The Beatles Stereo Vinyl Box Set [Box set]

The Beatles | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (November 13, 2012)
• Number of Discs: 14
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B0041KVW2K
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (256 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,063 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Albums included:
Please Please Me
With The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles For Sale
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles (The White Album) (2LP)
Yellow Submarine
Let It Be
Abbey Road
Past Masters (2LP) The Beatles' acclaimed original studio album remasters, released on CD in 2009, make their long-awaited stereo vinyl debut.

Manufactured on 180-gram, audiophile quality vinyl with replicated artwork, the 14 albums return to their original glory with details including the poster in The Beatles (The White Album), the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band's cut-outs, and special inner bags for some of the titles. The albums are accompanied by a stunning, elegantly designed 252-page hardbound book in a lavish boxed edition which is being in limited quantities worldwide.

The book, exclusive to the boxed edition, is authored by award-winning radio producer Kevin Howlett and features a dedicated chapter for each of the albums, as well as insight into the creation of the remasters and how the vinyl albums were prepared. The 12"x12" book showcases a wealth of photographs spanning The Beatles' recording career, including many images which were not included in the 2009 CD booklets.

The titles include The Beatles' 12 original UK albums, first released between 1963 and 1970, the US-originated Magical Mystery Tour, now part of the group's core catalogue, and Past Masters, Volumes One & Two, first released individually in 1988, featuring non-album A-sides and B-sides, EP tracks and rarities. With this release, The Beatles' first four albums make their North American stereo vinyl debuts.

There has always been demand for The Beatles' albums on vinyl. Indeed, 2011's best-selling vinyl LP in the United States was Abbey Road. Following the success of The Beatles' acclaimed, GRAMMY Award-winning 2009 CD remasters, it was decided that the sound experts at EMI's Abbey Road Studios should create new versions of The Beatles' vinyl LPs. The project demanded the same meticulous approach taken for the CD releases, and the brief was a simple one: cut the digital remasters to vinyl with an absolute minimum of compromise to the sound. However, the process involved to do that was far from simple.

The first stage in transferring the sound of a master recording to vinyl is the creation of a disc to be used during vinyl manufacture. There were two options to consider. A Direct Metal Master (DMM), developed in the late seventies, allows sound to be cut directly into a stainless steel disc coated with a hard copper alloy. The older, alternative method is to cut the sound into the soft lacquer coating on a nickel disc - the first of several steps leading to the production of a stamper to press the vinyl.

A 'blind' listening test was arranged to choose between a 'lacquer' or 'copper' cut. Using both methods, A Hard Day's Night was pressed with ten seconds of silence at the beginning and end of each side. This allowed not only the reproduction of the music to be assessed, but also the noise made by the vinyl itself. After much discussion, two factors swung the decision towards using the lacquer process. First, it was judged to create a warmer sound than a DMM. Secondly, there was a practical advantage of having 'blank' discs of a consistent quality when cutting lacquers.

The next step was to use the Neumann VMS80 cutting lathe at Abbey Road. Following thorough mechanical and electrical tests to ensure it was operating in peak condition, engineer Sean Magee cut the LPs in chronological release order. He used the original 24-bit remasters rather than the 16-bit versions that were required for CD production. It was also decided to use the remasters that had not undergone 'limiting' - a procedure to increase the sound level, which is deemed necessary for most current pop CDs.

Having made initial test cuts, Magee pinpointed any sound problems that can occur during playback of vinyl records. To rectify them, changes were made to the remasters with a Digital Audio Workstation. For example, each vinyl album was listened to for any 'sibilant episodes' - vocal distortion that can occur on consonant sounds such as S and T. These were corrected by reducing the level in the very small portion of sound causing the undesired effect. Similarly, any likelihood of 'inner-groove distortion' was addressed. As the stylus approaches the centre of the record, it is liable to track the groove less accurately. This can affect the high-middle frequencies, producing a 'mushy' sound particularly noticeable on vocals. Using what Magee has described as 'surgical EQ,' problem frequencies were identified and reduced in level to compensate for this.

The last phase of the vinyl mastering process began with the arrival of the first batches of test pressings made from master lacquers that had been sent to the two pressing plant factories. Stringent quality tests identified any noise or click appearing on more than one test pressing in the same place. If this happened, it was clear that the undesired sounds had been introduced either during the cutting or the pressing stage and so the test records were rejected. In the quest to achieve the highest quality possible, the Abbey Road team worked closely with the pressing factories and the manufacturers of the lacquer and cutting styli.

An additional and unusual challenge was to ensure the proper playback of the sounds embedded in the 'lock-groove' at the end of side two of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Requiring a combination of good timing and luck, it had always been a lengthy and costly process to make it work properly. In fact, it was so tricky, it had never been attempted for American pressings of the LP. Naturally, Sean Magee and the team perfected this and the garbled message is heard as originally intended on the remastered Sgt. Pepper LP.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

131 of 136 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Written by someone who owns every Beatles album. November 15, 2012

By Adam Sanders

Format:Vinyl|Amazon Verified Purchase

The following is an HONEST review by someone who has actually PURCHASED this Box Set and has owned EVERY Beatles Record (including the Blue Box set, Mfsl pressings, U.K pressings, Original Apple/Capitol pressings, orange label, purple label, colorband,...etc). In short, I can tell you this set is nothing short of EXCELLENT!

Without going into long winded, and unnecessary detail, I can tell you this set is impressive. First off, lets start with Amazon's packing: The set was double boxed and had a protective Styrofoam insert to prevent against movement during shipping. The box set itself, comes shrink wrapped and has a protective removable outer slip sleeve that slides off and serves to protect the outer box. Upon opening the boxes' flip top cover, there are protective removable pieces of foam that keep the internal contents of the box snug and upright. Inside the box each individual Lp, (and the hardcover book), are individually shrink wrapped, and meticulously packed, (in chronological order I might add).

The hardcover book is everything a Beatles enthusiast would expect and want, and is lavishly produced and illustrated. The record jackets themselves are made from a sturdy card stock, and are absolute faithful reproductions of the British originals.

Regarding the sonics; First off, I wish all the naysayers would stop droning on about the use of 24 bit digital remasters, and just listen to the sound quality of the records themselves, (and if you MUST have an all analogue recording, then just buy any Beatles record pressed from the 60's-the 80's, there's no shortage of them). Of course, I too would have preferred an all AAA mastering process, but IMHO these are some of the best sounding pressings I've heard in a long time. While not perfect, (hence my four star review), they are relatively quiet, lively sounding, and contain all the detail anyone, (with reasonable expectations) could ask for. If you're looking for INCREDIBLE REVELATIONS like being able to hear Paul McCartney possibly "breaking wind" in the background on the second take of Let it Be, I ask you to please just "Let it Be" already. I've been spinning Beatles Vinyl for decades, and this set delivers on every account, (it's makes a great addition to any collection). Also, anyone who's saying: "digital masters defeat the purpose of vinyl" I ask you this question: What exactly is the "purpose" of vinyl anyway?... Musical reproduction? Enjoyment?

My last point here is the price. At $319 (with free shipping) from Amazon, (which is currently the best market price), this set IMHO is worth it. Again, anyone who is paying Music Direct, (or others) higher prices for supposed "first pressings" of this set, (which by the way isn't numbered anyway), is wasting their money in my opinion. Go for the best price on this one.

In closing, there are those that will never be satisfied, and post negative reviews; but readers please remember this: Everyone is entitled to their opinion, (right, wrong, or indifferent), and doesn't deserve to be attacked for expressing it.

In the words of the great John Lennon and Paul McCartney: "All You Need Is Love."

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UPDATE!...(11/16/12) After reading several reviewers complaining about pressing problems, most notably "Abbey Road" I decided to play my copy from start to finish. The verdict: My copy plays perfectly, and is almost dead quiet. Even the dead wax on the second side between "Her Majesty" and "The End" is stone quiet. So to all please know there are good pressings out there to replace the potential bad ones.
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UPDATE #2!...(11/17/12) At first I randomly sampled the set, but I finally had the time to sit down and carefully also listen to: Sgt Peppers, Magical Mystery Tour, Revolver, and Rubber Soul, (in their entirety) and they're nothing short of FANTASTIC! I'm not kidding here. They're virtually dead quiet, and sonically wonderful. I may have been lucky to get a good Box Set, but I can't be the only one out there. For those who are experiencing problems, (and I understand your frustrations), try another set. I'm telling you, EMI did their job on this one.

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FINAL THOUGHTS...I just listened to a posted online interview with Sean Magee (EMI Engineer)who headed this project, and my final thoughts are this: While EMI/Capitol did do their job, they simply "cheaped" out on this project in the end, selecting a pressing plant, (Rainbo) that simply didn't do theirs. In the online interview, Magee claims that the renown U.S. pressing plant R.T.I. was considered, but simply "couldn't handle the project," so Rainbo, (a U.S. pressing plant with a "spotty" reputation at best, hence the quality control issues) was chosen. This would explain the "hit and miss" reviews and output. I got lucky, and received a "good" Box Set, but there are many out there that obviously didn't. There's no doubt in my mind that this was a mere "cost saving" measure taken by EMI and nothing more. There's no way I can believe that R.T.I. would turn down such a prestigious project, and furthermore, if EMI was that concerned with "Quality Control" (as they stated), then why not just delay the project six months, giving R.T.I. (or another high end manufacturer), the extra time needed to complete the project. I mean there wasn't exactly a "rush" to complete this set; or was there? Maybe just in time for Christmas.

Seriously, anyone out there that received a "legitimately" defective Beatles Box Set, (not one that has a few "pops" and "clicks"). I encourage you to: MAKE AS MUCH NOISE AS POSSIBLE!!! (On Amazon, chat rooms, blogs, audiophile sites, even letters to EMI/Apple themselves). It's the only way to get EMI's attention to address and fix this problem!

Power to the People! -John Lennon

Peace to all,
Enjoy the music!
Adam

91 of 98 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is just my opinion... November 13, 2012

By elgobbes

Format:Vinyl|Amazon Verified Purchase

Ok. I'm sure that this box set is going to be a highly conversed topic. My guess is that the previous reviewers have not listened to the records so their opinion is based on assumption. No it isn't sourced from the master tapes, but a similar source to the 2009 remastered CDs. From what I have read however this set isn't just a transfer from cd to lp. There was some tweaking to make this set unique from its cd counterpart. Either way what it comes down to, is "how does it sound"? Well I'm listening to it right now, and I think it sounds pretty darn good. I have only gotten as far as "A Hard Day's Night" and the early albums sound bright, clear and most of all scratch free. There are Beatles fans out there that might not own many Beatles records, which would make this set perfect for them. In my opinion to get an original Beatles set in near mint condition is not only expensive but very difficult.

You also have to consider the system that you would be listening to them through. If your system consists of a Crosley vintage stereo from Target you might not want to spend the money on this set. I'm not saying that my setup is anything amazing, it's probably the minimum you would want to listen to "audiophile" quality records. I think that these records were mastered with more modern audiophile setups in mind. Mine varies from late 70's to mid 80's.

Everyone's stereos and ears are different so when you read people praising/complaining about this set it's very subjective. Make sure reviews you read are from people who have actually listened to the set.

If you're on the fence about buying this set consider what kind of system you have, and wether you will listen to them enough to make it worth it. I know I will.

Also my set did receive some minor damage during shipping so when you are considering wether to have it shipped or not, you might want to transport it yourself.

@@@@@@@@@Update@@@@@@@@@

I initiated a return through Amazon. They were very accommodating and another one is already on its way. I will update the review once I receive it.

I received my replacement today. It was shipped in the factory box and an outer Amazon box. It was in fine shape. My suggestion is to only include this set in an order. Don't have anything shipped along with the box set.

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great music, poor manufacturing and shipping - UPDATE #3! November 14, 2012

By L. Ross

Format:Vinyl|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was perhaps more excited for this box set than anything I've purchased music-related in decades. Unfortunately my excitement left me when I saw the condition of both the shipping box, the product box, and the albums and materials inside. The shipping box was badly damaged when it arrived and some of that damage translated to the product box corners (dinged in a bit). The packing material was a paltry few plastic air bubbles around the sides of the product box, nothing on top or bottom. With the shipping box being way oversized that led to a lot of bouncing around. Once i opened the actual box set other problems appeared pretty quickly. Several album jackets had bent/creased corners, and a few had inner sleeves that look like someone at the factory crumpled them up before inserting the vinyl. A real shame considering the sleeves are otherwise decent and poly-lined. The additional 'psychedelic' red/white paper sleeve in Peppers was also creased badly. I examined each piece of vinyl and found a few with obvious scratches that did produce noise when played.

The book included was in perfect condition and is stunning.

None of the damage described here was major, but it's the summation of all of it that makes it obvious there was a total lack of QC during the manufacturing of this product.

Not happy at all about this, but considering returning it for a replacement rather than a refund. Maybe I'll get lucky next time.

Quick Update 11/15/2012 - I received my 2nd box set yesterday (I ordered one to play, 1 for the archive to remain sealed and maybe give to my son 20 years from now). Anyways, the second set arrived in much better shape, but it again was not packaged in the original foam wrapped shipping containers that others are raving about online. This time it arrived in a smaller outer box, but was packed around it with crumpled up packing paper. not much better than the first set. I think i just got lucky that nothing happened during shipment.

My main concern tonight is with the quality of sound on this vinyl. Both of my copies of Abbey Road and The White Album (i opened both box sets due to all of these problems) have an incredible amount of noise on them. i'm not a vinyl expert by any means, but i know a noisy record when i hear it. i know others are raving about the sound quality, but my sets sound like garbage...Returning both for refunds.

Update #2 - 11/17/2012 !!

Have any of you found the major misprint on side two of the label of Magical Mystery Tour? Go look!

If this doesn't just ice the cake of complete failure on this box set, nothing will. ABSOLUTELY NO QUALITY CONTROL WHATSOEVER!

Update #3 - 11/24/2012!

Ordered box set #3, this time from Amazon UK. The box arrived quickly (even with the holiday in there), and was packaged as hoped, inside the official EMI 'outer' box with the cool 'Handle With Care' labeling, foam inserts etc. Unfortunately someone thought handle with care meant drop the box on the floor and crush one corner in so badly that even the foam inserts weren't enough to prevent the box set from a small but noticeable corner ding. oh well, i could live with that i guess, seeing as this thing just traveled thousands of miles. Several differences noted between the EU box set and the U.S. box:

- overall EU box was manufactured with significantly higher overall quality.

- EU box is about .5 inches smaller in both height and width, due to thinner black foam pads inside the box. EU box also came with silica gel packets resting in top portion of box set. There was no shrink wrapping on the EU box set, only on individual records and the book.

- EU record jackets are much higher in quality, seemingly slightly stronger card stock, and noticeably glossier. Absolutely no record jacket, inner sleeve, or 'extras' damage in the EU box. Notably, gatefolds had more precise 'hinge side' squaring than my U.S. box versions. The EU gatefolds also seem to be sized a bit better to hold all of the extras without having that strange jacket warp the U.S. versions have.

- EU vinyl labels were all perfectly centered, and appear to be printed with better quality that the U.S. set.

- EU vinyl had no signs of no-fill, with only two minor surface defects, one on Sgt. Peppers and one on MMT.

And now for the bad news. 6 of the EU discs were significantly warped. I haven't had a chance to play all of them yet, but the two I did were warped enough to affect playability.

My plan is to talk to Amazon UK about getting a replacement box, or individual records to replace my warped copies. At this time Amazon UK is not selling the box set due to 'reported customer problems'. I assume this could mean the warping issue is fairly prevalent in the EU pressings. Hoping this may also mean they are waiting on a second pressing before they resume selling. Why Amazon U.S. isn't putting a similar halt on sales is beyond me...