Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti LP - Sounds Awful!

Sounds like you have more than enough grounds to ask for a refund, especially since it is pressed off-center (which is a manufacturing defect).

Regarding the sound: all the new Zeppelin vinyl remasters are cut are from digital masters.  If you want a truly AAA copy you will need to locate an original pressing or one of the Classic Records pressings.

You'd be much better finding a decent secondhand original which can be found for not much more. Even an '80s reissue will sound better than the pile of crap the new reissue is. Return it for a refund.

Is JP using a deaf school recording studio? 

Otherwise you like to think someone involved would say it sounds "CRAP JIMMY"

The worrying thing is there is more of this expensive rubbish to come from JP 

I only managed to get through half of it, it sounded so bad it gave me a headache. I thought there was something wrong with my system. I shant be making any further contributions to JP's pension fund!

HEY JIMMY, NO!, IT SOUNDS CRAP!

No problem, my local record shop are friendly and helpful, no problem with refund.
Although digital they are supposed to be 24/96.

Richard

Glad it is not just me. I have the HD download and thought exactly the same, harsh sounding and no bass. Mind you I am auditioning speakers at the moment so it is hard to be certain if it is the mastering, the speakers or a bit of both!

David Fricke of Rolling Stone magazine gave the deluxe edition of PG five of five stars. Interestingly, he made no mention of SQ, only spoke in terms of the historical context of the album and the bonus tracks.

I think the real question here and for other historical albums is do we really want guys with 70-something year-old ears doing the remastering, especially with ears subjected to hundreds of raucous rock concerts and studio recordings over the years when hearing protection was not a consideration? Jimmy ought to give up the torch and find someone with hearing to do the remastering.

I personally have not heard the latest LZ remasters, but have no desire to after hearing Page's work on Mothership.

I've listened to it once and my reaction was the same as the OP. I will need to compare directly with my original, purchased in 1976 (at the age of 14).

The folk on the Steve Hoffman forum seem to be satisfied and are mostly concerned with the quality of the U.S. pressing verses the European one.

Keith

Unless your auditioning speakers with no bass drivers, I reckon its the mastering at fault.

Interesting to hear that you are hearing the same from the download which would seem to confirm that it is the "remastering" that is suspect rather than the digital to analogue conversion and transfer.

Thanks
Richard

JP is likely to suffering from serious hearing loss. He needs to at least get some independent advice on eq. to validate what his ears might be telling him.

Must be one of those 'Mastered for Beats Headphones' releases 

I think you're being a little unfair on Mr Page and quite frankly ageist. Appears this version is obviously aimed at the average octogenarian and why not, old people should have the right to listen to music they can hear correctly.

Also, to be fair it's not easy making a silk purse from a sows ear, apart for trampled underfoot, kashmir and ten years gone, it's pretty forgettable. Which, given it's target demographic is definitely a good thing.

It's a very good album fatcat, just not this version. I gave up buying these reissues after III. They're dire. They're not too bad listening on digital format but compared with original vinyl they're a travesty.

should never entrust a musician to do the mastering, especially that of his own music.

This is very true! I can think of a number of Artists that once they wrested control over the complete mastering chain of their 'art' proceeded to ruin everything released thereafter by removing any trace of artistic creative spontaneity and reduce it to intellectual drivel at best - at worst something of a monster.

But in general now remasters are compressed to sound 'good' on low dynamic headroom equipment - put them on something that reveals the full dynamic range and you just hear all of the compression artifacts which ruin it, so it can only ever be 'enjoyed' on LoFi.

The sad reason I search back-catalogs for versions that are not ruined.

DB.

The question is how can you find out which are the best masterings? I am thinking Tidal/Qobuz etc are looking like the best way to experience music at the moment because at least if it is poor you have not bought it and can move on!

It is a trial and error process I'm afraid. I use CDs as source, which has the advantage of being presently very inexpensive to try. In general the early masters are better, but sometimes the very first versions are not as good as a proceeding one in the middle - but almost universally the later ones are compressed to give people the sound they seem to expect to have.

It is the case that uncompressed music on LoFi sounds 'thin' and Compressed music on HiFi sounds Thin and harsh too.

I find that the pressings from different countries also seem to matter - I tried seven versions of a particular CD to replace one that got damaged - all were poor-sounding until I finally ordered the one using the mastering code and second hand from Finland. It only cost me £7 as the CDs are so inexpensive now.

I'd love a place to look-up the best versions, but then they would all become expensive and hard to get. A strange world!

DB.

I think that's one of the great things about this thread: knowledgeable members sharing their experience of what versions sound best.  I know I've benefited from that. 

I don't know why there is any surprise with the SQ of this Physical Graffiti reissue on vinyl. This is the fifth one in the series and these were pretty dire as well. I guess people live in hope the next will be better.

I keep thinking that the reason Led Zep, The Stones, etc sound so bad to us now is due to a number of factors. When this music first came out (on vinyl) I had a Marantz receiver, Thorens TT and AR speakers. None of these were very resolving compared to the gear I own now. The tendency nowadays is towards higher resolution - gear and source material.

In addition our aging ears are probably less capable of handling aggressive sounds (screeching guitars mostly)

You want to enjoy this type of music without cringing? Listen to it on a lo-fi system. Led Zep, Stones, AC/DC, Black Keys... they all sound OK on my cheap car stereo. No matter who did the mastering.

This is disappointing to hear - I finally get my LP12 back this afternoon so I'll be able to evaluate for myself.

The CDs in the SDB are decent enough - a bit more bass, good levels of detail but a bit dull in the treble sometimes, although hardly revelatory (PG is perhaps the least impressive of these remasters so far).

This, quite frankly, is complete and utter bollocks. I don't know why there is this presumption that Page is deaf. He most certainly is not. I haven't spoken to him about this myself, but one of my hack friends has, and in great detail, and the reason why these remasters are the way they are is because that is the way Page (who, as we all know, is something of a control freak) wants them presented, for better or worse. It's the result of a conscious decision on his part. He wants his legacy to be "future proofed" for the mainstream listener in the sense that they can be presented in a variety of ways across different devices - he has seen the way the world is going (again, for better or for worse). It is unlikely that he will return to them again.

If anyone thinks that Jimmy Page is going to turn his life's work over to someone else while he is still alive is seriously deluded.

That said, Mothership (and Celebration Day) does sound awful. Interestingly, it is fairly well-known in Zeppelin circles that it was a rush job at the height of the loudness wars, initiated by the record company to cash in on the 02 gig; Page, uncharacteristically, was not that involved.

Relax everyone. Just wait 5 or 6 years until the next set of new and improved remasters comes out.