I have the same setup and I have never claimed to be an audiophile either. I have only heard one of the '94 remasters and it was the Jensen BiB which I had before I got a Diament version and it was decent and certainly better than the '03 version. I am content with the Diament versions of the Bon albums to the point I probably wouldn't seek out the '94 discs.
Does the average consumer care about hi-res? Better yet, does the average AC/DC fan even know what 24/96 is?
Probably not since most of them are using either Spotify or Apple Music Some probably but it would be a minority.
Having grown up with tapes of the EU High Voltage/Dirty Deeds, I just prefer the albums like that. For the missing tracks I expanded my version of 74 Jailbreak (via iTunes) 74 Jailbreak (Expanded) 1. Jailbreak 2. You Ain’t Got A Hold On Me 3. Show Business 4. Soul Stripper 5. Baby, Please Don’t Go 6. Stick Around 7. Love Song 8. Fling Thing 9. RIP (Rock In Peace) 10. School Days 11. Carry Me Home Because I got the bonus tracks from Volts and Backtracks and they are a bit loud I had to get the dreaded 03 Jailbreak to volume match. But I love it - it’s like having an extra Bon album!
Picked each of the high res albums up today. I have ALL of the diaments and I think BIB also in Ted Jensen form. Sampled a few tracks from each album of the high res releases. They sounded good on my HD 660S with no obvious problems with eq like bloated bass, scooped out midrange or piercing treble. So from that perspective they’re competent. There is obvious compression however. They sound compressed and examined in audacity visuals confirm it. Let’s get one thing straight. The diaments are not even close to ideal sounding so I’ll let everyone decide what they prefer for themselves but overall these are good enough for many. if we could get the dynamics of the diaments with the eq and tape quality of these 2020 remasters these would be no brainers. maybe one day...
Absolutely agree. I also suggest everyone who blames hi-res remasters to turn on volume leveling in digital player (Roon for example) and switch back and forth between hi-res and old AC/DC masters without touching volume knob. I really don't get how to prefer old masters after this. Waveforms also look far better than many of modern crushed records.
Same here. I actually asked an old friend of mine for a lossless Barry Diament's rip (I have a later digipack version) and did a quick late night comparison with the new hi-res version of 'Back in Black' using only my headphones, which I must say are not as revealing as my main speakers. The 24bit material sounds much more open in the midrange, the highs are also more open and more extended and there is more 'air' in the recording. Sorry guys but for me the DR tells only in 30% what a given album sounds like. BTW out of curiosity I have compared DR R-128 factor (Dynamic Range - JRiverWiki ) of two tracks from the album and in both cases the hi-res versions actually proved to be better
That's the one thing they have going for them. They are actual hi-rez, info above 22 (44). However listening fatigue due to the compression for me would set in making them not enjoyable.
I have written about what I heard. I don't use Audacity or similar programs. Ps. Ok, in extreme cases compression simply kills the music.
Hundreds of views since Tuesday and not a single post.. Just wondering - did we make people scared on this thread.? BTW - a new AC/DC upload (yes, I know it's an old video).
I honestly don’t see the point of these “High Res” releases... I have an ‘80’s Back In Black CD from Germany, and there’s no mention of Barry Diament at all on the packaging. I haven’t played it yet, however. And yeah, I do prefer the Jenson’s over the Marino’s. Especially on Highway To Hell, the Jenson remaster has life in it. The Marino is too loud and makes my good speakers distort like crazy.
Agree with your assessment of the hirez sound quality in relation to Back In Black. Best digital version I’ve ever heard. The new files available on HDtracks sound really nice in my system.
Lol. In the end… Next year being the band’s 50th anniversary, you’d think something big would be planned with the catalogue, and not just let us continue to be stuck with what we currently have…
