Remastered CDs: Color me a sceptic

So, it’s 2010, and my quest for audio nirvana has reached greater heights this year, particularly since joining head-fi in January.  My journey has been one with many peaks and valleys.  At times, headphone listening has been a source of great joy, and at other times a source of immense frustration. 

Fortunately, I’ve come to realize this frustration (for the most part) lies not with my choice of headphones, amp, dac or cables, but with the music I’m playing through those gadgets.  If I’ve read it once on head-fi, I’ve read it a hundred times:  Garbage in, garbage out.  But, like a tool, I paid no heed to those warnings, expecting my cans to sprinkle magic dust on the music of my preference.

So, what is the music of my preference, you ask?  Well, that’s where this story really begins.

Over the past 8 or 10 years I continually “upgraded” my CD collection with each significant remaster that hit the stores, slowly watching as the white spines with their red lettering became an endangered species on my shelves.  Having the latest version was a must for me.  Yes, I bought them for their bonus tracks.  I bought them for their deluxe packaging, their liner notes and sundry other goodies.  But moreover I bought them because I just knew they would sound better.

And, in those 8 to 10 years I carried on assuming that each of those newer CDs was the superior audio product.  But as I did my listening through car stereos or iPod ear buds, I wasn’t really testing this assertion.  And so, with perhaps greater faith than I realized at the time, I ditched or sold the older 80’s masters each time I upgraded.  Good riddance?

May, 2010.  I turned on my Woo amp, put on my DT880s, and began listening to the 2004 Rhino remaster of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours.  “I’m in for a treat,” I thought.  However, during “Dreams” I kept hearing something:  distortion.  It was only happening here and there, but I just knew my ears weren’t deceiving me.  So, I switched headphones, switched sources, switched amps.  Still there.  Argh!

So, while out shopping last weekend, I spotted the original CD pressing of Rumours in the used bin.  And you can surely guess what happened:  I bought it.

And you can probably guess what else happened:  I took it home, ripped it to FLAC, and listened to it in A/B fashion against the remaster.

I am generally aware of the noise war, and have heard its effects on newer recordings (evident on the crappiest of systems).  I’m also aware that the loudness race has spilled over into the realm of remastered music.  However, I simply wasn’t prepared to favor the 80’s master over the 2004 remaster.  I wasn’t.  But here it was, getting my foot tapping, proving more visceral, more musical.  Each time Mick Fleetwood struck the toms and snare, I could picture his long arms being brought down with great force.  Lindsey Buckingham’s wah-wah guitar was now gently easing in and out of the mix between Stevie’s phrases.  I could almost see him stepping on the volume pedal, showing restraint.  And now John McVie’s bass fell perfectly in balance with the other instruments, not bloated or thrust forward like on the remaster.  Wow.  So, if all this was present in the 80’s pressing, then why did it need to be “remastered” (read: butchered)?

Well.  Maybe Rhino's intentions were noble.  Let’s just assume that for a moment.  I will concede that there are moments on the remaster where the clarity improves on the early pressing by a slight degree.  In all other areas, though, I favor the 80’s version, as the dynamic range adds so much to the listening experience.  Here, as it should be, the artists get quieter and louder, they push and pull; and that extra light and shade, that extra drama comes through.

And no distortion.

And, you know what?  Rumours is but one example.  And, to be honest, it’s offenses are very slight compared to others.  I opened Audacity, and looked at the MP3 files next to each other.  2004 Rumours isn’t even brickwalled.  It’s simply somewhat louder than the 80’s master.  But with even this amount of peak limiting, what is lost?  Well, enough where my sack cloth ears could appreciate the difference, that's certain.

So, what of the worst offenders, then (think: Genesis remasters)?  Well, I plan on making a list, and will keep it handy for when I’m browsing the used bins...

And in due time all that old music will be "old" again...  

I just listened to the 1986 Invisible Touch master.  Superior in every way to the 2007 remaster.

Here's the original "Throwing it All Away" from 1986:

And here's the jacked up 2007 version:

Looks like someone has taken a hedge trimmer to all those lovely transients. 

glad you enjoyed the read.  in retrospect, it's probably a little much... 

yeah.  i bought the pink floyd box.  just to have the vinyl replica sleeves.  geez.

it's sick, isn't it?

and, you make a good point.  the a/d converters are getting better and better.  the detail they can retrieve from a baked 1st generation master tape is simply unreal.  but then they go and jack up the levels until the whole song has no life left in it whatsoever. 

it just stinks.  and so, for certain albums, the original product just sounds better.

next up for me will be graham nash's songs for beginners.  a favorite of mine.  and the 2008 remaster is brickwalled.  the kick drum farts when it hits.  rhino should be ashamed of that one...

you're right.

the pink floyd box and the beatles box are great examples of polar opposites.

the pink floyd box smacks of cash grab.  they threw the same cds in there as were already in print.  no effort to improve upon the product sonically, just the packaging.

and even that was suspect to me.  some of the booklets were shoved into the sleeves carelessly, resulting in folded corners, etc.

heck, my Oh, By the Way box even has TWO Disc-1's for the Ummagumma album.  No Disc-2.  Wow, what superb quality control! 

the beatles box on the other hand, mono or stereo, is the very best example of remastering and careful treatment of the product that i can think of. 

the remastering and preservation of the music is just shockingly well done. 

and, with the packaging, it's tasteful and they certainly didn't mess anything up.

true.  the Rhino Nuggets box (first one) is just horribly done.

and that is a pretty old box set.  maybe they thought, "hey, this is garage rock.  it should be loud."  hahaha.

that's the problem of perception.  somewhere along the line, someone thought:

loud = professional

quiet = DIY

and the rest was history...