Dire Straits – Dire Straits

Compared to my original US Warner Bros copy that I purchased new in 1978 for $4.99 the original copy wins hands down. The MFSL to me has over bloated bass and emphasized highs where the original copy is more even on all levels with perfect bass, mids and highs. I picked up the MFSL shortly after it was originally released and had reservations from the start and will play it every now and then and haven't changed my mind. The original WB copy is pure perfection.

Distorted sibilants!!!!! Down on the Waterline is unlistenable…. WTF?? NOT my system - P3 Ortofon 2M Black - tracking force 1.6g. I have all other albums on this issue - they all sound ridiculously good … not a single sound out of order on the other albums - this is a major disappointment

UPDATE - just bought a NM OG German press …… the MoFi is now in the bin …. That goes for all of the first 4 albums. I now have NM OG’s for them and the MoFi’s don’t hold a candle to them …. I’m keeping BIA and OES as the OG’s of BIA are shorter edits and the sound of the MoFi is excellent for that one. I’ve never heard an OG of OES, but I imagine if they exist 1. They would be prohibitively expensive and 2. It’s a more “modern” recording and this is the best I’ve ever heard the album, so I’ll take that ….

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I bought all of the Dire Straits MFSL 2 x 45rpm and moved most of them on - just not that good. Ditto Billy Joel.

But this one is definitely a keeper. It’s the best of the MFSL lot - even Brothers in Arms which is also excellent.

This really is audiophile quality - crystal clear, big soundstage and plenty of nice tight bass.

Happy days 😁

I just received this pressing over the last weekend and honestly I can’t stop listening to it. My pressings both came free of packaging debris but unfortunately my sleeve was damaged in numerous areas I presume in shipping? Both LP’s required multiple cleanings to free them of unwanted noise but after cleanings they both sounded spectacular. As far as the mastering goes I do not own an original pressing to compare against the MOFi pressing but I wouldn’t hesitate to suggest purchasing this pressing.

I have an OG US pressing, and now this. This is definitely better than the OG US.

I’ve read some comments describing a high level of sibilance with this Mofi. I dont hear it on my copy, cymbals and S sounds clear and within normal range. It makes me wonder about how much the system factors into sibilance imbalance and brightness. I’ve seen other album reviews claiming high sibilance, but then I test it out and never experience it. I’m running on an ortofon cadenza bronze.

Robert Brook (thebrokenrecord) review : My first impression was that MoFi’s Dire Straits delivers plenty. In addition to the bloated, flabby bass and edgy, jarring guitars, you’ll get more than your fair share of top and bottom with little left in the midrange to flesh it out. You just can’t turn a record like this up because if you do, its flaws become both glaring and glaringly obvious.

Some folks out there, particularly those like Mike E. who are fans of Mobile Fidelity’s records, may very well enjoy a quality in this record that I’ve noticed on all of the MoFi’s I’ve heard, an initial WOW! factor that shrieks “audiophile” and makes lesser systems sound better than they are. MoFi’s records sound like they’ve been mastered with the levels pushed up at the top and bottom in an effort to highlight the details and beef up the low end.

What’s lost in the process becomes strikingly obvious when you hear a good vintage pressing. I borrowed an early Vertigo from a friend of mine and one listen to the sublime “Water of Love” was enough to show me everything that the MoFi was lacking. Air, space, natural sounding instruments and vocals, musicality and fluidity define this song and this recording.. All available in spades on this, a relatively run of the mill UK pressing and one very available at a very reasonable price. It is absolutely beyond me why anyone would remaster such an album and take most of what’s great about it away, leaving in its place a lifeless waste of time and money. The drummer on “Sultans of Swing” sounds like he’s playing his kit with chopsticks for crimeny’s sake!

If you put MoFi’s cut of Dire Straits up against an early US pressing, you’d probably find at least one thing to like about the MoFi. It does sound like it was cut from a first generation or “Original Master” tape, and the US pressings do not. So if “cut from the master tape” is your only litmus test for a good sounding record, this one might be right up your alley.

Also, for systems that have trouble revealing good separation of instruments and struggle to reveal dynamics on a recording, this MoFi might sound better than it does on mine, a rather revealing one with reasonably good dynamic range.

How a particular record will sound to us will depend a lot on whether we’ve heard a good version of that record before, AND whether our stereo is any good at playing that record back. The irony of Mobile Fidelity is that they are marketing their records to audiophiles when, in fact, it’s the more casual vinyl fans with lesser systems and less well-trained ears that will enjoy them the most.

This pressing sounds absolutely amazing....I don't find it to be bright or sibilant at all. This has incredible depth and dynamic range that the original pressing just doesn't come close to. I use a Hana SL cartridge and tube preamp and hardly ever have issues with sibilance or brightness unless something is really badly mastered and this is the opposite of that.

This version is cut a bit bright. You can hear the sibilance on the cymbals of Six Blade Knife especially. At first I thought it was just my setup, but I confirmed it with another setup and another copy.

Bought from Amazon due to the (too) high price, I wanted to be able to return it if not Ok. Very good clarity, great details and nuances, very dynamic, with huge soundstage. Timbre of voices and instruments is also spot on. A tiny little bit of surface noise on some ages, but nothing distracting (nitpicking there). As reported, the bass may sound a bit too present on some systems... I didn’t heard another vinyl versions of this album, but I can say without a doubt that this one is sounding pretty good. If you don’t care about the price and want a clean and engaging version of this iconic album, I would recommend it without hesitation. 4.85 / 5

amazing sounds. DR database seems to confirm. Though overall, this album is so well-recorded that many pressings sound phenomenal. Again, DR database confirms that as well.

https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/189224