Smashing Pumpkins* – Siamese Dream

I have a beautiful U.S. pressing of the 2011 remaster and, Today, I received the black Euro 2025 remaster. I have a copy of the red smoke Euro on its way from Denmark as well, in case the black was inferior.

First, I just have to give a giant, congratulatory shoutout to GZ for pressing what is essentially perfect vinyl. Dead centered, dead flat, and high gloss. Visually flawless. Aside from my Fear Inoculum pressings, this could very well be the best GZ wax in my collection. They can certainly do great things.

I haven't A/B'd anything yet, but my memory tells me the 2011 is probably a more impressive experience. Even if that's true, this is certainly no slouch. It is an excellent cut and pressing. This is a desert island record for me and I'd be perfectly happy if this was my only copy. I will A/B.

Looking forward to hearing and seeing the red smoke. Will be amazing if it sounds as good as the black. If it does, I'll probably sell this one and stick with the red.

Grateful to Billy for putting such care into this release.

My 2023 foil cover sounds better than this. Pretty disappointing pressing for me. Everything but the vocals blends together. Muddy.

I just picked up a US RSD Red Smoke copy and I have Masterdisk SH on sides 2 through 4. Same as my 2023 copy. So does that mean there are various masterings for the Red US copy? That’s not mentioned in the deadwax info above.

Sounds good but there's no insert with lyrics ( why ???) unlike the 2011 remaster version.

I purchased mine from Billy Corgan's web shop and though I love that this is the original mix and master, it's not a great pressing. At the end of Side A & B the LP is damaged and I hear what sounds like scraping. Lots of pops and crackles throughout and I washed the LPs twice. Disappointed to say the least as this is one of my favorite records. I requested a replacement, I hope they follow through.

Sounds absolutely amazing.
Very happy with it and highly recommend one of these pressings when they are still available. Those million guitar layers and mellotrons or practically all instruments are shimmering at you while the rhythm section is pumping like an earthquake, voices sounds like they are in your room.
As it all should.

Only thing is that it's mastered in very low volume, so the upside because of that it has a lot of dynamic range ánd you could use the power abilities of your amp very well by cranking it up. Downside is the noise floor of course, it is high and if you play loud the smoothest needles will make that noise audible in silent passages.

Very different from original US pressing in terms of EQ. This one is more crisp and separated, that one is more mellow and dreamy, with less topend but very smooth midrange and more pronounced subbass / very low end, so that one feels a bit more rhythmic as well.
I like both in their own way.

Although this website is for sound talk, I would love and have to share that this is one of those very few albums where the music for me personally is a perfect fucking 10/10! Every single second is THE SHIT
Actually, for more than an hour I really can forget that Billy Corgan is an annoying narcissistic asshole, when i hear this! :)
Unbelievable

So here’s my two cents…
I am very happy with this pressing.
This is one of my all-time favorite albums. I was 13 when it first came out and I got it on CD in 1993. I came to know the album through that copy. Later on, when I got serious about collecting vinyl, I bought the 2011 remastered version. I always HATED the “remastered” artwork, but it was the only vinyl version available at a reasonable price and I had to have it in my collection. Sound-wise, there seemed to be something a little “off” on that pressing - it has a nice deep soundstage with a lot of low end, and you can tell the mix is de-compressed compared to the CD, but this has the side-effect of making the drums sound further away. It was as if the original mix had been created knowing that it would be heard primarily on CDs, and some of the “oomph” was lost in translation to vinyl.

To my ears, this new press fixes that issue. The drums are much more present and don’t sound like they’re too far away or buried under the guitars. It has the extra low end you get from vinyl without compromising the personality of the original mix, and it also sounds very clear and non-muddy. And of course, having the original artwork of such an iconic album cover is HUGE. I haven’t heard one of the original Caroline Records versions to compare, although I’m skeptical when people rave about them given that vinyl production was such an afterthought in the 90s. In any case, I am a satisfied customer and I’m happy to say this is now my definitive copy of Siamese Dream.

I’ve got the US Red Smoke RSD pressing and the matrix is closer to the one above vs the Discogs listing for the actual US RSD Red pressing. I’ve got Masterdisk and SH in the deadwax.

These US pressings sounds insane. Such a punch and depth. The bass is crazy.

I’m not sold on the mastering, my phonostage optical and ears are hearing certain songs with more over-compression than others. The best part of these recordings IMO “Chamberlain’s drums”are getting buried under 200 Hz and below bass guitar and buzzsaw distortion. My cassette copy had a lot more dynamics and separation in the mix master. The packaging is nice but the discs are razors and cut readily through the provided poly lined sleeves. Wish there was a lyrics sheet it’s a little sad the I have that nagging voice in my head to secure a NM OG cassette or CD copy to get those Chamberlain blasts back. The price is pretty decent for this vinyl copy though. Who is responsible for the remaster? I believe I see an “SH” etched in all run outs except for Record 1 side A