Led Zeppelin 2014 Remasters - I-III - Hi-Res Format

This thread is for discussion of Led Zeppelin I - III in the Hi Res format only.

Please see the other two threads for discussion of the CD and Vinyl formats.

CD format discussion for I - III - http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/led-zeppelin-2014-remasters-i-iii-cd-format.358818/

Vinyl format discussion for I - III - http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/led-zeppelin-2014-remasters-i-iii-vinyl-format.358819/

 

Yay! Thank you!

 

I'll get the ball rolling by stating that having dismissed the Page/Marino remasters in favour of the earlier Diament releases, I have listened to all three albums of the new Page/Davis remasters and I'm more than happy to express my appreciation, especially the album tracks. I've not spent much time listening to the bonus tracks, but they were bootleg-fare previously, and I only had the Paris concert of the extras.

As I stated in the previous combined thread, the detail and sound quality is much improved. I don't have the CDs, but others have commented on the improved sound-stage of the hi-res over the CDs. I would have wished for less compression, so 9/10 rather than a perfect score.

 

I am pretty sure I will just get the Hi-Res downloads instead of the CD's. It all depends on how much each album ends up being, though. Some people have speculated that HD Tracks could charge up to $40 for each deluxe edition, which would be insane IMO considering the CD's are only $14-$15 each.

Also depends on whether Apple does indeed announce hi-res downloads today at WWDC. We'll see.

 

Barry Diament vs new hi-res version:

foobar2000 1.3.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2014-06-02 20:02:12

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Led Zeppelin / Led Zeppelin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR10 -1.58 dB -12.99 dB 2:47 01-Good Times Bad Times
DR10 -1.49 dB -15.17 dB 6:43 02-Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
DR11 -1.21 dB -13.78 dB 6:28 03-You Shook Me
DR10 -1.43 dB -13.85 dB 6:28 04-Dazed And Confused
DR10 -2.16 dB -14.42 dB 4:35 05-Your Time Is Gonna Come
DR9 -2.01 dB -13.02 dB 2:12 06-Black Mountain Side
DR9 -1.06 dB -12.64 dB 2:32 07-Communication Breakdown
DR11 0.00 dB -14.24 dB 4:43 08-I Can't Quit You Baby
DR10 -0.64 dB -13.45 dB 8:30 09-How Many More Times
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 9
Official DR value: DR10

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 909 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

foobar2000 1.3.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2014-06-02 20:01:34

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Led Zeppelin / Led Zeppelin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR8 -1.26 dB -11.52 dB 2:46 01-Good Times Bad Times
DR9 -1.44 dB -13.66 dB 6:43 02-Babe I’m Gonna Leave You
DR9 -0.01 dB -12.34 dB 6:28 03-You Shook Me
DR8 -1.10 dB -12.22 dB 6:29 04-Dazed and Confused
DR8 -1.70 dB -12.85 dB 4:35 05-Your Time Is Gonna Come
DR9 -1.52 dB -11.87 dB 2:13 06-Black Mountain Side
DR8 -1.21 dB -10.95 dB 2:30 07-Communication Breakdown
DR10 -0.61 dB -13.38 dB 4:43 08-I Can’t Quit You Baby
DR8 -0.01 dB -12.14 dB 8:28 09-How Many More Times
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 9
Official DR value: DR9

Samplerate: 96000 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 24
Bitrate: 3143 kbps
Codec: FLAC

 

Quick heads-up for people.

Just downloaded III from ledzeppelin,com. No metadata / album artwork etc. Not a huge problem, but a bit of a pain nonetheless as it will have to be done manually.

 

I

As numerous previous posts have stated, plus or minus 1 doesn't say it.
Most here agree on the fact that the new ones sound better. I'm perfectly happy with the new releases.

 

I am really interested in the high rez versions of these titles. Do we know for sure when we will be able to purchase these as a stand alone item.

 

Do the Led.Zeppelin.com hi-res downloads come in other formats besides FLAC (e.g., WAV)? Thanks

 

All three are really great. And with a little EQ-tweaking they´re simply fantastic!

 

Is the high res version identical to the CD version?
Or it is like the recent Paul McCartney releases, where the high res version comes unlimited.

 

HDTracks is saying tomorrow - 6/3/2014 - which is official release day here in the US.

 

In Europe they have been available for a couple of days. In the U.S you can get them tomorrow.

 

That's what I was hoping for. But apparently there will not be an unlimited version. I'm still very much looking forward to these tomorrow!

 

What sort of tweaking?

I had a listen to the EU "hiresaudio" versions courtesy of a friend visiting from the EU, and I did find that I wanted to adjust my subwoofer downward a bit.

I have no idea whether HDTracks and others will be releasing the exact same files, or not. These were 24-96.

 

I think Ponkine had the best take on it. The hi-rez versions are more "reverberant".
There is more of the room ambience in the hi-rez version.
Is it radically different than the cds? I don't think so, but it is a different listening experience for sure.

Overall (cd included) the cymbal work is more defined, theres clarity in the instruments were you can pick out details in the playing that previously I wasn't aware of, and Plant seems more in the mix, rather than being dominant. Take this with a grain of salt, because I have only listened to a couple of tracks from each version, so consider that as well.

 

Funny you say that, as all I've heard are the EU HIRESAUDIO versions (24-96), and one of the first things I noticed was that there seemed to be a lot of 'room ambiance' that I was hearing. I hope to hear the cd versions to compare.

 

I've been listening to these remasters for over a year now, and I'd say you hit the nail on the noggin.

I've been very happy with the hi-res versions of the albums -- not sure what else to say, they are exactly what I wanted.

 

Appears to be FLAC only.

 

If one has to tweak it, how can it be fantastic? You should not have to tweak anything.

 

Well, it will always be a matter of personal taste and the equipment you use.
I find them a little bit to the bright side and have done as follows:

Converted the files to 32 bit, used the Foobar Eq-function (55-220Hz: 0dB, 311-1800Hz: -1dB, 2,5-7KHz: -2dB, 10KHz:-1dB, 14-20KHz: 0dB) and dithered to 24 bit again.
Same for all three albums.

 

Then leave them as they are

 

No announcement from Apple - yet another iTunes/Hi-res hoax

 

HDtracks gives several options for their downloads. WAV files are one of the options.

 

September is when Apple usually make their music and iPod announcements. If something is to happen this year then it will likely be then.