Hey everyone. I just bought the Japanese import of Michael Jackson's Thriller (25・3P-399) that has been sealed for over 40 years. I cracked it open, washed in my dual spin clean system, dropped the needle and my mind was blown. For no reason other than it was fully mastered in and pressed in Analog and was the product of exactly how Jackson wanted it to sound. I seeked out the Japanese pressing because of it's reputation for being slightly better than the U.S. pressing due to higher quality control standards and yadda yadda blah blah. I have no proof of any of that so If it bothers you just let it go. After playing the record a couple times it sounded so good and it was so silent that it makes modern records look like a joke. I captured 24bit/192kHz from the LP and tested it along side the MoFi SACD and the recent Thriller 40 audio CD and the results were eye opening. As with most on my audio tests, the traditional CD is an embarrassment and I just can't help but share my results. Below are a few screen caps of what I found followed up by my full video presentation at the very end. These are just raw captures/rips with no work being done.
Here is the 1982 Japanese Thriller LP waveform:
Here is the Thriller 40 Audio CD:
You can see how completely crushed and lacking in dynamic range it is.
Here is the acoustic spectrum of the LP with audio information extending well beyond what the following Thriller 40 CD measurement is showing:
Here is the Thriller 40th audio CD spectrum:
Lastly, the Dynamic Range measurement for side A of the LP is 13 while the audio CD is a mere 8.
I cover all this and more, including the original Japanese release of Bad from 1987 (28·3P-800) in the full video below. Bad actually measures better.
