Great music - but recording unfortunately is "meh"...

[Sal1950]

Indeed it is a shame. The sonics of Going for the One are a hot mess. I wasted my money on the high-def remaster hoping it would be an improvement, but it was even worse than the original.

I blame the analog mixing consoles of the time, packed full with a million cheap op-amps and
other bad sounding early SS circuits..

 

[levimax]

Thanks for your detailed reply! As an example of what I alude to, I have tried to listed to Passage to Bangkok in various different systems. I find that frequency response is good but on systems with good soundstage (for other recordings and music) it sounds like Geddy is trapped inside a small can behind the stage.

I have 2112 on original LP, Mobile Fidelity CD, and Qobuz. There is a huge difference in Geddy Lee's voice between the LP and later digital releases. As "unique" as Geddy's voice is they added heavy effects to it on the original LP releases to really make it stand out. The later digital releases it was "toned down" but it still sounds processed to me. My guess is all the jacking around with the EQ of his vocals messes up the imaging as well. If you have never heard the 2112 LP you may be shocked how it sounds... since I grew up with it sounding that way it sounds normal to me and the digital versions kind of dull and boring.

 

[ErVikingo]

I have 2112 on original LP, Mobile Fidelity CD, and Qobuz. There is a huge difference in Geddy Lee's voice between the LP and later digital releases. As "unique" as Geddy's voice is they added heavy effects to it on the original LP releases to really make it stand out. The later digital releases it was "toned down" but it still sounds processed to me. My guess is all the jacking around with the EQ of his vocals messes up the imaging as well. If you have never heard the 2112 LP you may be shocked how it sounds... since I grew up with it sounding that way it sounds normal to me and the digital versions kind of dull and boring.

Yup had it "growing up" and melted crossover components of dad's DQ10's listening to it! I have the MOFI CD, Japanese versions, Qobuz, Amazon HD. The voice is "thin" and the placement is off. I agree, the digital versions sound heavily processed. Guess I'll have to plug in my TT again ( I went all digital ).

 

[MRC01]

I have 2112 on original LP, Mobile Fidelity CD, and Qobuz. There is a huge difference in Geddy Lee's voice between the LP and later digital releases. As "unique" as Geddy's voice is they added heavy effects to it on the original LP releases to really make it stand out. The later digital releases it was "toned down" but it still sounds processed to me. My guess is all the jacking around with the EQ of his vocals messes up the imaging as well. If you have never heard the 2112 LP you may be shocked how it sounds... since I grew up with it sounding that way it sounds normal to me and the digital versions kind of dull and boring.

I had a couple versions of the LP, the original CD pressing, and the Qobuz high-def reissue. I found the LPs to have screechy harsh mids which didn't do any favors to Lee's voice. The CD was slightly better, and the high-def reissue was slightly better still. They smoothed the mids a bit, but they didn't squash it or make other significant changes. Lee's voice sounds more subdued and blended with the rest of the music. It still has that original raw character to the sound, even if it sounds a bit less harsh.

 

[MRC01]

As an example of what I alude to, I have tried to listed to Passage to Bangkok in various different systems. I find that frequency response is good but on systems with good soundstage (for other recordings and music) it sounds like Geddy is trapped inside a small can behind the stage.
Happens at home on both of my rooms/systems, at a couple of friend's rooms also. When i play it with headphones it sounds great. Have you had that experience?

Not my favorite song, I don't listen to side B of 2112 much. I can say that the high-def remasters smoothed the mids & Lee's voice doesn't stand out as much.

The Steven Wilson remaster of Farewell is a 5.1 surround recording thus I have not tried it. I have a 5.1 capable system (mine is 7.2 but I can choose).

I listened to the stereo version.

Not sure if you are a Shooting Star fan, could you try and comment on Last Chance?

Never heard of them.

I have a good story regarding Rush. One day driving up to the amphiteatre for a Rush concert I stopped for gas. I am a motorcycle fan and there was a fellow BMW rider. I commented on how neat his bike was. He looks up and it was Neil Peart! Very cool guy. RIP Ghost Rider

Wow! He was such a great drummer I'll forgive him for riding a BMW.

 

[levimax]

I found the LPs to have screechy harsh mids which didn't do any favors to Lee's voice.

My understanding is that they did this on purpose to give Lee's voice a "unique" sound that stood out on the radio. All the original versions sounded like this and they sold millions of copies this way. Personally I find the version I grew up listening to on the radio, even if it is weird and screechy, to be preferred but if I was a new fan and had only listened to the later digital versions I don't know what I would think of the original screechy vocals. To me that is the only downside of streaming, you only get to hear the latest and greatest "revised" version of older music which tends to make music recorded across the decades sound very similar and sometimes less interesting.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Heavy weather by Weather Report, great and excellent music but the bass is MIA. Very "thin" sounding record.

I believe there is a Hi-res version out too. Haven't heard it, but maybe better.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Pink Floyd Animals original LP and CD were bad. The latest Hi-res version is a remixed, remastered version.
Much better.

 

[MRC01]

... To me that is the only downside of streaming, you only get to hear the latest and greatest "revised" version of older music which tends to make music recorded across the decades sound very similar and sometimes less interesting.

True. Sometimes Qobuz has mutiple versions of the same album and you can listen to them back-to-back. I wish they did that for all of them. Yet all too often you only get the latest squashed-to-death remaster.

 

[CapMan]

Not my favorite song, I don't listen to side B of 2112 much. I can say that the high-def remasters smoothed the mids & Lee's voice doesn't stand out as much.

I listened to the stereo version.

Never heard of them.

Wow! He was such a great drummer I'll forgive him for riding a BMW.

Such a great drummer and such a lot of personal sadness in his life. RIP Neal

 

[3125b]

Most Queen albums sound rather disappointing.

And most modern recordings across a wide variety of genres. It's all digital now, there is no excuse for sub-standard production quality. They just do not care.

 

[Sal1950]

Pink Floyd Animals original LP and CD were bad. The latest Hi-res version is a remixed, remastered version.
Much better.

The James Guthrie mastered 5.1 version is the best yet, dyamite !

 

[Ken Tajalli]

The James Guthrie mastered 5.1 version is the best yet, dyamite !

Is that the DVDA version?
If yes, it is good, but the Hi-res version has better compression, better and deeper bass, and better general quality.
If this is the one you mean, then I agree fully.

Pink Floyd - Animals (2018 Remix) - 5.1 Blu-ray surround review

Finally the Animals 2018 Remix featuring an all new surround mix and refreshed stereo mix are available after a long dispute by members of Pink Floyd.

www.hiresedition.com

 

[MRC01]

Most Queen albums sound rather disappointing.
And most modern recordings across a wide variety of genres. It's all digital now, there is no excuse for sub-standard production quality. They just do not care.

Agreed on both counts. I found Queen's music to be hit & miss, but when they hit, they really hit big. And Mercury was such a great singer, their music deserved better recordings than what we have today.

 

[Sal1950]

Is that the DVDA version?
If yes, it is good, but the Hi-res version has better compression, better and deeper bass, and better general quality.
If this is the one you mean, then I agree fully.

Pink Floyd - Animals (2018 Remix) - 5.1 Blu-ray surround review

Finally the Animals 2018 Remix featuring an all new surround mix and refreshed stereo mix are available after a long dispute by members of Pink Floyd.

www.hiresedition.com

I have the 5.1 24/96 BD, and 5.1 SACD versions.

I have no idea why that DVD was ever pressed, the 5.1 mix is a compressed Dolby Digital @448kbps.
Don't know what made them even do that release, greed to include too much on an obsolete tech?

 

[MRC01]

I have the 5.1 24/96 BD, and 5.1 SACD versions.
I have no idea why that DVD was ever pressed, the 5.1 mix is a compressed Dolby Digital @448kbps.
Don't know what made them even do that release, greed to include too much on an obsolete tech?

I only have the stereo version of the Guthrie remix, and it sounds fantastic.

 

[SuicideSquid]

Does any of you have some favorite albums, because the music is outstanding, but the recording makes you think "I wish they'd mastered this better"?

Two recent examples for me are Joe Sample's "Roles" from 1987, as well as the George Benson and Earl Klugh collaboration. Both to me sound "congested" and I think they'd be even more brilliant with cleaner separation and what I'd call less "nasal-ity"...

Pretty much anything recorded before around 1972 or 1973 that isn't the Beatles. Aqualung by Jethro Tull in particular isn't a terrible-sounding album, but it's not great, and everything they did after that sounds an order of magnitude better.

Skylarking by XTC is a famously crumby-sounding album filled with amazing music. Producer Todd Rundgren and bandleader Andy Partridge did not get along, and clearly neither were paying enough attention to the engineering - apparently it sounds rough because a bunch of stuff is out of phase (really amateur engineering errors). It's a shame because in other respects it's one of the best albums of the 80s.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

I have the 5.1 24/96 BD, and 5.1 SACD versions.

I have no idea why that DVD was ever pressed, the 5.1 mix is a compressed Dolby Digital @448kbps.
Don't know what made them even do that release, greed to include too much on an obsolete tech?

I believe the DVDA release was semi-unofficial.
It was a remix, at 24/48.

 

[concorde1]

Another one is Pink Floyd Animals.

I've always found "Animals" had a weird sound balance (I can't describe sound very well). I thought I was just being over-analytical, but looks like I'm not!

--

Also I feel on "Us and Them" from "The Dark Side of the Moon", I can hear clipping or some sort of distortion. Wonderful track that's hard to bear in places due to this.

 

[Sal1950]

I only have the stereo version of the Guthrie remix, and it sounds fantastic.

I have the stereo tracks too,
They're just so borrrrring.