What's the deal with Mobile Fidelity Labs "Original Master Recording" UDCD CDs

Music
1

I came across one of these (U2’s Joshua Tree) the other day selling at a premium. Can anyone speak to the audible difference(s) between this version and the typical release CD? I notice others in the series of UDCD releases by Mobile Fidelity Labs that I would buy if it was somehow a noticeable (and pleasant) difference.

thanks,

2

I thought all MoFi releases were special masterings. So, it should sound different.

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3

Some of it could well be just the fact it’s a limited edition making the price rise.

I have not heard a mofi udcd but I have about 60 mofi vinyls and I believe they all sound superior to the even best original pressing.

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4

I have that CD. It sounds nice, but so did the early CD. It is not compressed like the remaster from 2007. I think the MFSL remastered CD has an edge over the original US CD and is set as my primary version, but unless this is a favorite album and you find faults in the other versions available, it isn’t worth the price it currently fetches.

Some of the MFSL CDs sounds significantly better than an original CD release. Sometimes not. I have been disappointed in quite a few while some are my absolute go-to remasters.

5

I just revisited this and played “Bullet The Blue Sky” and “Red Hill Mining Town”, my two favorite tracks off the album. I compared the 2007 Deluxe Edition remaster, early US CD (CRC WEA M2S1), early UK CD (PMDC CID U2 6), and the 1996 MFLS CD. The MFSL was the clear winner.

The US CD and UK CD sounded like the same remaster to me. It is flatter with some of the nuances masked. Turning up the volume helps, but it still doesn’t pop. Vocals were flat in the soundstage. This doesn’t sound as good as I remembered it sounding.

The 2007 Deluxe Edition remaster is loud and certainly pops, but it is compressed, so there are details that get lost. It is EQ’d with more bass and lower midrange, and to me sounds unnatural in the vocals.

The MFSL CD is quite balanced. It pops and has wonderful bass and lower midrange. Details come through, and it is much louder than the early US CD but without any compression smear of the 2007 remaster. Vocals are prominent and very natural sounding.

I think the 2017 remaster sounds more similar to the 2007 remaster than it does to the 1996 MFSL CD. That said, if the current batch of available CDs sound good, you should be good, but I think the MFSL CD is the best digital version of this album I have heard.

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