Springsteen Letter to you sound quality?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by EdColeman, Nov 14, 2020.

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  1. EdColeman

    EdColeman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Whidbey, WA.USA
    Hi All, I recently bought vinyl copies of Magic and Western Stars, honestly I was not impressed with the sound quality, simply put both records sounded like mush and unengaging. Now that Letter to you is out I've been considering buying it, but I really don't want a repeat in sound quality. What are your thoughts on the vinyl release of it?
     
    klockwerk likes this.
  2. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Most all new release vinyl use the compressed digital for the format.
    Highly doubt they paid to have a dedicated one made.
     
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  3. Bruce Burgess

    Bruce Burgess Senior Member

    Location:
    Hamilton, Canada
    Letter to Springsteen. I hate brickwalled music.
     
    ericscho, klockwerk, Carlox and 4 others like this.
  4. Letter To You was mixed by Bon Clearmountain, and sounds great, as does all his work that I've heard.

    However, I have the CD, I can't speak to the vinyl.
     
    siebrand likes this.
  5. Isamet

    Isamet Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    I like the sound. It’s just too darn bad that the pressing on the grey vinyl is warped a bit. Actually I returned my first copy to the online store because it was not only warped but had a lot of surface noise. Just picked up a new copy on grey vinyl from my local music store. It’s still warped but very little surface noise. Also $6 cheaper
     
  6. Musical Chairs

    Musical Chairs Forum Resident

    I'm not wild about the sound quality of the vinyl. I'll keep it but I would not be shocked if the CD sounds better and doubt it would sound worse.
     
  7. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    springsteen's catalog is pretty darn good in terms of mastering and production, except for 'magic' which is horribly loud to the point of distortion (why they haven't fixed this is beyond me) and 'born to run' which suffers from the wall of sound production techniques rendering it almost mono.
     
    Christopher B likes this.
  8. grapenut

    grapenut Forum Resident

    Perfect SHF post....
     
    Saint Johnny likes this.
  9. NunoBento

    NunoBento Rock 'n' Roll Star

    Location:
    London
    The sound quality of the vinyl is great, compared to Magic is like night and day. Go for it.
     
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  10. ricks

    ricks Senior Member

    Location:
    127.0.0.1:443
    Now's about the time where someone will chime in and say Springsteen has the right to release music that has whatever sound quality he wants.

    To those folks I say - well yeah OK sure, but we all have the right to our opinion in saying what he wants sounds like excrement.
     
  11. raye_penber

    raye_penber .

    Location:
    Highlands.
    Any more thoughts on the SQ of this one?
    I'm about to pull the trigger as part of my 'albums for the holidays' thing this year.
     
  12. Dhreview16

    Dhreview16 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    I think the (black) vinyl quality is very good. I generally like CBS/Sony recordings. My copy is clean and flat. The album is mixed by Bob Clearmountain and mastered by Bob Ludwig, both big plus points. You get three sides of music on a four side double album, so no problems with it being crammed in. Another plus point is that the packaging is superb, again just in my view. Gatefold sleeve, large size colour lyrics booklet, and two sets of inner sleeves - one paper, one black and white photograph (sort of) rice paper. It rocks and sounds great at loud volumes too. Personally I don’t find it muddled at all, if anything the reverse. E Street band on form. Go for it.
     
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  13. mafurman

    mafurman Forum Resident

    Location:
    philadelphia, pa
    I would unscientifically say it sounds better than most of the e street band stuff on vinyl. I know what you mean about othet recordings sounding mushy, but this one is significantly better to my ears. I also agree with the last poster that thr packaging is really nice. The music may be another matter...
     
  14. srsch

    srsch Senior Member

    Location:
    NJ USA
    Can anyone comment on the sound of the vinyl vs. the cd? I have the cd and think it sounds loud and the high end is really lacking. I would buy the LP if it's a big improvement on the cd.
     
  15. raye_penber

    raye_penber .

    Location:
    Highlands.
    My copy arrived.
    I was quite surprised.
    The SQ is really good for a contemporary release. Rounded, full, clear but deep.
    This one's a keeper.
     
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  16. Musical Chairs

    Musical Chairs Forum Resident

    Did you get the vinyl or the CD?
     
  17. raye_penber

    raye_penber .

    Location:
    Highlands.
    Apologies - vinyl (how did I miss that ... groggy morning here in the UK).
     
    RubenH likes this.
  18. Tim Lookingbill

    Tim Lookingbill Alfalfa Male

    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    If "Letter To You" sounds like this...


    ...I agree, if listening on headphones but on a big box amplified speaker system it most likely won't due to sound dispersion from room space offering some clarity with directional frequencies and reduction in sound pressure levels on such loudness on cans.

    Cans put that kind of compressed BLAAA! sound way too close as sound pressure level begins to irritate.

    I'm not a Springsteen fan but the intro on those drums in the posted video just doesn't have the correct percussive snare drum texture listening on good quality headphones I've come to know as a musician. And then there is no fast decay of that room provided reverb to dampen the BLAAA!
     
  19. raye_penber

    raye_penber .

    Location:
    Highlands.
    IMO, this release (and I can only speak for the vinyl) is anything but brickwalled.
    Found myself at odds with many of the posters in the Stones' Goats Head Soup remix thread as that release really IS brickwalled (at least to my ears).
    In comparison, Letter to You is a surprisingly well mastered, full bodied album.
     
    RubenH likes this.
  20. DBMartin

    DBMartin Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    I'd say it's one of Springsteen's best sounding albums, both on CD and (grey EU) vinyl. Burnin' Train really gives me goosebumps every time, even cranked way up high through headphones there's not a hint of distortion, just pure joyous rock and roll with great sound quality!
     
  21. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    In the past, I have generally found that the vinyl release of Springsteen's later albums sound better on vinyl, with less compression. The fact that they are cut on two LPs rather than cramming the music onto one says something.
     
  22. RubenH

    RubenH Forum Resident

    Location:
    S.E. United States
    I can't speak to the Letter to You vinyl nor the CD, as I got the 24 bit/96k download from HDTracks for the resolution. The DRs for the download and the CD show the same range (7-9) so I figured the DL might sound better. Given I've not heard the CD, I can't say, but on its own, the DL is OK, but nothing to write home about.
    Regarding Western Stars, the vinyl shows a DR avg of 11 vs. DR 7 for CD and DL, so I got the vinyl, especially for the strings. It is dead quiet, centered, and almost flat. Again, I can't compare to the CD/DL, but on its own, it sounds fine.
     
  23. srsch

    srsch Senior Member

    Location:
    NJ USA
    Thank you for reporting on the SQ of Western Stars vinyl vs. CD.
     
  24. Joey_Corleone

    Joey_Corleone Forum Resident

    Location:
    Rockford, MI
    I bought both formats - I think generally it is a pretty good sounding record, especially by modern Springsteen standards

    I don’t hear any real difference between the CD and vinyl on this one.
     
    SteveM, RubenH and Rockford & Roll like this.
  25. srsch

    srsch Senior Member

    Location:
    NJ USA
    Thanks for saving me some money!
     
    Joey_Corleone likes this.
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