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The thing to really enjoy about this album set is the packaging and the heavy vinyl. The production department cared about the quality. Right down to the reproduction ads in the early albums.
The mono vs. stereo aspect is there but to me it was simply not that impactful. If you don't own Dylan's first 8 albums or are replacing his first 8 albums then this is both an aesthetic and economic purchase.
But if you are expecting existential auricular profundity from listening both on vinyl and mono you are going to have an expectation not met.
I enjoyed the mono; the raw recording aspect was probably the biggest thrill; little errors like you were in the control room at Columbia. But I grew up on the stereo recordings and am bonded and biased to them.
But for a vinyl set this is the way to go. I own all Dylan albums on CD (stereo) as well and find them just as listenable.
Now the unfortunate part:
On three of the disks there were some significant pops. I did some careful spot cleaning on the areas and the pops were ameliorated but NOT eliminated totally. For $140+ is it wrong of me to expect physical perfection?
One of the remaining pops is on a top five favourite song pushing me to get the whole set exchanged. But I doubt it worth the hassle.
I bought the set half for its aesthetic value and half for my completeist ideology.
So don't expect perfection in manufacture. But I only have the one set to judge by.
Worth the money? Yes. Essential if you are a Dylan fan? No.
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