HD Tracks Van Halen Studio Albums 1978-1984

This news just came in my inbox. Sold as a entire set, they are available in both 24/96 and 24/192 and the listing states "All VH transfers were from the original EQ production analog tapes." Is this a special/unique mastering?

 

Any comments on how they sound would be very much appreciated.

 

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/hdtracks-news.307430/page-14

 

Discussed extensively here:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/hdtracks-news.307430/

 

^^^

I will have to follow that thread now.

 

That thread has devolved to needledrop vs. cd comparos. I don't think anybody posting now has heard nor cares if they hear the hd tracks releases.

 

I'd gladly pay up for these if I thought they were an upgrade on what's currently out there on CD and vinyl. Deciphering that with making a purchase may be a problem.

 

79 bucks for all the albums, 10% off if you guy by April 10. I am not the biggest fan of Van Halen, but i am of hi rez. Mastered from the original EQ'd production tapes. I just might go for it. Good trend also. More artist's meaningful catalog in hi rez as a package for 6-7 bucks a disc sounds good to me.

 

6 33 minute albums at $12/disc (for the 24/96) doesn't sound that great to me

 

Then why don't you find a 66 min album full of ****ty music. I am sure you will get your moneys worth.

 

I bit on the set. Although I don't have the vinyl so no way of making comparisons. I do have all of the remasters and a few of the orig issue CDs that I can compare, just won't have time to do it proper for a few days. It's actually killing me not to be able to sit & listen. Have to settle for down-rez to 16/48 in the car until next week. :-(

 

I don't about DR, Kevin, but they sound a little leveled across the board to me. The drums are too clear. The old CDs and vinyl have a certain charm, you know. Maybe I'm crazy, and they are the greatest, ever. See what you think.

https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=catalogdetail&valbum_code=HX603497923953

 

So it "sounds" like these were sourced from the LP masters.

 

The 2000-ish remasters are ultra-compressed and sound horrible. The old AAD CDs have much better sound quality and dynamic range. IIRC, at least one of the AAD CDs actually has a higher DR score than the HDtracks version. My original LPs have some issues (crappy vinyl quality, pops/clicks, warping, off-center) but the 3 RTI pressings I have are sublime.

So..... I can see no reason to spend this much to purchase these albums again. For vinyl I love the RTI reissues. For digital stick with the AAD CDs. They're cheap and easy to find.

 

Yeah. I don't know what to think about the clips I heard online. I think I will keep my old non-remasterd CDs, and my DCC 1st.

 

It seems like you are recommending that people not buy the hi-res releases even though you have not heard them. Is that your position?

The comparisons I've made from the hi-res to original CDs show same EQ but gives the nod to the hi-res for overall sound quality.

I'll be doing comparisons with original and re-release vinyl this weekend.

 

I was merely responding to the post saying that $6-7 per hires disc was a good bargain; these aren't anywhere close to that price.

 

These (at least the 24/96) have a serious lack of bass compared to all other versions. I'd say these are reverse EQ'ed for the RIAA curve except that the highs aren't boosted enough for that. For those who play their music straight without any EQ or tone controls I don't think the HDtracks versions will be very satisfying. I noticed the same problem with Yes CTTE and Going For The One (but not with The Yes Album or Fragile?)

 

I don't think they printed the RIAA curve onto the LP production masters. They would have been run through that eq when cutting the laquer. I may be wrong though.

 

And as I said, the highs aren't boosted enough for that to be the explanation. It is strange, though.

 

The hi-res versions very well may have better SQ than the AADs. I listened to the brief clips on the HDtracks website and they sound just fine to me. I wish I could listen to them all in hi-res before taking the financial plunge. And at this point they're only sold as a set at $80 ~ $110. You're getting a lot of music, but it's still a chunk of change.

So yeah, I speculate that people that already have good vinyl pressings and/or the AAD CDs could probably pass on this one. I would love to proved wrong though. I'll wait for more reviews first.

 

O.K., you are correct, I will do my math better next time. I have them and will check them out tonight.

 

One question: do they really sound that good to spend 70 something $ on those having all the albums on vinyl and CD? Aere they really worthy the money?

 

Strange. I am only interested in these because of some people's complaints about the lack of low end, specifically on the original Diver Down and 1984 CDs (but which I personally never had a problem with). Like HD up above, I really like all the original CDs. Not a big fan of the DCC for the 1st one because the timings in between all the tracks were all changed.

I think that the HDTracks versions of CTTE and TYA are very nice actually. Very nice. Fragile sucks because it's from the DVD-A and is EQ'ed funny and is compressed. (I now like the MFSL the best for Fragile, although lp might be the way to go for that one.) I have a friend whose ears I almost trust more than my own, and he says that indeed their GFTO is too bright.

 

I'd be interested in seeing a graphical EQ comparison between the HD tracks and the original WB CD's. My interest in the HD Tracks release is primarily for a little better low end as compared to the old WB CD's. If one took the HD Tracks files, down-rezzed to 44.1/16 and made a CD, would it sound just like the old CD's or significantly different?