georgehifi has brought up one of the factors to consider. George is a dynamic range true believer. He always likes the release with the greatest dynamic range. There is nothing wrong with that.
Dynamic range is the difference between the loudest and quietest sounds on a song or track. In the 90s and continuing to this day, record companies began compressing music. You may have heard of the Loudness Wars. This is what they are talking about. Albums with too low a dynamic range sound loud and harsh. They will give you a headache or make you want to turn the volume down.
Greater dynamic range is always desirable but, IMHO, sometimes an album with lower dynamic range (but not too low a dynamic range) can sound better due to greater clarity, better mix, etc. It’s one factor to be aware of and you should try to find out by comparing different releases of the same album with different dynamic ranges what level of dynamic range you are comfortable with.
I also wanted to add that you don’t always need to find the best release of an album. People disagree about which is the best and the best may be expensive and hard to find. The second or third best might be good enough and the difference between them and the best may not be as great as the impression you get by reading the SH forums. There are people there that are sound quality extremists. Most people would never notice some of the sound problems they find intolerable.
Again, Good Luck!
Dynamic range is the difference between the loudest and quietest sounds on a song or track. In the 90s and continuing to this day, record companies began compressing music. You may have heard of the Loudness Wars. This is what they are talking about. Albums with too low a dynamic range sound loud and harsh. They will give you a headache or make you want to turn the volume down.
Greater dynamic range is always desirable but, IMHO, sometimes an album with lower dynamic range (but not too low a dynamic range) can sound better due to greater clarity, better mix, etc. It’s one factor to be aware of and you should try to find out by comparing different releases of the same album with different dynamic ranges what level of dynamic range you are comfortable with.
I also wanted to add that you don’t always need to find the best release of an album. People disagree about which is the best and the best may be expensive and hard to find. The second or third best might be good enough and the difference between them and the best may not be as great as the impression you get by reading the SH forums. There are people there that are sound quality extremists. Most people would never notice some of the sound problems they find intolerable.
Again, Good Luck!