Direct Metal Mastered Masterpieces

JohnnyCashFan said:
Ive had a few of the jazz releases over the years but they were always bit thin and bright for my ears tbh so got traded in once replaced.
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Angsty said:
When I did a Google search on “DMM Blue Note”, I found lots of discussions out there I was previously unaware of.

I’d summarize what I found to say that DMM is a process that can lead to great fidelity, but there’s more to manufacturing a great record than just the mastering process itself.
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Im not sure how they are viewed now, but there was a time when DMM jazz releases were viewed quite poorly.

My opinion is that the DMM pressings seem to be more suited to heavier rock albums but don't quite do justice to the more subtle nuances of jazz, but this is obviously a sweeping statement that I'm sure has exceptions to the rule. I also find DMM jazz pressings to be quite thin but also with a kind of roughness to the higher frequencies.

I actually bought around 8-9 Blue Note DMM pressings back when I started getting into jazz as they tended to be quite affordable. It wasn't until I started comparing them to early or first pressings that I realised just how average they sounded.
 
Selaws said:
Im not sure how they are viewed now, but there was a time when DMM jazz releases were viewed quite poorly.

My opinion is that the DMM pressings seem to be more suited to heavier rock albums but don't quite do justice to the more subtle nuances of jazz, but this is obviously a sweeping statement that I'm sure has exceptions to the rule. I also find DMM jazz pressings to be quite thin but also with a kind of roughness to the higher frequencies.

I actually bought around 8-9 Blue Note DMM pressings back when I started getting into jazz as they tended to be quite affordable. It wasn't until I started comparing them to early or first pressings that I realised just how average they sounded.
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This is my experience with DMM. Rock music is fine. Classical and Jazz seem thin and lifeless.
 
Lee Newman said:
This is my experience with DMM. Rock music is fine. Classical and Jazz seem thin and lifeless.
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I’m fairly new to DMM but I do have the opportunity to compare them to other new pressings, especially the Tone Poets, Blue Note 80’s and Blue Note Classics. I’m finding that several of my newer DMM releases sound better than the Blue Note 75’s, as good as Blue Note 80’s but not as good as the Tone Poets.

I can imagine that the process for DMM has evolved over time. I’m a technology guy and I could imagine all kinds of digital modeling that could be done to optimize the physical cutting process to get the best sound that might not have been available in the 1990’s.
 
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Angsty said:
I’m fairly new to DMM but I do have the opportunity to compare them to other new pressings, especially the Tone Poets, Blue Note 80’s and Blue Note Classics. I’m finding that several of my newer DMM releases sound better than the Blue Note 75’s, as good as Blue Note 80’s but not as good as the Tone Poets.

I can imagine that the process for DMM has evolved over time. I’m a technology guy and I could imagine all kinds of digital modeling that could be done to optimize the physical cutting process to get the best sound that might not have been available in the 1990’s.
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Might be worth doing some digging on this. I think you're right but but I'm also a little sceptical. There was a lot of talk about modern DMM technology in Europe after the fire that destroyed the Lacquer manufacturer a few years ago. I seem to think one of the big European pressing plants uses DMM, but could be wrong.
 
I’ve got a couple that I like, Lou Reed New York og And Robbie Robertson s/t.They are a little bass shy though.
 
kafunis said:
@Angsty Yeah, they pretty much get a CD and press it to vinyl ,
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Conceptually, I've got no real problems with 24-bit tape to vinyl, but CD to vinyl just seems wrong. I understand the financial incentives, though. I've got perfectly good CD players for 16-bit quality audio.
 
Angsty said:
Conceptually, I've got no real problems with 24-bit tape to vinyl, but CD to vinyl just seems wrong. I understand the financial incentives, though. I've got perfectly good CD players for 16-bit quality audio.
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Whilst copywrite might allow them to press them as public domain recordings outside of copyright it obviously doesn’t compel the original record company to release the tapes so they basically work with whatever source is to hand so it’s usually a CD.

It similar in concept to Penguin being able to print a classic book and being able to charge £1 for it because they’re only covering the cost of producing and selling it but obviously unlike vinyl you don’t need the original manuscript to produce a higher quality book lol!

Im not against things falling into public domain after a period but you’ve got to be careful if you’re after the best possible quality version and often the original art too.
 
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On my continuing journey to explore DMM, I found a used copy of one of my very favorite albums at the record store yesterday and compared it to my nearly 25 year old CD of the same album. I know this CD very well and although I thought the DMM vinyl sounded very good, I didn’t think it sounded better than the CD.

The CD sounded a bit more dynamic whereas the bass seemed more emphasized with the vinyl. I did notice some woofer pumping with the LP and I wonder if that caused some of the aural compression; the disc had a bit of warp and the preamp has no subsonic filter. A record weight helped to reduce the vertical travel of the tonearm somewhat. I plan to put in a pair of subsonic line filters and retry the comparison later.

Altogether a great experiment for $4.00! 😁

Courtney Pine - “Destiny’s Song + The Image of Pursuance”

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I tried the newly arrived subsonic filters with the record I had on the platter first, “Introducing Kenny Burrell”, a Tone Poet release.
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Well, there was definitely a reduction of subsonic output; my woofers did not jump as they typically do when I drop the needle. But, much of the clarity was lost, too. Volume was reduced as well as overall dynamics. Everything softened and was less precise when these were placed between the turntable and the phono input. I lost the “magic” and resolution that I appreciate so much in my Bryston B100.

So, the filters are back in the package. I’ll just live with the one-off record behaving badly in order to fully enjoy the vast majority. Although I had not fully considered it before, there is likely an inline capacitor in the filter creating other issues that the cartridge and preamp may not like very much. 😖
 
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