Review by Paul Sutcliffe.UK

If you like this album this is the cd to get! Superb 2001 pcm Remastering and Blu-spec cd2,I cannot imagine it sounding any better for a 1968 recording. The sound is like High-End vinyl! a great case for cd even over SACD. Buy now before an inferior DSD version comes out!

I HAVE THE ORIGINAL REMASTER 24BIT, AND RECENTLY PURCHASED THE STILL AVAILABLE 24BIT REMASTER WITH RUBIDIUM CLOCK CUTTING AND WAS SURPRISED AT THE ADVANCE IN SOUND AS I MISSED THE ORIGINAL SHM VERSION.HOWEVER I THOUGHT MY LUCK WAS NOW IN WITH THIS NEW VERSION WHICH IS SHM AND HR CLOCK CUTTING,BUT IT IS TAKEN FROM THE DSD MASTER AND THE SOUND IS OK ITS NOT A DISASTER BUT WOULD SUIT SACD BETTER,AS THE DSD HAS TO BE CONVERTED BACK TO PCM FOR CD.THIS NEW VERSION COMPARED TO THE RUBIDIUM/24 BIT REMASTER SOUNDS SOFTER AND LACKS LOW FREQUENCY SOUNDS OF TRAFFIC IN BACKGROUND SOUNDING FILTERED OUT!IT JUST LACKS THE CLARITY OF THE PREVIOUS VERSION,THE BELLS AND TRIANGLE RING CLEAR ON THE PREVIOUS VERSION,MY ADVISE BY THE PREVIOUS VERSION WHICH IS CHEAPER AND BETTER! FORGET THE MQA VERSION WHICH IN CD ONLY PLAYBACK SOUNDS EVEN WORSE!

GREAT RECORDING DDD,SHM,RUBIDIUM CLOCK CUTTING,CLEAN AND SMOOTH WITH SOME POWERFUL LOW FREQUENCY MOMENTS,GREAT BALANCED TAKE ON HOLSTS WORK,BUY IT!

I HAVE THE NON RUBIDIUM VERSION AND DID NOT EXPECT THEIR TO BE MUCH IMPROVEMENT COMPARED TO SHM WHICH I DONT HAVE,HOWEVER I WAS SURPRISED THAT THE NOISE FLOOR OF THE RECORDING OPENED UP REVEALING MORE LOW FREQUENCY DETAIL AND TRAFFIC NOISE ON RECORDING WHICH NOW SOUNDS LIKE REAL CARS MOVING AROUND MY BUILDING!ONLY AWARE OF THIS ON SOME QUIET PARTS,ITS AN INTERESTING INTERPRETATION OF THE PLANETS WHICH HAS GROWN ON ME AND THE REMASTERED RECORDING 24BIT IS EXCELLENT FOR A VERY EARLY 60s RECORDING,WELL DONE DECCA!

I LOVE THE PLANETS AND HAVE MOST VERSIONS AND THIS IS A VERY GOOD ONE AND QUITE DIFFERENT IN PLACES LIKE "THE BRINGER OF OLD AGE" TRAK WITH ITS BRILLIANT RASPS WHICH INTENSIFY TO A LOUD CLIMAX,CLEAN RECORDING,POWERFUL MARS WHEN IT ALL CRASHES IN AFTER THE BUILD UP! YOU NEED A GOOD SYSTEM TO CAPTURE THE PEAK! ALSO THE DISC IS GREEN COATED-ANTI REFLECTION? SHM AND RUBIDIUN CLOCK CUTTING.

What can I say ? Not the best trak selections for a demo disc,plus the mastering is from DSD transfers which have to be converted back to PCM for cd! A loss in sound,yet this new format that I have not tried in High-Res,still works as a super kind of MP3,yes some information is missing!The UHQCD format is good and would have sounded better if the masters were from PCM,Which suits the new format better and 192/24pcm is better than dsd.I compared one trak to my shm version which has same mastering and it sounds better!!!these traks sound warmer and lacking detail.I can not comment on the hi-res,but I wont be rushing to sell my Naim CD5Si!when some blu-spec and shm cds sound as good as HD downloads!at least cd is being taken to the maximum with these enhancements without missing data,unlike this new format which removes data and will be why the the sound when played on a standard cd player is not as good as shm of same album/mastering.

Great album done to death in many formats! but the greatest is NOT this version. Having owned original cd and 2009 remaster and vinyl 2009 remaster, USA remasters the BEST version by a mile is the 2009 SHM JAP REMASTER! THE NEW VESION IS OVERLOUD,COMPRESSED,LACKS Hi-Fi quality,the vinyl version is better! but the 2009shm is better than all else!despite the 2009 vinyl claiming higher resolution from master than cd!Sorry analog diehards but this shm2009cd is more analog sounding than all the others with greater detail and dynamics and musicality,shows how good cd when done right can sound,some of the beatles shm reviews are Fake! the shm difference is crystal clear! My advice,BUY THE NEW REISUES ASAP!

Having the jap non blu-spec version as well,this clearly brings out even more detail and clariy,what I would like to know is how this compares to the Blu-SpecCD2 version,whats the difference I wonder as some BSCD2 CDS sound warmer to me which is not allways a good thing!

GREAT 1ST ALBUM FROM THIS BAND,VERY GOOD SOUND AND IN MY OPINION ONE OF THE BEST SOUNDING VERSIONS AND I HAVE THEM ALL!!! BUY IT AND ENJOY.

SHM Formats brings more clarity to the sound,if you like this album and want an upgrade buy it!You wont regret it.

Quite good 2nd album from DS,I prefer the sound of the 1st Album thou!Comparing this to my SACD, believe it or not but this sounds better!!! it is the PCM remaster version,which stacks up well to the SACD with its DSD ORIGINAL MASTER. I FIND THAT WITH GOOD MASTERING SHM CDS SOUND BRILLIANT AND MORE NATURAL.

MAGNIFICENT ALBUM THAT SOUNDS SUPERB IN THIS SHM VERSION,I CARNT IMAGINE IT SOUNDING BETTER,THE FIRST 2 TRAKS ARE AWESOME! BUY THIS VERSION NOW!

Classic HL album that is further enhanced by the excellent shm format.Buy it while you can,you will not regret it!

GREAT ALBUM,BUT THIS RELEASE WAS A BIT OF A LET DOWN,I WAS EXPECTING MORE AND GOT LESS! ITS NOT A FAULT OF THE PLAT-SHM CD FORMAT OR HR CUTTING,BUT THE MASTERING,IT SOUNDS A BIT FLAT AND LACKING SPARKLE.THE STANDARD PCM-REMASTER SHM CD SOUNDS MUCH BETTER, EVEN THAN THE SACD!!! WHICH USES THIS MASTERING! AND YES IM NOT USING A BUDGET SETUP,IT INCLUDES LATEST NAIM AMPS[NOT-BUDGET END]

Nice cardboard sleave edition! quite nice sound les bright than Platinum version,but overall I prefer the original remaster in shm.worth buying thou as an alternative.

TRULY EXCELLENT CD AND MASTERING,RETAINS DETAIL AND ANALOG SOUND!SOME TRAKS ARE OUTSTANDING FOR SOUND QUALITY,I PERSONALY FEEL THIS IS THEIR BEST ALBUM AND BEST SOUNDING AS WELL.

I BOUGHT THIS TO HEAR THE GILES MARTIN REMIX,AND IM NOT IMPRESSED!THE SOUND IS SOFTER THAN THE 2009 SHM CDS OF THE COMPLETE ALBUMS. LISTEN TO [COME TOGETHER]FROM ABBEY ROAD,IT SOUNDS ALL MESSED UP WITH LEAD VOCAL TOO FAR BACK IN MIX,THE 2009SHM ABBEY ROAD BLOWS IT AWAY FOR SONICS AND BALANCE.THE BEST TRAK IS [YESTERDAY] WHICH SOUNDS QUITE GOOD.IN MESSING WITH THE MIX THE SOUND HAS SUFFERED,ITS LOST SOMETHING. BUT ITS NOT AS BAD AS THE NEW SARGENT PEPPER CD WHICH IS OVERLOUD AND COMPRESSED.LACKING ANY HI-FI QUALITY,AGAIN THE 2009SHM CD IS THE DEFINATIVE CD!

GREAT ALBUM,BUT I AM DISAPOINTED WITH THIS SACD,AND I PREFER THE STANDARD SHM CD OF THIS ALBUM[NOT THE DSD/HR CUTTING] I DID HAVE THE PLATINUM CD WHICH I PREFERED TO THIS ALSO!

NOT AS GOOD AS FIRST ALBUM,BUT SOME GOOD TRAKS.THIS SACD DOES NOT SOUND AS GOOD AS THE STANDARD SHM CD,WHICH IS CLEANER AND MORE DYNAMIC!THE STANDARD CD IS THE ONE WITHOUT DSD/HR CUTTING,AND I NOTICE THAT SOME OF THESE SACD/CDS/DSD/HR-CUTTING TO MY EARS HAVE A SOUND TO THEM,WHICH IS HARD TO DESCRIBE,BUT ITS THERE ALL THE SAME!ONE NOTEABLE EXCEPTION BEING SUPERTRAMPS-BREAKFAST IN AMERICA,WHICH HAS A VERY DULL SOUND,SOMETHING WRONG SOMEWHERE.

THIS SHM CD IS TRULY EXCELLENT,BOTH GIULINI INTERPRETATIONS OF THE WORKS ARE VERY MOVING,AIDED BY EXCELLENT RECORDINGS,BUY IT!