Dire Straits Dire Straits – Mo-Fi 45RPM Vinyl Review

Dire Straits: Dire Straits – 1978

Vinyl surface noise: 5

Dynamic Range: 4+/5

Stereo Imaging: 5-

Image depth/perspective: 4

Overall frequency response: 5-

Track List:

Side One

1. Down To The Waterline
2. Water Of Love

Side Two

1. Setting Me Up
2. Six Blade Knife
3. Southbound Again

Side Three

1. Sultans Of Swing
2. In The Gallery

Side Four

1. Wild West End
2. Lions

Dire Straits is the debut studio album by the British rock band Dire Straits released on 7 October 1978 by Vertigo Records internationally and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States, going double platinum in both the USA and UK. Mobile Fidelity has re-mastered this new release from the original analog master tapes using their GAIN2 ULTRA ANALOG SYSTEM and had it pressed at RTI on 180gram High Definition Vinyl, a new vinyl formulation providing improvements in both noise floor and groove definition.

Vinyl – MFSL2-466, 180g 45RPM 2LP set Numbered Edition. Mine is number 006032.

The original CD version was released in 1991, the re-mastered Warner Bros. CD version in 2000. This new release is also available on Mo-Fi SACD – UDSACDS2184 as a Numbered Edition.

Musicians:

• Vocals/Guitar  – Mark Knopfler
• Drums – Pick Withers
• Bass – John Illsley
• Rhythm Guitar – David Knopfler

Reviewed using the Hana SL and MX-VYNL pre-amp.

Dire Straits Dire Straits – Mo-Fi 45RPM Vinyl Review

Dire Straits self-titled debut arrived in the midst of punk’s reign but couldn’t have been further removed from the era’s slash-and-burn style. Recorded at the Basing Street Studios West London in February 1978, the band’s tasteful, jazz-inflected tracks embrace folk, blues, and pub rock while also tracing a direct line back to the beat-oriented sound of early rock n’ roll. The album produced the hit single; Sultans of Swing.

I purchased this album as a re-mastered CD version by Warner Bros. way back in the early 2000’s so after hearing what Mo-Fi did for Making Movies on vinyl, I just had to get a copy of the new Mo-Fi 45RPM Dire Straits vinyl album. Especially after reading all the hyperbola about this albums production, my expectations were again truly hyped. Did it meet them?……..Read on.

The moment the stylus hit the vinyl I knew that I was yet again in for a treat. This RTI vinyl formulation was not as quiet as Making Movies, their was a significant amount of debris on all four sides of the albums and the albums contained a lot of static. Despite their appearance I continued for a quick first listen just to get an initial impression and to my surprise there were very few pops and clicks, so after a complete listen to all four sides I cleaned them with my Nitty Gritty. Now I could listen to them with virtually no pops, no clicks and with a vinyl surface noise that was very low, but not reaching the dizzy depths of Making Movies. Maybe it was because this was pressing 6032 and my other pressing was 863. Still, another excellent pressing by RTI. Both of my discs now had a beautiful shine, were ruler flat and virtually perfectly concentric.

With only two or three tracks per side and widely spaced grooves, I expected higher modulation levels. To be honest I expected a little more than I got. The average level was low which I assume was to ensure they caught the entire dynamic range. This lower cut level required me to add 6dB volume in order to achieve my normal MLP listening level and bring the album to life. The good news from all this was that due to the very low vinyl noise and my low noise pre-amp, the increased gain didn’t create any noticeable increase in the system background noise.

With the analog master tape being some 41 years old, I was surprised at just how good the dynamics were, and how solid, clean and extended the bottom end and bass lines were that accompanied an excellent frequency response, just being a little shy in top end brights. Considering the age of these tapes they could have been recorded today specifically for an audiophile production and pressing.

Image depth was mediocre with only the kit showing any significant depth perspective.

All I can say is that I am sure that this is as good as it gets for this album and definitely good enough to be called audiophile.

So what about the music and sound? The music and musicianship was a solid 11/10 as you would have expected. After all, its Mark Knopfler and the ‘gang’.  The opening track Down to the Waterline had some stellar guitar solos and amazingly clear vocals that put the performance in the room with you. While Sultans of Swing provided me with what I had expected from the album, an outstanding musical performance, terrific dynamics, great vocals and a kit and bass line that sounds amazing. These were just two tracks of nine that all had something wonderful, and a little different musically, to offer the listener, but all with Mark Knopfler vocals and his guitar work leading the way.

Firstly the overall sound is ‘wide open’ and clean. Reverb is very detailed giving some depth to the overall sound and providing some fine tail-outs. There is plenty of space around all instruments and Marks’ vocal stays clear and crisp, dead center, right at the front at all times, with little to no sibilance. The kit sound never really changes from track to track. The kick drum is very deep, solid and well damped, with plenty of slam and occasional beater impact like S4T1, while the snare is tight and clean with plenty of attack and a well damped ring. The toms are nicely placed in the stereo image and are tight with a well damped short resonance. Cymbals and hi-hat are clean and detailed even when worked hard. However, I found overall that the recording lacked just a little ‘sparkle’ at the very top end. This tended to make the cymbals and hi-hat just a little dull on occasions. Other percussive instruments like wood blocks had a detailed open and clean sound.

General points of note throughout all tracks were that; the bass line seemed on occasions to just roll through you being tight, clean and well integrated with the punchy kick drum and overall sound, listen to S3T1 & S4T1. Both guitars could have been in my room, finger and fret work were clearly audable giving a real sense of presence.

(The only let down was that there was a tiny scratch on S4T2, just as it opens for two revolutions. This is really unacceptable for an album of this pressing quality and price. However, as it is a track that I would rarely play I decided to keep the album.)

No, it doesn’t quite rise to the dizzy audiophile heights of the Mo-Fi, Brothers In Arms 45. But this is not a reflection on the mastering or pressing, its just what was on those tapes which still provides an excellent musical and audiophile ride.

Moving on some FORTY ONE years, todays modern technology and techniques of record production certainly seemed to get everything off those old 1/4″ 15 ips analog master tapes and into the grooves. Mo-Fi and RTI did an outstanding job.

I cannot imagine a better sounding (vinyl) version of this album ever being created. If you are into vinyl, rock and Dire Straits, this has to be the definitive vinyl version of Dire Straits; buy it before they are all gone.

Available on vinyl, SACD and CD from Mo-Fi, Elusive Disc, Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct and Discogs.  (As of February 15th, 2020, Elusive Disc has this vinyl album in stock.)

See my other vinyl reviews here.