Best "dark side of the moon"

if lp is your desire, look for japanese pressing or cd , i would look for german or holland pressing....or also japanese, 300? are you kidding me?

I am new to vinyl and am just trying to get the best pressing... I want a LP but if the sacd or dvd is better than why spend the money...

I just want the best sounding... least surface noise... LP! is there a debate? or is it cut and dry?

I have several versions on Vinyl up to the 30th aniv pressing and my SACD blows them away as it sounds just as good if not better and has no snap crackle pop. Often Vinyl is best way to go but this time it wasnt so for me.

You could do a search of the forums as this has been asked many times, IMHO:

1) Japanese "Pro-Use" half speed.

2) Mobile Fidelity UHQR half speed

3) German first pressing (almost a tie with the UHQR but with very different strengths and weaknesses).

4) British Harvest First pressing.

Skip all US pressings including the horrible regular Mobile Fidelity, ditto the standard Japanese release.

Oh, and just so that you can tell your arse from your elbow:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PFArchives/discTOC.htm

Happy hunting.

Until now, I thought my MoFi DSOTM sounded really good.

Then, Viridian harshed my mellow...

For a change of pace. This may be blasphemy to some... but Easy Star All Star's (think they're out of Britain).. does the entire DSOTM in dub.

Appropriately called: "Dub Side of The Moon".. hahaha

They also re-do Radiohead's "OK Computer"

Both come in vinyl.

prefer the UHQR. but the VTA must be 'just right'. the regular MoFi is also very good and very VTA sensitive.

as this is not exactly a perfect natural recording, who is to say what is right. it becomes a bit of a taste issue. then maybe whether one's system is full range and can handle big bass without bloat. some rooms cannot contain the bass.

as my system matured and improved the relative attraction of different pressings changed. this happenned with many MoFi's, not just DSOTM.

I'm up to 19 copies of this album- 14 on vinyl and 5 digital.

First, I disagree with Marty on the US pressings. I have 2 copies with very early stamper codes and they are both excellent although not as nice as the UK. My other favs:

EMI EMS80324 (Japan)
HARVEST 1C06205249Q (German Quad mix)
HARVEST 8556731 (UK Centenary release)
EMI EMLF97002 (Japan)

The first and second release MFSL are quite ordinary as is the 30th anniversary version.

Mr. Lavigne - perhaps the best post ever on AudiogoN!

You're exactly right and everything you've stated applies to the whole game, right down to what speaker wire people prefer.

It's all got to do with what plays best in our individual rooms and what sounds best to those funny looking transducers on either side of our respective pointy heads.

So many things can impact the percieved sound, ESPECIALLY an LP, the cartridge used, the loading used, the pre-amp used, etc. etc.

... maybe that thought will bring balance back to Tvad's mellow ...

If I were Crawl3, I'd start with the 30th anniversay edition before moving into the big-money versions. I'm reasonably happy with it and it blows away the red-book CD version I had prior... not sayin much but, still, worth the $30 I shelled out for it.

The 30th anniversary and SACD were done by James Guthrie (Das Boot Studio) on ATC's (same as what Pink Floyd use). The orginal (back in '73?) was done by Alan Parsons (on B&W's?). Rather than spend $500 on a pressing it might be worthwile looking at your gear/room setup. (as Mike points out "as my system matured and improved the relative attraction of different pressings changed. ")

Tvad, Bill, no intent on harshing anyone's mellow! We all know that I can't hear a damn thing anyway and my compromised hearing is exceeded only by my boorish taste.

Viridian, no worries. My Close-N-Play is not the last word in vinyl playback.

Tvad, yes I have been considering moving upmarket to Kenner as well, please contact me off board with your impressions. I really don't want to make the investment and reap only an incremental improvement.

No sweat Marty.

It's very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad.

I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us are.

Out of my 4 vinyl copies i like the MFSL version alot but the winner is my UK EMI Harvest copy very clean and sweet and yes
that explains why you've been mad I've been mad for %&*#ing years..... Off to the dark side of the moon

close to audiofeil's number(11 total), and whats funny is it isn't even one of my favorite records...i've heard it way too many times....its saf to say, the latest emi version is fine, and you won't have to sell your firstborn to buy.

To answer the OP's question, the best that I have heard is my MFSL LP version. No, I haven't heard as many pressings as Bill or others, so I can't say that what I've heard is the best. I have also heard the DVD/SACD versions, and they do not measure up to the MFSL LP version as far as tonality and spacial dimensions go.

Cheers,
John

for some reason, it often is problematic to get up out of my seat mid-way through DSOTM to turn the LP over. therefore, i have come to prefer the SACD.

02-25-09: Jeffreybowman2k
for some reason, it often is problematic to get up out of my seat mid-way through DSOTM to turn the LP over.

Agreed. I wake up from a snooze. Get up with a start, flipping the album cover off my lap and sending the seeds flying onto the persian carpet.

Takes a good half hour before I've collected all the seeds and I can turn the LP to side two.

so... what I am hearing is buy the MFSL a lot. It seems polarizing... people either say it's great or awful.

I would say that it is both, and this very much speaks to your point of reference. If you value very, very quiet surfaces, the MoFi or one of the Japanese pressings, is for you. Ditto dynamic range which is excellent. But some of us are not comfortable with the smiley face EQ that was added, boosted bass and treble. It does sound hi-fi and many will prefer that. In the end, as with most things audio, this is simply a matter of taste, and no one is wrong.........except for me, of course.

MFSL UHQR
Japanese Pro use
Early MFSL Straight letters
Early UK with Blue triangle
Japanese reg.
Later MFSL slant letters
30th anniversary
EMI 100 holland
IMHO

02-26-09: Hevac1
MFSL UHQR
Early MFSL Straight letters
Later MFSL slant letters

Pardon my ignorance, but how does one differentiate between these? I own an MFSL version. How would I identify it?

Did some research.

FYI, DSOTM MFSL release discography.

I bought my MFSL copy new in early 1981. It is the 1981 release on Super Vinyl, pressed in Japan. But the Side A and B read MFSL 1-017-A2 and MFSL 1-017-B2, no dash nos. after the A2/B2. So what does H213+++, H215, etc. mean?

btw- this copy has always sounded fantastic to me. I bought the CD in the 80's and it stinks.

The EQ is differance between the 2 MFSL regukar releases.
The mfsl banner across the top of the album is differant.
First release the letters are upright & the second release is slanted. They do sound differant.

Here's a report on a 2003 shoot - out of nine different versions of Dark Side, conducted by some Boston area Vinyl Asylum correspondents. The links to photos don't work any more, by the way.

buying a few different versions hasn't hurt any of us. my mfsl version and japanese import(not an original)are quieter than my canadian, uk, and us originals(which I avoid playing because their so friggin rare), but certainly not better. the recently discontinued emi vinyl reissue sounds competitive and you don't have to spend 'collector's bucks(yet) to get it.