Rush - new 2015 vinyl and hi-res reissues thread. (Part 2)

I bought the first album earlier this year, which has an earlier expiration date than the rest of them do and was hopeful that the files would be active still. They weren't. I emailed support and got the following message back:

"The digital download was a part of a promotion. Unfortunately, this promotion ended on 4/15/15. Regretfully, we are legally unable to issue new downloads past the end date, since the date is decided by the record label, artist and artist management team."

So unfortunately, I think it's likely that the files for the other albums will go away after 12/31 as advertised, which is a bummer -- I have been working to buy all of them, but I still have a few left to acquire and I don't think I'll be able to grab them before the end of the year

 

I think they will expire on the 31st, but I can't believe they won't start offering them for sale separately- it just doesn't make business sense. I think they used the downloads as a way to bolster the vinyl sales initially.

 

Listening to a lot of these 2015 remasters by Sean Magee I am very impressed at how warm and balanced they sound, it seems like these masterings are my solution to finding the best sounding versions of the Rush catalogue which is hard to do because of how many different mastering jobs are out there.

So far the only ones that aren't as good as the previous versions I have are Moving Pictures and Signals and that is because the MoFi versions are killer. Permanent Waves is smoother and warmer however doesn't have the immediate impact that the original CD issue has. I really love how easy it is to crank 2112 and Power Windows

 

The mofi versions have a bit more top end on them, whereas the Magee masters are richer in the mids and a little more polite on top.

 

Just curious if this means there would never be a SACD 'remaster' done of this album (Signals)?

 

Highly unlikely that mofi or audio fidelity would do that, considering the previous ultradisc version, and now the new master. The current version is as close to the studio as you're going to get, I'd say.

 

You can put any source to SACD.

 

I know this. But again, I doubt it will happen. some may love the DSD sound, but I'll take it in it's purer PCM form

 

Do you have a preference on Moving Pictures and Signals between the two? Both sound fantastic to my ears!


I also know that there are a few comments on here regarding Presto, Counterparts, RTB, and Hemispheres but I am curious as to if any more people have any thoughts regarding the Magee remasters versus the Audio Fidelity versions?

 

I prefer the Magee masters on both. I think they are just a bit richer sounding. As far as the other albums you mentioned, Presto and RTB are still relatively bright sounding albums, as they always have been. They haven't been warmed up, per se. Hemispheres sounds awesome.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on those! I am fairly satisfied with the AF versions of Presto and RTB so if there isn't a major change like there was the previous CD versions to the AF ones I might just stick with what I have currently.

I am just so happy to finally have some great remasters of all of these albums between the Magee and AF versions!! It is about time, the Sectors sets in my opinion are cooked fairly hot, and the initial Rush remasters left a lot to be desired. It is nice to see a lot of these albums finally done right

 

I also prefer the Magee remasters for both.

As for the others, I have done some comparisons at the time and I kept:
AF SACD for Hemispheres
Magee for Roll The Bones
AF SACD for Counterparts
And Presto is not an album I like...

 

Yeah, the Sectors set is bright and compressed and sound like ass

 

I prefer the Audio Fidelity RTB and Counterparts overall. I think the tonality of the Magee remasters on those is warmer than i would prefer, which seems to affect the tracks with acoustic guitar the most. On RtB i think the Audio Fidelity has a better guitar presence and sense of space but i could see why others like the Magee.

Ita funny, i really like the Magee Power Windows but Hold Your Fire seems a bit warmer and...i dont know, toned down somehow.

Theyre all good though to some degree. Its a real treat to have some great choices with Rushs albums

 

I scanned this thread but couldn't find.

Can someone list the Rush Albums available as a high res download only from a vinyl purchase, and not already available as a stand alone hi-res download?

In particular from the most recent remasters.

Gracias.

 

It's the Atlantic Records era with the hi-rez downloads only available with the vinyl. Presto, Roll The Bones, Counterparts, Test For Echo, Vapor Trails, Feedback, and Snakes & Arrows. Though I do believe the download codes expired at the end of 2016.

 

At his point the Rush Albums are like candy bars. So many format and mixes ,masters to pick and choose from.

Theyre all pretty good, but everyone has different tastes. I prefer Kit Kats (McKee) myself.
The AF's are Snickers.

 

Aw man, I hope not. I just bought the vinyl Roll The Bones.

 

Well, here's hoping for those particular hi-res albums to be come available to the rest of us sometime soon.

 

I was just listening to the Audio Fidelity version of Counterparts today and it is so good! I have not heard the Magee version however in my opinion this version is so good it is going to be hard to beat

I did listen to the AF Hemispheres the other day and I do think the Magee mastering is a bit easier on the ears in terms of crankability. Same with the MFSL Moving Pictures, the MFSL is a bit warmer where the Magee is harsher when cranked up on headphones but there is more detail in my opinion

 

For Moving Pictures, my absolute favourite since I finally heard it, is the old Mercury CD 800 048-2 with 05+ matrix (it is a different mastering than the rest).
It surprisingly beats both the MFSL and Magee remaster (even the 192kHz version) to my ears. It just has that snap, and the tonality is spot on, most crankable.

 

The best MP is the original Robert Ludwig pressing, bar none. The Magee on vinyl sounds great too, but the RL version just has better separation and presence.

 

I have 3 copies of Moving Pictures: RL vinyl, old Mercury CD (pretty sure the one mentioned above) and the Magee download. All are great, hard to pick a winner.

 

Yeah it really is a great sounding album (mixed in redbook digital too!!!). I had the old Mercury and MFSL CDs at one point and they sounded good too.

 

Moving Pictures. Brings back memories. Came out when I was around 10th grade in high school. Perfect timing, really. Just what I needed back then, and still love it after all these years. Got lucky the the RL pressing ant the Mercury Atomic CD, did not specifically seek those out but glad that I have 'em!