40th Anniversary Supertramp - Crime of the Century!

Curious - I emailed Qobuz to ask if they would offer the 24/192 download.

They quickly sent me a link, which does indeed say 24/192, but now I can't find the 24/96

If I search for the album, it appears and the filter options are only for 24/96 - if I click that, it takes me to the page saying 24/192!


Did they always only have the 24/192 and the listing was incorrect? Seems a bit odd.. I'm gonna get it regardless, they'll soon get another email if the download turns out to be 24/96!

 

Let us know what happens.

 

Fred... 'sounds to me like you might have a counterfeit copy. Where did you get your Crime of the Century BDA?

 

Fred, try playing the CotC BD with the three different bitstreams, all through the on-board processor. I'm willing bet that either your player doesn't output 24/192 or is incompatible with the bitstream codec you're trying to play.

I listened closely on my Oppo '95 last night and loved it.

 

Anyone compared the quality of the live tracks to the "Is Everybody Listening?" CD from a number of years back?

 

Crikey! Very interesting! I never factored that into the equation.. I got it from Amazon UK.

It looks just like the other 40 or so HFPA Blu-rays from Universal I have already (I've been buying these since the very first day they came out in France in Spring 2013 and now have what I feel is a pretty good cross section of different artists, genres, eras and both stereo only & surround HFPA discs).. oh and it has the little download coupon like a number of the others I have, not that I've attempted to D/L it, yet.. it doesn't appear to be a fake.. hmm..

 

Thank you for the advice @CDJones

Unfortunately I have already tried it all 3 ways bitstreaming the different codecs from my BDP (Cambridge Audio 651BD Azur; which I've been lead to believe is to all intents and purposes an Oppo BDP93 with different DACs) and also getting the player to decode and stream them as LPCM.. and no matter whether I choose PCM, DTS HD MA or Dolby True HD in the first instance, every which way it still sadly sounds sub par to me.

Is there any way I can "force" my player or AVR to playback the 192/24 @96/24 instead?
Just in case 192 is causing issues somewhere along the line?

 

If you can find a clean version of the original UK, it's even better.

 

Different concert, right? The new disc is the best live Supertramp I've ever heard. And I have and enjoy the other immensely.

 

what is the "BD" and "BDA" to which some of you keep referring?

 

Blu-ray Disc or Blu-ray Disc Audio

 

Has anyone answered the question of whether this release and the new BDA have the same masterings? Also, is the second disk in this set also a BDA, or if not, what is it?

 

No confirmation as of yet, but the press release would seem to indicate that all formats share the same mastering.
The Blu-ray disc only contains the original album, whereas the bonus tracks are available on the redbook deluxe edition.

 

That is odd. I am glad you got a decent sounding version, but too bad about the Blu Ray.

 

Thanks therockman

 

Almost bought the CD a couple of days ago when I saw it in the store, but I was planning on the BDA which they didn't have.

Would love to hear some more opinions that compare the sound of the CD (which has the bonus tracks that I would like to have), but really want to get the Blu IF it sounds better.

I already have enough copies of this that I don't want to double dip....

 

I'm sure that is not the case. It's more likely he just doesn't like the mastering.

 

Yes, from looking up the user manual for your BDP you would go into the Setup menu > Audio Format Setup > LPCM Rate Limit and select 96K (options are 48K, 96K and 192K). Then also set HDMI Audio to LPCM just to ensure you're converting to 24/96 LPCM.

 

I like the new iTunes Deluxe version, could that be a different mastering from the BDA?

 

Great! Thanks dobyblue

I'll give it a try tonight.

 

That's the only one I'm missing and would like to pick up. I have a CAN and US press, SC and MoFi, and I prefer the SC.

 

Supposed to be the same, from what I've read. ("Listening?" is mislabeled as to date/place.) I don't own the new release, so not entirely sure.

 

The LPCM rate limit is only effective on the Optical and Coaxial outs, there's no adjustment via HDMI.

I've thrown in the towel with the BDA on my setup and enjoying the new remaster in MFiT form instead!

 

A friend of mine bought the 24/192 from Qobuz and kindly sent me Track 8 (Crime of the Century) to compare with some other versions I have. I compared it against...

-MFSL Vinyl - Non UQHR (Needledrop)
-Speakers Corner Vinyl (Needledrop)
-Original UK Vinyl (Needledrop)
-Original A&M CD (Mine's the Columbia House version but I think they're all the same)
-MFSL Gold Japan CD (I since sold it but still have a few tracks to compare)

To cut right to the chase, here is my ranking from best to worst...

1. Original UK Vinyl
2. Speakers Corner Vinyl
3. MFSL Vinyl
4. 2014 24/192 Remaster
5. Original A&M CD
6. MFSL Gold Japan CD

IMO, the vinyl's are on a league of their own. The Original UK has such a nice FAT organic sound that can't be beat. Unfortunately, not all the UK's sound the same...some sound inferior. The Speakers Corner does suffer from distortion on this particular track but it's not that bad. Actually the remix had a tiny bit of distortion as well possibly because the bass is a tad boosted. (So is the Speakers Corner but it sounds more natural). The Original A&M CD has a very clean sound. It's just a little lean for my taste. I never liked the MFSL Gold CD. It doesn't sound anything like the vinyl. It has no presence whatsoever. The soundstage is narrow, the bass is subdued. The percussion actually drowns on the strings on this track. I honestly think Mobile Fidelity botched this mastering.

It's interesting to note that the percussion on ALL the digital versions is too forward sounding...particularly on the MFSL. It maybe something your ears just don't pick up on until you hear a vinyl copy.

So my favorite digital version -for Track 8- would be the new 2014.

 

Thanks for that, I said I'd report on my Qobuz download but some stuff came up. Hopefully today.

What might be useful to mention is that they also have an option to download 24/96 if you buy the 24/192 (disclaimer - I've not tried this, I just spotted the file format option in the drop down list at download stage)