[tonyptony]

So I figured I'd fill out the collection with Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road, Let It Be, and the White Album. But with all the releases over the years are there any of these four which are noted as the preferred releases?

[Mike Nomad]

Not sure what you are asking here. There was never a commercially released mono version of Abbey Road. There was a South American radio promo in mono. However, it was simply the stereo master everyone else got, folded down.

I don't think there was a mono Yellow Submarine, either.

The way to go on the White Album is mono. The band thinks so too.

The versions of Let It Be to go after are either Glyn John's second mix, or the John Barrett tapes.

[tonyptony]

Sorry, should have been more clear. Knowing that they are only commercially available in stereo, which of the many stereo releases of these albums is the preferred?

[sanjaygolf]

Stick with the new remastered versions.

[SlushPuppy]

I never thought the original discs sounded that bad. That said, the new remasters have much more detail and significantly improved bass. The packaging is light-years better and the price is relatively low for a product that has been given so much attention. I wouldn't consider anything but the remasters.

[Mike Nomad]

Sorry, should have been more clear. Knowing that they are only commercially available in stereo, which of the many stereo releases of these albums is the preferred?

Ah, sorry. I'm with everybody else here. If you want commercial stereo versions of the records, go with the new remasters.

[tonyptony]

Well, I finally got my Mono set. The vendor shipped it Media Mail and I guess he further specified "dog slow". Fortunately the actual boxed set came through okay. I do have a question, though.

When I pulled the inner sleeve from the outer box I was surprised to see it was upside down. Anybody else get their's that way? If I hadn't had been careful the CDs would have dropped to the floor. Anyway, once I pulled the contents out I noticed the individual CDs were every which way - one from the next was either upside down or backwards. Again, is this normal? I started to wonder if I got a return or something. The sale through one of Amazon's resellers was clearly marked as a New Retail item, and it was shrink wrapped. Also the sticky pull-seals on each CD look as though they have never been opened. But I wonder.

[Scottdazzle]

Well, I finally got my Mono set. The vendor shipped it Media Mail and I guess he further specified "dog slow". Fortunately the actual boxed set came through okay. I do have a question, though.

When I pulled the inner sleeve from the outer box I was surprised to see it was upside down. Anybody else get their's that way? If I hadn't had been careful the CDs would have dropped to the floor. Anyway, once I pulled the contents out I noticed the individual CDs were every which way - one from the next was either upside down or backwards. Again, is this normal? I started to wonder if I got a return or something. The sale through one of Amazon's resellers was clearly marked as a New Retail item, and it was shrink wrapped. Also the sticky pull-seals on each CD look as though they have never been opened. But I wonder.

I have both the stereo and the mono set.  The discs were uniformly packed.  My guess is that you bought a re-pack. That doesn't mean that anything is wrong with it, just that it had been opened and re-sealed.

[tonyptony]

Scott, did each of your CDs come in little plastic self-seal "bags"? I'm looking at each one and it's pretty clear none of them were opened (I tried to open one of them just a bit and it turns out you can tell when that's happened). I emailed the vendor asking him to confirm that this is a new retail package as was advertised on Amazon.

[tonyptony]

Well, the seller indicates this is a new box set directly from the distributor. He has a 100% reputation on Amazon and is willing to refund my money if I choose, but did say that he had previously sold 5 other Mono box sets supplied from the same distributor with no troubles. The SKU number on the box is 5099969945120.

Is it possible I just got a bad pack job?

[Mike Nomad]

Speaking as an ex-music wholesale guy, it sounds like you got a piece that was a return to the distributor, where they did a bad re-pack. The seller is standing behind the product, so, play it through. If it spins ok, why worry?

[tonyptony]

Thanks Mike. The more I look at it the more I think you guys are right. None of the discs are in their inner sleeves (they are all just naked in their individual cases), and some of the insert material is missing. At least based on what I see in the pictures online. Not having the inner sleeves bothers me more.

[Mike Nomad]

...some of the insert material is missing. At least based on what I see in the pictures online. Not having the inner sleeves bothers me more.

If there is stuff missing, the product needs to be returned ASAP. However, do a little digging first (reviews, etc.) and make sure that what you believe to be missing is _actually_ missing. For example:

I had The Who - 30 Years of Maximum R&B on laserdisc. When The DVD came out, the sleeve indicates that the original essay & track info is included... It is not. Turns out, they were not able to secure the rights to the original insert material. So, the only thing the DVD case includes is the disc.

[tonyptony]

Since we are kind of on a different track from the original thread I've continued it here

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=79546.0