I figured out why the original US pressing of Marathon sounds so iffy; it may have an incorrectly set pre-emphasis flag. The Friday Music and Japan mini-LP remasters both have much more relaxed treble, while it sounds abrasive and bright on the old CD. Aqua Marine is the worst offender thanks to its heavy use of cymbals. This unnatural shrillness is a significant sign that PE was applied at some point. Using Audacity, I added a de-emph EQ profile to my WAV rip of the original CD and it sounded much more like the other 2 remasters. The DR numbers for the original CD seem a little too high compared to the hi-res remaster from Qobuz. Neither of these versions appear to have any compression. Original US CD Qobuz download
I found an oddity with the 2016 Japanese Shango CD; it uses alternate mixes of Hold On and Nowhere to Run. Hold On is a bit clearer and positions the instruments slightly differently, while Nowhere to Run has an extra long synth note playing when the song starts. On the DADC and Friday Music CD's, that synth is not present until the first chorus. The other songs appear to be the same, though I didn't have time to play the full album yet.
Is this version the remastered CD by Vic Anesini? Santana - Caravanserai The sleeve notes don't have any mastering credits.
I have a 2003 Sony / Columbia / Legacy cd with mastering credits for Vic Anesini at Sony Music Studios NY, these are the levels for identification; 61.5 / 99.8 / 97.1 / 99.8 / 99.8 / 99.8 / 91.3 / 99.8 / 99.8 / 95.7 DR14......-4.22 dB......-22.79 dB.....4:28 mins DR11......-0.02 dB......-13.87 dB.....3:54 DR12......-0.25 dB......-14.88 dB.....3:00 DR10......-0.01 dB......-12.33 dB.....2:19 DR10......-0.01 dB......-11.92 dB.....6:04 DR9........-0.01 dB......-12.30 dB.....7:41 DR14......-0.78 dB......-19.01 dB.....4:13 DR11......-0.01 dB......-13.34 dB.....6:15 DR10......-0.01 dB......-11.46 dB.....4:35 DR10......-0.37 dB......-13.27 dB.....9:05 mins Also have an earlier Austrian and USA (me thinks), though appreciate that has no relevance.
Thanks for this. These are the figures Foobar has given me DR Peak RMS Duration Track -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR14 -7.61 dB -26.22 dB 4:31 01-Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation DR12 -2.72 dB -17.25 dB 3:53 02-Waves Within DR12 -3.68 dB -18.26 dB 2:57 03-Look Up (to See What’s Coming Down) DR11 -1.95 dB -15.55 dB 2:13 04-Just in Time to See the Sun DR12 -0.30 dB -15.34 dB 6:08 05-Song of the Wind DR10 -3.23 dB -15.84 dB 7:39 06-All the Love of the Universe DR14 -4.45 dB -21.96 dB 4:13 07-Future Primitive DR13 -1.41 dB -16.49 dB 6:13 08-Stone Flower DR11 -1.60 dB -14.78 dB 4:34 09-La fuente del ritmo DR11 -2.88 dB -16.90 dB 9:01 10-Every Step of the Way -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of tracks: 10 Official DR value: DR12 I'll run EAC & see what I get.
Track 1 Peak level 41.6 % Track quality 99.9 % Accurately ripped (confidence 9) [060354EF] (AR v2) Copy OK Track 2 Peak level 73.1 % Track quality 99.9 % Accurately ripped (confidence 9) [08FF28F6] (AR v2) Copy OK Track 3 Peak level 65.4 % Track quality 100.0 % Accurately ripped (confidence 9) [F7E5B454] (AR v2) Copy OK Track 4 Peak level 79.9 % Track quality 100.0 % Accurately ripped (confidence 9) [DD0DE34F] (AR v2) Copy OK Track 5 Peak level 96.5 % Track quality 100.0 % Accurately ripped (confidence 9) [EB4A2762] (AR v2) Copy OK Track 6 Peak level 68.9 % Track quality 100.0 % Accurately ripped (confidence 9) [D916214D] (AR v2) Copy OK Track 7 Peak level 59.8 % Track quality 100.0 % Accurately ripped (confidence 9) [E0D6C57A] (AR v2) Copy OK Track 8 Peak level 84.9 % Track quality 100.0 % Accurately ripped (confidence 9) [8F47A6E4] (AR v2) Copy OK Track 9 Peak level 83.1 % Track quality 100.0 % Accurately ripped (confidence 9) [A1C664FA] (AR v2) Copy OK Track 10 Peak level 71.7 % Track quality 100.0 % Accurately ripped (confidence 9) [A8114A4F] (AR v2) Copy OK Hmmm - doesn't look like Vic's. Presumably this is the earlier European master?
The levels you posted also match the Austrian silver-faced pressing I have. Just to add the 2003 re-master is a red cd; There are so many pressings that I wouldn’t know if all Silver-faced Austrian pre-remaster 2003 cds are the same. The only Japan cd on the DR-Database at the moment is this one which does not match the Silver-faced Austrian or US; Album details - Dynamic Range Database The US cd I have match this entry; 48.8 / 85.9 / 76.8 / 93.8 / 100 / 81 / 70.3 / 99.8 / 97.6 / 84.3 Album details - Dynamic Range Database
Can anyone comment on Santana III noise reduction? I have CBS 32058 (I believe from '85 or '92) as well as the MoFi UDSACD 2158 (from 2016). To my ears, the MoFi has considerably more tape hiss throughout. This is particularly noticeable in the first few seconds of Guajira: Where the older CD sounds very clean, the MoFi track sounds like it's recorded off a micro-cassette! If indeed the CBS CD is from 1985, I'm shocked at just how good the noise reduction was for its day. Could people with other copies comment on whether the MoFi or CBS CD is the outlier here?
I no longer have the MFSL, but I do recall it being a bit hissy in a few spots. I think part of the problem is that the treble is boosted compared to some of the other versions I've heard (original US CD and Legacy Edition).
It also has less dynamic range than the original US CD which could cause the hiss level to be more apparent.
Does anyone know whether the 2016 Japan CD reissues are the same DSD masters as the earlier mini lp versions?
The back of the OBIs say that they use the 2010 remasters, so they should be the same as the mini LPs. I've got the 2016 Shango and it sounds good. Average DR is 10. The only oddity is that it has a slightly different mix of Nowhere to Run.
I have a double CD compilation: "Sunrise". What is your opinion about the sound quality (if possible, of course).
Thanks again. Snagged these editions of Zebop and Shango from Amazon on your recommendation, and they sound quite nice. Both purchases included Amazon downloads of what are presumably the original US CD masters of the albums, so I was provided with useful points of sound comparison. I notice that 2017 saw the rerelease of most of the early Santana studio albums in similar reduced-price Japanese jewel box CD versions, excepting Moonflower and Festival. Any idea whether these rereleases also use the DSD masters, in this case from the 2006 first-batch mini lps?
I have original US CD's of the first 3 Santana albums and I am quite happy with them. I have the Legacy editions as well but only because they included additional material as well.
I'm not sure since I don't own any of the 2006 or 2017 CDs. I used to own the Festival mini LP, but it's nothing special. Aside from the compression, it sounded similar enough to the original US CD that I didn't see any reason to keep it.
Thanks again--appreciate the input. If I get curious enough, I may investigate to see how the priced-down reissues sound and then report back. I did order the Inner Secrets mini lp for the correct album track configuration.
This one has a pretty good tracklisting. In my experience, lower-key comps like this usually just contain whatever the current masterings are up to the point of their release. So in this case, you'd likely get the Anesini remasters for tracks from the first 3 albums, while everything else would identical to the original CDs.
Did a bit more research and discovered that the new Japan jewel-case priced-down reissues are indeed sourced from the 2006 masters: just as the back of the Shango and Zebop reissue obis indicate the 2010 masters as sources, the obi strips on these indicate the 2006 masters. So, for listeners who are interested in the 2006 Japan masters but don't want to shell out extra $ for the out of print mini lp versions, this offers an opportunity to pick them up at relatively reasonable cost. CD Japan has them for $9.00 ea. + shipping, and Amazon has them for around $17 ea. The available titles are I, Abraxas, III, Caravanserai, Welcome, Borboletta, and Amigos. Ordered a few and will report back on sound when they arrive.
For those of you who might want to check out The Ultimate Collection, there are 2 different masterings. Copies that have Sony Music TV on the packaging are very compressed and have lots of clipping. The EQ is good, but the clipping makes it a little too harsh to listen to. What's odd about this version is, if the DR and peak values are anything to go by, the songs that appear on both The Essential Santana and the compressed variant of The Ultimate Collection share the same mastering. Any copy that does not have Sony Music TV listed anywhere has higher DR, and thus, these are the ones to seek out. Ultimate Collection (Standard version) Ultimate Collection (Sony Music TV, disc 1) (Disc 2) Essential Santana
