Kiss 2014 Vinyl Reissues (Pt5)

Whether we like this fact our not. When I was 15, this is what helped pull me into KISS Alive further. No sense in trying to hide that fact. The music still was the No. 1 thing but the inserts didn't hurt...........

 

I am dying to get these Kiss downloads while I figure out how to adapt my system, especially after seeing the comments posted.

I got the free 12-track sampler from HD tracks last night. I listened to it on my computer with headphones and then burned it to a CD and played it on my system. I knew this would cause some loss of quality, but I was astounded by how unbelievable the high definition tracks sounded compared to the down-sampled CD. The high definition tracks were so amazing I'm afraid that I will be getting more than just the Kiss catalog (and I thought I was just about done buying music other than looking for a couple more CD pressings).

Does anyone know what kind of difference in sound quality there would be if I get a player such as a Marantz or Oppo that has a USB thumb drive input (the Marantz apparently has a display that shows USB album and track information) vs. getting a Windows or Mac laptop plus a DAC to integrate in my system? Using a player with USB would be more convenient, but does that compromise the quality?

I'm currently working with just three components plus speakers:
Creek Evolution 50A integrated amplifier
Rega Apollo CD player
Behringer 8024 for EQ.

The Apollo goes into the EQ which goes into the Creek. There is not a tape loop so if I add an extra component, in order to use the EQ on the other component, I would need an A/B routing box. Do routing boxes cause any loss of tone? Having played guitar, I know guitar A/B boxes do and that anything extra in the chain can affect tone unless it has a real true bypass circuit, so that is a concern, unless I use a CD player with USB for everything and put the Apollo away. (Man, I just wish my Apollo had USB, that would've made everything easier!)

If these questions are better for the Audio Hardware forum, or if I should post there too, please let me know. Many thanks, Brad

 

I would say the Oppo/Marantz would do a great job. If you used a computer you would probably have more flexibility to get the sound you want and to expand your library easier. The most popular option out there is using a Mac Mini with an external hard drive (for big libraries) and an external DAC. This would probably cost you about what the best Oppo sells for by the time you are done getting a DAC, software and cables depending on how much you want to spend on a DAC.

 

check the Yamaha cdn-500 . Got it a couple months ago, cant be any happier.

 

Cool, thank you for the suggestions. If I go the computer route, is there any difference between using a Mac mini versus a Windows based computer when it comes to using it for high definition music?

 

Only in the software you use. I find easier to use and the formfacter of the Mini seems to be perfect for an audio system.

 

Was there ever an exchange program set up for defective Love Gun pressings or am I stuck with it?
Sorry if it's been discussed, these reissue threads are massive!

 

did you buy from Amazon by any chance?

 

Contact [email protected]. It took 2 copies but I finally received a correct-corrected one last month.

 

Unfortunately, no.

 

Thanks!

 

This! I need to hold it in my hands...it brings me back to being a young lad sitting on my bedroom floor cranking this stuff out and staring at the album cover for hours, going over every little detail. The credits, the thank you lists, even looking for funny little quotes or messages the band wanted to send out to their fans. I would play side A over and over again on many albums back in the day before I even turned the LP over to side B. Diary of a Madman comes to mind, I think I only got to side B after 6 months. Same with Kiss Alive, I just played LP 1 over and over again.

 

I remember my best friend and I would pour over ALIVE II (the cassette copy!) for anything we could learn about on the band. It seemed they were only talking to us (15 year old vanity).
Imagine our surprise when in 1980 they came to Australia, we traveled 2 hours to Melbourne to see the concert, and we found 45,000 other people also knew all their secrets and wanted to share in the experience with us!

blew our tiny world apart...

 

Hi!

You can think about me what you want, but I will download the Hires files for free - I am sure it will be possible the next weeks. I bought every single LP from the 2014 reissues and I am very happy with them. I can't wait to hear DP and KILLERS in HI Resolution Audio Quality, but enough is enough. I spent enough money. Full stop.
BTW: I have got the YAMAHA N500 CD/NETWORK Player, too and this is a great player. It plays 192er FLAC files only via the analog chinch cable everything below via the optical cable, too.

All the best
1973_2fk4

 

Although I just said the opposite I am just downloading the KISS KILLERS in 192er quality.... The funny thing is, I typed my CreditCard stuff and the US adress I just typed some what came out of my head. It worked... the download manager is downloading KILLERS... 15 Tracks WITH Escape from the Island on it!

1973_2kf4

BTW: PROSTUDIOMASTERS site. HDTracks did not worked from here (Germany / Europe)

 

Any sugestion of software for Mac?

 

It is downloading still but KILLERS is a good album if you want to "test" hires files. It has from the first LP (Cold Gin) and from many other LPs songs (The Elder, Unmasked, Dynasty, Alive!, Love Gun, Destroyer) and of course the new songs (which are more 80s than COTN I think) - Good to get a taste of hiresolution.

I will place the files on a USB Stick and put it in my Yamaha Network Player - let's see what happens

1973_2fk4

 

Even though I `technically` disagree with downloading for `free` I do think it is not an unreasonable position to take. In my opinion 24bit flac files should be included in the price of the lp. $24.99 or whatever for a digital file is ludicrous. Even $4.99 is too expensive. After all, they cost next to nothing to produce once the mastering has been done. It`s the same old story with hi-rez as it was with cd`s when they first came out. Rip everyone off with `premium` product then whinge and moan when folks steal it. Make it cheap as chips in the first place and most people will pay - even the teenagers!!!

 

I use Fidelia because it's cheap, works well and they offer a remote app for smartphones. Many people like Jriver but it is more expensive and in some cases I find it inferior (in some ways it is better however).

 

If you want to listen to two uncompressed files - in a rar archive not compressed:

192kHz 24bit

LEGEND
https://mega.co.nz/#!9xUF2AoY!BQMU5jSjexC5sHSBWgnkcCBrA39WQbBqBNU8VCHuBOE

COLD
https://mega.co.nz/#!QoskWDiL!ShzfibvKyjAHeZwjuA9mphM1NA_zkED8OBu96OJUU28

Please tell me what you think, I think COLD GIN sounds fantastic!

1973_2fk4

 

Already have them and they sound great!

 

Here are three more...
Just 4 fun

More will NOT come.

SHOUT IT
https://mega.co.nz/#!Bsl1UbwR!e9SkbQeslvtnsvyk7BjFrIwlAR3gJM2UueSYfTRgtJc

ESCAPE
https://mega.co.nz/#!VsNXSQ6L!dODcyuARIODSwc7zC79c31QodV3NKvHkcjiq5ayTxTA

TALK TO ME
https://mega.co.nz/#!s5VBATIC!s_pafB74zAV1Pkx700_blE5vV-WDmHRCEuSn5jEG7Lo


CU
1973_2fk4

 

Right there with you on this!

 

Awesome story and flashback! So jealous of your 1980 experience in Kisstory!

 

I agree with you, wholeheartedly. However, there's an economic issue for the Majors, it's not even news.

They don't want you to have perfect copies / clones of the original master, but always a somewhat inferior / higher generation copy in your hands. Period. No exception to this. Remember what happened to DAT and Mini-discs and their absurd copy-protection systems, which didn't allow the user to make further clones of a DAT/MD which was a copy itself of the original.
Giving out the Hi-Res files of the direct master tape transfer would basically mean to give the master tape in full quality to the final user! Our dream, their nemesis.