Queen at half speed

[Haselsh1]

It is possible that this subject has been posted before so please forgive me if this is the case but I have just bought A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races on half speed mastered vinyl. Jesus...!!! I have never heard such sanitised and disinfected drivel ever before. These albums are just so unbelievably polite when compared to the originals.

[Stratmangler]

It sounds to me that the mastering "engineer" didn't adjust the EQ properly for the half speed cut.
If the EQ isn't properly adjusted things sound quite awry.

I have a copy of one of the CBS Mastersound half speed masters, Boston's eponymous album as it happens, and the EQ is wrong. The music sounds flat and lifeless.
The problem is covered here http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/mastersound-half-speed-lps.47462/

[The Black Adder]

Thanks for the info.. I was going to buy it, won't now. Ii have two copies of that album, the UK original and a Japanese original... The Japanese copy is more polite sounding than the UK version, both still sound excellent though.

[daytona600]

Pure marketing hype
wrong way
Half-Speed Lacquers Cut At Abbey Road Studios but from digital files
right way

GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ is a proprietary cutting system built and designed by legendary design genius Tim De Paravicini, with consultation from one of MFSL’s founding fathers – Stan Ricker, an audio engineer responsible for many of MFSL’s most heralded past releases.

The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system is comprised of a Studer™ tape machine with customized reproduction electronics* and handcrafted cutting amps that drive an Ortofon cutting head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. (*It is worth noting that independent studies have confirmed that the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system can unveil sonic information all the way up to 122kHz!)

First and foremost, we only utilize first generation original master recordings as source material for our releases. We then play back master tapes at half speed enabling the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system to fully extract the master’s sonic information. Our lacquers are then plated in a specialized process that protects transients in the musical signal. (Due to this process, there may be occasional pops or ticks inherent in initial play back, but as the disc is played more, a high quality stylus will actually polish the grooves and improve the sound). We further ensure optimum sound quality by strictly limiting the number of pressings printed for each release. These limited editions, in addition to being collectors’ items, ensure that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.

As you can imagine, all these efforts involve a tremendous amount of time, technology, cost and effort. The introduction of GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ maintains Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s position as the world’s leading audiophile record label, where a passion for music with extraordinary sound quality matters most.

[Light Dependant Resistor]

I should be able to hear Queen at 1/4 speed then, if I play these on my Thorens tda125 mk2
as it has a setting for 16 RPM, :D