[RockStar2005]

Which albums you have purchased that you felt sounded better than your older CDs? I am wondering because I have an iTunes gift card to use up.

Any of the Hi-Res albums by Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, The Eagles........all sounded better. Also..........The Band, Band of Horses, The Beatles (just bought new White Album remaster.....really love the acoustic "Guitar Gently Weeps" on there), Bush, Eric Clapton/Cream/Derek & The Dominos, The Doors, Garbage, Guns N' Roses, Interpol, Lenny Kravitz, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Michael Jackson, Nirvana, Paul McCartney and Wings, Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, Phil Collins, Queen, R.E.M., The Rolling Stones, The Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, U2, Van Halen, Van Morrison, Weezer (not sure if I compared though?), The Who, & Wolf Parade (not sure if I compared though?).

Pick as many names as you like and I'll reply back with album names.

 

[stonesfan129]

Any of the Hi-Res albums by Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, The Eagles........all sounded better. Also..........The Band, Band of Horses, The Beatles (just bought new White Album remaster.....really love the acoustic "Guitar Gently Weeps" on there), Bush, Eric Clapton/Cream/Derek & The Dominos, The Doors, Garbage, Guns N' Roses, Interpol, Lenny Kravitz, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Michael Jackson, Nirvana, Paul McCartney and Wings, Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, Phil Collins, Queen, R.E.M., The Rolling Stones, The Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, U2, Van Halen, Van Morrison, Weezer (not sure if I compared though?), The Who, & Wolf Parade (not sure if I compared though?).

Pick as many names as you like and I'll reply back with album names.

I'll probably check out some of The Who stuff. I've already got a lot of these artists on CD and like the way those discs sound.

 

[RockStar2005]

I'll probably check out some of The Who stuff. I've already got a lot of these artists on CD and like the way those discs sound.

Ok cool. Yeah for sure "Who's Next", and really all the rest sound great too.

 

[stonesfan129]

Ok cool. Yeah for sure "Who's Next", and really all the rest sound great too.

Do you have The Who Hits 50!? I'm curious what the sound quality is like. Currently I have The Ultimate Collection and the sound quality isn't that good.

 

[RockStar2005]

Do you have The Who Hits 50!? I'm curious what the sound quality is like. Currently I have The Ultimate Collection and the sound quality isn't that good.

No I don't.

I have tracks and/or full albums of the following in Hi-Res:

Live at Leeds
My Generation (Stereo Version)
Quadrophenia
Who Are You
The Who Sell Out (Stereo Version)
Who's Next

The songs that are on my old CD version of The Ultimate Collection that are also on any of those listed albums to me DEFINITELY sound better, and by better I mean more clarity, more punch, better dynamics, wider soundstage, etc.

 

[Whazzzup]

The who for sure didn’t master in high res

 

[RockStar2005]

The who for sure didn’t master in high res

Well back then no one did. Everything was analog until the CDs came around in the mid-80s. But since they all have had their catalog to some extent remastered in Hi-Res, fortunately. lol

 

[Whazzzup]

Well back then no one did. Everything was analog until the CDs came around in the mid-80s. But since they all have had their catalog to some extent remastered in Hi-Res, fortunately. lol

One can't change res of the master, it is what it is, re mastered is a different animal.

 

[RockStar2005]

One can't change res of the master, it is what it is, re mastered is a different animal.

Yeah. But I'm saying back then everything was analog so resolution wasn't an issue. Of course everything changes when you remaster, but that's another issue.

 

[stonesfan129]

Does analog tape even have measurable resolution?

 

[stonesfan129]

I'm listening to the album this thread earlier referenced, the one from Rush, "Moving Pictures", Sorry! BTW, on another item covered in this thread, new CDs are available on most any commercial corner in my geographic area, used too. In fact, one record store in my area sells used at 3 for $15. I still like to buy CDs, as well as SACDs because: 1. They have resell value. 2. I actually own the right to listen indefinitely, as long as the CD is in my possession. 3. I can will the collection to anyone. You can't transfer any music listening rights from iTunes. 4. A computer crash does not destroy my music. 5. SACDs allow very easy reproduction of multi-channel music. And, 6. There is no need to buy iTunes Match, or space on the iCloud. Overall, CDs just make more sense, in any manner sense can be defined, when wishing to have all the tunes which are on an album. For, just 1 or 2 tunes of Popular Music, seems to me the economy and convenience of iTunes is more compelling than the stated reasons for buying CDs. One more thing, CDs can be imported to iTunes as AIFF, WAV, or ALAC file for convenience enjoyment. ALAC is best for this since it retains metadata needed to allow iCloud upload for sharing with iPhone and iPad which you might not want to actually download to. Of course, uploading is the fastest way to download to devices since it does not require syncing device via cable to computer.

1. Depends on which CD. Some have resell value. Some go in the $3 bin at the used bookstores. 2. You still retain the rights to keep listening with a 256k iTunes AAC track also. They no longer sell the 128k DRM-protected files. The only DRM-protected files they sell are audiobooks and the offline downloads from Apple Music. 3. You can GIVE the collection to anyone really because you bought the CD or the iTunes files. Store the downloaded files on a couple of redundant hard drives. 4. Again, store on a couple of redundant backups. When you computer or drive bites the dust, restore from a redundant backup. 5. How much music is even available in surround sound? 6. I agree, keep physical backups of your files because cloud services do fail or even stop operating when they are no longer profitable.

Lossless files really just give you a reference-quality backup, more flexibility in encoding to other formats and some theoretical benefits.

 

[castleofargh]

Does analog tape even have measurable resolution?

of course. a lot of variables can affect tapes, so it's hard to make generalizations and bundle everything under "tape". but the size of the tape(K7 tapes can't come close to the resolution of big large stuff they used in studios), the speed(changing what you can record but also the amount of noise), how many copies where made(you lose about 6dB to noise with each new generation). for old stuff it was a battle between making copies or let the tape degrade with time(and it sure did , a lot of good music was lost from being stored too long without care).
don't quote me on this but I believe that studio tape gears could do up to 80dB of dynamic range.

 

[stonesfan129]

Yeah many times these Mastered For iTunes/high-resolution sourced tracks do sound like they are a better master. I tend to go for audiophile CDs first if the price is reasonable ($35 or less) if that is the recommended version on places like the Steve Hoffman forums. Otherwise yep I am okay with buying 256k AAC files on iTunes if the mastering is good.

The struggle for me is finding a well-mastered version. For example, I had a couple of different releases of Black Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell," (Rhino and Sanctuary), and both were bad, with the Sanctuary version at least being somewhat listenable - in spite of the bass being front and center. I decided to take a chance on a version from HD Tracks and... HEAVEN (not Hell). I know this has nothing to do with "can you tell the difference between .mp3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, etc.," but I wanted to bring up the point that a poorly mastered release will sound like crap regardless of format, bit rate, etc., while a well-mastered version will sound really good at 256 kbps AAC or ALAC or FLAC (even 256 kbps .mp3). Is there a difference between bit rate? Sometimes I can pick out differences. The sound of lossless usually is fuller, rounder, etc., and sometimes just cleaner sounding. I can't pick it up out of the blue in most cases, but playing a 256 kbps .mp3 vs. a lossless file back to back, over and over will reveal differences if one has the patience and time to listen critically. Sometimes I do that, but more often, I listen for pure enjoyment.

I searched around for a good-sounding version of that album myself and ended up getting whatever is the generic CD remaster available on Amazon. I am happy with how it sounds. I do have a few of the Mastered For iTunes ones and think they sound great as well. People on the Steve Hoffman forums described them as bright but I think I tend to have different EQ preferences than a lot of those folks.

 

[RockStar2005]

Yeah many times these Mastered For iTunes/high-resolution sourced tracks do sound like they are a better master. I tend to go for audiophile CDs first if the price is reasonable ($35 or less) if that is the recommended version on places like the Steve Hoffman forums. Otherwise yep I am okay with buying 256k AAC files on iTunes if the mastering is good.

Yeah I'm with you there, at least to some extent. I purchased a very limited "numbered" edition of the first Derek and the Dominos SACD album by MoFi about a year ago, and it was fantastic! (The single review at the bottom there is mine btw lol). Paid $35 for it, so right there at your limit (and prob mine too lol). The version of Layla definitely outdid the regular CD version of that song that I had off "Cream of Clapton". I also purchased the recent SACD remasters of the first 2 Rage Against The Machine albums as well. Both were better than 2 other remastered versions I'd heard or owned already, and I'm happy I got them.

Unless I happen to hear about Hoffman's site or MoFi releasing a special edition of an album, I usually just buy off iTunes Store now. It's become quite difficult to buy off HDTracks or Acoustic Sounds at this point. I have only kept my e-mail subscription with all of them because they send out weekly updates on new and upcoming releases/re-releases. It's easier to check that than go to iTunes Store to check cuz I can do it from my phone too (and not need the iTunes app lol).

 

[RockStar2005]

UPDATE: So Apple has decided to rename its Hi-Res music catalog from the former "Mastered for iTunes" to the newly minted "Apple Digital Master". (See attached example below.)

It appears this change has already gone into effect, per the logo change. FYI to everyone!

P.S. Hope all of you are doin' well!!