U.K. on SHM SACD!! I hope it will not be Jobson 're-master'

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/UIGY-9570
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/UIGY-9571
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/UIGY-9572

I hope these would sound fantastic!

 

Would you care to elaborate on that?

 

The Jobson remasters sound atrocious, they are the worst remasters I ever bought. I did not even listen to them from start to finish, sold them a few days after I got them.
So bright and screechy. My ears are still hurting when I think of them.

Edit: Actually the Yes HDCD remasters by Isao Kikuchi were the worst remasters I ever bought but at least they had fancy packaging.
The Jobson U.K. remasters are a close second though in my listr of audio atrocities.

 

I will elaborate after hearing the music from the mentioned SACDs.

 

I'm freaking out. Also announced the EJ/Zinc "Green Album". Holy crap can this really be happening?

 

U.K. / U.K. as a "flat transfer" from the original master tapes to SACD would be most welcome.

 

The CD Japan blurb says something like "features the latest remastering." That plus the fact that the remaster bonus tracks are included seem telling. Yes, someone will have to pony up to know for sure, but it won't be me, at $43 per.

Zinc, on the other hand...

Nuts, and I was batting 1.000 avoiding pricey SHM goods.

 

If it says the latest mastering that would be the Jobson's. A flat transfer from the original tapes would be nice.

 

An upgrade of the Zinc album would be most welcome. I have a feeling that the original capital vinyl is the best we're ever going to hear that album.

 

We ain't gonna get the DSD transfer from original master tapes. WHAT A ****ING DISAPPOINTMENT! You'd think Universal Japan would have learned not to use horrible remasters for the SHM series. Oh well, I will be saving money for something else.

 

Well, at least I got 30 seconds worth of excitement out of it. (That's how long it took me to get over here after noticing the pages on cdjapan. Ah, well.) I'm sure someone here will get them when they come out, and I'll say thanks in advance for their impressions.

 

"The Jobson remasters sound atrocious, they are the worst remasters I ever bought. I did not even listen to them from start to finish, sold them a few days after I got them.
So bright and screechy. My ears are still hurting when I think of them."

I took a radically different approach to you - I listened to them all the way through. Yeah, I know, crazy guy eh!
I have first generation vinyl of all the U.K. catalogue, and the remasters overseen by E.J. are just fine.
I think he may have even been there during the recording of a few of them. He probably has a clue as to how they should sound.

 

Look, if you like them that's fine. But your reasoning that Jobson KNOWS what they should sound and therefore the mastering is great is BS.

Artists are usually THE WORST judges of their own work. Also mastering is an art in itself.
If every musician could do perfect masterings we wouldn't need mastering engineers.
Why hire Steve Hoffman or Ted Jensen for mastering The Eagles if Don Henley can do it? "He was there when they recorded the music, you know".
See? The argument is BS.

 

I haven't heard the remasters but I recently bought a good copy of the original EG cd of the first UK album for about $30. I think it sounds good.

 

Yes, the original CDs are not bad. There's certainly room for improvement but unless somebody will release a GOOD remaster the original CDs will do just fine. I'm not in a hurry to replace them.

 

I mentioned in the different threat that I do have this 30th Anniversary Edition of two U.K. studio albums in Japan Mini LP SHM-CD, released by Belle (Marquee) under the license from EMI in 2009 (Belle 091540/41), which is "latest remaster" done by Eddie Jobson. It sounds very good in my Hi End system, as I said, on the level of non-Pt releases. Both albums loaded with heavy sound and Eddie nailed bottom end very well. There are no any problem with treble either.

However, after one complain on the bad sound, I tried them in the regular systems. One was my Canadian Axiom AudioBites computer audio system with small bookshelves speakers and 40w tiny amp. Computer itself has 550W power supply and BD player. I've added excellent 1200W sub to this system, which help a lot to handle these two discs - sound was smooth with deep bass, but I wish more trebles here.

Second was my car one. Regardless that I changed the original s**t with good 400W Kenwood player, 4 pieces of the crap (speakers) still are on the place. All beauty of the bottom end has gone and trebles a bit "tzits", when cymbals going on. I have to admit that a lot of my CDs sound better in my car.

I still deeply believe that, if in Hi-End system CD sounds good, Eddie did good Remastering job. I cannot wait for new releases. "I hope these would sound fantastic!" (Tomek)

 

''You'd think Universal Japan would have learned not to use horrible remasters for the SHM series. Oh well, I will be saving money for something else." --Tullman

We have rights to save our money for something else, but do we, actually, can put such a label "horrible remaster" on somebody's work without even listening CD at least ones?
Bad word spreads around hundreds time faster than any good one. Another member "old school" already likes what you said. But based on what? Somebody's 5 years old opinion, who even did not listen to the album to the end? Please, guys, don't rush to the judgment like that.

"I am not happy about Uni Japan using the latest remasters.

1. They are charging PREMIUM prices for their product, we should be getting DSD transfers from the original master tapes, like most of the SHM-SACDs.

2. What is the resolution of the remastered files Jobson did. Are they 44.1/16 upsampled to DSD? Who knows.

3. The remastering job on the recent Jobson remasters are questionable. When I hear words like bright, or too much treble, I worry.

I really like the UK album and want it to be presented on SACD from the original tapes." -- Tullman

1998 - new 16-bit Mastering tech broke through. Next year Robert Fripp, Donald Fagan, Mike Oldfield, Eddie Jobson started to work on the remasters of their catalogs, using new technology. Why? Because they care about sound, while an industry don't. They are not sound engineers, but somebody supposed to wake up those lazy fat cats. 2008 - newest "lossless" tech showed up, and they started all over again. Some with a help of professionals, some - without. Should we appreciate their efforts to push the industry forward or should we label it with "horrible remaster" tag? They are heroes, if you want to know, and they're succeeded.

Finely, in 2010 Universal started SHM SACD Series and Warner tried to follow with Hybrid SACD Sereis.

Only a couple months as Sony released their first rock come back release in SACD Jeff Beck Blow by Blow, again, based on... old 2003 remaster. Sony has only one Blu-ray Audio disc with symbolic name, reflecting their relation to Hi-Fi: 'Requiem'. It's laughing through the tears. And this is the creator of Hi-Resolution Audio!

Sony never bother to do any remaster for their new Blu-spec CD2 series. They are sitting on a lot of treasure and have all resources to push Hi-Rez Audio forward. Instead, they let us down.

More than 3 years ago Sony bought small California based company EMPEX, who specialized in LPs and Audiophile quality CDs, to do what? To introduce Americans to their new Blu-spec CD technology. Where it is? Company is completely abandoned. I have 2010 Impex Gold CD release Belafonte Sings The Blues with Digibook cover and great remastering job. There is nothing since...

That's why, when Eddie Jobson trying to collaborate with Uni to release U.K. albums in Hi-Rez, overcoming all legal and money issues, it's big effort. Because not all artists willing to do that - future releases of Supertramp are in a limbo now.

I am really understand and share all your concerns. But what Uni should do?
As I said, they have no access to the Mastertape - it's U.K./EMI territory. Eddie proudly counts that Remaster was done correctly (I think he is right) and from Original Master Tape. Why he would allow Uni mess with his precious tape again.

Is Flat Transfer always better than the other Mastering tech from original master, which the other companies like MoFi or APO use? Absolutely not.

Should Uni charge less, if they use somebody else recent (2009-14) Remaster to release SHM-SACD? I don't think so. As long Remaster is done right DSD transfer will be good sounding too.

Again, Uni has his own artist Mike Oldfield, who did Tubular Bells Remaster in 2009 and who is Right holder now. They signed agreement on SHM-SACD release. Should Mike give Uni the Tape for new flat transfer, if he just spend weeks on new Remaster, which already sounds very good? (And it is excellent sound). The same is with U.K.

I will be the first who is going to apologies to Eddie Jobson for all bad words, saying on this forum toward his work, based on nothing:
Sorry man, they don't know what they are doing.

toilet_doctor

 

I haven't heard the remaster myself, so can't comment on the quality, but I did read an interview with Eddie Jobson where he discussed his mastering techniques, and he was very up front about using digital limiting/compression to make it loud enough for then-current fashions. To me, this meant that I stuck with my original CD masterings, which sounded perfectly fine (though my copy of the debut is the Japanese import, which may have different mastering from the US or European version).

If people were consistently complaining that the remastering was too quiet or too dull, and if he were to have described his process differently in that interview, I would be tempted to give it a chance. But with so many consistent complaints over the years that it is shrill, scooped out in the midrange, and dynamically compressed, I'd need to hear otherwise from someone whose taste in mastering I trusted before risking any money on what sounds like a typical, even somewhat extreme version of loudness war mastering trends.

 

I have a a solid opinion on the Jobson remasters which I bought and listened to many times, and that opinion is there not as good as the original EG CD's.
Tullman is right if Universal Japan is doing these they should use the original master tapes! I don't understand all your rambling about this subject! Here are the DR Values of original U.K. CD. 13 12 13 13 15 12 13 13 excellent Values.

 

I wouldn't trust anybody who thinks platinum-CDs sound better than aluminum-CDS.

Just saying.

 

Here's an old thread about the Jobson remasters:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/u-k-the-band-remastered-cds.184230/#post-4470396

And here's a thread on the Eddie Jobson forum. You have to scroll down to find some short reviews. Even the most hardcore Jobson fanatics didn't like the ear-splitting brightness of these CDs:

http://www.eddiejobson.com/forum/read.php?f=3&i=1710&t=1710

 

I just don't understand the logic of this post.

 

I have the UK cd mastered by Arun Chakraverty. Which on is this?

 

Still trying to work out who you are talking about!

 

Mark, you don't have to count on the trusted opinions of the latest remaster, as you can just wait for new release reviews and comments and make your decision.
Nevertheless, thank you for your honesty... I mean you honestly said, unlike the other guy, that you didn't listen to latest remaster.

I also found Eddie's interviews (one about Japanese tour and the other one, on youtube, about creation of the band and his experience with Roxy Music), but nothing on 2009 remaster. If you have a chance, please provide us the link.