Query regarding Mirage...

[Phil]

There is a general consensus among fans that the audio quality of the Mirage digital transfer leaves a lot to be desired but I wondered about people's opinions regarding the MFSL (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab) vinyl edition and the supposed 24K gold cd issue?

I understand, from what I have read, that the MFSL record was sourced from a superior (original) master tape to the standard cd pressing and that great care was taken in mastering it at half-speed and pressing it on "Super High Definition Vinyl" (in Japan) but does anyone know if this is actually the case? If the MFSL were able to source the original master tape of Mirage then why was an "nth generation" tape (MFSL's words, not mine) used for the analogue to digital transfer?

Furthermore, was the 24K gold edition cd that I've heard of also sourced from the original master or was this the same as the regular cd pressing, only coated in gold to prevent oxidization?

I recently corresponded with a dealer who wanted to sell me a second-hand copy of the 24K gold edition of Mirage for $270 (I kid you not) and this is what he told me:

"Warner put out a series of gold CDs in Europe and this was one of the titles. The sound is amazing - because it's 24K gold, the sound is better than the regular release."

This was the listing description:
Extremely rare 24K GOLD CD from Germany in near mint condition! This extremely limited exclusive GOLD-edition was pressed in Germany in the mid 80's and was part of the 40 Golden Greats series. Nearly 20 years out of print,it`s very hard to find these days. Long before MFSL these were the very first GOLD CDs

I wasn't aware that Mirage had been reissued via the 40 Golden Greats Series but I do remember a friend having a gold cd pressing that had been manufactured in Germany. However, my recollection is that there was nothing out of the ordinary about their copy or anything to signify that it was a special edition.

So is anyone here able to make a comparison between these different formats of Mirage in terms of audio quality? I'm quite intrigued by this whole issue and in the absence of a remastered edition of Mirage, keen to know if an alternative to the rather lacklustre cd many of us own is available.

By the way, the catalogue number for the 24K gold cd is 256952 just in case anyone wants to check their copy.

[estranged4life]

Here's some info that may answer some of your questions:

http://www.bsnpubs.com/mofi.html

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) is a California-based company that specializes in high quality reissues of key, often highly successful, popular albums. MFSL is still in business, and much more information about their history can be found on their own web page, www.mofi.com.

MFSL began issuing albums in 1977, during the height of the dissatisfaction over the sound of (mainly US) pressings of albums. Most of the decade had been spent by collectors decrying how poor the album pressings had become in the 1970s. There were several reasons contributing to this sense that sound quality had gone downhill.

First, collectors noticed that the Japanese pressings, and in many cases the UK pressings, of albums were quieter than US pressings. This was mainly due to better vinyl quality. Many US albums at the time were pressed using recycled vinyl to some extent, as opposed to "virgin vinyl" which had never been recycled. Second, many of the highly successful albums were being mastered from "master tapes" which were second, third, or higher generation copies of the mixdown masters, not the original mixdown masters themselves. Third, mass production in the 1970s, especially in the US where record sales were at an almost undreamed-of height, had certainly resulted in a drop in quality control. Defects such as warpage were much more common than had previously been tolerated.

MFSL tried to answer these problems in the marketplace with a high-quality reissue that, although priced at about double the price of a standard album, would appeal to those buyers who were quality-conscious about the factors which led to high sound quality. From MFSL's catalogs, the way they put it was as follows:

What distinguishes an Original master Recording LP from any other record?

1. Original Master Recordings are exclusively transferred from the original stereo master tape that the musicians recorded in the studio (not from a second, third, or fourth generation copy of that master tape).

2. Each Original Master Recording employs Mobile Fidelity Sound lab's exclusive half-speed mastering process, thus capturing every nuance of sound from the master tape.

3. Quality, not quantity, is the overwhelming consideration in the creation of each Original Master Recording. The number of pressings is strictly controlled. These limited editions assure you that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.

4. Original Master recordings are custom pressed overseas by the Victor Company of Japan (JVC). Super Vinyl, an exclusive compound far superior to even so-called 100% virgin vinyl, is utilized to achieve maximum clarity and startling quietness.... Super Vinyl also bestows unsurpassed durability to each Original Master Recording LP, achieving a "playing lifespan" at least five times longer than mass-produced records.

5. Each Original Master Recording is ultra-packaged to maintain flatness and prevent warpage.

MFSL became well known for quality vinyl pressings. With the advent of compact discs in the mid-1980s, MFSL moved to the issue of "high quality compact discs," many with a gold strike on the disc as opposed to the aluminum surface of regular discs. The "gold disc" was meant to answer another of the concerns of audiophiles, this time the new CD buyers. Rumors in the mid-1980s had it that the lifetime of a normal CD may be as short as 10 years before the aluminum oxidized and the disc became unplayable. This has widely been discredited as a theory, and most people in the business now view regular, defect-free, CDs as potentially lasting decades to centuries.

Nevertheless, the MFSL "gold disc" led the way for many of the other record companies to issue their own "gold discs." Although MFSL seemed to be a stickler for noise reduction, many of the other "gold discs" had little to recommend them over their regular counterparts other than the snobbishness of a higher list price and a gold color.

Both Sides Now has done listening tests on various "gold discs"
over the years, with the conclusion that the sound quality difference with CDs is much more related to the quality of the master tape than anything else, and in many cases the exact same master tape is used for regular and "gold discs." In any case, the difference that an MFSL compact disc makes, due to the current technology being what it is, is less than the difference that a MFSL vinyl record made when vinyl was king.

Mobile Fidelity went bankrupt in 1999. They sent the following letter to their customers:

November 19, 1999
Dear Friend;

It is with incredible sadness that Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab announces its closure after more than 22 years in business. This announcement was made today after extreme, but unsuccessful, efforts were made to overcome the financial blow dealt by the events leading up to the abrupt closure of M.S. Distributing's music division.

Mobile Fidelity has remained a small, fiercely independent audiophile label since its inception in 1977. The company was able to weather and withstand several economic and industry upheavals throughout the years. As you know, for the past three or four years, much of the high-end audio industry has suffered through a recession. Mobile Fidelity, once again, undertook the necessary measures to ride out the downturn - especially with the anxiously-awaited new SACDs and DVDs with video soon to be in the marketplace.

However, in September of 1999, the closure of M.S. Distributing's music division resulted in a substantial percentage of uncollectable receivables for MFSL, plus the inventory it represented. Without access to the funds or the availability of inventory for re-sale, the financial devastation was more than our small company could overcome. Therefore, as of November 19, 1999, the company that changed the way the world listened to music, itself has closed its doors.

Herb Belkin was a co-founder of Mobile Fidelity and a co-owner until his retirement nearly five years ago made this statement when contacted: "I am deeply saddened with the knowledge that the employee-owned Mobile Fidelity - which for so many years represented a major symbol of quality in the field of pre-recorded music - was in the end a victim of bigness and mediocrity. I, along with all audiophiles every - where will deeply miss the musical efforts of MoFi."

Herb and the loyal employees of Mobile Fidelity wish to thank all of our friends and supporters throughout the years. Without everyone's belief in our efforts to make the very best audio reproductions possible, our star wouldn't have shone so bright for so long. We offer our best wishes to those companies that remain and hope they survive this most challenging era of high-end audio.

We sincerely hope that our memory and legacy will continued to be enjoyed for many years to come through the hundreds of classic LPs, aluminum and gold CDs, and even cassettes, that Mobile Fidelity has lovingly remastered for the enjoyment of music lovers, and for ourselves. It was a wonderful ride while it lasted."

------------------------------------

I have plenty of MFSL releases (Mainly all the Beatle albums) and some JVC Victor discs and each sound superior to the US/Official releases.

For the record, only 2 Fleetwood Mac albums were available througb MFSL:

MFSL-1-012 - Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac [1979]
MFSL-1-119 - Mirage - Fleetwood Mac [19??]

[Phil]

Thanks estranged4life for the information!
Are you personally able to make a comparison between the MFSL vinyl record and the cd pressing of Mirage? I know that a lot of digital transfers from the 1980's were done with haste and little care so perhaps the MFSL record is superior to the cd version of Mirage that is available?
I'm wondering if it's worth getting the vinyl version since we don't know if Mirage is ever going to be properly remastered and reissued?

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by Phil

Thanks estranged4life for the information!
Are you personally able to make a comparison between the MFSL vinyl record and the cd pressing of Mirage? I know that a lot of digital transfers from the 1980's were done with haste and little care so perhaps the MFSL record is superior to the cd version of Mirage that is available?
I'm wondering if it's worth getting the vinyl version since we don't know if Mirage is ever going to be properly remastered and reissued?

of the MFSL Mirage, but sadly I dont own a copy (I do have a CDR version of it and it is "far superior" to the version that was released - Hell, I even had access to the artwork of the "gold disc" version until bootlegzone.com closed.)

But the MFSL Beatle releases I have you can definitely hear a sonic improvement over the 'official releases' released by the record label - So I am very sure the same can be said of the MFSL version of Mirage.

With that being said, I would recommend finding the vinyl version and/or the "gold" compact disc version if feasible.

[PenguinHead]

Just to note: I have a Germany-issued cassette of Mirage. It's a special, high-end "Chromoedioxide" version. It sounds much clearer than the vinyl album.

[TheWILDheart]

Just a thought...how amazing would "Straight Back" sound remastered?

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by TheWILDheart

Just a thought...how amazing would "Straight Back" sound remastered?

and extended...

[mylittledemon]

i dont believe you'd hear a difference with a gold disc CD. I doubt it at all. Unless you have perfect pitch or a killer audio system (and I dont mean something you could buy at Best Buy)

[skuncles]

Gold discs tend to have a clearer sound only because the of the reflection of the laser to the disc. The gold reflects better than standard silver. That's what I've heard anyhow. I have noticed that the few gold discs I have do sound better, but it also could have a lot to do with the mastering of the disc in the first place. "Mirage" was very poorly mastered for CD. One of the titles that would benefit greatly by a remastering.

-Al

[Bumperke]

Originally Posted by skuncles

Gold discs tend to have a clearer sound only because the of the reflection of the laser to the disc. The gold reflects better than standard silver. -Al

Sorry, that is rubish. Gold discs were made for better reflections, especiallly for hifi freaks with a more than standard hifiset.
Sony was the first with the worldwide serie of Extreme versions cdplayers, amplifiers in combination with Tannoy speakers. So 80's.

Will