Don't have the Magee yet to compare, but my faves are probably the Mobile Fidelity CD and the Ludwig US vinyl. I should really break out the Anthem vinyl to see what that's like but I haven't done that yet.
I will have to hunt that down! I know that the 03 matrixes onward are supposed to be fantastic and definitely on par with the MFSL according to a lot of the posts I have seen here
I doubt that some people who like the 03 Atomic have heard the silverface or MFSL. The 03 Atomic is rolled off at the top and bottom frequencies.
I have a question for you real quick! Is this the 03 mastering by any chance? I have a digital version of this however there is only a plus sign so I am not sure if it is the same mastering that is considered great by you and many others haha thanks in advance! And on-topic listening to the 2015 Hi-Rez version of Moving Pictures it is definitely clear but not *as* warm as the majority of Sean Magee's wonderful mastering jobs within the Rush discog
That's the one I have and my favourite. I thought it was different from the 03 matrix (meaning the "good" ones started at 04, not including the 03) but I could be wrong. You can crank it high and it doesn't sound as thick as the MFSL. It doesn't sound rolled-off to me. I think MFSL went a bit too much out of their way to make it sound "analog". In my opinion.
The 03 matrix is likely from a vinyl production tape due to the early fades. The MFSL and silverface do not have those early fades and have more lower bass and upper treble. This post shows how the silverface/Chronicles (they are identical) compares to the 03 matrix on "Red Barchetta": The Rush cd mastering thread (part 2) »
I think that's what happened with the early Yes 90125 CD, but I've never read anybody compare the Atomic 03 to a Ludwig vinyl cut for Moving Pictures.
I do like the MFSL the best so far even over the new Hi-Rez digital version, it has warmth but keeps clarity intact - same with Signals Edit: However when it comes down to a shootout between the MFSL versions of 2112 and Permanent Waves the new Hi-Rez are a big improvement IMO
I definitely agree with you about both of the MP Atomics (the 02 is the almost same as the 03 but is level-shifted and has clipping). My current favorites are the MFSL and the Anthem/US silverface.
For whatever it's worth, it appears the Mercury era download codes are now eligible for download through December 31, 2018.
Just ordered Grace Under Pressure and wondered what to expect with the downloads so I pulled out the old download cards/stickers from Hemispheres, Signals, etc. and went to the site listed to see if it was even still active. Not only was the site still there, the fine print below the online form now says offer good through 12/31/18. And yes, this is for the 320k MP4s. Still thought it might be helpful to someone.
I was listening to the Counterparts hi-rez version and comparing it with the Audio Fidelity version - it is hard to choose which I enjoy more! The AF version is a bit more clear to my ears however the hi-rez is very crankable and smooth sounding in my opinion. Unlike the original CD and the Rush Remasters version, both of these are very natural sounding and very pleasant to listen to. I said this before in this thread but it just is so damn nice to see these recordings get their justice in terms of remastering - after the Rush Remasters and the Sector versions I pretty much just resigned myself to the fact that the original issued CDs were as good as it was going to get - in 2017 that is thankfully not the case! Now if only Clockwork Angels was remastered by Mr. Magee
Can anybody check to see if the Atlantic-era downloads are still available? I'd love to purchase all of them, but unless the offer was extended, it expired on December 31, 2016.
The site is still active but unlike the Mercury releases, there's no fine print mentioning the expiration date so without a code to try, I don't know if the downloads actually work. So, maybe?
Hmm...good to know. I thought that I had heard that the downloads expired on 12/31/2016. If anybody else has a code to try and wants to report here, I would be grateful.
Quite difficult version to find this one (05 +), it requires a bit of hunting... Would that be a large improvement over the Hi-res remaster, or just minor? Thanks