Following the in-depth review of the “Brothers in Arms” album, here is the official version of “San Antonio Live in 85“, included in the 40th anniversary CD and vinyl box sets. Previously available mainly as bootlegs, this official edition now benefits from careful remixing and remastering.

But does this live recording truly live up to the expectations raised by this 40th anniversary edition? That’s what we will explore together in this detailed review.

For this review, you will find 3 versions tested, no Atmos mixing available:

• Ed 1: Vinyl Record from the 40th anniversary box – 2025
• Ed 2: CD from the 40th anniversary box – 2025
• Ed 3: Tidal Max – 2025

Below you will find the description of the different editions, as well as the measurements of each edition in the following chapters.

The album is composed of 15 tracks:

1. Ride Across the River
2. Expresso Love
3. One World
4. Romeo and Juliet
5. Private Investigations
6. Sultans of Swing
7. Why Worry
8. Walk of Life
9. Two Young Lovers
10. Money for Nothing
11. Wild West End
12. Tunnel of Love
13. Brothers in Arms
14. Solid Rock
15. Going Home (San Antonio live in 85)

Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed 1: Vinyl Record from the 40th anniversary box – 2025

Presentation

This is the vinyl version of the album “San Antonio Live in 85” from the Brothers on arms 40th anniversary boxed set, featuring for the first time on 3 vinyl record the “San Antonio Live in 85”.

Label	Vertigo
Reference	7565040
State	double vinyl, Box Set, 40th Anniversary
Type	33.33 rpm
Master	Mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Miles Showell
Mastering/Pressing	Europe Pressing
Original recording	Analog
State	Europe Pressing
Year original	1985
Year production	2025

Waveform and Spectrum: DR13

The waveform of the Vinyl Record from the 40th anniversary box – 2025 shows a high range confirmed with DR13.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal above this frequency (white arrow) containing musical information and distortion due to the vinyl record’s operating principle.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Vinyl Record from the 40th anniversary box – 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the CD from the 40th anniversary box – 2025 (blue curve).The two spectra show an almost perfect overlap up to a frequency of 12 kHz. Beyond this point (yellow zone), the vinyl version exhibits a higher level, reaching up to 3 dB more than the CD. This boost in the high-frequency range gives the vinyl edition slightly enhanced clarity. Additionally, the yellow arrow clearly indicates the CD’s frequency limit at 22 kHz, imposed by its sampling rate.

Synthesis and listening

Live recordings don’t always faithfully replicate studio versions, whether in terms of sound quality or interpretation, which is often reimagined on stage. For this particular album, the vinyl edition clearly stands out for its superior sound. It delivers a clearer, more balanced listening experience and preserves the energy of the most powerful passages without the excessive dynamic compression found on the CD version. As a result, the overall sound is more natural and more enjoyable to listen to.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Surface noise: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3.5)

Sample : Romeo and Juliette 24 bits 96 kHz:

Ed 2: CD from the 40th anniversary box – 2025

Presentation

This is the double CD of the album “San Antonio Live in 85” from the Brothers on arms 40th anniversary boxed set, featuring for the first time on double CD remastered .

Label	Vertigo
Reference	602475650898
State	Box Set, Special Edition, 40th Anniversary
Type	CD
Master	Mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Miles Showell
Mastering/Pressing	PCM 16/44.1
Original recording	Analog
State	Europe
Year original	1985
Year production	2025

Waveform and Spectrum: DR10

The waveform of the CD from the 40th anniversary box – 2025 version shows a correct value of dynamic range (DR10) but with limited dynamic applied to the waveform.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 22 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above this frequency (white arrow) due to the 44.1 kHz sampling frequency.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the CD from the 40th anniversary box – 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Tidal Max – 2025 (blue curve).The two spectra overlap perfectly, confirming the use of the same audio master for both recordings. The maximum frequency observed is 22 kHz, which corresponds to half of the sampling rate used, 44.1 kHz, in accordance with the Nyquist theorem.

Synthesis and listening

Live recordings often differ from studio versions, both in terms of technical quality and interpretation, which can significantly deviate from the original. The live performance analyzed here is no exception. However, the use of a dynamic limiter on this CD edition brings no noticeable improvement; on the contrary, it tends to compress the natural dynamics of the concert. As a result, this version is less enjoyable to listen to than the vinyl pressing, which preserves a more open and natural sound reproduction.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

Sample : Romeo and Juliette 16 bits 44.1 kHz:

Ed 3: Tidal Max – 2025

Presentation

This is the Tidal Max version presented in 24 bits 44.1 kHz included in the Brothers In Arms (40th Anniversary).

Label	Vertigo
Reference	Tidal MAX 24/44.1
State	MAX Streaming 24/44.1
Type	HD Streaming
Master	Mastered at Abbey Road Studios
Mastering/Pressing	Streaming HD
Original recording	Analog
State	US
Year original	1985
Year production	2025

Waveform and Spectrum: DR10

The waveform of the CD from the 40th anniversary box – 2025 version shows a correct value of dynamic range (DR10) but with limited dynamic applied to the waveform.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 22 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above this frequency (white arrow) due to the 44.1 kHz sampling frequency.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the CD from the 40th anniversary box – 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Tidal Max – 2025 (blue curve).The two spectra overlap perfectly, confirming the use of the same audio master for both recordings. The maximum frequency observed is 22 kHz, which corresponds to half of the sampling rate used, 44.1 kHz, in accordance with the Nyquist theorem.

Synthesis and listening

Unsurprisingly, the version offered on Tidal, although encoded in 24 bits, exhibits sound characteristics very similar to those of the CD edition.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

Sample : Romeo and Juliette 24 bits 44.1 kHz:

The live concert “San Antonio Live in 85,” featured in this official 40th anniversary edition, is the main highlight of this release. A careful mixing and mastering process was carried out specifically for both the CD and vinyl formats. Although the sound quality does not quite reach that of the studio versions, this edition successfully captures the authentic atmosphere of the concert and delivers a truly live interpretation of the songs. To fully enjoy the experience, the vinyl edition proves to be the most satisfying, offering a more natural sound and better-preserved dynamics, especially during the most powerful passages.

Dynamic Range measurements are shown below.

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Measurements

Dynamic Range comparaisons

Dynamic represents the ability to reproduce a wide range of sounds from the softest to the loudest. The target is to compare the dynamics of the music and not of the media (CD, digital files or vinyl).

For our 3 editions reviewed have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR) :

	Vinyl Record from the 40th anniversary box – 2025	CD from the 40th anniversary box – 2025	Tidal Max – 2025
Global	DR13	DR10	DR10
Min	DR12	DR8	DR8
Max	DR14	DR13	DR13
Ride Across the River	DR13	DR10	DR10
Expresso Love	DR13	DR9	DR9
One World	DR13	DR11	DR11
Romeo and Juliet	DR13	DR10	DR10
Private Investigations	DR14	DR11	DR11
Sultans of Swing	DR13	DR10	DR10
Why Worry	DR14	DR13	DR13
Walk of Life	DR13	DR10	DR10
Two Young Lovers	DR12	DR10	DR10
Money for Nothing	DR13	DR10	DR10
Wild West End	DR13	DR9	DR9
Tunnel of Love	DR12	DR9	DR9
Brothers in Arms	DR12	DR10	DR10
Solid Rock	DR12	DR8	DR8
Going Home (San Antonio live in 85)	DR13	DR9	DR9

As a reminder, the scale goes from 0 to more 20, but the dynamics are considered good from 12, quite good between 10 and 11, and deteriorate below 10.

Detail of the ratings :

• Dynamic :
  1. Significant dynamic compression, DR less than 7
  2. Compression of the present dynamics, DR between 7 and 9.
  3. Correct piece DR >=10
  4. No dynamic compression (DR >12), dynamic rendering
  5. No dynamic compression, high DR and very dynamic sound rendering
• Spectrum :
  1. Spectrum cut and less than 15 khz
  2. Spectrum cut at 15 khz
  3. Spectrum not conforming to the original and cut (not HD) or original but limited bandwidth (but less than 20 kHz)
  4. Spectrum conforming to the original (but not HD)
  5. Spectrum conforming to the original with HD resolution (higher than 24kHz)
• Surface noise (only for vinyl):
  1. Continuous audible noise
  2. Audible surface noise except on passages with a high level of noise
  3. Reduced surface noise, barely audible on low level crossings
  4. Low surface noise, very good quality
  5. Very low surface noise, no defects, almost inaudible on the quiet passages (exceptional disc)
• Spatialization :
  • Between 0 and 5 for 5.1 or 7.1 channels configuration
  • Between 0 and 10 for Atmos configuration (7.1.4)
  • For more information on spatialization, you can read the article describing this parameter here.
• Restitution :
  1. Low quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  2. Average quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  3. Quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Good record.
  4. High quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Very high level disc.
  5. Maximum quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Exceptional disc.

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