Brothers in Arms

Got this yesterday & I'm happy to report this is the "180 GRAM High-Performance 2-Disc Vinyl Record, Half-Speed Mastered by Stan Ricker, Plating & Pressing at R.T.I. version ($30.29 as of this posting). As you might or might not know, this version has the complete, un-altered full length versions of all songs. On the original album songs were trimmed to fit on 2-sides. Haven't had a chance to do a full listen comparison to my 1st press of the album but I'm liking what I'm hearing! :) 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - 093624937715 Half Speed Mastering by Stan Ricker - Limited Edition - Pressed at Plated at RTI WOW!!! The sound was excellent, deep bass, great depth of soundstage, smooth rich tone and great dynamics! There is a reason they cut this Album on four full sides!" Whatever you think of Knopler’s songwriting depth and the communicativeness of his delivery, there’s no denying the exquisite—though now sounding dated— mid-1980’s production quality. The sound quality of this album immediately attracted audiophiles back then and continues to do so today. Even on his worst day, I wouldn’t bet against Bob Ludwig cutting at the Masterdisk lathe and the “RL MASTERDISK” original is still a potent sounding record. Stan Ricker’s half-speed cut, spread out over four sides, doesn’t attempt to re-create the original’s brash, forward and echoey sound. It’s somewhat drier, less “tinkly” and definitely gives musical images greater weight and more body. For instance, “Walk of Life” comes off far less “carnival-like” and I think that makes it a much better song. Ricker gives the album a warmer, more mature feel, with the half-speed mastering trading some brashness and edginess for greater true transient detail and a more burnished overall presentation. . Dire Straits' biggest-selling album-in fact, one of the biggest-selling albums world-wide of all time-Brothers In Arms helped musically define a decade. This superb album spent the grand total of 203 weeks in the UK charts and a respectable 55 weeks in the US charts (where it sold 7 million copies alone). "Brothers In Arms" was pretty much the success story of the 80's and was primarily fuelled by a slate of huge hit singles like the classic "Money For Nothing" (No.1 US, No.4 UK '85), "Walk Of Life" (No.2 UK '86, No.7 US '85) and "So Far Away" (No.19 US '86, No.20 UK '85). "Money For Nothing," the song that helped immortalize the phrase “I want my MTV,” hit #1 and won the Grammy® for Best Rock Performance. Today, Brothers In Arms remains a rock essential - and now is offered as a completely uncompressed two-disc vinyl album for the ultimate in fidelity! The instruments are sharper and the whole soundstage is much more full than the studio pressing. It also seems as if there is more music. I do not remember the extended lead in for the first song on side two ("Walk Of Life") as well as the trailing notes for the last song on side 3 ("Ride Across The River"). I'm not a big fan of bloated bass, and even though the bass is considerably more full than the studio pressing, it was also more musical. 1/2 Speed Mastered by Stan Ricker on High Performance 180 Gram Vinyl... Because Sound Matters! Plating and Pressing at R.T.I. Dire Straits'

Great engineering/production! Great album. Sounds really good on a good stereo.

Proper 180gr vinyl feels good... Quality. Price was right. And the intro to Money For Nothing simply hasn't aged at all.

Played on my OPPO BDP-83 SE, Nuforce Edition, OPPO BDP-83SE - Nuforce Edition I listened to it on my high quality stereo, with my jaw dropped and my eyes wide with excitement. This is the music we know, yet like we've never heard before; the improvement is so outstanding. A whole new experience of the same songs, only remastered to quality better than possible for consumers, back in the day. The sounds from guitar have all the character, twang and original Dire Straits sound you could dream of. It must be heard to understand. Imported from England, but worth every penny. In "So Far Away", during the chorus, the low growling guitar notes are heard to advantage, and similarly at the end of lines, such as following "blister on your little finger". Throughout, the percussion is tightened up in the remaster, weigh in the lows, fast and crisp for cymbals. "Money for Nothing" is the album version, at 8 minutes, 26 seconds. The percussion in the intro to Money for Nothing" is heard to particular good effect, with the ethereal "I want my, I want my MTV ..." lead in. The price of this Hybrid SACD album is not "money for nothing"; the money is for a fine improvement/remaster of particularly high quality. There are CD stereo, SACD stereo, SACD multichannel tracks. I didn't listen multichannel as I only have stereo gear, although my OPPO did down-mix the 5.1 audio track as stereo. Even playing it as an ordinary CD on a nice, older Sony CD player, it was nicely improved. The musical upgrade of this disc is not as fine when the CD layer is played, compared to SACD, but it is still no small improvement in my opinion. Particularly recommended for those with quality music setups, especially played as SACD, both stereo and surely also as multichannel, although the multi-channel assessment is based only on the quality experienced in stereo. It's made me feel like a kid again, only with better toys and music. Listening as SACD, I wanted to listen all the way through, the music drew me in so. Listening as a CD, was more like in the old days, where, after the great songs, one might be motivated to jump to the next great song rather than just listen. High quality, reasonably priced, audio equipment can show the audio improvement to good effect. "Be-Bop-A-Lula Baby What I Say ... do the walk of life", to great music.

1 of 2 best ever cd's!

I was introduced to Dire Straits as a teenager when the legendary hit "Money For Nothing" hit the airwaves. After hearing that as well as the undeniably catchy and also classic "Walk Of Life", I knew I had to get this album. Those songs along with the low-key but also catchy leadoff track and third single "So Far Away" got this album off to a great start. But at the time (silly youth that I was), I was disappointed with the rest of the album, as I didn't find the non-hits nearly as catchy or memorable. I guess I was hoping for more tunes as heavy as "Money For Nothing", while there is nothing else like that on the album. Over time, however, I have grown to truly appreciate this album. That has increased even further with a recent purchase of this album on CD--replacing the cassette I had for years. Besides the aformentioned big hits, songs like the jazzy "Your Latest Trick", the mellow but pretty "Why Worry", the rhythmic and somewhat mystical "Ride Across The River", and the catchy and slightly uptempo "One World" all sound fantastic. Turn this CD up pretty loud and listen to the crispness of the production--you truly can't beat it. To this day I consider this a very fine classic rock set from the mid-'80s. Still an essential listen. I actually rate this more along the lines of 4 1/2 stars.

This quite possibly is the best quality 5.1 surround sound mix I've ever heard. This is the import only SACD 5.1 CD, not to be confused with the DVD-Audio 5.1 edition available in the U.S. Actually one of the reviews posted here appears to be for the DVD-Audio version. Both versions are playable on standard CD players though the DVD-A is a 2 sided disk where you must flip it over to the other side for the standard CD mix. So, with both Hybrid SACD and DVD-A we now have CD's that can be played on any player though you really need to play them on surround sound systems to get the full appreciation of their sound. Otherwise, why buy it? I will say that most hybrid SACD's I've played on standard CD players (automobile) do sound better than their non-SACD versions. Well, I do have both the SACD and DVD-A versions (just to show my obsession/love for this CD). The first thing to make clear, the SACD version may or may not have used the same audio source mixes used for the DVD-A version, but they are by no means inferior. The 2 versions truly do sound different. Its hard to describe in words how much additional sonic details come out in the SACD version verses the DVD-A. I have an above average system (not top high end) and I'm able to hear sonic details including guitar passages I've never heard before. One listen to the final song, Brothers in Arms is all it takes though there is not a weak moment song-wise or sound-wise on this SACD. As for the DVD-A, it's still good, but on my system I can't draw out the same details that I'm able to on the SACD version. Maybe has something to do with my DVD player being a SONY SACD/DVD combo player? Or, maybe the SACD version is just that much better. I'll leave that for further debate. The fact that most people have a surround sound DVD system and not many people have a SACD player does mean the DVD-A will be the more popular version purchased. That is a shame as I just don't hear the same level of detail in the DVD-A 5.1 mix (at least on my system). From a playability perspective, I also prefer the SACD over the DVD-A. When you put the DVD-A in your player you will find it defaults to the standard 2 channel mix and requires you to go into the menu and select the 5.1 mix. With the SACD it will automatically detect the 5.1 mix if played in a SACD player. Also, if you have a multi-disc DVD player, once the DVD-A has finished playing it will not automatically move to the next disc in the changer as this SACD will. So, if you love this CD and have a SACD player, don't hesitate to purchase this one. As for the DVD-A, I've heard better than this one, but I still believe the DVD-A is a worthwhile purchase if you don't have a SACD player as long as you have surround sound stereo DVD system. It will still provide a new level of enjoyment for listening to this classic Dire Straits CD.

Fantastic SACD! The shipping could have been a bit faster, but his is the real deal. I've been taken before by sellers claiming to sell a Super Audio CD, when the product is a regular Redbook CD. This is a great single layer SACD and a must for serious collectors - amazing sound. p.s. if you are not familiar with SACDs, this is a single layer DSD (not a hybrid) and it will only play on SACD players.

Det enda dåliga var att jag var tvungen att kalibrera om min sacd-spelare(Sony scd-xe597) för först stod det no hybrid i displayen när jag valde sacd. Provade sedan med min nya Sony blu-ray spelare som kunde läsa den som sacd utan problem.

Grands moments de musique.

Produto é otimo, porem veio com um pequeno defeito, que pulava a primeira musica, fomos ver melhor, era a cola da embalagem que havia derretido. Felizmente foi possivel limpar ele

There is no higher audio standard. The Everest of audio recording Good luck getting one :0)

Come tutti gli OMR (MoFi) la qualità di questo LP è altissima, penso la miglior edizione attualmente reperibile La consiglio a tutti gli amanti del gruppo