Pink Floyd/Meddle Original US Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL), a manufacturer specializing in analog masters, is a trusted brand that is highly supported by audio enthusiasts around the world. With all of his passion, the sound craftsman has digitized many great albums from master tapes. Among such series, this work includes the CD “UDCD 518” released in 1993. Yes, it’s PINK FLOYD’s masterpiece “Meddle”. [Mobile Fidelity prioritizes master tape sound] Many high-quality CDs appeared in the 1990s, when the conversion of analog works to CD was at its peak, but MFSL was in a class of its own. Other high-quality CDs are based on the idea of ​​“suppressing digital deterioration” by using new technology to reduce the discomfort of compression, and by reducing reading errors in the material. On the other hand, MFSL’s policy is to “faithfully reproduce the sound engraved on the master tape and not add anything unnecessary.” We place the utmost importance on the “analog recorded sound itself,” including developing our own “half-speed mastering” technology that also focuses on the stage of extracting sound from magnetic tape. Since 1987, MFSL has borrowed original master tapes from record companies and meticulously digitized many masterpieces one by one. We have released the “Ultradisc” series, which transfers the sound of master tapes to CDs. Currently, it has expanded into the SACD and LP fields, but the point is that this work was released on CD in the first half of the 1990s. Magnetic tape masters are susceptible to deterioration over time, and the more time passes, the more the original sound is lost. There are cases where the tape becomes distorted or stuck, but even if it is stored precisely, it cannot prevent the tape from losing its magnetism. Nowadays, LPs recorded with physical grooves sound better than the master tapes themselves…and so on. In that respect as well, the “Ultradisc” series was a great achievement. It began in the 1980s when CDs were popular, and the sound of master tapes was digitized even before the advent of new CD technology that claimed high sound quality. [Natural “Meddle” because there is no preconception of FLOYD image] This work’s “Meddle” conveys the master sound “22 years after recording”. The finished product has a wonderful natural world view without artificiality. Even in the rock world, PINK FLOYD is highly conscious of sound quality and acoustics, and especially in recent years, the loudness war has subsided. There are fewer and fewer remasters that have raised the bar wildly. However, this level of awareness has also produced unexpected effects. In recent years, the image of “this is the sound of legend” and “this is what FLOYD should be” has taken over, and the sound is strangely artificial. For example, “One Of These Days”. The gradually deepening chaos unfolds all at once in the 3-minute mark, but there is a disturbing noise that sounds like a metallic collision to drown it out. At first, the noise that was echoing in the depths of the abyss gradually approached, and finally became an electric noise, “Jiji!” With this as an opportunity, the song starts to move rapidly, but in the remaster, this is extremely extreme. In the original, it approaches naturally, but in the remaster, when it’s far away, it hides in the shadow of the bass drum, and only the electric noise at the end suddenly becomes louder, as if to say, “It’s about to unfold!” This can be said to emphasize the dynamism of the song, but it feels a little artificial compared to the original. Of course, the more natural worldview is the original one. In other words, it is this work of master sound. And freshness. In the intro of the next song “A Pillow Of Winds”, a slide guitar rides on a gentle acoustic guitar melody, and this slide is gorgeous. Each note draws a beautiful mountain from the beginning to the highlight and then disappears. However, in the case of the current remastered version, only this highlight is brought forward, the rise is too weak, and it quickly disappears after the peak is exceeded. This results in a half-finished aftertaste, and above all, the beauty of the overlapping phrases one after another is also halved. Of course, the current version depicts depth and dynamism by emphasizing the highlights, but in the case of this work, even the weakest sounds are clearly preserved on the master tape, so even if there is no directorial intention of the engineer, the sound is as original as the original. You can enjoy the three-dimensional world. Although it is clear that the engineers who worked on the current remaster love FLOYD, it is precisely because of this that I feel that there is a preconception that “this is how it should be”. This work is an original sound world without such artificiality, and it is a master sound that maintains the delicacy that does not require artificiality. Taken from the original US Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab CD(UDCD 518) from Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab “Original Master Recording” Collection 1. One Of These Days 2. A Pillow Of Winds 3. Fearless 4. San Tropez 5. Seamus 6. Echoes