Has anyone here heard this? I picked up several Japanese DF CD's from Jim a couple years back, & all had awesome sound except IA. Curious how this one sounds. The one review on Amazon is positive, but not very thorough. I was very happy with the job BGO did on Home Free/Souvenirs.



Amazon USA
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0096Q54J6/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0096Q54J6/?tag=imwan-21

I think this one is another "The Wall"--the original master tapes were so bad that not a lot can be done with them.

The vinyl wasn't that bad. I had it on Japanese vinyl back in the day. The mini lp Japan cd was bright, compressed, screechy, etc. I found that odd, because I bought several in the same series & this was the only one that got compressed to (painful) death.

I have it on order but it hasn't arrived yet.

Will be very interested in your comments after you've had a chance to listen to it.

AT LAST!!!! I've been waiting for them to get to this one FOREVER! Holding off on buying a Japanese remaster has been painfully difficult.

I've been really pleased with BGO's other Fogelberg titles.

Thanks for this thread. Ordering RIGHT NOW!

Hey... When did BGO stop free world-wide shipping? Bummer.

Vince

I didn't notice they'd stopped the free shipping. That sucks. Again, on this one title be glad you didn't buy the Japan Mini LP CD. It's not good. In fact sound quality wise it sounds very similar to the dreadful USA box set.

I actually had the Japanese version on my watch list on Ebay. There is one up for auction for $34 or so and I was finally going to buy it. I count myself lucky indeed.

Don't take this the wrong way Geff, but I may need to get the Japanese mini-lp now that you said you don't like it, because you & I evidently hear music completely opposite. I have "Phoenix" on Japanese mini-lp and it, to me, was leaps and bounds better than the original release, but I didn't get any of the other titles. I'm not a particular fan of BGO's releases either--they're ok, I don't have any complaints, but I don't recall any of their titles sounding much better, if at all, from a previous version. I like the "louder" Japanese mini-lp releases, to me, there's nothing worse than having to turn my volume up from where it normally is, for a remaster.

Vince, the one you are seeing on ebay is a re-issue using the 2007 DSD remastering from the original mini-lp issue. It doesn't have the obi strip and the mini-lp version that someone is selling for $99 has the obi strip, but it looks like a fake, the obi strip has no mention of DSD mastering, but Geff could help with that. Like I said in another reply to Geff, I only bought "Phoenix" when the mini-lp's came out, it says DSD mastering on the obi strip and it sounds fantastic to me, probably because the original went 26 years without a remaster. But you may hear music differently than me, too.

Yes, I agree we disagree on almost everything. With that in mind, note that I think the Japanese Phoenix sounds excellent.

I noted that Geff, and some mini-lp's are "louder" than others. I think the 2 "loudest" mini-lp's that I own are Yes: "90125" & "Rhythm Of Love." Those are almost too "loud" even for me. Notice I said "almost"...lol. I can imagine if you own either or both Geff that you immediately re-sold them. Speaking of, why not sell your Innocent Age mini-lp if it's awful to your ears? Like I said, somebody is selling theirs on ebay for $99.

I will sell mine if I learn that the BGO is an upgrade & I buy it! Does the $99 one actually have a bid, or is the owner fantasizing?

Geff, it's a Japanese seller with a Buy It Now stipulation, $99.80 w/free shipping. Is the one you have DSD mastered? He scanned some pics but I can't see where it says that anywhere on his obi strip.

James, the obi on mine does say "DSD", but that is a bit misleading.

It likely means they did a transfer to tape or hard drive in dsd (which is the SACD format) & than down sampled to 44/16 PCM for cd. CD CAN'T do DSD; it's PCM only.