Is New Vinyl Exempt from Loudness Wars?
Sound82 amen i switched my buying to used lps from the era unless there is a great analog review here The sound is so much more open the rare stylus damaged record even better finding first UK pressing sound better than my pristine japanese copies why do companies put out old reissues that sound terrible? 4 guys sundazed the Amy Winehouse releases the latest Peter Gabriel 45s etc |
Audiotomb, The simple answer is money. People will buy them because they think that new vinyl carefully remastered must sound better than the original stuff. Not so. Now, in most of the cases, the remastered stuff has been carefully remastered by very competent folks. I won’t mention names. The problem, as I have seen it, is HOW GOOD is the original master tape. Let’s just use an example of one of my fave classic rock bands; Jethro Tull. I’ve got original first pressing Island Pink,Chrysalis,Reissues by DCC,MoFi. The sound quality is all over the lot. Usually, I prefer first pressing stuff from Germany. Nothing sounds more open and real to me than those pressings. In the case of Aqualung, I’ve got just about all the important varieties including the Classic Records 45 rpm Clarity Vinyl version, and you know what ? They all sound like shit. Because, in a nutshell, the original master tape is just that. Not good. The Clarity Vinyl version is the best of the lot, but still not good. Sad, because I love Aqualung, and its hard for me to listen to any version. That said, most of my re-issue stuff ( and I’ve got a lot ), is very good. But there are some bad ones too. It’s hit or miss. The reviews by the major mags can help a little, but they don’t review them all, so you’re taking a chance. In many cases the master tapes are old and have degraded over time. Remember that the good first pressings were made from fresh master tapes, and the reissues were made from aged master tapes. The stuff from the 60’s and 70’s is now 40-50 yrs old. As an example, the last Doors re-issues that used the untouched master tapes were those by DCC. After that the master tapes had deteriorated so much that they needed some digital repair. That said, I have one of the box sets made that way and they are quite good. For the record, I’ve got a fair amount of Sundazed re-issues. Most of them are excellent, but not all. It’s hit or miss with those and any re-issue. Cheers, Crazy Bill P.S. I must disagree ( though only a little ) with Raul about forgoing vinyl and going all digital. While I still prefer vinyl over digital, digital has improved. And as Raul has correctly pointed out, to a point where it is crazy good and very real sounding. But be advised that I’m basing my findings on some very high end digital stuff. My stuff is pretty good ( computer source and three DACs: ifi IDAC2, Weiss DAC202, and Auralic vega played back through high end headphone set-ups ) My buddy’s set-up is actually surreal it’s so good, but between everything ( power,source,DAC and headphone set-up, we’re talking a quesstimate of 70-75K ). Right now, as I write this, I’m listening to the ifi through Sennheiser HD650 w/ Cardas cable, and I’m feeling no need to stop. For a diehard vinyl junkie like myself, that is saying a lot. So, while I myself will never give up vinyl, Raul’s advice could be totally appropriate for many of you. Cheers again, Crazy Bill |
Geoffkait re: Adele 25 I suspect the real question is, why are both formats so POOR? You know, on the Dynamic Range Database the lowest number for a rating of Good Dynamic Range is 14. The number 8-13 are transitional, and 1-7 represent BAD dynamic range. That DR database has been around forever and it pops up in forum discussions here and there. I do find it is pretty consistent but I have not let it guide my music buying. Its easy enough to look up on your phone when buying new or used music. Some findings. I played 3 new for me cd's including Adele 25. Diana Krall - Stepping Out '93, Adele 25, Bizet Carmen - Classical Gold '94 Diana Krall Stepping out from 1993 cd first. Set the preamp gain and volume levels. Enjoyable listen. Then I put the Adele 25 cd in. Holy moly. I stopped the cd bring out the Diana Krall Cd again, and start taking spl measurements - curious. The SPL Meter was set to 90 db as the midpoint for Krall's album. Peaking at the meter sitting next to me it went from low 80's - 95 db. With Adele 25 - no change in preamp settings, the SPL meter needed to be set at the next notch - 100 db midpoint (so as not to break the needle). The Adele 25 album in my room A went from 90 - 100+ db at my listening position about 13 feet from speakers. The space is easily pressurized by the speakers/amp. The 3rd Bizet cd - again enjoyable levels like the Krall CD. Diana Krall Stepping Out - The Early Recordings (original CD) 1993 13 12 15 lossless Unknown - All Green http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=diana+krall&album= Bizet Carmen Classical Gold 1994 London Festival Orchestra - can't find this Cd on the database but it's a good recording. The Bizet's shown in the database high green marks. http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Georges%20Bizet Now here's the thing. Most long term audio music friends I know - have 2 if not more system kits set up in their house. With my two system kit setups In the room that plays full range and is easily pressurized I found the CD way overblown with huge bass extensions. And I say this as a music lover. But I am pretty sure from past music, since I haven't done it yet, in my example, if Adele 25 gets played in room B on the Quad 57 system with no sub/s and their 45hz limits - It will sound much more listenable. But the more important thing here to me - the music, and its message. I can see females blaring this out in their car with windows down. If they are I would steer clear of them. hold on - ok... put my teflon suit on. GK - so getting back to your question. Why are both formats so POOR ? and this thread's topic In this example the DR ratings show the vinyl album with slightly better transitional ratings versus the cd's poor ratings. Is vinyl enough to save this one ? Let someone come on hear and tell us since I haven't heard the vinyl. I do think if engineers think the music is going to played mostly in a car or mobile, they will turn up the bass. If they think its staying indoors on a turntable, they do what they can to make it better. In this case maybe just putting lipstick on a Pig ? They (engineers) know what they are doing. This is about making money. Look to the target audience. Happy (DR) Listening. |
