David Bowie - Heroes 2017 fixed remaster

I finally recieved my replacement copy of Heroes and side 2 has a bunch of loud pop's during the silent parts. I mean, you just can't win with this one.

 

Exactly why I embraced the CD back in the Late 80s. Never looked back.

 

While it's tempting to say, "yeah it's Vinyl", I can assure you they're not there on the CD.

 

This.

 

I got my vinyl replacement months ago and have no issues with the pressing. I have a great sounding remaster on wax. Your mileage may vary.

 

I have the repressed vinyl version, and overall I am very satisfied with the sound quality. No clicks or pops, very flat, excellent. A bit of surface noise on side 2 (especially in the right channel), but better than many other pressings.

Just one minor thing nags me: in the silent groove between "Joe the lion" and "Heroes", there is heavy whooshing/rumbling noise. The rest of the silent grooves (lead in, run out, or silent groove between songs) are absolutely quiet, it's just between those two songs.

Is it like that on all copies?

 

Just fyi to anybody interested— I bought the ANCIANT cd box from amz.com last July, but just got around to listening to the Heroes track to discover it contained the botched version. My request for replacement (with proof of purchase) got a —

The offer for replacement discs of “Heroes” from the David Bowiebox set “A New Career In A New Town (1977-1982)” has now come to an end. However, the version of the album with the updated “Heroes” is available from all streaming and download services, as well as on individual CD and LP via all good physical outlets.
Kind regards,
Warner Music Customer Service

So they are aware that defective product was being sold in July 2018 (well after a corrected version was available), and they are no longer replacing the flawed cd.

Whatever. Purchasing a replacement cd is inexpensive enough, but I’m not going to hand warner any more money over this.

So I opened up a .wav file and corrected it myself — not quite the same as having access to the studio masters and correcting them, but enough that I can now listen to the track without being reminded that there was a problem to begin with.

Plus it feels good to know you can beat them (sort of), if just for one day.

 

Beat them for more than 1 day.
Buy the individual reissue disc- swap the new disc for the defective disc in your box and return the reissue you just bought saying it’s defective. (Which it is)

 

I thought that the CD Playing Side on the Box Set Versions has a Gold Color, or was that just for the Five Years CD Box Set? I have my ANCIANT CD Box Set in a Closet and can check later, but just assumed that Box Set also used the Gold Color Playing Side for the CDs. I did not buy the 2nd CD Box Set, so not sure if the same Gold Color on those CDs. Have not even gotten around to playing the LTA CD Box Set yet.

 

Why punish the retailer?

 

Isn't it also the case that most music retailers will only exchange defective discs for another copy, not refunds? It would be a way to get two correct discs, but at the cost of buying a new one.

 

All the box set cd’s are gold, even the replacement Heroes disc they sent out was gold.

 

There only ever was one pressing of both box sets, so it stands to reason that they all would contain defective discs, the replacement discs were available for quite awhile, I got replacement discs for both my cd and lp sets.

 

I’m glad you got your replacements. Well done!

I waited a year before bothering to check to see if I got a bum Heroes remaster in the box set that I purchased. (My bad.)

Subjective reasoning standing aside regarding whether there was only a single pressing of the box set, or not, or why — Warner knows there are still defective discs being sold presently in the marketplace, it continues to make the defectively remastered discs available to those purchasing the ANCIACT box new from retailers, and does not offer a remedy to those purchasing the botched product — whether purchased in July 2018 or July 2019 or July 2020 — a box set that presumably is not labeled as containing a defective remaster, and that fails to warn the buyer that they will be stuck with the defective disc and unable to exchange it for the corrected version.

 

Certainly no loss of energy in that one sentence

 

The Ziggy Stardust album still has a defect. The standalone version skips on Star and Amazon have removed it from sale over a dozen times. I have returned something like 20 copies that all jump at the same point and the internet is littered with reviews saying the same. And it goes on. They just don't care about fans. We are only here to pay for sports cars and boats. Our experience is of no importance to these companies anymore.

They have your money. No other consideration needed.

 

Yeah — one of the reasons I have my own self-help system of manipulating .wav files to bend a track to conform to the specifications of my unforgiving OCD ears, when necessary. I’ve had to do this too many times in my long life of music appreciation. Like I said in my OP, I created my own home-brew “remaster” of Track 03 that I’m happy with.

Yes, I’m bitter, <<sigh>>. But I’m happy . . .

 

I’ve done that. When a company doesn’t do their due diligence on things, seems fair to me.

 

Depends on if the retailer is an independent (not fair) or a massive one that sends out Bowie picture discs with folded sleeves and deserves ‘one’ back.

 

Well, then you'd have a sealed copy that you could return later.

 

Aside from anything else, it is not a "defect", it was a mastering choice - that was and is Parlophone's line. They produced a replacement in the face of a very vocal minority. For the vinyl version you wouldn't even realise there was a volume drop unless told about it and listened for it.

 

It wasn’t such a “vocal minority.” There was plenty of outcry which forced the label into issuing repress/replacement.

 

They didn’t even fix the real issue, either.

 

Yeah, "plenty" among a minority, and then as soon as people were told about the 'problem' we all wanted it 'fixed'.

The point I was trying to make was; outside of forums like this people would have played the album and not really taken much notice of the volume drop if they noticed it, and if they did they would have been happy enough with the Parlophone explanation. In other words; if you cannot get the 'fixed' version now it should not affect your overall enjoyment of that album or the box set as a whole, because the importance and impact of the problem has been vastly overplayed, probably understandably on an audiophile forum where we discuss spending hundreds on clean power sources etc.

 

Yeah “outside of a forums like this” (this one alone with tens of thousands of members!) no one would notice. I’m an over the top, OCD collector and it would indeed ruin my experience knowing that there was a defective disc in the box that had been replaced yet I had not obtained it. Fortunately, in this case, I have.

I tend to stay out of the clean power supply fray. I’m Amish and I hate electricity!