The Doors – The Doors

Variant 1— side 2 throughly trounces my 1st press monarch. I’ll be looking for a Variant 5 from now on.

I've had this one for about 3 weeks and have listened to it about 7-8 times so far- love it. IMO, clearly :) better than the AP 45 and RHF, although those two don't sound bad - just not nearly as good as this does.
However, I did have a buddy bring over a Monarch 1st press yesterday and we did a quick B2B of 20th Century Fox and the 1st press did have the following advantages over this one, although they were slight - but noticable: a bit more low end, the bass guitar itself had better articulation (you could hear into the vibration of the strings better) and as good as this midrange is - the 1st is just slighlty a bit more open. Highs were about the same. This was only 1 song but I'd bet the others are similar - the bass seemed to be the bigger advantage of the 1st Monarch - on my system anyway.

Just off the top of my head, I'd say:
1st Monarch: 9.9/10
This Monarch: 9.75/10
RHF: 8.5/10
AP 45: 8.5/10

I also have an 80's Japan which is pretty good and I'd rank that 8.75/10.

IMO / YMMV

NOTE: THIS RECORD SOUNDS BEST UN-EQ'D. JUST SET EVERYTHING TO ZERO. SOUNDS MUCH BETTER.
Managed to trade for a high vg copy and holy. This thing is phenomenal. The sound quality cannot be understated. The thing people say about jim's vocals jumping out at you are very true. Sounds awesome.
There's an urban legend that a young Bernie Grundman did this cut and it definitely has similar sonics to other projects he's been confirmed to have done.

My copy’s Side A matches Variant 2 [EKS 74007A-RE Δ9991 (MR)]
Side B matches Variant 3 [EKS-74007 B (M) (MR) Δ9991-X]
(MR) stamped on both sides.

I also own the AP 45rpm and directly compared it with this back to back.

TLDR: Both have their own merits and are worth owning, but this pressing is easily the best I have ever heard this album sound.

My, my, my this pressing is wonderful! Warm, natural, and clear. The muddiness of other recordings/pressings is not really present here. It’s still not an audiophile recording by any stretch of the imagination, but this is pretty dramatically better than anything else I’ve heard.

The AP, as many have mentioned, is lacking in the top end and in clarity. This is most certainly not. You can feel it right from the jump - the ride taps at the start of Break on Through are just SO crisp and clean. They sound like properly shimmering cymbals instead of an FM radio playing cymbal taps. The drums overall are also much more clear and present. The guitar on Twentieth Century Fox GROWLS and it grabs you by the throat in the best way possible. Jim’s voice on the whole thing is so much more present and clear. The closest you’ll get to being in the recording booth with him. I don’t notice a major sound difference in Ray’s keys between this and the AP, except on End of the Night, for some reason. Despite that, this pressing is AMAZING.

Now, even though this is definitely better, there are three advantages that the AP has over this. First is obvious: noise. Finding a clean copy of this pressing is very difficult and very expensive. My copy is VG/VG- and has moderate noise throughout even after an ultrasonic cleaning. Luckily the music mostly overpowers. But, there is definitely something to be said for how quiet Analogue Productions records are.

The AP’s second advantage is in the bottom end. While this record is much better in the middle and high ends, the bass is pretty significantly cut compared to the AP. The AP just thumps so much more than this one does. Going back and forth between the two, I could have sworn I was drastically adjusting my subwoofer settings, but it’s just how these records are mastered.

The third is a minor one, but this Monarch press has some inner groove distortion on both sides. The clarity of the rest of the record drops off a noticeable amount during Light My Fire and the second half of The End. The AP is very clean and balanced throughout due to the double disc/45rpm split.

Despite these advantages for the AP, I would still say that this is DEFINITELY the better pressing between the two. I may not have written as much about its positives, but it speaks for itself when you hear it. Going back and forth from the Monarch to the AP is like going from normal listening to putting a blanket over your speakers.

However, I cannot speak to whether an early Monarch is financially worth it for what it is going for now. I was lucky enough to find this in a record store ~10 years ago when I was first building my collection for $30. I didn’t even know what I had until about 6 months ago.

The AP is a really good, all-analog, in-print record you can get for $60 that is one of the best ways you can listen to this album. If bass is also a big deal to you, that one thumps way more than this one and has a bit more presence overall due to that bottom end. But, if you have the means and/or the time, I would seek this out. In many ways, it’s like hearing the album for the first time all over again.

Has anyone compared these versions?

EKS-70047A (M) M in a circle ^9991
EKS-70047B (M) M in a circle ^9991-X

VS this one

EKS-70047A (M) M in a circle ^9991
EKS-70047B-2 (Mon) M in a circle ^9991-X

I guess the first side should be the same, right?

As for the B side, I read somwhere that it's louder and bassier (better by some opinions) on the latter copy.

Any comments?

Cheers

This is no joke one of the best sounding pressings in my entire collection. Jaw dropping experience.
I have bought it after the recent 'In' Groove comparison video, owning DCC version as my go to copy.
DCC never dissapointed, fantastic sounding record, but being a huge fan of this '67 Doors debut album,
I have decided I want to have absolutely best of the best version. ( AP 45 is far behind DCC pressing )
And omg, this monarch pressing actually is ! Brings album to the next level. Extremely spacious and powerful sound, recorded very loud, speakers explode with Morrison's voice. Bass is so 'in your face'. Sounds so raw, so agressive, so rock, while DCC sounds more like smooth 'audiophile' records, mellow experience.

This is more satisfying than Analogue Productions 45, to my ears. The AP sounds bigger, wider, more reverb and definition, but also slightly exaggerated. This is more natural and just as beautiful. I think it cost three times more to get a clean copy than the re-issue, but for those who love this record, skip a few Tone Poets, RSD releases, or Neil Young official bootlegs and spend the money, even if it’s more than a hundred bucks. I know old-timers like me used to find this at used book stores for ten bucks, but how many times did we find minty records of the iconic albums? Instead of hunting, maybe paying extra on Discogs is the answer. I once found a minty Monkees original and couldn’t believe it, but those days are gone!