The Beatles Mono CD Box Set

[StereoNut]

I have been scouting around the www looking for a deal on the Beatles CD Mono Box Set.

Here's (some of) the info. I've found:

The Beatles Mono Box Set was compiled as a special interest package for the hard-core fan. It presents the first ten albums in re-mastered mono (the final 3 albums made their debuts in stereo only), and a double album of singles and EPs, called "Mono Masters".

Universal Product Identifiers
Product ID: 15909887
UPC: 5099969945120
EAN: 5099969945120
ASIN: B002BSHXJA

Audio CD  (2009-09-09)
Release Date: 2009-09-09
Number of Discs: 13
Label: EMI

What has me confused is that I've seen this box set listed as EMI (as above) and on Capitol.   I have also seen prices ranging anywhere from $89.00 to $649.00.  Including people who have gone out of their way on their listings to say that "anything listed for a price under $179.00, is an out and out bootleg!"

I believe the original list price on this set (Mono, not stereo) was $298.00.  How can people be offering this item (as new, sealed, in packaging) at such deep discounts?   I'd like to save some $$$, but don't want to buy inferior sounding copies either.

Any idea what the real deal is?

Thanks!
SN

[Isobarik]

I know that the morality of pirate copies is hotly debated. Over the years, I have bought multiple copies of most Beatles albums, so they have been paid many times over.

Out of curiousity, I picked up a Mono Box Set for $50 from China. It was supposed to be Japanese. How did it work out?

Packaging: Very good with all the extra booklets. No spelling mistakes. Nice looking CD's.Good box. These would fool the average buyer.

CD's: Only half would play on my various CD players. My Samsung burner could read them all, so I made copies in raw mode to good quality blank cd's. Now I have the set.

Sound quality: Copies of the new mono remasters? Yes, I think so. They seem good, nothing special. My Dr. Ebberts Rubber Soul in stereo is still best. This is the Beatles after all. The old tracks were just singles. Who knew what the future would hold in 1964-65. We play them often and the sound varies from album to album. I found pre-Rubber Soul recordings hard to listen to on vinyl, even with Japanese pressings, so this is an improvement.

Be careful with what you buy as ebay is loaded with this junk. For $50 and a lot of work, I am not sure that I would do it again.

[JBryan]

What he said. Also, I would suggest that you only buy the Beatles boxes from stores you trust and those with good return policies - Amazon, Best Buy, etc. They made a boatload of these boxes and the big web stores occasionally put them on sale so a little patience may pay off. Amazon has had the Stereo boxes for as little as $99 (Gold Box Deal) and I got the Mono box for $130 (with a coupon).

The Stereo bootlegs are pretty obvious under close inspection. Look for a couple of misspelled words and a green square just before 'THE ORIGINAL..." on the back cover of the box. The Mono sets are better copies and most folks will need to open the box to determine whether its a bona fide set. Stay away from eBay and the like as boots are everywhere there.