I can confirm that the SQ is excellent. Pressings are dead quiet, the sound punchy (great bass on the ‘Please Please Me’ LP, for example) and the mixes revelatory (e.g. ‘Sgt Pepper’s’).
The LP covers, with their flip backs, are superb. ‘Beatles For Sale’ cover looks particularly attractive and seems to be made of a thicker material than the original. The lavish hardcopy book is a worthy edition to accompany the music.
So sorry to read about the damaged boxes some on the forum have experienced. Infuriating.
Totally unsatisfactory correspondence in this matter. After the initial really quick response they have constantly failed to properly address the issue or respond to my requests for updates and the few responses I’ve received have been from a different agent.
Consequently mine has been returned and I shan’t deal with them again.
I have gone through the LPs in the box and they are OK (as is the book), so really all I need is a replacement box and outer sheath. Oh, and maybe a replacement copy of Rubber Soul as it looks like someone dropped it while putting in the inner sleeve - there’s a fairly broad scuff and a few minor scratches, but one significant “pit” that will certainly sound, and may even cause a skip.
I’ve received a holding email to say they will get back in touch, but your post doesn’t really fill me with a great deal of optimism.
I received the same email and further enquiries just received a “we’re looking into” response.
I decided to force the issue and told them they either refunded 33% or provided a return label. Infuriatingly they again responded “we’re looking into it, please be patient.”
I’m afraid that caused my patience to evaporate and I asked for a return label.
I would have liked the boxset but if I’m being practical, I rarely play boxsets so it’s perhaps not as big a blow as it could have been.
Hope you get a better outcome Richard.
I’m lucky mine came in good shape. So far the few albums I’ve listened to have all sounded great. Now I want an AAA pressing of at least Abbey Road and Let It Be if not the whole lot of them.
I’ve heard both - my own 2014 and my friend’s new 2025 re-print/reissue - and to my ears they are identical.
My own copy of Revolver came out of the box (back in 2014) with lots of surface noise on side two, whereas my friend’s is dead quiet. But bar those kinds of pressing quality issues, the SQ, on the ones I compared was the same.
That’s awful, QC! Mine turned up a couple of weeks ago. I have to confess I’d not gotten round to opening the box yet, that is until I saw the picture of yours and with that I don’t think I’ve ever opened up anything so quickly in my life!
Fwiw, mine looks fine… However, I’ll need to check the records in more detail when I’ve more time…
I hope you get yours sorted one way or another!
I’ve just received an updated response. They are going to re-manufacture some boxes to replace any that were damaged (hopefully that also includes the outer sleeve/sheath as well) and hope they will be ready to ship later in September. They have also said they will replace the faulty Rubber Soul LP. So, that sounds like good news.
Pleased you’re going to get sorted Richard.
I’m afraid I threw my toys well away from the pram. Some of the worst customer service I have ever experienced.
It makes you wonder how many of these boxsets had issues - can’t imagine they’d go to such lengths if there were only a handful who had the same experience as us.
Catching up with this one.
I bought mine new in 2014 from a record shop in Leamington Spa for £299. The shop may or may not still exist.
The box was within an outer box with hifi-style pads on either side, so minimal chance of damage. I wonder if they’ve omitted this feature in 2025.
This is by far the best way to listen to the (so-called) White Album by the way. All makes sense.
The overall packaging is very similar, although I have a feeling that the white outer foams are a touch weaker. My box was obviously dropped on a corner and it crushed the white outer foam and damaged the box and sleeve within.
For somebody who’s a fan and doesn’t own much Beatles vinyl (I might have the Giles Martin Abbey Road remaster and maybe one other) would this be the reference set to pick up and be done with it?
It’s a great sounding all-in-one-place set of the mono albums. So there’s no Abbey Road, Let It Be (stereo only, of course).
In lieu of collecting decent pressings of the mono originals this box is the way to go, if you can track one down for a reasonable price.
I’d also say the BC-13, so called Blue Box, is equally essential. It’s the whole studio album catalogue in stereo only. Sounds superb.
To date, it’s the only way to get an all analogue cut of the albums in stereo box form.
Most of the sets for sale online are well-priced (£300-£350 is the average). They’re very often little played and are superior in SQ to both recent stereo remasters/remixes and most of the originals I’ve heard/own.
You have a mono cartridge ?
Not sure that listening to a mono album with a stereo cart is interesting, and specially for the price of this box. But if I am wrong, other will point it.
Yes, the blue boxes can be excellent, although prices have gone up considerably in recent years. However, it’s still the only way to get a stereo box set of the albums cut from analogue. There’s much speculation about whether an analogue cut stereo box will ever be reissued. It’s unlikely, but never say never…
