Supertramp – Breakfast In America

I think the mixed reviews come down to different expectations people have.
Many old time fans go in with the loud and forward sounding original as a reference point and feel disappointed when this press doesnt give the same immediacy.
But it seems pretty clear to me that MFSL or Krieg, as he has done in the past, is trying to create a depth to the soundstage which is very different but effective none the less. I urge people with more bias towards how this record "should" sound to turn the lights off, sit centered and comfortably and try to listen again as if its more of a live performance.

I think this sounds dead-on, balls amazing. I have absolutely zero complaints. Goodbye Toby has never sounded better.

Just another example of just buy it and see how it sounds on your listening equipment. I think it sounds fabulous and after multiple vacuum wet cleanings and playing it, the noise (light ticks) are extremely minor and sounds incredible. I’m running Klipsch RP-280F’s and don’t find the top-end bright or harsh at all. Certainly one of the best sounding records in my collection.

Opinions on this 2018 Mofi version seem quite divided, and further down you can read about my shootout of 9 versions. I like some of Mofi's releases quite a lot, so I also had high hopes for this one, but I was disappointed.
I do agree that the bass is very complementary for the recording, but the real issue is that the top-end is boosted way too much, and it becomes a knife in my ear.
Here are two charts that show the difference between the 2018 Mofi vinyl version and the 2018 Mofi SACD version ("The Logical Song" and the title track), where the orange line shows the EQ difference, showing that both bass and the top-end were boosted on the vinyl version (the further increase at the lowest frequencies is rumble):

https://i.imgur.com/ZA7600J.png

https://i.imgur.com/SCwjbbA.png

Making a massive top-end boost is something that Krieg Wunderlich has been prone to doing a lot in recent years. On some albums this is exactly what was needed, such the Thelonious Monk One-step, where the vinyl version also had the top end (and the bass) boosted a lot more than the SACD version, and this was beneficial.
Nevertheless, "Breakfast in America" is already a pretty bright recording in itself, and electrical recordings from the late 70s also tend to both have more top-end energy and generally be brighter than acoustic recordings from the 50s. So, the top-end boost was simply too much.
However, I have used an equalizer to improve a lot of music, and I have also tried my hand with both "Breakfast in America" and "Crime of the century", and it's honestly been really difficult to make them sound decent. So, no matter who the mastering engineer is, it's not an easy task with those albums.

I did a big shoot-out between the following versions:
1979 Dutch vinyl
2018 Mofi vinyl
2018 Mofi SACD
1982 Mofi vinyl
1990 Mofi CD (UDCD 534)
1984 original CD
Deluxe edition double CD
2013 SHM CD
24/96 hi-res

I quickly eliminated the deluxe double edition CD, as I found out that the mastering was identical to the 1984 CD, except that the volume had been raised.
The SHM CD and the hi-res were both quite dark. The 1982 Mofi vinyl was quite thin and bright, surprisingly. The 1984 CD was surprisingly good, although too bright on some songs, but it was really good on "The Logical Song".
Nevertheless, my favourite on essentially all the songs I like from this album was the 1990 Mofi CD. The one somewhat exception was the title track, where the section that starts around 2:00 was really bright on most editions (so it's just the recording). On the original Dutch vinyl copy it was a bit more tolerable. That Dutch LP was overall one of the best versions, but could at times sound both a bit dull and a bit bright, lacking bass.
The 2018 Mofi SACD was also pretty good and not so different from the 1990 Mofi CD, but I found it slightly more dull.
To my surprise, although I liked the original Mofi CD the best for this album, for "Crime of the century" I didn't like the original Mofi CD (UDCD 505) very much.

Agree with other reviews. Good mastering, but the condition of the tape and the pressing leave something to be desired. The mastering is a bit bassier than my original trumpet pressing, but in combination with the brightness of the original mixing makes it a bit v shaped and the mids sound slightly sucked out. The tape also must have degraded somewhat, the treble has a strange sizzle and the mids don't have the same life compared to the original. Pressing is also noiser than I expected.

Maybe I got a poorly printed copy, but my cover is super dull and overly hdr looking. This is a good sounding record, but the original sounds better and is a much better value.

I bought this record to replace my orriginal copy that had suffered a lot. Well it obviously sounds better mainly the bass that are really solid, but for the rest this mastering, in example, did not fix the issue with the drum.
Clearly I have many albums that sound better, however I will not be so severe as the orriginal master is probably not in perfect conditions and the digital treatment can't do miracles, but to be honnest I was expecting a bit better from this expensive copy.

Man this is a really shit pressing - extremely noisy - a constant problem with both MOFI & RTI. Have a thorough read of ALL the reviews listed here, and this is a common complaint. Sound quality / mastering is excellent, and the artwork / jacket look great. A bit of a missed opportunity to really nail this release. Again, QC issues should not exist on priced product. Two stars due to the extremely poor pressing.

Does not compare to the original MFSL release! Nimbus Supercut version blows it away!

Lovely remaster of this classic, but my example has too much surface noise, even after multiple cleanings.

One of the best sounding pressings I own. Words words