That's asinine, if I PAY for a product I want it to BE the product not something with distortion thrown in during the quiet moments. I have heard it before but didn't know what it was. No idea on my Hemispheres download I'll have to listen with headphones on and check it out.
I think MP was an early digital recording. I have my copy noted as 24-48. Can't remember where I got it from. Would've been Pono, HDTracks or ProStudioMasters probably.
Right. The old LP has the same cut-off. Incredible the way a digital/mixed to digital can sound so great if done right!
On Caress of Steel, I can easily hear it during sections that only have Neil's drumming (Lakeside Park's intro and Didacts and Narpets). It's also audible during the intros for Tom Sawyer on MP and The Weapon on Signals. All of my listening is done with headphones, so maybe that's why I can hear the artifacts.
Appreciate the examples, I will check it out with headphones and speakers. Most of my listening is headphones probably 75/25
Yep, it could be. 24/48 smells like DAT recorder or something, but I pretty much sure it was recorded to tape. Then, what happened next in early day, who knows. Anyway, it's overkill to buy it even as 24/96, since never recorded like that! Maybe @Steve Hoffman could elaborate on that please
The Blu-ray, although released later, is sourced from the same files as the Sector One DVD-A, i.e. the Van Dette stereo master and Chycki 5.1 mix. But when the Blu-ray was released, the Van Dette master had already been superseded by the Magee, so the included download card provided the latter.
Guys, the original stereo master for Moving Pictures is 16bit/44.1kHz. It was recorded on analog tape, if the mixing was done on the first digital console or not is unclear, but the final stereo master is digital. The 5.1 surround remix went back to the analog multitracks and was mixed in 24bit/96kHz. The 2015 remaster used an analog tape copy, transfered and mastered in Hi-Res like it should have.
Or the fact that some LPs starting in the very early 80s use digital in the mastering process and still sound terrific. Just because it's digital (even early digital) doesn't mean it's crap. Conversely, plenty of 24/96 that's crap due to a poor master.
Completely agree. Was listening to Hearts-S/T, 1985 the other day. One of the worst analog recording's I've ever heard.
Yep... compare that to something like Steve's CD mastering of Who's Next... sounds amazing and just lowly 16/44 mastered from analog.
true, I have a near mint copy of this I acquired. I like the album but the vinyl was not pleasant to listen to.
Why "as it should have"? The analog tape was derived from the 16/44.1 digital master (probably using 1980 DACs). How is that better than starting from the digital master and using a modern DAC (even if you are going to master in analog, as Sean does)? As you mention, the analog multi-tracks were used for the surround mix. I doubt anyone is going to go back and do a remix straight from analog multis today, but even if they started with those (24/96) transfers, it would be a nice upgrade. With Steven Wilson doing AFTK last year, I'm hopeful that he will be asked to do MP one day.
That's not what I meant. It could be better to start from the original digital master if it still exists. What I meant is that it's better IMO to master any source, whether analog or digital, in "Hi-Res". I have already written my thoughts on the subject in this forum many times.
Gotcha. Would that, in your opinion, also apply if the end result is vinyl? (Sorry; I have read many of your excellent posts, but don't recall seeing this specifically.) I don't see the value if the mastering engineer uses analog EQ and the end product is also analog. In that case, you're adding at least two extra A-D round trips.
It depends on what you want to do with the sound. If possible, digital master to all-analog mastering for vinyl sure is nice.
It is possible to have information what was the recording per Rush album - even digital, analog and on what?
There are various articles scattered on the net... You can also analyse the Hi-Res files. Everything after (and including) Moving Pictures was mixed to digital (not sure about Signals, will have to check). At least up to and including Test for Echo, the original masters are 16-20bit(?)/44.1kHz. Not sure when they stopped recording on analog tape though. Vapor Trails seems to be a 44.1Hz recording mixed to 48kHz. Starting with Snakes & Arrows, the masters are full 24bit/96kHz.
Thanks. So, to be honest most of the so called remasters are not legit high resolution ones, never recorded like that. I could understand tape transfer to digital high res domain for that reason, but the rest, hm, just upsampled or dummy files.
16bit/44.1kHz digital ceases to be just that as soon as you do something to it. It's no different than mastering analog tape.
Does anyone here have the 2015 Magee hi-res of ATWAS and Exit Stage Left? Best digital versions available? If they’re the same as the mastered for iTunes versions on Apple Music then I would buy them in a flash.