by Alex Bunardzic
50 years ago the Beatles released their last studio album, Abbey Road, and just as with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 2017 and “White Album” in 2018, this year Apple Corp. released a 50th anniversary, newly remixed and remastered version of the album. This new version of Abbey Road, like the other recent Beatles reissues, received a lavish remastering treatment from Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin, and a select crew of top notch audio engineers. Martin and company went back to the original studio master tapes, those used for making the original mix 50 years ago, and they attempted a bold reimagining of the legendary album.
Needless to say the expectations for this new version were running extremely high. But it’s been hard for me to imagine how could anyone improve on the sound of Abbey Road, as it’s perhaps the best sounding of Beatles’ albums. When Abbey Road was recorded the Beatles were availed unlimited studio time using the best equipment of that era. In 1969 eight track recording consoles were still a novelty, and the Fab Four were not shy in making sure they took full advantage of the high quality gear they had to work with.
The resulting sound of the original Abbey Road LP is absolutely stunning. As a huge Beatles fan and a collector, I have the original US Apple pressing of Abbey Road, and it is one of the best sounding vinyl records in my vast collection. Needless to say I was very curious to see if this newly remastered version would somehow manage to improve on the US original.
Has the 50th Anniversary Remix Improved the Sound Quality?
In my view, Giles Martin and his team attempted the impossible trying to improve on what already seemed like perfection. They did a remarkably respectful job in remixing this legendary album. The remix is so close to the original mix in fact (at least when listening to it on the vinyl pressing) that I couldn’t help wondering, what was the point in even doing it?
To their credit, it is obvious that Martin and his crew approached their work on the remaster with the utmost reverence. Unfortunately, and in my mind inexplicably, the 50th anniversary remix sounds noticeably inferior to the original pressing. It is hard for me to understand what happened during the mastering and the pressing of the 50th anniversary version, but given that it’s now out there I feel a duty to weigh in on it and the ways in which it fails.
Knowing that the team went back to the individual source tapes and reconstructed the final stereo mix, I would expect the mastering to sound clear, crisp, forceful and energetic. Instead it sounds timid, lifeless and the sound emanating from the speakers is just plain wimpy. It’s unbelievable!
For comparison sake, I recorded the first minute of the opening track, “Come Together” off the 50th anniversary remix, and I did the same with the original Apple pressing. To make things even more interesting, I also recorded the same material off my Capitol orange label pressing, a mid-70’s US reissue.
My vinyl playback equipment is vintage and I don’t have a way to do proper ‘needle drop’. So I plugged my trusted Audiotechnica condenser microphone into my handheld recording studio (ZoomH4N) and made mono recordings of each record.
I made sure to keep the microphone at exactly the same distance from my speakers, and I did not make any changes during the playback. What you hear on these recordings is exactly how I heard them from my listening chair. I made absolutely no changes to the volume, and my preamplifier does not have an equalizer.
Click on this link for to listen to the opening of “Come Together” from the 50th Anniversary remix.
Now listen to the same opening as recorded from the original Apple pressing:
Finally, here is the same opening as recorded from the Capitol orange label pressing:
You should no doubt be able to hear the differences between the three pressings. My favourite is the Apple pressing, although in certain circumstances I would reach out for the Capitol version as well (which has noticeably stronger bass, but lacks the air and the finer detail of the Apple pressing).
Why this new remix sound so lifeless is an enigma I remain unable to solve. I would appreciate any comments, tips and pointers, as this mystery continues to haunt me
Technical Details
My audio chain used for playing the LPs is as follows:
Turntable: Modded Systemdek IIX (replaced the original platter with acrylic plater) Tonearm: Jelco SA-750E 10 inch with Nakamitch wires
Cartridge: Denon DL-103
Phono preamp: iFi Micro iPhono 2
Preamplifier: DSP 2000
Power amplifier: DPA 200s
Speakers: Magnepan MG-1 IMP modded
Speaker cables: Nordost Blue Heaven
Interconnects: Audioquest Red River, Audioquest Golden Gate Power cables: Shunyata Venom 3 (powering all components)