at least okay, except the surround mixes that could be overly bright.

 

[levimax]

For I Robot, I’d go with the MFSL SACD for stereo or the 5.1 mix. The atmos is bright as hell with a bump above 2KHz. It’s quite immersive but needs EQ, which is difficult to do with object based mixes. The stereo remaster included in the blu-ray is okay, good tonality, a bit peak limited. Good but not as good as the MFSL. I’ve done extensive A/B comparisons, level matched, and also compared the frequency responses. It’s a challenging catalogue, but most releases sound at least okay, except the surround mixes that could be overly bright.

I grew up with this album and bought several digital versions over the years but something always sounded off to me. I then picked up a first press LP, put it on, and it just sounded "right". Probably mostly about growing up hearing it that way. I also do a lot of master chasing and ABX and frequency analysis and I always include the first pressing as many times that is my preferred tonal balance. Recently I have been experimenting with applying the EQ from the first pressing LP to the original CD's ( which are often very dynamic but also often have jacked up EQ) and in some cases it is the best of all worlds.... and in others not so much.

 

[Albert Dagger]

I grew up with this album and bought several digital versions over the years but something always sounded off to me. I then picked up a first press LP, put it on, and it just sounded "right". Probably mostly about growing up hearing it that way. I also do a lot of master chasing and ABX and frequency analysis and I always include the first pressing as many times that is my preferred tonal balance. Recently I have been experimenting with applying the EQ from the first pressing LP to the original CD's ( which are often very dynamic but also often have jacked up EQ) and in some cases it is the best of all worlds.... and in others not so much.

I have a first Italian pressing, but the best for me is the 2016 blu-ray remaster or 5.1 mix, no doubt!

 

[Redacted]

There are 332 Tales Of Mystery And Imagination versions.. Most by far are just re-issues, but you'll need to pick between ones that have been remastered if you expect to hear any differences - there are 69 that claim to be remastered, but of course many, if not almost all of these will be the same remaster. Note SHM and all the other similar woo-woo makes zero difference if the actual bits on the disk are from the same master.

https://www.discogs.com/master/4322-The-Alan-Parsons-Project-Tales-Of-Mystery-And-Imagination-Edgar-Allan-Poe

Buy used for as little as $18 inc shipping (and that is unusually expensive for a used CD) and try - there's no point discussing who think version X is better than version Y, as people like what they like or not - this is ASR, not Mr Hoffman's Battle between the Fairies and the Leprechauns website.

 

[levimax]

I have a first Italian pressing, but the best for me is the 2016 blu-ray remaster or 5.1 mix, no doubt!

Do you know what version is on Qobuz? All it says is 192/24 so one of the Hi-Res remasters. Interestingly I compared the original LP, the first CD, and the 192/24 Qobuz version and the LP and the 192/24 version are amazingly similar. The big outlier is the original CD which has a huge (up to 5 dB) boost between 2 Khz to 10 Khz and a very unusual bass cut. Usually the first CD's are boosted both bass and treble. It makes me happy when I see the re-masters get back to the original LP's spectral balance, maybe there is hope they will get back to the original dynamics which does seem to be happening in some cases especially for Atmos. To keep it scientific see below comparison.

 

[Albert Dagger]

Do you know what version is on Qobuz? All it says is 192/24 so one of the Hi-Res remasters. Interestingly I compared the original LP, the first CD, and the 192/24 Qobuz version and the LP and the 192/24 version are amazingly similar. The big outlier is the original CD which has a huge (up to 5 dB) boost between 2 Khz to 10 Khz and a very unusual bass cut. Usually the first CD's are boosted both bass and treble. It makes me happy when I see the re-masters get back to the original LP's spectral balance, maybe there is hope they will get back to the original dynamics which does seem to be happening in some cases especially for Atmos. To keep it scientific see below comparison.

View attachment 537098

I believe you are talking about I Robot and not Tales (I’ve checked the legend on your graph). There have been hi-res versions of I Robot and Turn on Qobuz and other download stores for a long time, at least since 2015. Turn is a unique mastering from a DSD transfer. I’m not sure about I Robot because I haven’t purchased it and tested it. I’m quite happy with the MFSL, which is better than my old CD, but you’re right… in terms of EQ and tonality, differences are small. Differences are bigger with the 2025 remaster, which is noticeably warmer (some might prefer it). I don’t have a first pressings on vinyl.

 

[Redacted]

I'm sure everyone knows this, but if you have rips of two or more versions, FB2K has a handy bit-compare function (it strips all the junk to compare just PCM) and DR measurement tool.