Accentuate The Positive!

[Babaluma]

Some great CDs in my collection with fantastic sound and good dynamics, off the top of my head (will add more as I remember more):

Blondie - The Best Of Blondie (unusual to find compilations that haven't been smashed to death, but this one is glorious)

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (late 80's CD pressing, the first CD I ever bought)

Vangelis - The Bladerunner Trilogy. Disc 2 is absolutely fantastic, pure electronic, atmospheric music with an absolutely ridiculous amount of dynamic range, similar to some orchestral music. Turn that puppy up, but be prepared to have the pants scared off you during the occasional loud bits!

[The_K_Man]

Originally Posted by Babaluma

Some great CDs in my collection with fantastic sound and good dynamics, off the top of my head (will add more as I remember more):

Blondie - The Best Of Blondie (unusual to find compilations that haven't been smashed to death, but this one is glorious)

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (late 80's CD pressing, the first CD I ever bought)

Vangelis - The Bladerunner Trilogy. Disc 2 is absolutely fantastic, pure electronic, atmospheric music with an absolutely ridiculous amount of dynamic range, similar to some orchestral music. Turn that puppy up, but be prepared to have the pants scared off you during the occasional loud bits!

+1 on that Rumours - both of us! Great recording.

[Franco]

I think most people that take this kind of work seriously are probably not subjecting themselves to brick-walled audio for leisure listening.

Most of the stuff I listen to is transferred from vinyl and I make 320k mp3s (FLACs now on my Galaxy 3) for portable playback or burn CDs for home/car.

As far as commercial remasters that are done well, pretty much all the Rhino reissues are great to listen to and as far as "new" releases on CD, there are a few labels that I trust that make sure you don't get audio sausages, like Daptone (and all the other related labels, those guys' CD releases are always great).

[AlexK]

Originally Posted by Babaluma

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (late 80's CD pressing, the first CD I ever bought)

+1 although my vinyl copy is even better - much bigger/wider-feeling low-end, and more space at the top-end of the spectrum...

[Adam Dempsey]

Originally Posted by Babaluma

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (late 80's CD pressing, the first CD I ever bought)

Interesting. I prefer the 2002 remasters of those tracks – better transfers, a fuller sound, more open in the tops, regardless of the (relatively conservative) limiting. Try comparing at matched levels. Like many such releases of the time, the original CD issues were often from 2nd gen tapes mixed and mastered for vinyl.

[Huntley Miller]

Originally Posted by Adam Dempsey

Interesting. I prefer the 2002 remasters of those tracks – better transfers, a fuller sound, more open in the tops, regardless of the (relatively conservative) limiting. Try comparing at matched levels. Like many such releases of the time, the original CD issues were often from 2nd gen tapes mixed and mastered for vinyl.

I also think the original CD is superior. The 2002 issue doesn't sound like a better transfer, it's overly bright and the compression ruins the bottom.

[nosleepPDX]

Originally Posted by Babaluma

Some great CDs in my collection with fantastic sound and good dynamics, off the top of my head (will add more as I remember more):

Blondie - The Best Of Blondie (unusual to find compilations that haven't been smashed to death, but this one is glorious)

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (late 80's CD pressing, the first CD I ever bought)

Vangelis - The Bladerunner Trilogy. Disc 2 is absolutely fantastic, pure electronic, atmospheric music with an absolutely ridiculous amount of dynamic range, similar to some orchestral music. Turn that puppy up, but be prepared to have the pants scared off you during the occasional loud bits!

+1 to the Blondie record. Great drummer!

[edva]

Originally Posted by nosleepPDX

+1 to the Blondie record. Great drummer!

Clem Burke. He rocked, didn't he?
And +1 on Rumours original vinyl LP, one of the best of the era, IMHO.

[Babaluma]

Originally Posted by Adam Dempsey

Interesting. I prefer the 2002 remasters of those tracks – better transfers, a fuller sound, more open in the tops, regardless of the (relatively conservative) limiting. Try comparing at matched levels. Like many such releases of the time, the original CD issues were often from 2nd gen tapes mixed and mastered for vinyl.

I've never heard the remasters, but if I get a chance I'll check them at matched levels. All I know is that the overall level is very low on my CD, but when you crank it, it sounds wonderful.

[The_K_Man]

Eric Clapton's "Journeyman"(1989). Especially the "Bad Love" and "Breaking Point" tracks - very snappy and lots of space between elements.

Separately, nothing wrong with a vinyl master if it sounds good!

[The_K_Man]

The Imus Ranch Records contain a mix of country, blues, and rock. I have volume 1, which overall has very inspiring sound. I created the excerpts attached.

[Owen Gillett]

+1 for the 1st pressed CD of rumours.

I haven't heard the remaster but would be interested to hear it if it's done well. Especially as it has some of the other material left off the original album.

Not surprised if the vinyl version still sounds the best!

Best,

Owen Gillett

[Thomas W. Bethe]

Almost anything on the OPUS 3 Label. CD Samples and test records on Opus3 Records Beautifully recorded with a minimum of post production.

The first Rumors album is the best IMHO. The reissue just sounds somehow wrong.

Almost anything mastered by Bob Katz or Dave Collins. Nicely mastered with out killing the music.

FWIW

[The_K_Man]

I'm sure anything Barry Diament has touched has turned to sonic gold! Including the original AC/DC CDs.

Here is his website: Barry Diament Audio

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

"Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones. Blue Note Records, 2002.

No limiting or compression used in the entire album. Got a Grammy for "Best Engineered Album", and five more for her vocal performance.

[Babaluma]

i have three copies of that norah jones album, the original CD pressing, the original vinyl pressing, and the recent hdtracks remastered version at 24/192. the vinyl and remaster both sound great, but the original CD pressing is heavily limited and you can hear the distortion in quite a few places.

[The_K_Man]

Originally Posted by Babaluma

i have three copies of that norah jones album, the original CD pressing, the original vinyl pressing, and the recent hdtracks remastered version at 24/192. the vinyl and remaster both sound great, but the original CD pressing is heavily limited and you can hear the distortion in quite a few places.

I can't believe they're remastering stuff that recent! Are we in an age where people are that dissatisfied they have to redo things even just after they came out?

I'm sick of it. Let's just add 30 stories to the Empire State Bldg and paint it green & purple! Make it "competitive" with modern mega-scrapers in Hong Kong and Dubai!

This thread is about recordings that were engineered right in the first place. Don't even mention "remas- UGGH!! I HATE that word..

[Babaluma]

yeah, but if you read my post properly, you'd see that i actually said that the original vinyl master, and the new HD remaster, are both great! it's the original CD master that left a lot to be desired...

there's actually a lot to be said for remastering albums which were originally mastered after the advent of digital limiting abuse. i really don't understand your hatred of the term or technique of "remastering" per se, if it can actually improve upon the original versions. the new (this year) hdtracks remaster is undoubtedly the best i have ever heard this album, and it's one of my favourites and has been listened to by me hundreds of times since it first came out in 2002. the new HD version has the most dynamics too!

[The_K_Man]

Originally Posted by Babaluma

yeah, but if you read my post properly, you'd see that i actually said that the original vinyl master, and the new HD remaster, are both great! it's the original CD master that left a lot to be desired...

there's actually a lot to be said for remastering albums which were originally mastered after the advent of digital limiting abuse. i really don't understand your hatred of the term or technique of "remastering" per se, if it can actually improve upon the original versions. the new (this year) hdtracks remaster is undoubtedly the best i have ever heard this album, and it's one of my favourites and has been listened to by me hundreds of times since it first came out in 2002. the new HD version has the most dynamics too!

Alright. "Remastering" as I interpret it, and what it has been preverted into, are mutually exclusive beasts.

Suppose I wanted to create a WAV of a favorite track from my vinyl collection. I run it through my riaa-compliant preamp into my PC and record it.

It has scratches & some clicks. One channel is 4dB louder than the other, and the speed sounds "off". Plus, a spectro shows it is lacking bass below 90Hz.

I can correct all of these things in the DAW and have an awesome WAV for CD rip or down-convert to MP3.

I don't touch the dynamics or add any other FX.

Now THAT, to me, is Remastering.

[silverking]

Originally Posted by The_K_Man

Now THAT, to me, is Remastering.

Reality tells us that 99.998+% of the worlds "remastering" decision makers are people other than you.

So, time to learn to live with it and stop the preachy, whiny, somewhat pointless, and tiresome posts complaining about the work of other artists who don't care what you (or I) think.

Vote with your wallet and don't buy if that's what suits you.

To say that you repeatedly overstate the painfully and blatantly obvious would be........well, obvious.

[The_K_Man]

Originally Posted by silverking

Reality tells us that 99.998+% of the worlds "remastering" decision makers are people other than you.

So, time to learn to live with it and stop the preachy, whiny, somewhat pointless, and tiresome posts complaining about the work of other artists who don't care what you (or I) think.

Vote with your wallet and don't buy if that's what suits you.

To say that you repeatedly overstate the painfully and blatantly obvious would be........well, obvious.

But if I want the original version of a song in my music collection I should be entitled to fork over money for it. And weekly visits to thrift-shops or the used media counter at the public library won't always pay off depending on what you're looking for.

When artists - like AC/DC - force people who like their music to buy the 2003 remasters it creates a black market: Folks with the original catalog will rip tracks off those CDs to illicit free download sites.

Ponder that.

[haberdasher]

Originally Posted by The_K_Man

When artists - like AC/DC - force people who like their music to buy the 2003 remasters it creates a black market: Folks with the original catalog will rip tracks off those CDs to illicit free download sites.

I thought when it came to the Michael Jackson remasters you wanted the originals because they were closer to the artist's intent - if AC/DC are choosing to only have the 2003 remasters available, surely those would be the ones that match their intent...? Why the opposite point of view this time?

[The_K_Man]

Originally Posted by haberdasher

I thought when it came to the Michael Jackson remasters you wanted the originals because they were closer to the artist's intent - if AC/DC are choosing to only have the 2003 remasters available, surely those would be the ones that match their intent...? Why the opposite point of view this time?

Stop twisting this around. I meant their original intent - what got printed to CD in the '80s & '90s. That's the sound I want and should be able to acquire - legally instead of underground - if I can afford it.

Stop jerking around those of us who are having a serious conversation here.

[Ruairi]

Comparing screenshots now counts as a "serious conversation"?

[haberdasher]

Originally Posted by The_K_Man

Stop twisting this around. I meant their original intent - what got printed to CD in the '80s & '90s. That's the sound I want and should be able to acquire - legally instead of underground - if I can afford it.

Stop jerking around those of us who are having a serious conversation here.

AC/DC were well known for playing gigs in excess of 120dB back in the day. Live, that's going to distort in the eardrums, even if the PA was capable of reproducing it cleanly. In the 80s, the digital technology wasn't there to brickwall masters in as extreme a manner as today. Maybe they would originally have liked to have got it louder if they could, but were limited by the technology of the day.

As for really great sounding albums, Nina Nastasia's debut ''Dogs'' (2000) is lovely. I don't remember the mastering engineer although I believe it was someone at Abbey, but the recording was done by Steve Albini.

[AlexK]

Originally Posted by Adam Dempsey

Interesting. I prefer the 2002 remasters of those tracks – better transfers, a fuller sound, more open in the tops, regardless of the (relatively conservative) limiting. Try comparing at matched levels. Like many such releases of the time, the original CD issues were often from 2nd gen tapes mixed and mastered for vinyl.

I've heard it a couple of times and absolutely hated it to be honest!

I found the top end really abrasive and 'pushed' which makes the image inconsistent from top to bottom. The low end also plods and 'thumps' in comparison to the original masters I have where it feels perfectly balanced and musical.

But each to their own - mastering is such a subjective thing a lot of the time!

[The_K_Man]

Originally Posted by AlexK

I've heard it a couple of times and absolutely hated it to be honest!

I found the top end really abrasive and 'pushed' which makes the image inconsistent from top to bottom. The low end also plods and 'thumps' in comparison to the original masters I have where it feels perfectly balanced and musical.

But each to their own - mastering is such a subjective thing a lot of the time!

The thing about this I've been trying to emphasize is that people should still have the CHOICE - to buy the remaster CD in the store or the original(either in store on disc or online as a digital file).

I have conducted research and analysis and found many lo-bit(128, 160) mp3s of the original sound on free mp3 sites.

The moral? Issuing and making only the remasters available for purchase has created a "digital underground" on free mp3 download sites for unremastered music! The artists and labels created this mess themselves with their squashed loud reissues.

[Hic&Nunc]

Originally Posted by haberdasher

As for really great sounding albums, Nina Nastasia's debut ''Dogs'' (2000) is lovely. I don't remember the mastering engineer although I believe it was someone at Abbey, but the recording was done by Steve Albini.

Steve Rook and Steve Albini mastered the LP @ Abbey Road indeed. And it´s sounding gorgious for sure!

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Originally Posted by Babaluma

i have three copies of that norah jones album, the original CD pressing, the original vinyl pressing, and the recent hdtracks remastered version at 24/192. the vinyl and remaster both sound great, but the original CD pressing is heavily limited and you can hear the distortion in quite a few places.

Interesting... I'll have to dig out my CD and check. I have the copy protected version with the crappy low bitrate files played in their own player when inserted in a computer drive, but i recall it sounding great on a CD player.

I used a simple piece of black tape covering the 2nd session (the data one), and i ripped it to FLACs, so i don't know about the whereabouts of the CD, but i think i recall it being in a particular drawer. Will look for it tomorrow. Anyway, it's been a while since i last listened to it.