The recent release of Michael Jackson's Thriller by Mobile Fidelity has been causing waves for months. When it was discovered that the label had been cutting vinyl from a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) copy of the master tape for the past few years, it sent the entire Internet into an uproar.
Part of that suspicion came to light due to Mobile Fidelity's OneStep process, where a metal stamper is produced straight off the lacquer master, which can only be plated once. And for each lacquer cut, the original master tape would need to be played back many times (causing wear and deterioration with each pass) to cut the required number of lacquers needed to make 40,000 copies of this release.
It really didn't bother me to find this out as DSD, especially the high-bitrate DSD that Mobile Fidelity uses, is a transparent digital format. And hearing Mobile Fidelity's engineers describe how they produce their releases, it makes sense to keep it in the digital domain and not subject an irreplaceable master tape to further deterioration, especially when these masterings might go through several test pressings before the final product is approved. In these times, also, some record labels no longer allow the tapes out of their sight, so Mobile Fidelity is able to take their equipment to the label and perform the DSD transfer right at their facility.
With that out of the way, a fuss was also being made over the reissue of Thriller, both on the OneStep vinyl pressing and on SACD.
I borrowed the SACD from someone who purchased it recently and ripped it to my server for instant comparison to the 1999 SACD release from Legacy (Epic) which I have owned for nearly two decades now.
I can't count the number of times I had played my original LP copy of Thriller. Our aural memory often fails us since we cannot do a direct comparison, but I still remember those first three beats that opened the record--they were like a kick-start to the entire album, and they invoked excitement for what was to follow.
The second I heard those three beats on the SACD, something seemed off. There really wasn't much excitement there at all. I often don't trust my ears once I start doubting what I've just heard, so I poked around a few other tracks. Then, I listened again through some planar headphones, and my feeling didn't change--something was not quite right.
Just like those three beats kicking off "Wanna Be Starting Somethin'," those first four measures of Leon 'Ndugu' Chancler's drum kit on "Billie Jean" should shake the room, the snare being a visceral "crack" and the bass drum a powerful kick that you can feel. On the MoFi SACD, the drums lost some of their impact. Michael Jackson has lost his boogie.
Overall, everything I sampled, and even listened to at length later on, seemed to be lacking life. The dynamics were not as sharp (the crack of the snare, the kick drum, the electronic impact of the drum machine, a pulsing bass line that fills the room), and the entire thing seemed like a blanket covered the proceedings (overtones of Steve Porcaro's synthesizers on "Human Nature," the percussion, the sound of Eddie Van Halen's guitar distortion, even Michael's breathing between phrases).
I had given my buddy my early pressing of Thriller when I bought Sony's shtick of "perfect sound forever" and replaced it with the CD. But, I had purchased the 1999 SACD release (also made from the original two-track master), and ripped it several years ago in DSD to the server, so I have an instant means of comparison. This SACD, while still not perfect, retains the punchy, in-your-face sound that I remember from listening to my original LP. The drums on "Billie Jean" have weight. The percussion is well-defined. Even the soundstage is arguably just a little bit wider on this 23 year old SACD.
This old SACD, in other words, gets down and boogies. Even the first CD version, while not the best, still packed a punch.
The real clincher here is that even the somewhat worn promo 12-inch single of "Wanna Be Starting Something'" beats both SACDs handily, and Bernie Grundman didn't master this version--it was mastered by Brian Gardner at Allen Zentz Mastering. This 12-incher has the goods. It boogies.
Other Opinions
The Absolute Sound mentions this about the OneStep, and I'm hearing similar on the SACD version:
That one sentence above sums up how I felt about the SACD--the fun had been let out of the room. Thriller had lost its boogie. And I think "somewhat reduced" is perhaps putting it a little too politely.
Other views tend to concur with mine, even on the vinyl version. Goldmine Magazine's recent review mentioned this about the rolled-off characteristics I heard:
While I concur that the album lost its punch, I could not disagree more with their idea of what "audiophile" means. At least in my own system, I lean towards the audiophile side only to get the most out of the recordings, and relay to me what the original artist and producer wanted us to hear. That is where mastering comes into play, and mastering quality varies and is up to the discretion of the engineer. For a record label's position on being "audiophile," I would think it means it represents the master tape in the truest fashion, and is intended to bring that sound directly to those who buy the recordings.
Note that most in the audiophile press have been praising the OneStep LP, but part of me thinks some of them are pandering to Mobile Fidelity in order to keep on receiving their promotional copies of releases from these labels. Even the two I listed above tend to be enthusiastic about it, yet the negatives appeared further down in their reviews.
Others who like this release are the Mobile Fidelity fanboys, praising a label that in their eyes can never do wrong. Got news for 'em. I have just as many hits as I do misses in both vinyl and SACD releases. Where some sound absolutely amazing and are the best versions I've ever heard (the two-LP 45 RPM cut of Kind of Blue, by Miles Davis, is one of my favorite purchases ever), others have missed the mark, one flaw being that some of them are mastered way too bright. To their credit, I only had one bad pressing, and Music Direct (who owns Mobile Fidelity) quickly replaced it with no questions asked; their customer service has always knocked it out of the park any time I've had an issue or just a question.
So...what about that $100 LP?
I held off publishing this review until I was able to borrow a copy of the $100 MoFi vinyl. And I have finally been able to do this. No need to comment much more, as I found that its presentation in my system is nearly the same as the SACD. It, too, has a lot of inner detail and clarity, but at the expense of the punch and excitement of the other versions I own. Michael ain't got no boogie here either.
I would be that even Quincy Jones would not be impressed.
Summary
In short, it's not the Thriller I've known for 40 years. It was intended to be up front, punchy, and engineered to generate the excitement that Michael and Quincy Jones intended. Without out that, the album loses its appeal for me. Michael and Quincy were very particular of how this record sounded once it was mastered and pressed and Quincy, especially, produces albums based on feel. It is not uncommon for a producer to have an album cut several times until the mastering sounds the way he or she wants it, and I would suspect Quincy did the same here. (As a side note, even Michael was meticulous--he had bass player Louis Johnson bring in his entire arsenal of basses to find the sound he wanted for "Billie Jean." Just a small detail all of us take for granted.) It would be interesting to hear Quincy's thoughts on the MoFi mastering. I feel that this remaster fails at preserving their original intentions. The MoFi SACD just seems, well, boring, in other words.
Short of finding a sealed early pressing (which costs more than the OneStep these days) or getting back my original pressing of Thriller, my 1999 SACD will remain my go-to version. Some might go for the detailed, yet recessed, presentation of the MoFi SACD or OneStep vinyl, but others who know the original will feel something is missing: The boogie.
Part of that suspicion came to light due to Mobile Fidelity's OneStep process, where a metal stamper is produced straight off the lacquer master, which can only be plated once. And for each lacquer cut, the original master tape would need to be played back many times (causing wear and deterioration with each pass) to cut the required number of lacquers needed to make 40,000 copies of this release.It really didn't bother me to find this out as DSD, especially the high-bitrate DSD that Mobile Fidelity uses, is a transparent digital format. And hearing Mobile Fidelity's engineers describe how they produce their releases, it makes sense to keep it in the digital domain and not subject an irreplaceable master tape to further deterioration, especially when these masterings might go through several test pressings before the final product is approved. In these times, also, some record labels no longer allow the tapes out of their sight, so Mobile Fidelity is able to take their equipment to the label and perform the DSD transfer right at their facility.
With that out of the way, a fuss was also being made over the reissue of Thriller, both on the OneStep vinyl pressing and on SACD.
I borrowed the SACD from someone who purchased it recently and ripped it to my server for instant comparison to the 1999 SACD release from Legacy (Epic) which I have owned for nearly two decades now.
I can't count the number of times I had played my original LP copy of Thriller. Our aural memory often fails us since we cannot do a direct comparison, but I still remember those first three beats that opened the record--they were like a kick-start to the entire album, and they invoked excitement for what was to follow.
The second I heard those three beats on the SACD, something seemed off. There really wasn't much excitement there at all. I often don't trust my ears once I start doubting what I've just heard, so I poked around a few other tracks. Then, I listened again through some planar headphones, and my feeling didn't change--something was not quite right.
Just like those three beats kicking off "Wanna Be Starting Somethin'," those first four measures of Leon 'Ndugu' Chancler's drum kit on "Billie Jean" should shake the room, the snare being a visceral "crack" and the bass drum a powerful kick that you can feel. On the MoFi SACD, the drums lost some of their impact. Michael Jackson has lost his boogie.
Overall, everything I sampled, and even listened to at length later on, seemed to be lacking life. The dynamics were not as sharp (the crack of the snare, the kick drum, the electronic impact of the drum machine, a pulsing bass line that fills the room), and the entire thing seemed like a blanket covered the proceedings (overtones of Steve Porcaro's synthesizers on "Human Nature," the percussion, the sound of Eddie Van Halen's guitar distortion, even Michael's breathing between phrases).
I had given my buddy my early pressing of Thriller when I bought Sony's shtick of "perfect sound forever" and replaced it with the CD. But, I had purchased the 1999 SACD release (also made from the original two-track master), and ripped it several years ago in DSD to the server, so I have an instant means of comparison. This SACD, while still not perfect, retains the punchy, in-your-face sound that I remember from listening to my original LP. The drums on "Billie Jean" have weight. The percussion is well-defined. Even the soundstage is arguably just a little bit wider on this 23 year old SACD. This old SACD, in other words, gets down and boogies. Even the first CD version, while not the best, still packed a punch.
The real clincher here is that even the somewhat worn promo 12-inch single of "Wanna Be Starting Something'" beats both SACDs handily, and Bernie Grundman didn't master this version--it was mastered by Brian Gardner at Allen Zentz Mastering. This 12-incher has the goods. It boogies.
Other Opinions
The Absolute Sound mentions this about the OneStep, and I'm hearing similar on the SACD version:
On the MoFi reissue, the drum and bass guitar are clearer with greater separation, detail, low-end extension, and more neutral and natural color, all right. But they are also less present and exciting. It’s almost as if some of the fun has been let out of the room. The upfront presence and thrilling power-range/midband impact of vocals and instrumental transients—and thrilling is the way the musicians, the producer, and the recording and the mastering engineers intended them to sound—are somewhat reduced.
That one sentence above sums up how I felt about the SACD--the fun had been let out of the room. Thriller had lost its boogie. And I think "somewhat reduced" is perhaps putting it a little too politely.
Other views tend to concur with mine, even on the vinyl version. Goldmine Magazine's recent review mentioned this about the rolled-off characteristics I heard:
I have heard (only a few) opinions that Mobile Fidelity has failed this attempt at a remaster because this album is supposed to be a “Dance record” and not an “Audiophile record,” and that the incredible clarity and separation that this MoFi remaster presents, has lost its “Umph” and its “punch,” which is characteristic of a good Dance record. My ‘common sense’ response to that would be, to remind those individuals that they just purchased a remastered version of this album “from an Audiophile record label,” and that by purchasing this version from an “Audiophile record label,” they should have expected to hear a version of this album to the tune of “Audiophile.”
While I concur that the album lost its punch, I could not disagree more with their idea of what "audiophile" means. At least in my own system, I lean towards the audiophile side only to get the most out of the recordings, and relay to me what the original artist and producer wanted us to hear. That is where mastering comes into play, and mastering quality varies and is up to the discretion of the engineer. For a record label's position on being "audiophile," I would think it means it represents the master tape in the truest fashion, and is intended to bring that sound directly to those who buy the recordings.
Note that most in the audiophile press have been praising the OneStep LP, but part of me thinks some of them are pandering to Mobile Fidelity in order to keep on receiving their promotional copies of releases from these labels. Even the two I listed above tend to be enthusiastic about it, yet the negatives appeared further down in their reviews.
Others who like this release are the Mobile Fidelity fanboys, praising a label that in their eyes can never do wrong. Got news for 'em. I have just as many hits as I do misses in both vinyl and SACD releases. Where some sound absolutely amazing and are the best versions I've ever heard (the two-LP 45 RPM cut of Kind of Blue, by Miles Davis, is one of my favorite purchases ever), others have missed the mark, one flaw being that some of them are mastered way too bright. To their credit, I only had one bad pressing, and Music Direct (who owns Mobile Fidelity) quickly replaced it with no questions asked; their customer service has always knocked it out of the park any time I've had an issue or just a question.
So...what about that $100 LP?
I held off publishing this review until I was able to borrow a copy of the $100 MoFi vinyl. And I have finally been able to do this. No need to comment much more, as I found that its presentation in my system is nearly the same as the SACD. It, too, has a lot of inner detail and clarity, but at the expense of the punch and excitement of the other versions I own. Michael ain't got no boogie here either.
I would be that even Quincy Jones would not be impressed.
Summary
In short, it's not the Thriller I've known for 40 years. It was intended to be up front, punchy, and engineered to generate the excitement that Michael and Quincy Jones intended. Without out that, the album loses its appeal for me. Michael and Quincy were very particular of how this record sounded once it was mastered and pressed and Quincy, especially, produces albums based on feel. It is not uncommon for a producer to have an album cut several times until the mastering sounds the way he or she wants it, and I would suspect Quincy did the same here. (As a side note, even Michael was meticulous--he had bass player Louis Johnson bring in his entire arsenal of basses to find the sound he wanted for "Billie Jean." Just a small detail all of us take for granted.) It would be interesting to hear Quincy's thoughts on the MoFi mastering. I feel that this remaster fails at preserving their original intentions. The MoFi SACD just seems, well, boring, in other words.
Short of finding a sealed early pressing (which costs more than the OneStep these days) or getting back my original pressing of Thriller, my 1999 SACD will remain my go-to version. Some might go for the detailed, yet recessed, presentation of the MoFi SACD or OneStep vinyl, but others who know the original will feel something is missing: The boogie.
Last edited:
