Steve Hoffman--You Have RUINED My Life

Steve Hoffman & Fellow Forum Members:

As someone whose life revolves around music, I'm a fan of an incredibly broad spectrum of musical genre's. I used to have tons of cassettes and vinyl, but now I primarily stick to CD's. I have PLENTY of CD's, and they cover every type of music I find even remotely enjoyable. All of us here on the forum are fanatical about music, so I'd assume we all have something to fill whatever mood hits us.

Admittedly, I'm not the most technically knowledgeable forum member. I was always the type of music listener who knew when one CD sounded "better" than another, but I never really had the expertise to explain what I meant. Even after reading what a lot of you have said about certain mastering/remastering engineers, as well as the ways in which these people would consistently taint or enhance a sound, I still didn't exactly "get it."

Although I still don't consider myself half as knowledgeable as the average forum member here, I recently had two sonic experiences that left me shaking my head, and actually feeling as though I'm beginning to better understand what so many of you mean when you comment on the mastering of the music.

Approximately 1 week ago, I was listening to music in a decent pair of headphones, and I wanted to make a direct comparison. I always thought that the MoFi gold CD version of Nirvana "Nevermind" sounded pretty good. I wasn't sure how good, but I thought it must be about a 9/10. Since I absolutely love Steve Hoffman's version of The Cars S/T, I wanted to listen to these two titles back to back. It's not exactly a "direct comparison," as I previously mentioned, but I still felt I could judge the works on their sound quality alone. Both are "supposedly" superb, audiophile quality titles.

My goodness, I couldn't believe how much better The Cars sounded! I was positively blown away. I'm not joking... after I listened to The Cars, I then did an A/B with the standard "Nevermind" disc, comparing it to the MoFi version, and the difference I had always found there previously was not as intense. I still find the MoFi version superior, but not as I once did. WHOA!

Now here's the other comparison that made last night very interesting for me. I recently went ahead and purchased the Rhino "Like Omigod...." box set of '80s songs. As I began to listen to this collection, I IMMEDIATELY found the songs to be very annoying. Obviously I realize it wasn't "the songs," but the sound was "killing" me. Other than the tracks being grossly LOUD(!), I found them to sound extremely unnatural. Here's where things got very fun.

Some of the songs from the Rhino box set overlap with the "Awesome '80s" set that Steve did, so a comparison was imminent. In every single case, I was astonished by what I was hearing. Steve's versions made the Rhino set sound horrendous by comparison. When I would listen to Steve's, and then play the same track on the Rhino set, I started noticing some flaws that may be second nature to the rest of you here. Rhino's versions were, as mentioned before, way too loud. They were very thin sounding in the low end department--although on occasion it almost seemed like the low end was artifically enhanced, and it sounded fake. Lastly, and perhaps most annoying, they had this very tingly sound to them that almost sounded like a distorted background noise to my ears. Am I correct in assuming that I'm finally figuring out what far too much treble sounds like??

Wow... to be honest, I don't know if Steve was using the genuine masters for the "Awesome '80s" set or not, but either way, I feel as though Steve achieved a great sonic quality for those tracks. I don't know how I'll ever be able to listen to that "Like Omigod..." collection again. I almost feel like somebody took a layer of coating from each of my ears, and I'm FINALLY realizing what well-mastered music sounds like. So rich and natural. So REAL.

I pulled out various CD's today from my collection, and I tell you... I'm starting to notice so many flaws in the music that it's unreal. Now I'm going to have one hell of a time listening to the music I've acquired in recent years.

For that reason, Steve Hoffman--You Have RUINED MY Life!!

 

Welcome to the club.

HZ

 

Welcome to the rest of your life's listening experiences.

 

I have found that hanging out here might actually be helping me to save money! Instead of shopping for music like a "shotgun blast" and hoping for the best, I now shop like a "laser beam", very precisly.

or maybe I'm merely fooling myself into thinking I'm spending less....

Either way, it's a lot of fun. Enjoy!!!

 

I don't know if using Nirvana's NEVERMIND is a fair demonstration of anyone's mastering techniques, but you came to the correct conclusion: DCC gold discs were definitely a notch or two above MFSL's.

 

That'll teach you....

ED

 

Guys,

I see the point here. Steve has spoiled us with great sound - to the point where we loath other masterings that are inferior or poorly executed. After a time of being spoiled there is a natural tendency to get cynical about the apparent lack of mastering skills that are out there. Once treated to great mastering, there is no turning back!

Bob

 

Very well said Bob. Once you have a very good steak, it's diffuclt going back to a not very good steak (I think I read that in a fortune cookie)...

 

Hi Todd!

Yes, after listening to fine mastering, one becames increasing intolerant of 'bad' mastering! I bought a disc recently where the mastering was so bad I immediately threw the CD into the trash!

Bob

 

It's such a waste! I haven't tossed anything into the trash yet (at least as much as I can recall) but I certainly has a lot of discs sitting on a shelf collecting dust. We work hard and all we ask is for some good qaulity music without these "marketing" gimmicks like "make them loud, compressed, lifeless, etc".

Todd

 

I just listened to the remastering of That'll Be The Day on the "Buddy Holly Collection" 2 CD set ripped onto my hard drive in .wav format and the mastering of that track peaks right up at 100% and definitely EQ'd for the masses in mind. BTW, I have just paid for my copy of "From The Original Master Tapes" and will soon get it, courtesy of Dave, right here at SteveHoffman.tv but I will still keep the 2 CD set for the additional music and the liner notes. BTW, I have actually heard "FTOMT" at my local roller rink and realized that it is THE way to listen to Buddy Holly on CD all along. BTW, I am imagining Steve's remastering of "That'll Be The Day" in my head preparing for the day when I will finally be able to enjoy Steve's remastering of Buddy's great music right here at home.

 

He's at least done irreparable damage to my bank account! But seriously, I really appreciate all the great information I get here--like learning how good the Beatles EP box is, which I would never have guessed.

 

Yeah, Steve, you ruined my life, too. I can still remember when I was quit happy with my NoNoised Pet Sounds CD. Ah, was I ever that young?

 

Steve,

We relish being closer to your world - that is prime reason we are all here. Unfortunately, a bi-product of getting closer to your world is that we see more CD's becoming coasters!

Thanks for opening our eyes to a better sonic world!

Bob

 

I got the same cookie . "He who read Forum doomed to poverty".

Cliff

 

Those poor fools.

The only time I ever receive comments such as "Wow! It sounds like the band is really in the room!" or "I never liked that band before! But play it again!" is when I'm playing DCC discs and some other select CDs and vinyl. That has to count for something. Hmm...

 

Cliff you must have unfolded it all the way it finishes ....and riches

All the best - Andrew

 

Steve makes a good point here. The fact is that Steve is a "specialty" masterer (master-mind?? ) at this time. There are many other recordings out there that, while not mastered to Steve's exacting standards, have to be bought for other reasons. I love the warmness of the DCC "Wings At The Speed Of Sound" but I also like the McCartney Remasters (1993?) for the bonus tracks. And, no, they don't sound that bad to me.

Another consideration is listening circumstance. For many reasons, the only vinyl I listen to is my own pre-1989 bought vinyl. I prefer not to spend money on old releases (though I'm sure that I'd love and appreciate the superior fidelity). It's just not my music-buying priority. I'd rather invest in high rez releases or spend the money upgrading my system. I also listen to a lot of music in the car commuting to and from work. Thus, fidelity is not always the only factor. The fact is, Beatles "1" sounds not too bad in my car. At home, I may prefer to listen to my pirated needle drops or the Red and Blue album. My point is, is that it's not always about sitting in front of an expensive system listening to the best release of a record. Family and other priorities don't always allow for that.

As a final note, I'd been quite impressed with a number of DCC releases but Steve truly won me over with the SACD layer of the Audio Fidelity Zombies CD. That is the best sounding CD I own by a country mile.

Cliff

 

Aashton,
Too right, mate .

Cliff (born and raised in East London)

 

Awright, innit

&ru

 

Bradley,

You won't be sorry when "FTOMT" takes its rightful place in your CD player. I own both discs. What's worse I gave "FTOMT" away after I bought "Buddy Holly Collection" seven years ago.

The forum smartened me up so I bought "FTOMT" for the second time (making Steve a rich man ). After comparing the two, I had to shake my head - what was I thinking? "FTOMT" sounds much better. The forum has ruined my life too.

Like you, I'll keep the collection for the liner notes and the extra songs.

John

 

For ruining all of our lives, Mr. Hoffman, you deserve immediate admission to Heaven upon your demise. I hope you can live with what you have accomplished with your life. Remember, what ye reap so shall ye sow.

Evan