The Beatles Mono CD Box Set

"Have you compared any of the mono CDs with either the new or old stereo CDs? "

The newest stereo and mono remasters are all very good and for the first time are finally in the same league as most of the better newer remasters in the same genre I have.

For me, the best thing about newer digital remasters is how they practically bring older (mono in particular) material that never got a really good treatment on vinyl or digital to life for the first time. By older, I mean some things that were recorded back in the 1940s.

Old mono recordings by guys like Duke Ellington, Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters never sounded like modern recordings to me until I started to pick up some newer remasters on CD of their old material.

When I listen to these recordings these days, they sound more modern highly polished, detailed and dynamic. A true new window into fantastic older material that I would otherwise likely not pay much attention to these days.

What wonderful treats these old recordings from before my time that never got my attention are these days!

Before the White album, the Beatles mixed down on mono so what you hear is what they had in mind. Remember, 80% of this material was recorded on a 2 track. Audiophile quality was really not in the cards. I think they sound fine.

I love the Beatles, but I get kind of annoyed with some stuff coming directly form one speaker and other instruments coming from the other. For example drums and base from one side and voices and guitars from the other. Would I bet better off getting the mono versions?

"Would I bet better off getting the mono versions?"

If the unnatural stereo mixes of the older albums bother you , then yes. That material in particular sounds quite natural in mono with the new box set.

I think the mono box set is awesome. Has helped me appreciate both Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour (never liked them previously). To me, these mono recordings, once you get used to their narrower soundstage width vs. the stereo versions, are wonderfully intimate and more believeable than the stereo versions. Though I do also still play the stereo versions in my truck or in the barn, where fidelity is not the main objective.