Weak sounding 80s CDs

MFSL's issue of Supertramp's "Crime of the Century". That has got to be the granddaddy of quiet CDs. No matter what system I play that one on, I really have to turn the volume up as far as it will go to really enjoy it. Also, the Who's "It's Hard" was pretty quiet.

 

Not agree on:

Rolling Stones -My personal opinion W.Germany 1st LONDON pressings is the best

Billy Joel ---All early pressings have great sound

Early metal cds--- Iron Maiden & Judas Priest only possible to listen on old cd's.Metallica has great sound on old cds too.

 

First WG Aqualung is so far the best sounding version of this album I've heard (May be DCC is better,was no opportunity for comparison yet.)

 

I love this disc - sounds great cranked up in my system.

Craig(VC).

 

Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly" (one of the first 5 cds I ever bought) never has sounded good to me on cd. The vinyl is slightly better.

 

Don't bother. If you like the first WG Aqualung, you'd hate Steve's version. It actually sounds like Aqualung and includes the ending to Wind Up.

 

Guitar Town and Copperhead Road share the same trait. You have to play them at a very loud volume!!

 

Midnight Oil's "Diesel & Dust" and "Blue Sky Mining" are far too quiet.

 

To all folks who "prefer to turn 'em up rather to turn 'em down" - this thread is about those CDs who refuse to rock no matter how much you push your amp, not about superb dynamic original pressings which everyone here owns and loves.

 

Hi anton,

I think I know what you mean but I don't believe this is related to low level. These are just bad sounding recordings/mixes. Mastering these at hotter levels would simply result in louder bad sounding CDs.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

Van Halen's 5150 and OU812. I know they were sourced from master tapes that were poorly mixed, but the original vinyls sound much better so I guess the CD mastering was to blame.

 

Hell, the original standard-issue WB CDs of the earlier VH records, as well. Those must have been rubbish tapes they used to master those, or something - they are flat, lifeless, anemic, bassless compared to the original vinyls. I've said this before in my own VH thread: how did this happen?

 

That's mainly because the recording itself didn't sound so good to begin with. The remastered CD is the same gritty mess, only brickwalled beyond belief. Still, a tremendous album despite its poor sound.

 

Black Sabbath "Heaven & Hell" and "Mob Rules" on WB USA

 

Two very different versions of WG Aqualung exists(WG for UK ,and simple WG),about which one you talking about?

 

Wes Montgomery on first Verve WG cd is horrible! Just not possible to listen.

 

The poor sounding Chronicles I had (before I bought every album on CD including Mardi Gras) was the first one... looks like you got a later one that is good.

 

Can't speak for all Billy Joel albums, but I just got original pressings of Songs in the Attic and The Nylon Curtain and absolutely floored by the stunning sound quality of these two (especially Curtain - WOW.) I originally got them simply because they were cheap and I wasn't sure if I'd like the albums overall, being just a very, very casual Billy Joel fan, but now I LOVE the albums, beginning to end, and can't imagine trading this beautiful, crystal clear sound for whatever could have happened to them in a remastering. There is no way they've been improved from this.

 

I disagree with that generalization. There's some great stuff available on Telarc recorded using a Soundstream digital recorder as early as 1976 and it sounds wonderful. The Soundstream equipment was 16-bit, 50kHz--higher resolution than redbook CD!

Telarc has been releasing these early Soundstream recordings on SACD:

http://www.telarc.com/sacd/soundStream.asp

 

"Thin and flat sounding" was not likely due to too little peak level.

 

And you determined that how?

 

from Bob Katz' Digital Honor Roll:

http://www.digido.com/misc-content/honor-roll.html

 

It's actually as much about people's listening environments (their system + their room + their ears) and their preferences, as it is about the objective characteristics of the CDs in question.

 

Really? On mine it sounds nasty... Are you sure you have the original disc? Or the remaster? Not accusing, I'm just curious Surely two different systems couldn't make the same album sounds this different! I dont have the remaster of GM btw.

 

The two remasters I have sound terrible! Bug and YLAOM.. What were they thinking!?! And why did they remove "Show me the way" and replace it with "Just Like Heaven"? Bad decision (IMO), they could have at least added it on as an extra track!