What CD sound is the best?

"particularly in king crimson 'court of the...' it's never outperformed an original release."

Are you talking about vinyl? As far as CDs, everyone is recommending the 40th Anniversary remaster above all other other versions.

-RW-: Thanks for reminding me of the "Cunfusion.." being slipped in. I totaly forgot about that. I think I have an ELP live LP (the one with 3 LP's?) that has it recorded.
Sheesh, hope we did'nt hijack this thread too much.
-John

Late to the game, but my comments ...

It is not even close when comes to King Crimson's Court. The 40th Anniversary edition not only sounds superior to all other CD editions, but also sounds the closest to the original vinyl from 1968. The 30th anniversary edition is positively raw sounding ... truly a strange mix.

The SACD version of the Moody's Lost Chord from 7 years ago is equally superior sounding to the original CD release.

Rich

Well I guess I missed the 40th Anniversary Edition. I will have to give it a try.

Isn't 40th anniversary edition a box set? I read it includes the 2004 remaster as well as a fresh mix by Stephen Wilson (of Porcupine Tree fame) whose recordings always sound fabulous.

Everything I read about that version would lead me to expect excellent results plus a lot of material to listen to in the box set. That mix scores slightly higher in dynamic range in the on line recording dynamic range database than the 2004 remaster, FWIW.

I also read the other day that there is a new box set version of the KC classic "Red" coming out. 20+ CDs of related material in that one is what I think I saw. That's a lot of KC material to absorb. Could keep one busy for awhile.