[Mactire]

I've recently discovered Muse. I heard a track on the radio and I was sold.
So I went out to the store and got me HAARP live at Wembley.
But when I played the album I was shocked by the quality, it's horrid.
At least that's what I thought. i asked a couple of friends what they thought and said it's fine.
I've played the album on two different sets, and my mobile set. All is below average.

The thing is, their music is great. It's massive. Some might disagree, but I think it has the grandeur of a Queen concert. Anyway, the album lacks definition. There is no layering and soundstage is virtually nonexistend. All sounds very compressed and dense to me.

I've took the curtecy to download the rest of their albums in FLAC* to see how they compare to HAARP. And I sorry to come to the conclusion that they are equally bad. I had better hopes and expectations (lol).

So I wonder, how do you guys feel about it. Am I wrong or are Muse albums poorly mastered


*On a side note, I do not promote piracy. It was mere self protection to save myself spending a lot of cash on bad albums.

 

[omegaman]

Muse have a bit of a bad name for mastering. Shame really because their music is great.
 
No dynamics to much compresion, like a lot of music it could be made to sound a lot better if it was mastered differently.
 
 

 

[Radio_head]

Some of their albums (esp ReLife remasters) have decent DR but none of the main releases.  As for HAARP, Live rock concerts (much less recordings of live rock concerts) are not known for their high fidelity.  
 
 

 

[Mactire]

Thanks for the replies. I was beginning to think I asked a stupid question and realise that I could have done a forum search first. Sorry about that.

Anyway great, so it's not just me.

It's too bad indeed. Because their music is awesome.
When I put the record on I aways have to get used to the sound.