John Coltrane – Blue Train

I am always a bit hesitant to listen to records in Mono primarily because wide soundstage is very important to my listening experience. This reissue is an amazing expansive experience. Most of my Coltrane records are in stereo with hard panned instrument making the overall listening experience sometimes a bit unbalanced/fatiguing. But this mono is perfect.

As usual with Tone Poet releases - flat and noiseless discs and great packaging.

Heres my analysis of various Blue Trains.

I have the MMJ, Classic 33 and the new Stereo and Mono TPs. Starting off with the Monos which would be the MMJ and TP Single Disc I have to say theres virtually nothing in it. The MMJ is slightly louder from what I can tell which may be why some seem to prefer it but when level matched I cant tell them apart even when instantly switching over samples.
The only difference I could pick out is that there seems to be some specific EQ to Blue Train, Moment's Notice and Lazy Bird where the MMJ gives slightly more focus to the Sax on the intro track while the TP Mono highlights the drum cymbals more on the other two. If I had to pick one solely on sound I would actually go with the new TP Mono because I like those shimmering percussions. Lastly the MMJ runs a little slower. All in all they are both perfectly valid representations and both pressings are nigh flawless.

As for Stereos I thought there would be a much bigger difference between my Classic 33 and TP Stereo, but here too its quite close. The main difference is the stereo separation. As has been the same in other comparisons Ive made with Bernies and Kevins work, Grundman chooses to more often utilize the full panning of the tapes while Kevin reigns it in a little. This effect makes a small difference over speakers but is a major one for headphone listeners as a sound where instruments seem to solely reach one ear make for a fatiguing and unrealistic listen.
The Classic is also a smidge brighter in general while the TP Stereo is fuller. I wouldnt call it a landslide by any measure but especially given the contents beyond the music I think the TP Stereo is the clear choice here, unless you already have and enjoy the Classic.

Bonus round, I wondered how the TP Stereo and Mono compare when I fold the Stereo down so I tried doing that for fun.
Rather unsurprisingly given Van Gelders recording methods this produces a quite similar sound although the Stereo does have more cymbal energy and once again runs slower. I dont know if somethings up with Kevins tape deck or what but it seems hard to get consistent speeds out of his cuts. It could be that Rudys deck ran slower for the Stereo tape too, who knows, its probably impossible to hear anyway.

Equipment Used:
Technics SL-1210GR Turntable with ATVM540ML Cartridge
iFi Zen Phono
Yamaha A-S701 Amplifier
Revel F35 Tower Speakers

This record has no business being this good. Keep your copy in good shape, you’ll thank yourself for it in years to come.

this fucks so hard, miles better than the stereo tone poet

I am not going to listen to alternate takes, so I decided on the mono version. I actually only know this album through a CD of the stereo version, so this was a totally new experience of familiar music.

At first, I was very disappointed in this. Then I read a review on The Tracking Angle that said the mono version is recorded at a low level and needs to be turned up louder than usual listening volume to sound good. So I turned it way up, and, sure enough, the album spring to life. It sounded a lot better, not so flat, but I still feel it lacks some detail, esp in the percussion, which just doesn't "pop" the way I'd like it to.

Overall, this sounds pretty good and I'm satisfied with it. You actually get the illusion of some separation of the instruments, so it's a nice record. I figure someone will do another double 45 of the stereo version someday and I will probably look to buy that on that glorious day. Until then, mono it is!

Picked it up at my local record shop. One of the best sounding records I own.

Immaculate pressing...only ever owned this on cd and it is a completely different listening experience now. Nothing more I can say that has not been eloquently stated already by many others in this review thread.

After the excellent KG Tone Poet stereo release (compete masters), I snagged a copy of the Tone Poet mono for a comparison (got it cheap). I also compared it to the classic records (mono), the MM SRX and to an original DG pressing with 'ear'.

Yeah. What can I say. All the other pressings I listed sound kind of better than this one. It's detailed - but somehow sounds different. It's like KG spent tons of effort on the Stereo issue, then kind of set this one up and did it on auto-pilot.

That got me thinking... Did KG try doing this one by simply folding down the stereo master? So I thought let's try that. And indeed it sounds a LOT like the folded down KG stereo pressing (but still not quite as good as KG's stereo pressing folded down to mono).

This one is a bit weird. It seems like it was mastered off a folded down mono master 'safety' tape which was created from the stereo master. That's all I can come up with.

To be fair - it's not anywhere as bad as some russian boot pressing. It's also head and shoulders better than the 2011 Japan " Original Master" version. This one is certainly a treat to listen to and I think that if you pay $20 or less for a sealed copy, you got a very good deal.

My copy is dished/warped although it doesn’t seem to affect the tracking it is annoying for the price paid and all the hype. Despite that initial disappointment the sound and dynamics of the pressing is really good. Detailed and balanced throughout. Each instrument can be heard with clarity and blends into others perfectly. I gave 3 stars for the physical irregularities in the disc. Five stars for the quality of the mastering and great mix.

My copy is about perfect... Incredibly good pressing and the glossy gatefold jacket is very very good too. Dead quiet with impressive holography. This mono edition is definitely jaw dropping. Trumpet timbre is the most accurate I've heard to date... If you're a fan of this album, jump on this version! 5/5