Dead Can Dance on SACD

Amen Jorge, you are so right. The discs look immaculate, but they are such big a PITA to use. I'm just trimming off the flap of the outer sleeve and removing the goo with alcohol. BTW, I'd never bought their first two discs as they were never reviewed as being up to the standards of "Spleen and Ideal" and those after that. After listening to the the first two, I'm amazed at how fast they established their mature signature sound. Their first release is a muddled sonic mess that sounds like it was recorded on a four track Tascam with $60.00 Radio Shack mikes. SACD does nothing to help that one. The second EP disc sounds much better and the music is starting to gel into something good.

I agree:

Paper sleeves - Better than expected.
Re-sealable outer sleeves - Sucks.

I still wish they would have released them in a jewelbox like the MFSL Ryan Adams "Heartbreaker" hybrid CD / SACD.

As for their first release...if you don't like the re-master, you really won't like the original release. The original release sounds like a mess. The remaster sounds like it's supposed to sound like a mess.

I rushed in to listen to Into the Labyrinth and Towards the Within, of course. Im stupefied. They sound indescribably good! I heard the 4 (or 5) song EP: :(
Sounds like crap. ..........6 more to go.

Just got my DCD boxset. They sound phenomenal! The bass is so right where you want it. The sense of space and soundstage is greatly improved. All the percussion instruments are crisp, clear and much more pronounced. I love it!
Now the negatives:

1. Yup the resealable plastic sleeves suck. I love resealable sleeves and these are just bad. Already replaced with quality sleeves from Japan.
2. The packaging is okay but they could have gone further like real Japanese mini LP sleeve reissues by including replica labels, some bonus tracks, B-sides, etc.
3. The vocals are a little too digitized for my taste especially Brendan Perry's vocals on Toward The Within.

I've got 7 more to go as I had to hear Toward The Within and Aion first.

It is not my intent to steal the thunder from this thread, but on a related note, it seems that DCD is in the process of having remastered albums rereleased on 180g vinyl. I have original copies of most of their LPs, and they are a treat. Acousticsounds is taking preorders already for Garden of Arcane Delights and their initial self titled release. The DCD website implies that more are on the way. By the way, I have recently received the SACD of Into the Labyrinth as well as Within the Realm of a Dying Sun, and they are in fact a real improvement. I have not even listened to the SACD layer yet.