The following contribution is from a BD regular, who has taken a good listen to the first of the 2016 vinyl releases from Pink Floyd Records, and shares his thoughts here for those of you who are yet to purchase this edition. More details of all the officially announced releases so far can be found through this link.

I purchased all four records the day they came out and have had the opportunity to listen to Piper in its entirety a few times.

I am not sure if the discs were cut from the analogue master or a high resolution file. What I can say is that the albums were pressed very nicely and are dead quiet. I believe RTI pressed them, and they deserve praise for doing a wonderful job. I cannot stress how quiet these discs are.

As for the sound, to my ears this is the best that Piper has ever sounded. I can only compare this to my second pressing UK version, and this re-issue more than holds its own.

The sound is vibrant, and the whole experience is very exciting to my ears. There is something to be said for youthful exuberance in the studio, let alone Syd's youthful exuberance. The songs sound fresh and are tremendously engaging. Norman Smith did a wonderful job engineering this album, and James Guthrie along with Joel Plante and Bernie Grundman did a wonderful job with the remasters. Sitting down and hearing this album in its entirety takes one to another world. There is so much going on in the recording that it takes more than a few listens to take it all in. You will hear things in this album you have never picked up on before. Yes, to me it is that good.

One may ask why they should pick this up on vinyl in comparison to the CD version that came out in 2007. In my system, the vinyl edition puts the CD to shame. There is no harshness in the vinyl version that I experienced with the 2007 CD, and it just sounds open and free.

In my opinion, the older pressing I own of Piper sounds a little toppy and thin. The sound is much fuller on the re-issue. The bass is punchy without being bombastic, and everything is well balanced. Simply put, this album is a joy to listen to. The music just seems to float on the air, and that is what one should expect from listening to Pink Floyd.

Turning to the packaging, Sony did a very nice job with the artwork on this re-issue. The colours are vibrant and sharp. One minor quibble is that they used a modern record jacket and not the tip-on jackets that they originally were on. If you are not familiar with what this means, on the original the jacket folds over itself on the back cover. Sony decided to make it look like it has this fold, but did not actually do it. I wonder why they paid attention to this detail on the Beatles Mono Box but not the Floyd? Other than that the quality is very good.

I would recommend this release to anyone. It is well done from top to bottom, and Piper has never sounded better.

For reference, my system is comprised of: Project Xtension 10 outfitted with a Sumiko Blackbird EAR 834P Phono Stage, PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium Preamp, PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium Amplifier, Bowers and Wilkins CM10 Speakers.

ORDERING INFORMATION:
You can order this new edition of Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, on 180g vinyl, through these direct links: Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.