[dc-k]

No problem with war pigs on my download

 

[goldendarko]

  Anyone else only hearing bass guitar in the left channel?

Yes, I just listened to my version of War Pigs too. That's just the way it's mixed it sounds like, bass on left, guitar on right, vocals and drums swirling around my head! nothing wrong with your headphones

 

[vipervick]

 
Yes, I just listened to my version of War Pigs too. That's just the way it's mixed it sounds like, bass on left, guitar on right, vocals and drums swirling around my head! nothing wrong with your headphones

Whew, I thought I got a bum download!

 

[vipervick]

Wow, finally getting some listen time! This is great. Ozzy sounds like he's in my head!!!
 
Win 7 64 Pro PC > Foobar2000 WAV files > Modi > Magni > Alpha Dogs

 

[dc-k]

  Wow, finally getting some listen time! This is great. Ozzy sounds like he's in my head!!!
 
Win 7 64 Pro PC > Foobar2000 WAV files > Modi > Magni > Alpha Dogs

Great Music, great set up -  but I'm not sure I'd want Ozzy in my head! 

 

[vipervick]

The mix is kind of weird on a few tracks. Bass on the left and guitar on the right sounds weird, especially on headphones. The drums and vocals sound amazing though. The vocal effect on Wicked World sounds odd. Like forced static.

 

[vipervick]

Can anyone else review these hi-res albums please? I want to compare my experience, really the first hi-res I have listened to.

 

[dc-k]

  Can anyone else review these hi-res albums please? I want to compare my experience, really the first hi-res I have listened to.

Not time for a review just at the moment, but I think I'd call these hi res "revealing". You get a very strong sense of a particular feel, and on my Alpha Dogs, very strong instrument placement and a real sense of space. 
 
Have to say I really like it, but it's more typical of what hi res reveals about a recording than of hi res itself...

 

[goldendarko]

  Can anyone else review these hi-res albums please? I want to compare my experience, really the first hi-res I have listened to.

Vipervick, I've been enjoying these albums for a few weeks now, in fact I am actually listening to Paranoid right now on my KEF LS50 speakers and REL T-7 sub, and can say they are an excellent sound quality improvement over my lossless CD rips I had previously been listening to with iTunes. The bass is more prominent and better defined, much easier to follow Geezer Butler's bass riffs now. Also, as dc-k stated, there is a better sense of space with the hi-res files. I can really hear Bill Ward's drumming better with more seperation now, particularly with the cymbals, they sound a lot clearer to me. I think this is a pretty good hi-res release overall, not the best I've heard but definately an improvement and worth the price of admission in my opinion.

 

[nmatheis]

The mix is kind of weird on a few tracks. Bass on the left and guitar on the right sounds weird, especially on headphones. The drums and vocals sound amazing though. The vocal effect on Wicked World sounds odd. Like forced static.

I haven't heard the Black Sabbath HDTracks mixes, so maybe I'm speaking out of turn, but that just sounds like they were replicating how stereo albums were originally mixed - very clear separation of instruments in the left and right channels. A lot of old jazz recordings are similar, and yes it does sound off at first compared to modern mixing style.

As far as storage space goes, wouldn't listening to the high sample rate, high bit rate versions at home vs. downsampling for portable listening be a good strategy? I bought the HDTracks Rush compilations, use this strategy with my X3, and feel like it's a good compromise. Don't notice much quality loss at all (if any). Most of the benefit is probably from better mastering/mixing with particular attention paid to increasing dynamics and avoiding modern compressed/clipped mastering/mixing techniques.

As a side question, has anyone listened to the HDTracks version of Megadeth's Peace Sells...? Love
that album, have it in my cart, and would like to know if anyone's heard it. From this thread, it sounds like I should add Black Sabbath and Van Halen to my cart - assuming it's David Lee Roth VH and not Sammy Hagar (boo!).

Cheers,
Nikolaus

 

[dc-k]

I haven't heard the Black Sabbath a HDTracks mixes, so maybe I'm speaking out of turn, but that just sounds like they were replicating how stereo albums were originally mixed - very clear separation of instruments in the left and right channels. A lot of old jazz recordings are similar, and yes it does sound off at first compared to modern mixing style.
 

 
Agree with the jazz comment, just listening to Dave Brubeck (another HDtrack) and it sounds like you're right in amongst it, I think it works better for jazz as it's not as frightening as being so close to Ozzy... 

 

[vipervick]

As far as storage space goes, wouldn't listening to the high sample rate, high bit rate versions at home vs. downsampling for portable listening be a good strategy? I bought the HDTracks Rush compilations, use this strategy with my X3, and feel like it's a good compromise. Don't notice much quality loss at all (if any). Most of the benefit is probably from better mastering/mixing with particular attention paid to increasing dynamics and avoiding modern compressed/clipped mastering/mixing techniques.

Cheers,
Nikolaus

I have to say, I build my own desktop PC gaming rigs. Little, flimsy laptops aren't for me!!!
 
Storage is such a non-issue, it isn't even funny any more. Small-n-fast HD for Windows (C) and fat-n-large 2 Tb HD for storage (D). I keep the WAV's for playing in Foobar, and make 320 kbps MP3's for my iPod using LAME (EAC from cd's, Foobar from WAV files). I might like FLAC better, but give me a player that handles FLAC with 160 Gb internal storage. I'll keep my iPod Classic until something better comes out!
 
From HDtacks, I buy the WAV and convert them myself.
 
Home - Win 7 64 Pro PC > Foobar2000 WAV files > Modi > Magni > Alpha Dogs
Portable - iPod Classic 160 Gb > FiiO E17 > ATH-M50 (or Monoprice 8320)

 

[stodgers]

So are the Van Halen recordings on HDTracks worth the purchase? Unlike Rush, I've never felt VH had really good sounding records after the first one (until For Unlawful...). So in my mind, dropping that much money for some pretty flat sounding recordings seems a hard sell.

Then again I have two vinyl and one CD version of 1984, and the vinyl clearly outshines the CD.

I know you didn't ask me but I can say that they sound great compared to my lossless CD Rips. Similar to the Van Halen and Rush collections offered on HDTracks, much more full bodied sounding and for me these are the best versions I've heard yet.

 

 

[hogger129]

So are the Van Halen recordings on HDTracks worth the purchase? Unlike Rush, I've never felt VH had really good sounding records after the first one (until For Unlawful...). So in my mind, dropping that much money for some pretty flat sounding recordings seems a hard sell.

Then again I have two vinyl and one CD version of 1984, and the vinyl clearly outshines the CD.
 

I know you didn't ask me but I can say that they sound great compared to my lossless CD Rips. Similar to the Van Halen and Rush collections offered on HDTracks, much more full bodied sounding and for me these are the best versions I've heard yet.

 

 
I would see this first before purchasing the Van Halen albums over at HDTracks.  YMMV.  http://www.metal-fi.com/hdtracks-fair-warning/
 
I am happy with the original CD's and apparently DCC remastered a couple of their albums years ago.  I would love to see Audio Fidelity do some hybrid SACD's of these albums if they could secure the original masters. 

 

[stodgers]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll stick with my vinyl!!!