Hi-Res Download News (HDTracks, ProStudioMasters, Pono, etc.) & Software/Mastering Part 12**

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Gary, May 9, 2015.

  1. jhw59

    jhw59 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Rehoboth Beach DE.
    I was thinking about the Chicago box from HD Tracks. Looks like 24/96 is ok given the DR8 number (which sucks).
     
  2. motionoftheocean

    motionoftheocean Senior Member

    Location:
    Circus Maximus
    and (quick disclaimer) I am absolutely not a DR guy. I’ve listened to albums with low-end DR numbers and had no problems with them. but when a 40-year old Rolling Stones album comes out looking like that, there’s no reason to tolerate it.
     
    jhm, EVG.1970, Plan9 and 2 others like this.
  3. rbbert

    rbbert Forum Resident

    Location:
    Reno, NV, USA
    I would have looked for somewhere to get cheap or free MP3/MP4.
     
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  4. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    The DR8 certainly represents my experience of listening to the Chicago box which is overly loud and fatiguing, same with Let it Be at an embarrassing DR9. What a missed opportunity.
     
    Last edited: Oct 22, 2021
    moomoomoomoo likes this.
  5. Joy-of-radio

    Joy-of-radio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Central ME
    As streaming is the dominant means by which the masses consume music nowadays and considering that most youngsters prefer the sound of compressed recordings, I suspect that streaming services and companies that sell Hi-Rez products are being sent the same files. I can see no other explanation of why some Hi-Rez downloads have decent dynamic range and others don’t. It’s very hit and miss.
     
  6. Mickactual

    Mickactual Humble indie rock musician

    FWIW
    The new Elton John Lockdown Sessions and Duran Duran Future Past are both also DR5.
    This is looking to be a disturbing trend, and I can't help but ask? How can these artists sign off to allow this to be done to their music?
     
  7. xj32

    xj32 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Racine, WI
    Most/Many of the artists like and want it that way. There is no mastering engineer who gets carte blanche to do whatever they want. The artist signs off at some point, and when you listen to many of these mixes on studio monitors and mastering speakers it sound punchy and forward and modern so the artist hears it and is probably like “F’ yeah, that rocks!” They are not thinking of dynamics, they want it to hang with what’s on the radio/stream. It sucks, but would guess 80% of them have zero clue what a DR value is.
     
  8. neil

    neil Senior Member

    Location:
    Culver City
    Wow. DR5. Why? I guess if you're listening to it on earbuds. I put in on in my car and thought there was something wrong with my speakers. Is there some kind of rationale being used to crush these releases?
     
  9. moomoomoomoo

    moomoomoomoo WhoNeedsRealityWhenThere'sMoreSleepToLookForwardTo

    "The louder it is, the more likely people will listen to it on the radio in their car".
     
  10. Icenine1

    Icenine1 Forum Resident

    Santana III on SACD at CDJapan coming out Nov 24. Unsure if this is a reissue? If not I've always wanted a better III. Hope this is it.
     
    Plan9 likes this.
  11. jhm

    jhm Forum Resident

    I didn't read any details on when the 2.0 layer was mastered to DSD, but the quad layer has never been digitized (legally) from the master tape before, so that'll be new at the very least.
     
    Icenine1 likes this.
  12. theotherme

    theotherme Forum Resident

    Does anyone know of a list of recordings available in HD that have better (more) dynamic range than their best available version on physical media? I have a few in mind like:

    Rush - Snake & Arrows
    Muse - The second law
    Dream Theater - a few titles...
    Steven Wilson / Porcupine Tree - a couple of titles...

    I have a new DAC fed by a RPI4, with all my CDs ripped in a SSD, but still love the sound of old my Rotel CD player, so I am looking forward to replacing CDs I love but are brickwalled with smoother HD versions.

    I know it's a long shot and I'm pretty sure the information is somewhere here in the forum but this thread is already 12 parts long an even the 12th part is 581 pages long!

    Man would I love to see some Mars Volta albums re released without ear bleeding dynamics...or Rush Clockwork Angels...
     
    Plan9 likes this.
  13. moomoomoomoo

    moomoomoomoo WhoNeedsRealityWhenThere'sMoreSleepToLookForwardTo

    With Rush stay away from the Section boxes. There was a newer remaster about a year later that's much better of the entire catalog.
     
    mmars982 and David Bostock like this.
  14. theotherme

    theotherme Forum Resident

    Yep! Thanks
     
  15. moomoomoomoo

    moomoomoomoo WhoNeedsRealityWhenThere'sMoreSleepToLookForwardTo

    Another good reason for downloads these days is the destruction of the USPS. I've got a lost/misrouted SACD at the moment, & that is becoming the new norm.
     
  16. Rigoberto

    Rigoberto Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA (UT)

    Wow! Another Quad and my favorite Santana quad.


    There's already a thread on this: Sony Japan releases Santana III Hybrid SACD with Quadraphonic Mixes
     
  17. moomoomoomoo

    moomoomoomoo WhoNeedsRealityWhenThere'sMoreSleepToLookForwardTo

    So far all I've seen of interest on the early European leaks are the new Tori Amos & the new Death Cab For Cutie.
     
  18. Hammer70

    Hammer70 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Any thoughts on the new R.E.M. 25th anniversary for "New Adventures In Hi-Fi"? It's a 24-192 release but looks heavily compressed from a DR standpoint. My version in my digital library is a 24-48 rip from the DVD-Audio and is slightly better (maybe an 8 or 9 overall?). After Tattoo You, I created a processer in Sony Sound Forge for myself that reduces clipping and the volume by about -2.8 dB, and it's made several releases so much more listenable and less fatiguing for my 56-year old ears. I might have to run this one through the "Ghetto Rig" as well (I called my processer file "Ghetto Rig" in honour of the forum member who called someone's Audacity adjustment a "ghetto rig" :laugh:).

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Analyzed: R.E.M. / New Adventures In Hi-Fi
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DR Peak RMS Duration Track
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DR8 -0.30 dB -9.82 dB 4:31 01-How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us (Remastered)
    DR6 -0.30 dB -7.07 dB 5:08 02-The Wake-Up Bomb (Remastered)
    DR7 -0.30 dB -8.71 dB 5:26 03-New Test Leper (Remastered)
    DR7 -0.30 dB -8.83 dB 5:10 04-Undertow (Remastered)
    DR7 -0.30 dB -9.05 dB 5:24 05-E-Bow The Letter (Remastered)
    DR6 -0.30 dB -8.14 dB 7:17 06-Leave (Remastered)
    DR6 -0.30 dB -7.32 dB 3:29 07-Departure (Remastered)
    DR6 -0.30 dB -8.38 dB 4:05 08-Bittersweet Me (Remastered)
    DR6 -0.30 dB -8.98 dB 5:33 09-Be Mine (Remastered)
    DR7 -0.30 dB -8.52 dB 5:01 10-Binky The Doormat (Remastered)
    DR10 -0.30 dB -11.43 dB 2:34 11-Zither (Remastered)
    DR6 -0.30 dB -7.51 dB 4:12 12-So Fast, So Numb (Remastered)
    DR7 -0.30 dB -8.31 dB 3:32 13-Low Desert (Remastered)
    DR7 -0.30 dB -8.66 dB 4:05 14-Electrolite (Remastered)
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Number of tracks: 14
    Official DR value: DR7
    Samplerate: 192000 Hz
    Channels: 2
    Bits per sample: 24
    Bitrate: 5456 kbps
    Codec: FLAC
    ================================================================================
     
  19. floyd

    floyd Senior Member

    Location:
    Spring Green, WI
    perhaps someone can help me out. I am new to hi-res downloads but have jumped in with the Pink Floyd on HDTracks and I am happy with what I am hearing. I am looking to make another purchase and have read some good things about The Who Deluxe Editions. It seems like Live at Leeds deluxe has universal praise, and Who's Next deluxe pretty good too. My question is as someone with a very extensive SACD collection, I have the SHM-SACD of all The Who titles are these still an upgrade for the main album? I know with the Deluxe you get the bonus tracks but it seems like a lot to pay for just the bonus tracks.

    Also, concerning Fleetwood Mac the self-titled album (first with Buckingham and Nicks), I am seeing in previous comments about the remasters being replaced with ones with bad mastering but these are all older posts, and honestly, dates don't seem to line up. So for the self-titled and let's just add on Tusk and Rumors which ones are the ones to buy ... or did I miss the boat on the better masterings.

    I have been researching all this but it is hard to get it straight. Thanks for any help.
     
  20. moomoomoomoo

    moomoomoomoo WhoNeedsRealityWhenThere'sMoreSleepToLookForwardTo

    Re FM: With Warner, generally anything mastered between 2012-2016 is going to sound better than newer masters. With some of the DE's, I kept the old "flat transfer" for the main album & deleted the main album from the DE's & combined the 2.

    I haven't heard the Who SACD's.
     
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  21. floyd

    floyd Senior Member

    Location:
    Spring Green, WI
    Are the old flat transfers that you speak of the the 2014 or are they from before that like 2011?
     
  22. moomoomoomoo

    moomoomoomoo WhoNeedsRealityWhenThere'sMoreSleepToLookForwardTo

    They vary. Probably started around 2010-2012 & ended 2015-2016. HD Tracks USED to have a special section for them. Look for a white Warner emblem on the front cover, & if you have the time read this entire thread. Or perhaps search this thread for "Flat Transfer". I have ton of them & they are almost always better than later remasters (Steven Wilson remixes/remasters are usually a big exception to that statement).

    Perhaps someday someone will make a master list.

    Asking about specific WEA artists here may get useful answers. Also be aware that the early Warner DVD-a's don't tend to be as good as the Warner flat transfer downloads.
     
    klockwerk, floyd and jfeldt like this.
  23. bluesfan

    bluesfan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Switzerland
    I can confirm that the „Live at Leeds“ Deluxe Edition is great. You get the whole concert in a clear and dynamic sound (DR 12).
     
    Hammer70 and floyd like this.
  24. Mickactual

    Mickactual Humble indie rock musician

    This is purely subjective and YMMV:
    The only two Who Japan SACD's I have are Quadrophenia and Sell Out. In both cases I also have the HDTracks, but I prefer the SACD's. I also have the BluRay Pure Audio of Quadrophenia, but that's ca-ca to my ears.

    RE: Fleetwood Mac - I agree with the above comments - the Warner flat transfer hi-res are the best sounding of the three albums You mentioned. I checked my files, and they all say 2011.
     
    floyd, art and jfeldt like this.
  25. Hammer70

    Hammer70 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    For the Fleetwood Mac hi rez tracks, I believe 2011 is the correct answer. They are also 192/24 (later versions, including the deluxe releases, were 96/24). I’ve also done what moomoomooomoo has done above and replaced the inferior files in the deluxe versions with the superior sounding ones. Not sure you can purchase them any longer though.

    The Live At Leeds hi rez deluxe is also top rate. The Who’s SACD’s for the early 70’s studio albums are fine (Albert Hall live one is so-so from 2000). With the deluxe hi rez versions, you do get a lot of bonus tracks though. Depending on the album, you can decide if it’s worth the money.
     
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