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Best "mastered" albums of the decade?
Jul 17, 2012 at 10:28 PM Post #196 of 235
Quote:
tokengesture said:
Thanks, I thought so. And there I was, with my new high quality gear, eagerly waiting to hear how that album would sound... and it sounded bad! The curse of headfi and bad mastering strikes!
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I thought it was quite obvious how terribly mixed and mastered that album is. Get it on vinyl or find a good quality rip somewhere. It's slightly more bearable on vinyl.
 
Aug 18, 2012 at 10:54 PM Post #197 of 235
Quote:
s0lar said:
It's a shame that most recently released albums are so compressed on CD. If I am lucky I can find the vinyl, but that's not always the case.
These albums (vinyl) I listened a lot:
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
The National - High Violet
both CDs are compressed.
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Unless you have evidence that the vinyl is actually a different master than the CD (which is expensive for a label to do and actually quite rare for any album made in the last 20 years), then you are hearing the same master on a different format.  The differences you hear are either from the added distortion ("warmth") of vinyl, inadequacies in your CD playback system, or pure psychoacoustics.  Nothing wrong with liking vinyl, just know why you like it. 
 
Aug 19, 2012 at 12:09 AM Post #198 of 235
Quote:
mbayaq said:
 
Unless you have evidence that the vinyl is actually a different master than the CD (which is expensive for a label to do and actually quite rare for any album made in the last 20 years), then you are hearing the same master on a different format.  The differences you hear are either from the added distortion ("warmth") of vinyl, inadequacies in your CD playback system, or pure psychoacoustics.  Nothing wrong with liking vinyl, just know why you like it. 
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This a thousand times over. People always claim that vinyl automatically sounds better than CDs.
 
Aug 19, 2012 at 12:38 AM Post #199 of 235
Quote:
feedback said:
 
This a thousand times over. People always claim that vinyl automatically sounds better than CDs.
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there are actually quite a few cases of the vinyl using a completely different master than the cd. Im not sure about his specific examples, but i wouldnt be so quick to discount them. Just look at Stadium Arcadium, on vinyl, its like a whole new world compared to the cd version, cause it was mastered by Steve Hoffman
 
Aug 19, 2012 at 2:56 AM Post #200 of 235
Quote:
souprknowva said:
 
there are actually quite a few cases of the vinyl using a completely different master than the cd. Im not sure about his specific examples, but i wouldnt be so quick to discount them. Just look at Stadium Arcadium, on vinyl, its like a whole new world compared to the cd version, cause it was mastered by Steve Hoffman
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I don't think you understood my post. I never said it never happens, just that its rare. Which is why you shouldn't automatically assume vinyl will sound better than a CD unless you actually know it has a different and superior mastering job. And I never 'discounted' his examples, just laid out the situation accurately. The large majority of vinyl out there is likely the exact same master as its CD counterpart, and this is purely dictated by economics.
 
And yes, different masterings can sound better. Stadium Arcadium's CD master was horrible in my opinion, and yes, the vinyl's different master is a vast improvement. I never said anything to the contrary of any of this. 
 
Aug 19, 2012 at 3:17 AM Post #201 of 235
Here's a small list of vinyl that sound "masterful"
 

- Hot Chip  Coming On Strong
- Papa M  "Whatever, Mortal"  2x12" 45rpm  (John Golden)
- The White Stripes  Icky Thump  (Kevin Gray, Steve Hoffman)
- The Black Keys  Attack & Release  (Bob Ludwig, Stan Ricker) 1/2 speed mastering
- Bon Iver  For Emma, Forever Ago  (Kevin Gray)
- Portishead  Third  2x12" box set
 
it's all in the mastering be it cd or vinyl 
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Aug 19, 2012 at 6:30 PM Post #204 of 235
Quote:
zorgdk said:
mbayaq, who wants to listen to mono? 
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Mono produces 'perfect' imaging and avoids many room response problems introduced by stereo (your playback room is different acoustically than the room an album was recorded in, and this causes many problems for stereo playback). To wholly discount it is shortsighted. I'm not saying I convert everything and only listen that way, but in terms of accurate sound reproduction it is interesting to have around. I sure as hell prefer the Beatles in mono, but they were recorded that way and the stereo conversions are sub par.
 
Aug 19, 2012 at 11:29 PM Post #205 of 235
Aug 20, 2012 at 3:31 AM Post #207 of 235
Quote:
staticfi said:
Quote:
vinyl addict said:
Nope.  Sadly, I don't have mono cartridge or mono switch on my preamp
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You could try the double Y cable trick for mono records. You need a Y cable with two female to one male plug, and the other one with a single female to two male plugs. I always use this setup when listening to mono records.
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I don't want to derail this thread by starting a stereo/mono discussion.
 
I tried this before and there was a lot of humming/feedback... perhaps due to the schiity Radio Shack bought cables.
Anyway, my mono record collecting ended many years ago.
 
Aug 20, 2012 at 12:18 PM Post #208 of 235
Quote:
souprknowva said:
 
there are actually quite a few cases of the vinyl using a completely different master than the cd. Im not sure about his specific examples, but i wouldnt be so quick to discount them. Just look at Stadium Arcadium, on vinyl, its like a whole new world compared to the cd version, cause it was mastered by Steve Hoffman
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The key word in my last post is "automatically". I'm not denying the fact that some albums have different and better masters. I'm saying that some people actually believe that putting a crappy master on vinyl will make it sound better.
 
Aug 20, 2012 at 3:54 PM Post #209 of 235
Quote:
mbayaq said:
Mono produces 'perfect' imaging and avoids many room response problems introduced by stereo (your playback room is different acoustically than the room an album was recorded in, and this causes many problems for stereo playback). To wholly discount it is shortsighted. I'm not saying I convert everything and only listen that way, but in terms of accurate sound reproduction it is interesting to have around. I sure as hell prefer the Beatles in mono, but they were recorded that way and the stereo conversions are sub par.
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Ok, I see, I've never listened to a mono recording, so I can't relate..   
 
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