This is my first ever review on Amazon.com. Although I purchase much of my music on Amazon, I acquired this box set from a local retailer which also happens to be an Amazon marketplace vendor. For clarification purposes, the set I acquired was distributed by Atlantic/Warner; there is no mention of the Rhino subsidiary on any of the packaging. The packaging indicates that the product was manufactured in Japan, and indeed, all of the CDs are in fact the (non-SHM) Japanese pressings. Each CD indicates a copyright date of 1994, suggesting that the source material for the CDs was likely the mid-1990s Jimmy Page remasters.

First, a few words about the packaging. It is spectacular, befitting the band and the music on the CDs. If only all CD reissues were packaged this nicely. The CDs are collectively housed in an elegant black cardboard box with the "LZ IV" symbols engraved on the binding, the front and the back, respectively. Each CD is housed in a mini-replica of the original UK album release (yes, "LZ III" has the spinning wheel), with two mini album sleeves, one paper and one cellophane. Additionally, there are alternate album covers for "LZ I" and for "In Through The Out Door (numerous extra covers)", a nice bonus for the collector.

Of course, packaging is nice, but what about the music/sound? Obviously, if you a reading this, you know how fine the music is, particularly on the first six albums ("LZ I" through "Physical Graffiti"). I have now listened to "LZ I", "LZ II" and "LZ III". The sound quality is, in a word, outstanding and sometimes spectacular (and I am very picky about sound quality). (In fairness, I have not listened to these enough to properly gage the ear fatigue issue which sometimes plagues overly compressed CDs, but based on my initial listenings, I suspect that will not be an issue with these CDs). I did an A-B comparison of this "LZ I" with the mid-1990s (currently available) Jimmy Page remaster of the same, and the Japanese pressing was superior.

In sum, this set is an absolute must for any lover of LZ's music who has the discretionary income to justify the purchase. I suppose some audiophiles will opt for the Japanese SHM version of this set (which I have not heard), but, as of this writing, that set is significantly more expensive. On the other hand, I suppose some will opt for the 1990s box set (US pressings of the Jimmy Page remasters), which is significantly cheaper, and would likely suit those who utilize MP3 players, or who are not particular about sound quality, just fine. This offering of (non-SHM) Japanese pressings is probably the best buy in terns of price/quality ratio. I doubt that any purchaser -- ptovided they receive the set I obtained -- would be disappointed. Highly recommended.

There has been some controversy regarding this mini lp set, specifically regarding sound quality. To make things a bit more confusing, there is an identical set available printed in the SHM format. So, which one to buy? If your wallet is your guide, this version from Rhino is your choice since it is much less expensive than the SHM version. Although the remastering has not been updated, the audio is slightly better, perhaps due to the Japanese printing; the Japanese seem, for the most part, to take a great deal more care with the manufacturing of their CDs. That seems to be the theory behind SHM CD's, so it may be applicable to a lesser extent here. The artwork and reproductions are stellar, so this set is a worthy purchase for a collector. One caution; the cellophane envelopes around each mini lp reproduction are fragile and easily torn. They also have adhesive on them which can adhere to the artwork and mar it. I had a close call on that count. I would advise disposing of these envelopes and replacing them with non-adhesive ones. The bottom line is if you can afford the SHM set, by all means go for it. If you have to "settle" for this set, I don't think you will be disappointed. Just be aware of what you are buying regarding the remastering aspect.

While these mini LP replica CD's tend to be pretty pricey, I like to collect them here and there because I love the authenticity. Particularly for older albums that were originally produced on vinyl, these versions present the albums in the way that they were intended. I wish they could just start producing all older albums in this way on CD at the same cost as jewel cased or digipak CDs. Soundwise, this set is probably no better than other sets that you can get for quite a lot cheaper. However, the authenticity and vintage flavor makes it worthwhile if you're into that sort of thing. And authentic this set is, all the way down to the frickin' watercolor feature on the "In Through the Out Door" sleeve (a feature that I personally think could have been safely omitted). Beware, do not touch anyware on the image part of this sleeve with bare hands unless you want colored ink all over your fingers and a ruined sleeve. Just the natural oil on my fingertips was enough to bring out the color. The first time I took this out to play, I was listening to the CD and examining the artwork when I noticed a bunch of blue, green, and red ink on my fingers and smeared on the sleeve. I thought, "well, when they say replica, what they mean is REPLICA!" I figured I might as well finish bringing the color out now and hopfully prevent further smearing, so I took a brush with a little water to it...that was a mistake. The colors were bleeding out of the lines of the images and making a further mess. I tried to carefully wipe some of the color off around the borders to clean it up a bit while it was still wet, and that ended up rubbing some of the paper (and artwork) off. I decided to just leave it the hell alone from there; so much for that sleeve. Please learn a lesson from my misfortune and only handle this sleeve by the edges or with gloves if you would like to preserve it. Serious collectors probably don't need to worry because they probably wouldn't even take it out of the plastic packaging. However, for less anal collectors who like to enjoy their things, but keep them nice, this advice is for you. Overall, this is a great set. I only dock one star for the high price, the annoying adhesive on the protective sleeves, and for the "In Through the Out Door" crisis mentioned above.

5 stars if you don't have the '93 boxed set.

3 stars if you do--for reasons stated below.

As for this remix versus the 1993 remix, these ears--and my hearing is excellent, far better than average--there's not enough of a difference to justify spend $180 if you already have the latter. (I bought the '93 set for $78 new, from Amazon.) The only reason to buy this is the cool album art reproductions, but of course they won't, can't replace the killer album covers from my long lost LPs. But they do look cool.

If I didn't already have the '93 version, I'd probably buy this one for the reason stated. But unless money is no object, if you already have the 1993 boxed set, there's no reason to duplicate it. Pagey's got more than enough money; he's one of the richest musicians in the world.

The '93 versions are crisp, clean, beautiful--with each layer of guitar greatness easily discernible, Plant's voice sounds like he's in my living room, Jones' bass is fat and sassy, and Bonzo rattles the windows. (Just as he did when I was in high school--and the parents weren't home!)

And, frankly, I'm tired of the repreated "remixed" versions in the effort suck ever more dollars out of fans pockets--most of us over thirty have probably owned all these albums in two or even more formats. (And the '93 CDs were the second time I bought all the albums on CD!) Enough is too much!

There was, at the time of writing, one person who wrote a review of this set that claimed no sonic advantage over the previous releases. Well, I don't know what kind of 'system' he's listening through, but this is (by far)the finest-sounding version of these classic albums on the CD format. There is greater extension, improved soundfield & dynamics, greater impact & clarity, and most noticeable of all, a dramatic reduction in 'hiss' and surface noise. The sound varies slightly from album-to-album (just as it did on the original LPs), but every title sounds far superior to ANY release before these. By the way, these are NOT from Warner/Rhino, as Amazon says above. Warner/Rhino apparently HAS released a similar set; I have seen it on another site for considerably more money. These are the Japanese 'mini-LPs' (as shown in the video) - and despite what it says in another review, are re-mastered versions; some copies utilizing a process called SHM-CD (playable on any CD player and identified by those letters stamped near the center hole).

Japanese pressing plants are virtual 'clean rooms' - and these CDs reflect the greater attention to detail (smoother edges and a perfectly-round center-hole, to start), both the discs themselves as well as the superb sleeves (perfectly true to every detail; even including the 'Houses Of The Holy' paper sleeve around the original LP). Even with Page's involvement, the LZ catalog always sounded compressed and somewhat flat - this process has suceeded in breathing new life into these tracks.

P.S. I would like to add that I have now heard the "SHM" version (check out some of the blogs if you're confused) side-by-side on the same $200K system and was unable to tell them apart. Both sound outstanding, and with the apparent large difference in price, I would suggest buying these from Amazon before they're out of print (as they surely will soon be).