Astro - no disrespect intended to you by my use of the word "hi-fi" to describe the Classic. Yes, I am basing what I said on memory, but heard over my own system at the time with the copies to hand. I did, in fairness, acknowledge that some of this may not only be system dependent, but based on listener preference. For example, "soundstage" to me is an attribute- often used by audiophiles to describe one facet of the sound. But it is only one facet, depending on your priorities and preferences. I have no monopoly on choosing what is "right" or "best"--in fact, my point is that different copies have different strengths and weaknesses. And, I have many Classics that I bought at the time of release. Every one sounds different than the earlier "standard issue" copies (and among those, there are many differences depending on the cut, the country of origin, etc.) . But, I'm not making a blanket indictment of the Classics. To be sure, Mike Hobson had great taste and went to the limit to deliver some of the best remasters at the time. And, it was nice to get fresh, unmolested copies of some of the more pricey collectibles for a reasonable price. But, the choice between copies/pressings/remasters is, to me, often one of preference rather than demonstrably "better" or "worse." My apologies for using a descriptor that seemed like an insult.