Mythologies on MoFi - Something wrong? ?

My copy of Mythologies (#611) sounds a touch dull at low volume but I wouldn't call it compressed. Its dynamic range sounds natural. OTOH, my copy of Sinatra's Only the Lonely does sound a bit dull and compressed.

It's my second copy of Mythologies. The first one had a lot of right-channel surface noise so I returned it. This one's much quieter but still a little noisy. Great record.

Like Hevac1, I find many MFSL releases need turning up to really come to life. Milt Jackson's Invitation is a gorgeous exception. That record sounds phenomenal at any volume.

You can EQ any remaster disc, vinyl or CD, or down load and make it sound different, in the end it is what you like. All sound quality gets back to this basic, and no one holds the best all the time. I've been very disappoint in the SACD of Nat King Cole "After Midnight" SACD, it sounds good, but not like a recording of that era should. They made it more present, and cleaner, but it lost a lot of meat to the bone and the Soul, another person I know just loves it due to that sound.

definitely had to turn my copy up. forgot i did it and next lp a mofi w nelson was a more than a little too loud. i have a fair amount of gain in my rig. i did have to turn up barber to the point where i start to get hum from speakers when there is no signal. nelson record sound level fell more into my systems sweet spot. to be fair though i have started getting that hum at lower levels latley from what i believe is my speed box psu. regardless of that though i still had to turn it up past what i normally listen at. when i fix that i wont be disappointed in record at all, but as of now quiet spots are distracting.

I can't speak on the Mythologies album but there seems to be some confusion here. If a recording is not as loud as some others (a lot of modern, or modern rock recordings for example) that does not mean it's compressed. Compression is actually when the recording is produced at a louder volume and the dynamics of the recording are narrowed. Which means usually the volume of the quieter parts of the recording is raised to more closely match the louder parts of the recording. Thus everything sounds louder and you need less of the volume knob to get the music loud. Sometimes barely any at all and it's VERY LOUD. I much prefer the wider dynamics as that is what music generally has, dynamics. Squeezing out the dynamics is what makes the recordings lifeless, good for earbuds and a car system though if that's where your at. A good stereo system with the proper volume adjustment will certainly bring most lower volume recorded music to life. Maybe some don't like to adjust volume in the new pitiful quality I-tunes world?

Yesterday we played Cafe Blue, 45 rpm mofi box edition, and were amazed by the sound. Next, the mofi Mythologies, at 33 rpm. This was clearly a step down in sound quality. I have been thinking - should I invest more in 45 rpm records, and less in 33. Since these generally sound better. 33 rpm was decided against protests from RCA recording engineers (who wanted 45), if I am correct - back in the 1950s.