Mobile Fidelity - UDSACD 2099 - SACD Hybrid Stereo
Numbered Limited Edition - Hybrid SACD Plays on All CD Players
Mastered by Shawn R Britton from the Original Master Tape at MFSL
Mastered on the Mobile Fidelity GAIN 2™ Mastering Technology for Ultradisc Hybrid SACD
Don't hesitate on this one, get it before its gone...great sound Sound 5/5 AV Reiview
The expletives that gushed from my mouth flowed like a river as i sat in front of this recording: lush , warm , analogue sounding and considering it was recorded in digital its a minor miracle what MFSL have achieved here. Oh, and i could crank the living daylights out of the volume knob and still it sounds silky smooth with no distortion . A poster child for why brick walling is a mortal sin 5/5 Sound CD review
There are hit records. And then there are blockbusters. One of the world’s best-selling records, a winner of two Grammy Awards, an era-defining reference statement, an MTV favorite, and a set that catapulted an already-acclaimed band to arena status, Brothers In Arms is the kind of epic spectacular that comes around only once or twice a decade. Surpassed only in fame and visibility during the period by Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the 1985 album remains idiosyncratic for its covetable combination of adventurous songwriting, precision-based performances, and reference-caliber fidelity.
Mastered from the original master tapes, and possessing a richness befitting the album’s stellar reputation, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered limited-edition hybrid SACD of Brothers In Arms breathes with transparent highs, atmospheric heft, and lifelike tonalities. The sense of realism this edition delivers will leave slack-jawed even the most hard-to-please audiophiles. As the recipient of the Grammy for Best-Engineered Recording, the album has always been a go-to sonic standard, but never has it sounded so reach-out-and-touch-it realistic as it does here. All of the hallmark characteristics—ample spaciousness, ideal balances, widescreen dynamics, immersive depth, lush production—are here in spades. As is music-making of enviable proportions.
While it’s easy to speculate that the colossal success of Brothers In Arms relates to its timing—its release during an era obsessed with catchy singles, flashy MTV videos, and whistle-friendly melodies—reasons for the album’s chart-busting success primarily owe to the expertly crafted songs and memorable playing turned in by a group hitting its creative peak. Not to mention the spatial dimensions that cause instruments and vocals to naturally float in a fixed area.
Anchored by “Money for Nothing,” a caustically themed smash immediately identifiable via Mark Knopfler’s resonant finger-picked guitar riff and Sting’s “I want my MTV” vocal refrain, Dire Straits’ fifth album is stuffed with bluesy signatures, jazz-rock motifs, clever lyrics, and organic accents. Diversity and consistency also extend to the songs’ moods. Singing with his trademark light-to-the-touch timbre, Knopfler conjures feelings of poignancy, peacefulness, and mellowness, channeling wistfulness on the Top 10 single “So Far Away” and somber assurance on “Why Worry.”
Perfection abounds, not only in the manner in which the band nails its pop hooks and uptempo boogies with debonair flair—but also in the control room. Iconic session jazz drummer Omar Hakim supplies fluid beats and solid rhythmic foundations while Knopfler and Co. comb over grooves so smooth it seems that they’re made of honey butter. Dire Straits would never play with such effortless again.
Hybrid SACD plays on CD players
Dire Straits Brothers In Arms
• Numbered, Limited Edition
• Mastered from the Original Master Tapes
Musicians:
Mark Knopfler, guitars, vocals
Alan Clark, keyboards
Guy Fletcher, keyboards, vocals
John Illsley, bass, vocals
Omar Hakim, drums
Terry Williams, drums
1. So Far Away
2. Money for Nothing
3. Walk of Life
4. Your Latest Trick
5. Why Worry
6. Ride Across the River
7. The Man’s Too Strong
8. One World
9. Brothers in Arms
Mobile Fidelity believes that mastering systems should be neutral and transparent. The essential idea is to unveil all the detailed musical information on the original master recording without adding deterioration, coloration or other sonic artifacts.
It is worth noting that Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab stands out as one of few record labels that independently invests in research and development of audio technology. With proprietary innovations such as GAIN 2™, general music enthusiasts and audiophiles alike have reaped the benefit of a higher consumer audio standard without investing in costly new hardware. Mobile Fidelity is pleased to work with a variety of engineering legends and companies including Tim de Paravicini, Ed Meitner, Pass Labs, Theta Digital and Sony Electronics.
Our joint efforts to seek out the ultimate audio experience, has resulted in significant advances for the technology of music reproduction.
GAIN 2™ Mastering Technology for Ultradisc UHR™ Hybrid SACD and Ultradisc II™ 24kt Gold CDs
For over twenty years, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has continually searched for the ultimate audio experience. During this search MFSL engineers and associates created The GAIN™ System, a proprietary mastering technology which brought warmth and ambience to the compact disc format. A few years ago - with higher resolution formats on the horizon - the vision of GAIN 2™ began. As it stands today, GAIN 2™ is one of the greatest technical advancements in analogue and digital technology in the last ten years. It consists of a series of critical modifications and new components to Mobile Fidelity's proprietary mastering chain.
We feel that GAIN 2™ has come extremely close to meeting this goal. The key accomplishments of GAIN 2™ System are 1) the ability to extract all the musical information as possible through the Ultra High bandwidth analogue tape playback system with proprietary custom tape playback heads, reproducer electronics and 2) transparently capturing and storing that information with the Direct Stream Digital recording system.