[eervig]

I just picked up a great CD, Dick Hyman and Ruby Braff's "Manhatten Jazz." I just picked up a lousy CD of a great performance by Dick Hyman and Ruby Braff. The music itself is lovely, but it is rendered pretty difficult to enjoy for very long because everything sounds razor sharp. The audience applauds after every track, and it literally sounds like a violent hail storm every time.
 
I immediately suspected the culprit to be its status as one of those early digital recordings of the 1980s, back when the concept was new and boasted on CD labels. Sure enough. It reminded me of Bob Dylan's "World Gone Wrong," one of the dark acoustic records he cut as he was piecing his career back together about fifteen, twenty years ago. Again - fantastic music, but strangely piercing sound.  Was this a mismanaged EQ in the mastering, to over-emphasize the "sharpness" of digital (like they overemphasize the loudness today), or just the state of the best technology at the time?
 
Whatever the culprit, if anybody has any tips - equipment, eq settings - for getting more listenability out of these albums, I would appreciate hearing them.

 

[necropimp]

is it possible this disc has pre-emphasis and you're listening with a player that doesn't do deemphasis (or a rip that hasn't had deemphasis applied)?

 

[eervig]

That is a possibility, because I knew nothing of this!
 
Now I've looked into it a bit. Apparently, iTunes and WMP should correct it where PC CD drives usually don't - but both those programs failed to de-grate "Manhattan Jazz."

 

[eervig]

Okay, changed the title of this thread, because the plot thickened when I examined the liner notes:
 
"Remastered December 2003 using K2 Technology" 
 
Seems unlikely that a 2003 CD would rely on the pre/de-emphasis technology. I'm guessing it's just a lousy remastering. I've heard of some new Rolling Stones reissues having ridiculously bright treble.