Supertramp "Crime of the Century" - mastering comparison & discussion *

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Lucidae, May 21, 2015.

  1. BKphoto

    BKphoto JazzAllDay

    yeah its a speaker test LP for me...

    I had the reissue Breakfast and it was horrible...picked up both 1/2 speed LP's from same guy...threw the reissue in the garbage...
     
    Evan Guest likes this.
  2. sjaca

    sjaca Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto ON, Canada
    [QUOTE="

    Then a friend generously gave me a needledrop of the Speakers Corner vinyl. WOW! I was blown away. It was a night and day difference. Still, for me, the SC is not the best...I find the bass too bloated. I since heard the Original UK Vinyl and it slaughters everything out there. Oddly, I've also recently heard other UK Vinyl's and they didn't sound anywhere near as good, so it's inconsistent.


    [/QUOTE]

    Compared the Original UK vinyl to SC vinyl & SC vinyl came out on top. It has everything that the UK has, plus a better vocal presentation & more balls
     
  3. hazard

    hazard Forum Resident

    I got my UK vinyl in the post, its A10 B12 pressing. So not quite a first pressing. But on the plus side, both cover and vinyl are in excellent condition.

    I've only had time to play side 1. I didn't listen closely, but initial reaction is that it doesn't sound as 'hi fi' as the half speed master. And that is actually a good thing. Nothing stands out, at first it seems a little flat compared to the audiophile version but that means you listen to the music. When people hear thumping bass or sparkling highs or liquid mid range they are listening to their system. A good recording let's you listen to the music instead. Which is as it should be.
     
  4. DeRosa

    DeRosa Vinyl Forever

    I have all those Canadian a&m "gold frame" series
    albums, and I've come to the opinion they're closed in
    and compressed sounding on a high end table.
    a friend and I did shootouts, 3 supertramp, 4 police,
    and 2 Styx, they aren't the reference sounding
    versions of these albums. we had better copies of
    everything we tested. basically, I'm not a fan.
     
  5. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    That may not always be true. Steve Hoffman masterings have a liquid midrange that is nothing to do with my system - that's how they were mastered. Cheap Thrills, for example, always sounded on the edge of mistracking with the Vic Anesini mastering. Lush and smooth with the SH mastering. Same system, same music, different sound. A good system doesn't gloss over everything, nor does it amplify the faults of a recording. The current trend for maximized smiley faced remasterings don't sound good, no matter what some systems may tell you, despite the music being the same.
     
    Flaming Torch likes this.
  6. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    I honestly think my half speed master, audiophile Canadian pressing is unbeatable.

    It's an absolute monster. It's my demo disc. If you have the opportunity or interest, do yourself the pleasure of acquiring this one.
     
    MGM, Old Rusty, monte4 and 1 other person like this.
  7. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    But I agree with the assessment of the Breakfast in America, though. Not as good as my US pressing, even.

    But my COTC...well, maybe I've got a hot stamper!
     
  8. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    I totally agree! I have a pedestrian domestic copy of EITQM and it is much more revealing than their supposed audiophile copy. I am guessing the post stating he loves his COTC has not heard better copies. Even a standard issue copy is going to sound pretty impressive as it is an exceptional recording. One thing I hate about A&M, MCA and Columbia's audiohile pressings is none of them are pressed on virgin vinyl, so while in the case of many of the Columbia hlaf speeds, they do indeed sound better, but you can still experience noisy vinyl. Since we paid a premium, why didn't they use better vinyl?
     
    Chemguy likes this.
  9. Schmeig

    Schmeig Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kirkland, WA

    Just turn the volume up and leave it there! :laugh:
     
  10. Hatchet Jack

    Hatchet Jack Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    A love "Crime of the Century", but i find really annoying that some passages are very quiet, while others are very loud in volume (at least with the MFSL). Most of the time this kind of thing happens during the first two minutes of the songs. Is this because the album has too much dynamic? If so, is there a digital mastering that makes the volume between the quiet passages and the loud passages more equal? I only have the MFSL, so it would be nice to have a version that i don't need to keep changing the volume.
     
  11. Hatchet Jack

    Hatchet Jack Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    My man, i share your opinion! This is the first time in history that it seems to to me that an album has too much dynamic. So the HDtracks version will solve my volume changing problems?
     
  12. BKphoto

    BKphoto JazzAllDay

    i have this copy, also Breakfast...love them both...
     
  13. jwoverho

    jwoverho Licensed Drug Dealer

    Location:
    Mobile, AL USA
    A true audiophile recording. Ken Scott has often said this was one of his finest productions. I would have to agree.
     
    Dave and Starwanderer like this.
  14. I completely forgot this thread and the files I shared on post #11 for comparison are gone. Just in case someone else wants to compare the sound of an original UK copy of "Crime Of The Century" with the 40th anniversary reissue LP, here are two files with the same sample from both versions:

    Original UK LP

    40th anniversary reissue
     
    Gordon Johnson likes this.
  15. Yost

    Yost “It’s only impossible until it’s not”

    You can use the DR Database to select a release with the level of compression you like. Or you could use audio software on your computer to process the audio files from the MFSL release.

    PS. Personally I'm really pleased with the MFSL. I love classical music like dynamics.
     
    marcb, Starwanderer, fpas and 2 others like this.
  16. Yost

    Yost “It’s only impossible until it’s not”

    Any (used) stock CD from before the remastering in 2002 will do the job. Dynamics will go down from DR16 to DR13. If you need more compression, try a remastered CD. Those are DR9 (but will probably also have ugly sounding compression artifacts).
     
    Hatchet Jack likes this.
  17. Hatchet Jack

    Hatchet Jack Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Since the MFSL sounds amazing and my only problem with it is the volume changing, is there a way for me to "fix" it using a software like Audacity, for example?
     
  18. Yost

    Yost “It’s only impossible until it’s not”

    Yes, I guess it should be possible with something like Audacity. I'm not an Audacity user (I'm an Apple Logic user myself) so I cannot help with the specifics, but you need a compressor or – better – a multi band compressor plugin. It will compress the dynamic range based on the settings you use. Getting the settings right requires some study and experimentation though, if you've never used this kind of plugin.
     
  19. Vinylfindco

    Vinylfindco The Pressing Matters

    Location:
    Miami
    I thought the amazing dynamic range was a plus for this release. That's one thing I love about it.
     
  20. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Yikes...sounds like you are describing wanting a more compressed version...a big no no around here! Dynamics are a good thing. On that album, yes, it has a very wide dynamic range but thank goodness...it's the way it was recorded and the MFSL pressings are beautiful imo. Try and enjoy it...it's the thing most of us love to hear! Compression is needed, to an extent, but I think COTC is perfect as is.
     
    jon9091 and Starwanderer like this.
  21. Hatchet Jack

    Hatchet Jack Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Everything in excess is bad. According to Hippocrates is opposed to nature. He's talking about body humors, but you can extend this affirmation to almost everything in life, even dynamics, for example. But as i said, my problem isn't with the dynamic range, but with the way the volume of the record varies, cause you can have lots of dynamic without huge volume variation. I don't know, but maybe the "problem" is with the recording itself. And just remember that things aren't that black and white, it's not like dynamic equals good and compression equals evil. Things are a little more complex than that.
     
    Jrr likes this.
  22. mkane

    mkane Strictly Analog

    Location:
    Auburn CA
    Jrr likes this.
  23. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    In 42 years, I've never heard anyone complain that this record was too dynamic.
    The dynamcs are what add real power and life to the music.

    Have you ever heard a real symphony in person? Much more dynamic than this record.
     
    klownschool, Strat-Mangler and Jrr like this.
  24. Chooke

    Chooke Forum Resident

    Location:
    Perth, Australia
    I picked up the MOFI CD the other day, it just happened to be there at a Salvation Army store.

    First impressions are very good. I think I prefer this mastering to both the MFSL LP and the hi res remaster.

    But memory fades so I'll do a comparison tonight.
     
    Dan Steele likes this.
  25. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    That's the one I was talking about. That is about the best vinyl album I own, including at least 50 MFSL vinyl pressings from the 80's to recent. But many here like the Speaker's Corner as well or better. It's fine too, but I prefer the former. I don't think you can get the Speaker's Corner now anyway. Most used MFSL vinyl I have ever purchased has been well taken care of by the previous owner, so hopefully you can get a nice clean and quiet copy. I hope you enjoy it. MFSL Breakfast in America, though expensive, is also really good imo....better than any other version on vinyl.
     

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