Grimlock

Yall are tripping. Brave Bros FTW. At least three of those tracks look appealing just by producers alone. Though T-ara has a VERY good track record for having good "filler" tracks that, IMO, can be better than their promoted singles. Cmon son Brave Bros put Sistar on the map. Keep our head up cause we're mighty Sistar!

Best comment here lol. Seriously folks, let the girl do what she feels is in her best interest. Some of you guys are losing sleep over such trivial things.

Not only did Boa debut solo, but she also debuted in a time when there wasn't much Kpop. Boa is old testament lol.

Not only did Boa debut solo, but she also debuted in a time when there wasn't much Kpop. Boa is old testament lol.

PLEASE VOTE AFTER READING.
A bit late, I know, but this topic is to help decide what edition may be better if you're stuck deciding or just a better insight to what each version has to offer and the differences.
Let's start with Sapphire:

Now it was brought to my attention that a soda can size here in the US may not be the same as those in other countries. That may explain the obesity rate here. So with that in mind, it's a decent sized album. Bigger than the previous Japanese albums but still not as cool and high quality as some of the Korean albums. I originally ordered Diamond only when preorders went up but went back and ordered Sapphire when the album covers came out. Sapphire's cover >>>> Diamond's.

The Sapphire edition is made up of a slipcover that holds a CD case and a booklet for photos and lyrics. The slipcover is really thin and doesn't hold the inside contents snuggly. The CD case itself is alright with one side housing both the CD and DVD and the other with pictures of each member .

The photo booklet is very light in content with two pages of pictures per member, one group photo and everything else being lyrics. Such a shame because the photos here are MUCH better than those in the Diamond edition.
DVD Contents - "The First Story of T-ara"
It's not so much a history of the group but behind the scenes. You get a lot of back and forth between concerts, interactions with fans and the members just talking throughout the film. Only Japanese subtitles so you're SOL if you need English subs or can't understand Korean.
Onto the Diamond version:

Next to the same drink for size comparison. It's more conventional CD sized, a HUGE plus for those of us who collect the CDs and get tired of the different dimensions. Though at this point our shelves are littered with varying sized albums. The quality is a bit better obviously from being composed of a thicker cardboard.

The box holds the CD case and photo booklet and has a compartment [for jewelry perhaps]. I feel they should've included a keychain or something here.

Obviously the booklet being a dedicated photo booklet, it will have more pictures. Each member has ~10 pages of pictures, prob around the same number for group photos and it’s pretty much split even; Diamond cover photos and Pearl cover photos. Also has a section for lyrics.

Comparsion of the thickness of both version’s CD cases and photo booklets. Also for my card fiends, pics of the two cards I got next to the ones I got from Lovey Dovey and Roly Poly. Unfortunately for those interested, all four have been traded away.
DVD Contents – Live in Osaka 2011
Pretty much a concert T-ara had in Japan. The menu is nice enough to have the concert sectioned off into songs. There is also a section for Japanese MVs they made. I have each MV in HD on my PS3 so this DVD is near useless for me.
So a final comparison:
Packaging – Diamond
For being a little over twice the cost, it had better be. But not by much. It doesn’t even have a different or nice finish. The typical cheap gloss paper. My fellow fans who own the Korean albums can attest to this. The standard for albums is a tad bit higher for Korean albums than Japanese. Though the Japanese albums have a good track record for being the same size lol.
Photos – Sapphire
Like I said I preordered Sapphire when I saw how hot the album cover was. The pictures do not disappoint. They’re all classy and not grossly touched up, can’t say the same for Diamond. Diamond definitely has more pictures but quality > quantity. Most of the pictures are oversaturated and exposed. The photos seem to have an identity crisis of cute and sexy. Sapphire wins hands down. Hyomin is freaking STUNNING in the photos. The pictures are also bigger in Sapphire.
Music – Tied
Content is same for both editions. Only difference is CD color; Sapphire – grey with blue accents/writing, Diamond – white with gold accents/writing. The new songs are good too. Not typical of repackage filler tracks. Definitely some effort put into both tracks. I actually enjoy the Japanese version a bit more than the Korean counterparts, and I’m Korean. My only gripe is they didn’t include the Japanese Roly Poly in Copacabana which is readily available. A Japanese Bye Bye and Falling U and this would've been a powerhouse album.
DVD – Sapphire
The behind the scenes and members’ interaction has a lot more substance than a concert DVD. For the price you would think they’d shoot for HD footage on a BD disc, but sadly it’s in 480p. Though all fans can enjoy the concert DVD, only those fans that can understand Korean or Japanese will fully enjoy the Sapphire DVD.
Overall – Sapphire
Sapphire has the better photos and DVD, the music content is the same. For just under half the price of Diamond too. The only downside is the cheaper packaging which you will gladly ignore once you see how great the photos are. The price for both of these albums in general are a bit outrageous when the quality is just a little bit more than regular CDs. We T-ara fans never have it easy though. The Jewelry editions prob made card collecting a bigger headache for those collectors too.
Sorry I didn't review Pearl, I planned on just ordering one version but ran into a problem of more content vs better album cover and just got both. Hopefully future buyers can decide on their purchase from this.

Nice review! Think imma pick up all 3 for collecting purpose. Gonna pick up the sapphire first though thx to your review

PLEASE VOTE AFTER READING.
A bit late, I know, but this topic is to help decide what edition may be better if you're stuck deciding or just a better insight to what each version has to offer and the differences.
Let's start with Sapphire:

Now it was brought to my attention that a soda can size here in the US may not be the same as those in other countries. That may explain the obesity rate here. So with that in mind, it's a decent sized album. Bigger than the previous Japanese albums but still not as cool and high quality as some of the Korean albums. I originally ordered Diamond only when preorders went up but went back and ordered Sapphire when the album covers came out. Sapphire's cover >>>> Diamond's.

The Sapphire edition is made up of a slipcover that holds a CD case and a booklet for photos and lyrics. The slipcover is really thin and doesn't hold the inside contents snuggly. The CD case itself is alright with one side housing both the CD and DVD and the other with pictures of each member .

The photo booklet is very light in content with two pages of pictures per member, one group photo and everything else being lyrics. Such a shame because the photos here are MUCH better than those in the Diamond edition.
DVD Contents - "The First Story of T-ara"
It's not so much a history of the group but behind the scenes. You get a lot of back and forth between concerts, interactions with fans and the members just talking throughout the film. Only Japanese subtitles so you're SOL if you need English subs or can't understand Korean.
Onto the Diamond version:

Next to the same drink for size comparison. It's more conventional CD sized, a HUGE plus for those of us who collect the CDs and get tired of the different dimensions. Though at this point our shelves are littered with varying sized albums. The quality is a bit better obviously from being composed of a thicker cardboard.

The box holds the CD case and photo booklet and has a compartment [for jewelry perhaps]. I feel they should've included a keychain or something here.

Obviously the booklet being a dedicated photo booklet, it will have more pictures. Each member has ~10 pages of pictures, prob around the same number for group photos and it’s pretty much split even; Diamond cover photos and Pearl cover photos. Also has a section for lyrics.

Comparsion of the thickness of both version’s CD cases and photo booklets. Also for my card fiends, pics of the two cards I got next to the ones I got from Lovey Dovey and Roly Poly. Unfortunately for those interested, all four have been traded away.
DVD Contents – Live in Osaka 2011
Pretty much a concert T-ara had in Japan. The menu is nice enough to have the concert sectioned off into songs. There is also a section for Japanese MVs they made. I have each MV in HD on my PS3 so this DVD is near useless for me.
So a final comparison:
Packaging – Diamond
For being a little over twice the cost, it had better be. But not by much. It doesn’t even have a different or nice finish. The typical cheap gloss paper. My fellow fans who own the Korean albums can attest to this. The standard for albums is a tad bit higher for Korean albums than Japanese. Though the Japanese albums have a good track record for being the same size lol.
Photos – Sapphire
Like I said I preordered Sapphire when I saw how hot the album cover was. The pictures do not disappoint. They’re all classy and not grossly touched up, can’t say the same for Diamond. Diamond definitely has more pictures but quality > quantity. Most of the pictures are oversaturated and exposed. The photos seem to have an identity crisis of cute and sexy. Sapphire wins hands down. Hyomin is freaking STUNNING in the photos. The pictures are also bigger in Sapphire.
Music – Tied
Content is same for both editions. Only difference is CD color; Sapphire – grey with blue accents/writing, Diamond – white with gold accents/writing. The new songs are good too. Not typical of repackage filler tracks. Definitely some effort put into both tracks. I actually enjoy the Japanese version a bit more than the Korean counterparts, and I’m Korean. My only gripe is they didn’t include the Japanese Roly Poly in Copacabana which is readily available. A Japanese Bye Bye and Falling U and this would've been a powerhouse album.
DVD – Sapphire
The behind the scenes and members’ interaction has a lot more substance than a concert DVD. For the price you would think they’d shoot for HD footage on a BD disc, but sadly it’s in 480p. Though all fans can enjoy the concert DVD, only those fans that can understand Korean or Japanese will fully enjoy the Sapphire DVD.
Overall – Sapphire
Sapphire has the better photos and DVD, the music content is the same. For just under half the price of Diamond too. The only downside is the cheaper packaging which you will gladly ignore once you see how great the photos are. The price for both of these albums in general are a bit outrageous when the quality is just a little bit more than regular CDs. We T-ara fans never have it easy though. The Jewelry editions prob made card collecting a bigger headache for those collectors too.
Sorry I didn't review Pearl, I planned on just ordering one version but ran into a problem of more content vs better album cover and just got both. Hopefully future buyers can decide on their purchase from this.

I understand your frustration but the logic behind your post is not sound. So you are basically saying true T-ara fans have supported the group throughout it's members changes but by doing so this time around, you're not a true fan?
Even when it was six members, there was common belief that the group did not need all six members. But we didn't pay it much mind and supported the group as six. The same situation came about when the 7th member was added, not necessary to the group but whatever we'll support it all the same. But what's that? There was a time when the group was only five? Yes even with the replacement of two and addition of one, we supported the group. Nothing changes this time around, the two members SURELY aren't needed but that won't make me hate them or unwelcome them.
T-ara fans support the group as a whole, time and time again. It's the people who only pay the group mind for specific members that consistently bring negative vibes and commotions. At the end of the day, I'm a T-ara fan and will support them regardless of how questionable some of the changes management makes. I don't choose when I want to be a fan and when I don't. Guess I'm no true fan.

Why don't we give them a chance? They've been receiving too much hate even before they'll debut. Maybe they can help T-ara's vocals (tho I think Eun-So-Min is enough for the group). Let's prove to Kim Kwang Soo that his decision of adding the two members is wrong by supporting 9-ARA! People keep telling that he added the two new members to destroy them... so let's help them!
Just the fact that 7-ARA is still complete makes me hold on to 9-ARA. I don't care if people say they're SNSD wanna-bes, but I know in my heart that T-ARA will always be T-ARA. That no matter how many are they in the group, they're still the one that makes me happy.
Let's give them a chance! If we still see all the girls smiling even if they had new members with them, why not help them? Let's be happy for a successful T-ARA!

for me it's hwayoung.. i noticed it in the song we we're in love.. she's really impressive there..

To be "fair" to the detriment of how good they could sound ? That's your excuse...fairness? lol When you blatantly know as a T-ara stan that it's everything CCM isn't. Groups can't get even distribution of lines when members' singing abilities aren't on par, some are lacking. You know it's not possible for t-ara. Better admit that you're only unhappy because your bias for once didn't get as much screentime and lines as usual or expected.

WTF did I read that right, Eunjung is in the MV as an actress and not in the song as a singer? Oh well, all isn't lost. Sobaby got this!

Speaking of more ballad songs, they should do like solo songs within the albums. I remember some of the earlier BEG albums had Gain or Jea singing by themselves. A 100% Eunjung song would be music gold.

Speaking of more ballad songs, they should do like solo songs within the albums. I remember some of the earlier BEG albums had Gain or Jea singing by themselves. A 100% Eunjung song would be music gold.

Speaking of more ballad songs, they should do like solo songs within the albums. I remember some of the earlier BEG albums had Gain or Jea singing by themselves. A 100% Eunjung song would be music gold.

As I've always said, it's hard being a T-ara fan. Maybe this means Eunjung can get "lazy" and replaced so she can go solo. We all know she can.