The Official "Apple Digital Masters / Mastered for iTunes" Thread*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by nbakid2000, Apr 19, 2014.

  1. botley

    botley Forum Resident

    The later titles are largely more dynamic on iTunes than the '09 CDs, but they're based on mostly the same sources. I do think there is a slight improvement compared to some of the ABKCO era Redbook layers, which might be due to better conversion pathway from DSD to high-res PCM, bypassing 16-bit decimation.
     
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  2. ShallowMemory

    ShallowMemory Classical Princess

    Location:
    GB
    Bought a number so I can be prepared for the firing squad!
    I compared home iTunes ripping at 320 from redbook DSD London era discs to the MFiT and found the latter preferable with more transparency and remain impressed with the Led Zep titles
     
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  3. Clanceman

    Clanceman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Or
    Thanks, I'll try a couple of the earlier titles. Good to know.
     
  4. Clanceman

    Clanceman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Or
    No, but I like the mfitunes over 1990, 2002 (Rio) and 2006 CDs. They are nice....punchy, meaty, thick tones, and bass....reminiscent of the London vinyl sound.
    Even the 80's synthesized sound, that comes across thin and harsh on cd, seems to be balanced nice on these.

    However, the box may be as good or better, I don't know.
     
  5. nbakid2000

    nbakid2000 On Indie's Cutting Edge Thread Starter

    Location:
    Springfield, MO
    I see there's a Moody Blues 'Days of Future Passed' version. Does anyone know what that sounds like compared to any of the other editions out there?
     
  6. Phil147

    Phil147 Forum Resident

    Location:
    York UK
    Has anyone got the MFiT Quadrophenia? I've got Tommy MFiT and the Led Zep collection, if Quad sounds as good as these then I will be sorely tempted to buy yet another version of this great album.
     
  7. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Massive compression ain't clipping. It just sounds bad.
     
  8. rainspainplain

    rainspainplain Forum Resident

    I was saying there is a section that talks about the things you said they don't talk about. I guess you probably did see that and I realize you are saying they didn't talk about those things enough. And then I was mentioning the part about clipping that I thought was interesting from that section. I didn't say compression is clipping. At least they're not labeling the songs that clip as Mastered For iTunes. Hopefully there is more they can do too.
     
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  9. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    My point is that you can make a song sound very bad but still not clip. I can take digital compression and crush it to a brick, then keep it one solid dB away from 0dBfs and it never technically clips. And I can EQ the living crap out of it to the point where it's unlistenable by humans, but it technically could be "mastered for iTunes." It's just a label.

    Mastering is an art, not a number.
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2014
  10. swedgin

    swedgin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    The super deluxe edition version I bought from the Irish iTunes Store sounds excellent and is the original mix.
     
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  11. BZync

    BZync Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Thank you! This is the case with CD, vinyl, SACD, HD downloads, etc. I have gotten burned by bad masterings in the past because of being seduced by how great any new format has the potential to sound. Nice to have spent my cash on a great copy of a poor mastering.
     
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  12. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    My fear is that a lot of people are going to get fooled into thinking a high-res master (iTunes or not) is good, when it may not be the case. I would trust it a lot more if a major name mastering engineer like our host were at the helm, but I'm gonna doubt they'll give out mastering credits in the description. And in truth, there's good people who've done crap work, and crap people who've done good work on occasion.
     
  13. GetHappy!!

    GetHappy!! Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    I know this wasn't directed at me, but I'll chime in; yes, the post-Abkco material is based on the '09 remasters, but they are not as abrasive, and at the very least a volume level shift was done. For that material, I like a mix of the Virgin releases and the MfiT versions. Mostly the Virgins, but I prefer the MfiT for It's Only Rock 'N Roll, Black And Blue and Emotional Rescue. The SHM-SACDs are a whole other story; I know they get a lot of love here, and I have all the studio albums from that series (some in the non-SACD edition), but I'm not much of a tweaker, and I think you need to EQ those a bit for them to sound their best. Horses for courses.
     
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  14. rainspainplain

    rainspainplain Forum Resident

    I understand. I like to think everyone on this forum understands.

    I like this from that PDF:
    "Whatever you decide—exquisitely overdriven and loud, or exquisitely nuanced and tasteful—we will be sure to encode it and reproduce it accurately. We only ask that you avoid clipping the signal."

    It's a small step but it makes Mastered For iTunes just a little bit more than just a label for me
     
  15. Clanceman

    Clanceman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Or
    Good info from you and Botley. Thanks to you both. I'm going to pick up one or two to try. Maybe one from each era....IORR, like you suggest.
     
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  16. razerx

    razerx Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sonoma California
    I have bought MfiT for Black Sabbath, the Doors and Springsteen and am happy with the sound which is pretty consistent. At the same time I have been downloading from HDTracks in 24/96 and like those too but not all of them. Now I research for days before buying from HDTracks. The gap between lossy and hi res is obvious on paper and I won't go into any practical conclusion here as opinions are heated so I only say I will choose what to buy based on price, how much I will listen to that piece of music and whether the best redbook is easily available.
     
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  17. coffeetime

    coffeetime Senior Member

    Location:
    Lancs, UK
    The Why Pink Floyd? 2011 reissue campaign is all MFiT:

    • Individual studio albums
    • Discovery box set
    • A Foot In The Door (with See Emily Play exclusive)
    • Experience editions of Dark Side, Wish and The Wall with extra tracks/video content relative to the CD equivalents.
    Sadly Relics and other early singles aren't included. Still waiting on a 2011 style mastering of the content on Relics and the Early Singles comp from the Shine On box.
     
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  18. coffeetime

    coffeetime Senior Member

    Location:
    Lancs, UK
    Any word on the sound? Always been happy with my originals CDs of Kick and Welcome To Wherever You Are, but never got around to getting X or Listen Like Thieves on disc. Still early morning here so can't crank the previews on the lounge system until later on.
     
  19. driverdrummer

    driverdrummer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Irmo, SC
    What's the best sounding Led Zeppelin Mastered for Zitunes album ?
     
  20. swedgin

    swedgin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    Most improved for me are II, Physical Graffiti and ITTOD.
     
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  21. nbakid2000

    nbakid2000 On Indie's Cutting Edge Thread Starter

    Location:
    Springfield, MO
    I'd like to know this too!
     
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  22. coffeetime

    coffeetime Senior Member

    Location:
    Lancs, UK
    Seconded with II and PG; the clarity of the bass and cymbals on What Is And What Should Never Be for example is just lovely.
     
  23. Clanceman

    Clanceman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Or
    I agree with you both.

    Those are the three that stand out to me.
     
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  24. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    No, but I recall the INXS complete albums box that came out a couple of years ago had mixed reviews on here (IIRC it done by the same mastering team that made the loud Church remasters in the early 2000s). I'm hoping that the MFiT has better SQ because I'm missing several of the early albums myself.

    Strangely, this iTunes set doesn't include the final Hutchence album and I think the box I cited did - must be a licensing issue (I do remember Elegantly Wasted was on a different label than Atlantic here in the US).
     
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  25. aberyclark

    aberyclark Well-Known Member

    If iTunes goes at least 16/44, I'm sure you can upgrade for a small fee for each song or album you already purchased (Apple has done this with each sonic upgrade in years past). I actually think iTunes downloads sound excellent. Much better than cassette versions of years ago. The recording and mastering, IMO, has way more sonic impact than a newer Mastered for iTunes vs CD/LP format.
     
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