This might be the best record I ve ever heard.... Michael Fremer
Mobile Fidelity s Premier UltraDisc One-Step Release: Mastered from the Original Master Tapes, Santana Abraxas UD1S 45RPM Box Set Reaches Sonic Heights Never Before Achieved by Analog
Deluxe Packaging Includes Opulent Box, Special Jackets, Unique Insert, and Fine-Art Print: No Expense Spared on Audiophile Pressing Exclusively Limited to Just 2500 Copies
Get Literally and Figuratively Closer to the Music of Santana s 1970 Masterwork: Abraxas Ranked by Rolling Stone as 205th Greatest Album of All Time Includes Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va
Santana s iconic Abraxas, the debut release in Mobile Fidelity s exclusive UltraDisc One-Step UD1S series, reaches three-dimensional sonic and emotional heights never before attained by analog recordings on this extremely limited 180g 45RPM vinyl 2LP box set. Created in finite batches for the ultimate in sound quality, UD1S uses a one-step lacquer process that yields vinyl with the lowest-possible noise floor, exponentially greater details, and significantly enhanced dynamics. Exclusively limited to 2500 copies, this ultra-hi-fi audiophile edition literally and figuratively brings you closer to the music of this 1970 masterpiece, which spent six weeks atop the charts and spawned the cosmic staple Black Magic Woman. Experienced via UD1S, Abraxas is the ultimate confluence of celebratory vibes, bluesy jams, mellow vocals, and hip-shaking grooves. You ve never heard Santana s peak creations come to life in such lifelike fashion or against such dead-quiet, squid-ink-black backgrounds.
The deluxe packaging and gorgeous presentation of this Abraxas pressing befit its extremely select status. Housed in an opulent box, this UD1S edition contains special jackets and a unique insert that further illuminate the genius of the recording. A special fine-art print of the original Mati Klarwein painting used on the cover, and which depicts the image in its entirety, is also included. No expense has been spared. Aurally and visually, this Abraxas is the intentional opposite of the modern era s mindlessly dismissive ways of hearing music. It is a curatorial artifact meant to be preserved, poured over, touched, and examined. Intended to be passed on to future generations. it is made for discerning listeners that prize sound and creativity, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the music and everything involved with the album, from the graphics to the textures.
Most fans don t require any introduction to the exotic worlds conjured by Abraxas. Thematically, mysticism and spirituality abound. Wild, free, and loose, Santana evokes the feeling of mountains and rivers on the lead-off instrumental Singing Winds, Crying Beasts, leads a salsa parade on the definitive version of Tito Puente s Oye Como Va, and explores its sensual side on the stellar showcase Samba Pa Ti, a tune indicative of the album s Latin vibes and percussion. Abraxas also takes advantage of studio techniques such as cross-fading and mixing lacking on its predecessor. These aspects as well as the finest nuances of Santana s guitar tones, decay of Gregg Rolie s organ, percussive ripple of Jose Areas timbal and conga beats, and low-end sway of Dave Brown s bass can be enjoyed in complete full-range, spectacularly balanced glory on UD1S. Secure your numbered-edition copy from Music Direct today
This might be the best record I ve ever heard. I mean that by the technical quality of the record and how much it resembles tape in four critical parameters: the wide dynamics and low bass response, the unlimited dynamic range, the tape-like sense of flow and especially the enormity of the soundstage presentation. The percussion explodes forward from the speakers with a dead-black background intensifying the picture. Instrumental textures are visceral while attack is supple, yet sufficiently gritty. Sustain is impossibly long and decay into black is audible down to bottom of the sonic pit, which means Carlos Santana s guitar comes to life before you as you re never before heard it. Will this limited edition record become a collectible? No doubt...
Michael Fremer, Stereophile/The Analog Planet
More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Instead of utilizing the industry-standard three-step lacquer process, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab s new UltraDisc One-Step UD1S uses only one step, bypassing two processes of generational loss. While three-step processing is designed for optimum yield and efficiency, UD1S is created for the ultimate in sound quality. Just as Mobile Fidelity pioneered the UHQR Ultra High-Quality Record with JVC in the 1980s, UD1S again represents another state-of-the-art advance in the record-manufacturing process. MFSL engineers begin with the original master tapes and meticulously cut a set of lacquers. These lacquers are used to create a very fragile, pristine UD1S stamper called a convert. Delicate converts are then formed into the actual record stampers, producing a final product that literally and figuratively brings you closer to the music. By skipping the additional steps of pulling another positive and an additional negative, as done in the three-step process used in standard pressings, UD1S produces a final LP with the lowest noise floor possible today. The removal of the additional two steps of generational loss in the plating process reveals tremendous amounts of extra musical detail and dynamics, which are otherwise lost due to the standard copying process. The exclusive nature of these very limited pressings guarantees that every UD1S pressing serves as an immaculate replica of the lacquer sourced directly from the original master tape. Every conceivable aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the most perfect record album available today.
