Radiohead: Standard vs Collector's Edition
Sep 3, 2009 at 10:34 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 11

non-entity

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Hey there!

Recently I put hands on the Collector's Edition of Kid A by Radiohead and I noticed that there's a difference between this version and the initial pressing. So there are different CRC checksums and Replay Gain gives different values. This Collector's Edition I mentioned isn't remastered, so why the different values? Shouldn't it be exactly the same thing? Did they change the master for the pressing? If so: why would they do this?
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EDIT: Maybe I should add that I'm talking about the first disc which has exactly the same tracks on it than the 'normal' release.

Thanks in advance!
 
Sep 3, 2009 at 11:26 PM Post #2 of 11
Different CRC checksums of the original CDDA files on the discs? Replay gain values that you calculated from the original files?

If they were encoded into mp3, ogg, wma, aac, etc. A difference in version of the encoding software will normally give different CRC checksums, they do update the algorithms regularly. Also replay gain values are relative to any setting during calculation, and possibly different versions of that algorithm as well.

The only way you can know if they differ is from the both original discs themselves. The CRC will change if something like a simple delay in between tracks is changed or anything... one bit changes the CRC (by design). Replay gain differences has more meaning since that is calculated from the levels of the track relative to your "ideal" levels.
 
Sep 4, 2009 at 12:03 AM Post #3 of 11
Both discs are original and I'm using EAC with correct read-offset correction. In addition I'm using Accuraterip and thus I can easily see if my files are accurate, but with these two discs I stumbled upon something new ... The Collector's Edition doesn't say anything about remaster so under normal circumstances there should be equal values for the first disc, or am I wrong?

These "Collector's Edition" packages of several Radiohead albums were released after the band split with the label, so could it be that the label couldn't use the same master for the pressing? It's (I'm talking about CD 1) exactly the same disc with the same track listing, but still Replay Gain and CRC sums are different. If it were only CRC I'd simply think it's a different pressing, but different Replay Gain values? On a disc that's not remastered? That's weird, isn't it?
 
Sep 4, 2009 at 1:31 AM Post #4 of 11
Those collector's editions are just a way for EMI to cash in. The band didn't even know they were being released until some guy interviewing Ed, asked him what he thought of the collector's editions. He was not pleased
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Sep 4, 2009 at 1:40 AM Post #5 of 11
The other thing I would be concerned about is when EMI cashed in by releasing the RH greatest hits comp last year it was mixed a lot louder than the original albums and is very hard to enjoy. I can only assume they did something similar with these.
 
Sep 4, 2009 at 2:07 AM Post #6 of 11
@Dublo7: I know about this, but having this 'cash in'-edition is (at least for me) still better than handling all singles and other discs for the b-sides and other tunes. Basically I'm feeding the evil ones here, but in this case I don't care cause it's just much more comfy this way xD

@Pangaea: No, actually these discs are not more compressed, disc one is as loud as the original release, but Replay Gain shows a very, very small difference. So where does this come from? I don't get it ...
 
Sep 4, 2009 at 6:46 AM Post #7 of 11
I am pretty sure Radioheads old record label remastered alot of there music for these re-issues. I have The Bends Collectors edition and Pablo Honey Collectors edition, they both sound alot better to me, than my original standard edition versions.
 
Sep 4, 2009 at 2:54 PM Post #8 of 11
You think they remastered the records? Hmm, then why is it nowhere mentioned? In my opinion it's a crime not to mention that a disc is remastered ... I want to know if there were changes or not, or am I alone with this demand?
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Since the discs were released after the label split, I still wonder if this is 'just' a question of legal origin. Maybe the label wasn't allowed to release the original masters once again and so they were forced to apply slight changes? This is my only explanation for this, otherwise I'm in the dark.

VERY small Replay Gain variations, different CRC checksums - but in general no audible deviations. I'd be really happy of someone could explain this to me!
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Sep 4, 2009 at 4:52 PM Post #9 of 11
These are not remastered. There are rumours that Mo-Fi will be tackling the Radiohead catalog, though.
 
Sep 5, 2009 at 5:39 PM Post #11 of 11
Well, I didn't check the peak levels but as I've mentioned before the Replay Gain values are about the same (slightly different, though). At first I was kind of shocked but some time later I knew (or, at least assumed) this has something to do with the different CRC checksums and thus the file content. I compared CD1 of the Collector's disc with the "normal" release and saw these differences, thought the Collector's disc is remastered. I think these differences are simply there because the Replay Gain algorithm can't put out exactly the same results when the input files differ. Are these CRC differences caused by a different pressing and is it common that such releases differ in such a manner? I guess the source files are still the same, or am I wrong?

Radiohead in combination with Mo-Fi? Wow, I like that idea, even though I always thought Radiohead albums don't sound that bad ...
 

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