I'd be happy with this, if we are guaranteed no 2022 remixes or duets. Are there any European stores offering the SACD?
You can pre-order the sacd at Diverse Vinyl in the UK like I did however I don't know about others on the european mainland.
Unfortunately we have major problems with post from outside the EU in Ireland at the minute, with lots of packages being returned with no notification. If this was a $10 CD I'd take a gamble, but not at the prices being asked. I'll keep looking though, thanks!
He must be talking about "bit-rot". Theoretically, that can happen if the file isn't "exercised" in a long time. The idea is that drives change their magnetic properties, thus literally erasing themselves over time. The question is, how long does it take for this to happen, and under what circumstances? The question is the same for SSDs, but it is believed that they will hold an electrical charge much, much longer than a magnetic drive. I have personally never witnessed or experienced bit-rot, but I do try to activate external drives at least once a year. There is a program out there that will re-write all of the data on a drive. It is not recommend to ever use it on an SSD because it will use up finite write cycles and lessen the TBW of a drive.
Bernie is only human. He’s 78 years old. Computer stuff clearly isn’t his forte. He got his start in audio the 50’s before stereo records were even a thing; let alone digital audio. He’s wrong here and it’s totally understandable. I have no less respect for him over it, he has more knowledge about analog audio in one pinky finger than probably this entire forum. It isn’t understandable why you would blindly believe a patently false claim though. Sometimes it’s best to have a personal understanding of how this stuff works rather than simply take someone’s word for it. People slip up, and you can either catch them on a mistake when you’re knowledgable enough to do so, or choose to believe them 100% of the time just because of their credentials.
Only audiophiles thinks digital files degrade (and that vinyl is better than CD, expensive power cords gives better sound and other crazy things).
Stadium Arcadium, vinyl is better than CD The Great Escape Artist, CD is better than vinyl See how both statements can be true?
Hold on, now! If he's 78 years old today, he would have been in his late thirties when he cut "Thriller", and digital was certainly around in late 1982. He would have been 18 years old and fresh out of high school in 1962, the year I was born. And, commercial stereo recordings have been around since the late 50s. "Thriller" is an analog recording. How do you know Bernie isn't computer-savvy? I'm pretty certain he's worked with thousands of digital recordings since then.
Based on one offhand comment about “files degrading” and the fact that most people in their 70’s usually aren’t the most tech savvy, I am going to assume he’s not going to have a 2nd career as an IT guy anytime soon. I’m sure he’s worked with a lot of digital but maybe it’s not his area of expertise. Nor does it have to be. My point is that the word of Bernie is by no means gospel, particularly on this subject and perhaps several others.
Lots of top titles Sony could bring out. What, they own like 12 labels right? On Epic alone: AC/DC Tori Amos Audioslave The Clash (how about a Super Vinyl of London Calling?) INXS Isley Brothers Judas Priest Los Lonely Boys The O'Jays Ozzy Osbourne Tears For Fears The Three Degrees tons more..
Here's the problem with your assertion that most people in their 70s aren't the most tech savvy. First, mastering engineers are tech savvy by their very nature whether they choose to use computers or not. Digital audio is part of their job as mastering engineers. It is a mastering engineer's job to keep up with the latest in technology. How can you assume that digital is not his area of expertise when he owns and operates one of the biggest, most popular mastering labs in the world, and has since the 70s. I will agree that Bernie Grundman's words are no more gospel than Bob Ludwig's, Bob Katz's, or Steve Hoffman's words. But, he has the experience, and, in this case, Mr. Grundman cut all of the original Michael Jackson Epic albums and the "Bad", and "Dangerous" CDs too. I would at least listen to what he has to say, even if I don't buy into everything. I'm a digital guy. Tullman says he's had digital loss, or what I assume to be bit-rot, though I have never experienced it myself. Also, were there circumstances involving why he lost his hi-rez files? Could it have been something other than the data? Could it have actually been a failed hard drive?
This is mostly true, but files can also be corrupted in other ways - power failure during certain file processes, software going really haywire, user error (doing something really stupid), hacking/ virus or other malicious acts. I’m a little paranoid about data loss, so I do a checksum on every folder for digital audio and other important files, so I can check the integrity at any time.
There are other ways. If people looked at the Wikipedia article I posted, the references there, or googled bit rot they would see plenty of references and publications.
Sure, Bernie is probably more technically minded than most people period, let alone just within his age group. But there is only so much crossover between having a specific working knowledge of digital audio and general tech-proficiency. Maybe he’s not the most knowledgable when it comes to basic data management. Whatever the case, the assertion that “files degrade when they are copied” is flat out wrong. The entire internet would collapse if that’s how things worked, and we wouldn’t be able to have such wonderful discourse on this public forum. He would be far from the first mastering engineer to have a very flawed understanding of digital audio basics anyway. Bernie did master all those classic MJ albums, and I very much hope he is involved with this new remaster project in some way. I personally wouldn’t trust these albums to anyone else over him. Bernie is the guy. But this is completely unrelated to the whole “digital copy degradation” issue that was brought up here. I really don’t know what happened to @Tullman’s hi-res files, data corruption is totally possible and there are any number of ways it could have happened. But it’s a little silly to claim that it was caused by a copy/paste operation, or to use it as as evidence that this is the typical outcome of a copy/paste operation.
I agree! And then you also have pros who swear that .flack files don't sound the same as .wav files. I think this is wrong, too. But, being misinformed or not understanding digital doesn't necessarily mean they don't know how to use it. I agree. However, there is one thing that most audiophiles and professional engineers rarely like to talk about, and that is hearing acuity. The guy is getting up there in age... At least the late George Martin acknowledged that his hearing wasn't up to snuff any longer in his later years. Again, I 100% agree.
I preordered my Thriller SACD at North End Haarlem, a Dutch store. They list both the SACD and OneStep vinyl releases in € (euro’s), and ship to other countries in Europe (for additional shipping cost). Site is in Dutch, but you can contact them using WhatsApp (info in the page footer). Thriller | North End Haarlem
Yeah hardware and user error is where its possible to harm it. If I hit delete of course its done for.
