Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Sony The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Model:	The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Winterland
Category:	Other
Suggested Retail Price:	$68.32
Description:	180-gram vinyl box set
Manufacturer URL:	Sony

Review by Ripple on October 30, 2011 at 19:26:25
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for the The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Winterland

The Jimi Hendrix Experience "Winterland" box set consists of eight 180-gram LPs pressed at RTI and transferred from analog masters. It also contains an LP-size, 24-page booklet with pictures and comments and insights about Hendrix and the Winterland concerts of October 10th-12th of 1968. It also contains a CD with five tracks recorded at the Fillmore on February 4, 1968 (I did not open this). I paid $53 and change for my copy with pre-order but the price at Amazon is currently at $68.

I'm not going to comment on what was or wasn't included music-wise or why the tracks weren't in chronological order. I'll leave that to those who consider that important.

The music is, of course, superb. There are different versions of some of the songs as they were played in different performances over the three-day set.

The physical product is also superb. My copy came flawlessly packaged. The vinyl is also pleasingly flawless with dead silent surfaces. In playing all 16 sides of the 8 LPs, I encountered one small tick and two large ones. I was able to successfully remove the two loud ones (embedded specks on the same side) and the small tick was so inconsequential that I did not bother with it. One usually expects to experience some disappointment in such a large number of discs but here there is none. If every LP was pressed this cleanly, there would be no returns for retailers and customers to dicker with. Kudos to the pressing plant.

Sound on the Winterland set is also superb. The engineers did an excellent job of getting the most out of the 40+ year old tapes. Better yet, the sound on these LPs beats the tar out of the 1987 clear vinyl Ryko Analogue "Winterland" double-LP set.

After finishing listening to the entire new Winterland set, I compared it's Album 6 to the Ryko's Side 4, which both contain the same cuts - Hey Joe/Purple Haze/Wild Thing. The new Winterland has a very natural tonal balance unlike the Ryko which was too bright. Instruments on the new issue are fleshed out naturally and every sound is given it's own place - not a note is lost and the sounds have textures to be heard. The sound is dynamic and uncompressed. Only the bass guitar is not as well-delineated. The Ryko, on the other hand, sounds congested and a bit compressed. Individual notes get lost in the overall noise/sound and have little or no texture. While the new Winterland can be played loudly without listening fatigue, the Ryko simply can't what with it's digititis. The Ryko, as was de rigueur in 1987, boasted of being "carefully transferred to Digital 24-track, then Digitally mixed" - note the capital "Ds."

The only fault, if you consider it one, that the new Winterland has is the buzzing amps that present in the quiet parts, mainly when Jimi is talking to the audience.

The new Winterland, given the low cost, superb sound and pressing quality is very easy to give the highest recommendation. This Winterland is of reference quality.

Product Weakness:	None
Product Strengths:	Superb sound, pressing quality and packaging.

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Classe Audio CAP-151 integrated amp. w/phono board
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): None
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Technics SL-1200 MK2 turntable with Benz Micro ACE med. output cartridge
Speakers: Martin Logan Aerius
Cables/Interconnects: Mapleshade
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Live Rock
Time Period/Length of Audition: 3 days
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	Classe Audio CAP-151 integrated amp. w/phono board
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Technics SL-1200 MK2 turntable with Benz Micro ACE med. output cartridge
Speakers:	Martin Logan Aerius
Cables/Interconnects:	Mapleshade
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Live Rock
Time Period/Length of Audition:	3 days
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

REVIEW: Sony The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Winterland Other