[CoryGillmore]

Tough crowd!

Man I love the record! Currently my favorite Tool record to date

 

[thebkt]

I'm honestly more inclined to think it's an artistic choice, I just don't see them letting something like that "slip" through, not as meticulous as they are.

My read is that the band is so meticulous, hence why the album sounds so freakin' amazing otherwise. But someone (not in the band) definitely made a mistake. Digital distortion on palm muted guitars and toms (no doubt happening at specific frequencies) is a mistake to be sure.

Honestly, it personally bothers me more than it otherwise would, because beyond the distortion, the albums sounds so damn good.

 

[Ninth Wave]

It's weird you say that cause I'm also enjoying the album more on my loudspeaker setup! It just sounds so spacious and lively and in comparison to headphones, I mean it gets loud but it's not nearly as satisfying, it's really odd, can you think of other recordings that do this?

I really only notice the distortions early on in Pnuema. Not a big deal at all to me. I'm honestly more inclined to think it's an artistic choice, I just don't see them letting something like that "slip" through, not as meticulous as they are.

No, I can’t recall other albums off the top of my head that sound better via speakers rather than headphones, or vice versa. But it might make for an interesting thread all of its own.

It’s funny that you hear distortion early in Pneuma because I hear it later! I’m definitely not of the same belief that this is intentional. Like thebkt said, this just seems like somebody stuffed up.

 

[CoryGillmore]

No, I can’t recall other albums off the top of my head that sound better via speakers rather than headphones, or vice versa. But it might make for an interesting thread all of its own.

It’s funny that you hear distortion early in Pneuma because I hear it later! I’m definitely not of the same belief that this is intentional. Like thebkt said, this just seems like somebody stuffed up.

Hell it seems like the distortion is even different on different files. It's clear as day to me early on in Pneuma. There could very well be copies out there that don't have any distortion.

 

[bigbenrfan99]

I've been getting into Tool lately, and HDtracks is now offering 20% off storewide through 11/30. I have the first 4 Tool albums on CD. There doesn't seem to be a clear consensus about the hi-res versions, but the general opinion on the Steve Hoffman forums seems to be that Lateralus and Undertow are the most improved vs. the original CDs. Has anyone here compared the HDtracks hi-res remasters vs. the original CDs?

 

[Signal2Noise]

^
You could start here:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/tool-hdtracks-96-24.867180/

 

[ST33L]

^^^ Thanks for the link

 

[CoryGillmore]

I have also noticed bad crackling/statics in most of the new songs, for example in Pneuma at 0:33, 1:28, 1:31, Descending 2:06 popping in left channel etc, actually there seems to be small multiple distortions in almost every song. These are very distracting given the crystal clear nature of the whole album sound, I'm not sure if they are some byproduct of the synths or some other gear that Tool uses or bad quality mastering/recording. Also I have tried to search the internet and the only mention I could find is here by @Ninth Wave.

The overall sound of Fear Inoculum seems very similar to 10000 Days, yet I can't hear any of the artefacts there. Tried on multiple headphones and sources, both Spotify and CD rip.

Anyone else noticed this?

Yep

I hear none of that on the HD Tracks

You're not listening hard enough then. It's there on all releases.

 

[CoryGillmore]

That said, even with its few imperfections, it's a fantastic sounding album overall. It's smooth as hell on my revealing 2-channel setup. I think all of the Tool hi-res remasters are fantastic.