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I've been eagerly awaiting this review; however, the real question is whether or not a 100% goat hair brush can take these suckers to the next level!

A better question is, how does Jimmy Page do audio remastering, when he is as deaf as a stone? Maybe press his head against the monitor, like Beethoven did with the piano?

Jimmy didn't really do the remastering he just oversaw it.

Listened to the new remaster of II via the 24 bit release and compared it to an "RL". It wasn't even close, the remaster was recessed into the speaker by comparison. Don't get me wrong I'm sure it was the best they could do but I don't see how taking 40+ year old tapes, putting them in the digital domain, and then mastering is going to make a decent product comparable to the sound many of us know

Everybody is raving about the sound, I mean raving. I am still peeved they went digital for the records.

But if yours are still clean an noiseless and aren't worn out from the shitty turntable you had back then, you weren't really there. I was there and am happy to have the new ones.

If you can please compare them to the Classic records pressings. I bought and have listened to both Zep II and III 2014 reissues. I still think Zep I (Classic records) sounds much better. I can absolutely crank that Zep I. The 2014 reissues have a point where they start to hurt a bit when turned up. I'll be curious what kind of rating they get. I don't understand why they changed fonts and text placements on the 2014 pressings? Zep III is a much better package, Zep II brown color matching is slightly disappointing. Records are very flat with no noise what so ever.

Let's hope the actual song composers get credited this time around. As far as I'm concerned, the only good thing about this is that some deserving people will get paid.

I've been playing these over the last few days. II and III deluxe and standard I as assumed the live stuff is a makeweight likely of far inferior SQ. The Studio stuff sounds great. In some respects these better the Classics in others maybe not. Sound is more powerful and less top end. Played loud certainly no earache. Page certainly isn't deaf on this evidence. The 'companion' tracks mostly sound even better than the actual album material.

Zep III Super Deluxe
Submitted by Bigrasshopper on Sun, 2014-06-15 13:13
Since Micheal has received the deluxe versions, I thought it might be better to comment now on my impressions of the Zep III SD box. Although, I recently purchased sealed Classic reissues of the first six albums immediately following the leak that they were digital, I had been holding off on them for years. I also preordered these new ones because they could be be worthwhile, if not exemplary and to have a relatively inexpensive point of comparison, as these are my first Led on vinyl. Iv'e nothing to add now about the sound as I have yet to return home to my system with the goods.
It was high expectations for the book that led me to purchase the Super Deluxe box for III only. After the Beatles set with the wonderful accompanying book, my benchmark had been raised for something interesting to reference as a compliment to their music. The extensive written commentary as well as the visual splendor of that book really set me up for disappointment when I flipped open the Zep III book.
Not that it's bad, it just has a couple of unredeemable problems for me. But first, the material craft of the entire presentation is very high, from the fold open book like box itself, the album covers and cover art ( though not card stock ), the book craft - binding, thick peek through cover, and paper stock are all pleasant and tactile. Ok, here goes. There aren't enough photographs of the band, and their too small. There is no commentary per se at all, none, in all the 79 pages, except one that I'll get to. There are a lot of newspaper clippings pasted to square yellow paper and photocopied and all set into an overriding large white border framing layout that dictates and constrains the size of all the images within. This formality makes reading half the full clippings impossible without a magnifying glass. The few of the ones that are readable are mostly of single paragraphs that have been sized for reading. These are the least interesting and most obvious sort of type. Look, no one asked me, but if I were in charge of the art on these books, I would have looked long and hard at the album cover art and drawn inspiration there as to what might have appeared as one opens this book. The logo is buoyant, the objects that are floating are free in space. They are colorful, various and curiously dissimilar. It's like a scrape book slice of an explosion of the ordinary that has become mysterious because of a total lack of context i.e. random stuff. Like the musical explosion of energetic notes issuing from these seemingly ordinary men. How appropriate then, it would have been, to float enlargements of these objects layered with these paper clippings; they are in fact largely credited to Jimmy Page's own collection of band memorabilia. There are any number of ways to more dramatically present the text of these articles in more engaging way. Open the cover and first thing you see is a reduced version of the cover with a box around it, go figure. With articles that could actually be playfully read, much meaning, purpose and curiosity could have been added here, timely commentary of the day that could have made a looking back analysis seem supercilious. Yet, Page, himself manages to use the book to make his one and only, a derisive comment, and, uses a French journalist to do it, in very first clipping, then hides the translation in the back of the book. Link- help!
He reprints one full article from who? I can't tell you because the authors name is too small to read and doesn't credit him in the translation. The journalist writing for Feuille d' Avis de Lausaunne, eloquently trashes Plant and sings Page's praises in his reveiw of the 1970 Montreux concert. So that's Page's version of music and meaning for you in the Led Zeppelin III official book. I'm not saying the article is altogether misguided, it's one person take on it, but I think it does devalue Plants contributions. That they have some disagreement is clear, but I'm sympathetic to the 60+ year old man who would rather craft new works than rehash the 70's sex idol prance.
I'd hoped to see more images from Bron-yr-aur. The place they retreated to in preparation of the album. There are a few nice ones. I think the big mistake here, artistically, if not financially, is to try to make nine individually compelling books instead of putting a larger effort into one visual and literate summation. Others, who may be prone to fetish object idolatry, may disagree. I am curious to know, though, how the other books turned out. It was my fear that I would be disappointed that lead to just purchase the one Super D. and the others Deluxe. This was my favorite cover art of the three.

I will certainly be reading.
It would be worth getting a loaner of a RL Led Zep II. This is the reference.

I have pretty much every version of LZ albums from the original US, UK Plum Labels, Japanese and Classic's. I have a RL, George Piro's, Record Club of America and German RL of LD II. All three of the reissues are excellent, they are a bit tipped up while they may not be the absolute best they do get you about 80% of way.

I never had a hi-fi system in my younger days, and even when I finally got a nice set-up, it did not include vinyl.
I haven't listened to Led Zeppelin in years as a result because, the CDs I purchased sounded terrible. I purchased these albums the day they came out, and they brought me back to the days of listening to the originals - on my friends kick-ass stereo system. I am very happy with the sound - these reissues are some of the best sounding albums in my meager collection (so far).
I am very interested in reading your take on them. I am new to collecting vinyl and even newer to this site, but I've spent several days reading past reviews and watching any videos of yours that I can find on YouTube.

what are the chances this "announcement" on monday is not related to Led Zeppelin, but another band... Rumours has it some long awaited box set is finally on its way.

wait wait wait wait a minute here....these reissues are DIGITAL TRANSFERS, Mikey warned us about this in an earlier post. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Just got my copies from My Play Direct. Zepplin 1 sure sounds better than the 8 track in my '65 Mustang!……….

The RL of LZ II is the one to beat. The drums on Moby Dick sound "holographic". Hope you can get a loaner for comparison.