[RexAeterna]

The Lion king was beautifully mastered. the dynamics on it was fantastic and one of cleanest movie soundtracks from Hans Zimmer i personally think. very under-rated movie soundtrack.

I've posted this website address several time on Head-Fi. It's a dynamic range database of popular albums. Check it out. http://www.dr.loudness-war.info/

yea,the loudness war kinda pee's me off especially when i'm trying to relax listening to music and all you hear is piercing fatiguing cymbals and kick drums having zero depth on impact and little to none dynamics just to make it sound good on an ipod. that's why i like vinyl more in most cases cause the vinyl copies maintains it's dynamic range while the cd version and digital version gets hampered to sound louder cause to most people ''louder is better''. that's why i can't stand modern metal cause the bad mastering that gets done a lot.

 

[LFF]

Quote:

The Lion king was beautifully mastered. the dynamics on it was fantastic and one of cleanest movie soundtracks from Hans Zimmer i personally think. very under-rated movie soundtrack.

God yes!
 
Listen to a first pressing of Disney's "Aladdin" OST. OMG...dynamics galore and very natural sounding.

 

[khaos974]

I'm listening to Arietty's soundtrack (Ghibli studio's last movie) and I like it very much.

And... Headphoneus Supremus (at least when the server catches up),

 

[LFF]

Quote:

And... Headphoneus Supremus (at least when the server catches up),

Congrats...welcome to the club!
 

 

[grokit]

Quote:

Vinyl is the way to go with her. That or some serious restoration on the CD is needed.

I think the vinyl version sounds okay on B2B with the exception of the first track on side one, it sounds more distorted than the rest of the tracks and not in a good way. I had to return the first copy I received as it was weirdly warped, just around around the outside edge. I didn't notice it until I played side two, it was unplayable for the first few tracks even with some tone arm adjustment. I was hoping that first track would improve with the exchange copy, but it didn't. Maybe an earlier pressing would sound better.

 

[purrin]

Quote:

for the subject i have to say, K.D. Lang- Hymns of The 49th Parallel is very well mastered i personally think.

Yes. Amazing resolution. Great tone. Really draws me into the music.
 
Quote:

I have the CD and always thought (I think someone suggested that to me) that the album was deliberately made that way to give it a retro feel.

 
LOL. So did I. I hated it for that reason - thinking haven't we already done that?
 
 

 

[fuseboxx]

How does one know if an album is well or poorly mastered?

 

[LFF]

Quote:

How does one know if an album is well or poorly mastered?

You listen to it.

 

[RexAeterna]

How does one know if an album is well or poorly mastered?

you usually try to listen to it but sometimes it can easily be heard with some tracks. first thing you'll notice the lack of dynamics in the music and the punch of the guitar and drumkick is sucked out while the snare,cymbals,hi-hats sound artificial and no longer real and give that sizzle annoyance without proper decay a lot so they sound very fatiguing and piercing. it's most noticeable in metal music and mainstream pop music. just look up loudness war on google and you'll get the basic idea.

 

[fuseboxx]

^ Thanks. I'm pretty familiar with the loudness war and dynamics. But I was guessing that mastering is much more than that... especially for the purposes of discussion of the folks here at head-fi.

You listen to it.

Your answer is as helpful as telling a person who wants to learn how to swim to simply move his arms and legs.

For shame.

 

[RexAeterna]

there is bit more but very hard to explain. best to do some reading and try to do some recording yourself(maybe some bedroom stuff be good start) to get a better understanding about it as well.

 

[fuseboxx]

I've actually already home-recorded an EP with 4 songs. I still have no idea what mastering is. Or maybe I've already done it, but I just don't know that it's mastering. IDK.

The problem with reading about stuff - like audio mastering - on the internet is that the information from the different resources may not be complementary and sometimes they even clash. Other sources are also too technical and complicated for the average person, who knows nothing about the topic, to understand.

So for the purposes of this thread at least, I wanted to get an idea of what you guys meant when referring to albums as well mastered. Some sort of explanation that could be communicated in the form of a casual description that isn't too difficult to grasp. Just so I could have an idea on how to opine on the discussion.

Thanks.

 

[RexAeterna]

I've actually already home-recorded an EP with 4 songs. I still have no idea what mastering is. Or maybe I've already done it, but I just don't know that it's mastering. IDK.
The problem with reading about stuff - like audio mastering - on the internet is that the information from the different resources may not be complementary and sometimes they even clash. Other sources are also too technical and complicated for the average person, who knows nothing about the topic, to understand.
So for the purposes of this thread at least, I wanted to get an idea of what you guys meant when referring to albums as well mastered. Some sort of explanation that could be communicated in the form of a casual description that isn't too difficult to grasp. Just so I could have an idea on how to opine on the discussion.
Thanks.

i understand. well what i already mention is basic idea on mastering. you can check out some youtube vids of Greg Calbi cause he explains it really well for anyone to understand basically. also once you know or have a basic idea you will then start pick it up easily with every track you make or listen to. also as a hint when looking for well mastered music it's usually the vinyl copies that are better mastered and not tampered with cause they know the crowd that listens to vinyl. usually the cd and digital version gets boosted and dynamics get cut. that's why lot will still tell you vinyl sounds better cause it still has the music's dynamics intact.

 

[Modo]

I'd like to suggest Mick Harvey - Two of Diamonds. Even with the weird channel imbalance, it's pretty well balanced overall.

There are also many electronica and trip-hop albums made after 2000 that would rate as excellent if they weren't hugging the limiter so much. Take a look at Amon Tobin, Juno Reactor, or Massive Attack.

 

[gloco]

Quote:

I've actually already home-recorded an EP with 4 songs. I still have no idea what mastering is. Or maybe I've already done it, but I just don't know that it's mastering. IDK.
The problem with reading about stuff - like audio mastering - on the internet is that the information from the different resources may not be complementary and sometimes they even clash. Other sources are also too technical and complicated for the average person, who knows nothing about the topic, to understand.
So for the purposes of this thread at least, I wanted to get an idea of what you guys meant when referring to albums as well mastered. Some sort of explanation that could be communicated in the form of a casual description that isn't too difficult to grasp. Just so I could have an idea on how to opine on the discussion.
Thanks.

I think in terms of mastering it involves where the instruments are placed, how much space (or air) is between instruments, where vocals are placed.   Besides how wide (or spread out) the music can sound, height is another factor.  Dynamics are also crucial.   Hell, it can be a pretty subjective topic.  I would recommend listening to Dave Matthews "Some Devil" album to hear how a well mastered album sounds.  It's probably one of the most well-mastered albums I've ever had the pleasure of listening to.