[kn19h7]

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 Maybe because of different equalizing and lesser distortion? Dynamics are more messed up in OP track. Anyway about what dynamics are we talking about? It's murdered in both tracks. Soundstage is same, just more high freq. in OP track. This probably give you an illusion of different soundstage.

 
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No.. the 123.flac's soundstage and dynamics are messed up, everything sound almost equally forward (i.e. lost in depth definition etc
 
I think the radio's mp3 has been gone through certain edit, but hell who know whats the purpose..

argh...
and by the term "dynamics", I mean the perceived variation in loudness.
 
The OP track does preserve both well, but the 123.flac not

 

[Kail]

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and by the term "dynamics", I mean the perceived variation in loudness.

 Compare the main parts of tracks (starting from 1:18) and check dynamics there.
 
 Btw, I just listened the OP song on my hi-fi loudspeakers, sounds highly overcompressed, but I don't hear much distortion on them. Just very saturated sound and hard compression (theyre not as high res as HD 598 anyway, so your headphones too it seems). Still sounds much worse in comparison to good sounding rips of modern compilations.

 

[ohhgourami]

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Heya,
 
Wow, I'm confused after reading this thread... what was even being talked about? haha.

 
Anyhow, comparing the Ocean Lab - Satellite 320 MP3 to the FLAC in an A/B test, I could hear a huge difference between the two in my HD580's.
 
For all those people out there saying 320 MP3's are essentially lossless, bleh, nope, I still hear a big difference. Maybe it's just a poor rip/encoding. But still, I hear way less distortion and congestion on the FLAC, that MP3 sounds mashed to me; the highs and airy sounds were grainy compared to the flac which was smoother.
 
Very best,

No, we comparing something else.  It is whether or not the track is actually distorted as in maybe it being poorly ripped or whatever.  deadlylover and I don't think that is the case, as we hear it was a deliberate "distortion", and extra layer of sound added to the song to create a feel of distortion.  Kinda like hooking up a distortion pedal to your guitar, you wouldn't call the whole song distorted, but there is distortion guitar which is very different.
 
If this were an lossless vs mp3 A/B test, I probably could have heard the difference through my laptop speakers.
 

 

[Arleus]

And I agree too - I think someone deliberately put a bundle of effects on the file, or on some instruments in it. I imagine that one of the plugins probably had the word 'distortion' or 'overdrive' on it somewhere.
 
RPG thinks it's clipping from some dodgy EQing. To me it sounds a bit too soft and nice to be this, but to be honest, I could easily be wrong. 
 
In any case, I don't think this is anything to do with the file being an mp3, and that appears to be the consensus here. I said earlier that I wouldn't debate whether it was intentional or not, but I'm backtracking faster than the Lib Dems did on tuition fees (I'm joking, I'm joking (not really)), and I'm going to say it was done on purpose. Why? No idea - I don't like it.

 

[kn19h7]

 
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 Compare the main parts of tracks (sterting from 1:18) and check dynamics there.
 
 Btw, I just listened the OP song on my hi-fi loudspeakers, sounds highly overcompressed, but I don't hear much distortion on them. Just very saturated sound and hard compression (theyre not as high res as HD 598 anyway, so your headphones too it seems). Still sounds much worse in comparison to good sounding rips of modern compilations.

Well, there are some tests available online to test your hardware setup and also for "ear training", like this.
 

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

 
==a was shocked by my result just now, last time I think was like -3X only.. (well, luck ==
btw -54 was very tough, I got it wrong orz

 

 

[maverickronin]

My Shure SE530, Beyer DT1350, and modded Fostex T50RP all tell me its an over processed remix and my DAC's not even anything special.

 

[Kail]

 Interesting test. I've got this with first try.
 

 
 Btw level of samples there is not loud enough, I've got volume in mixer at max and it still wasn't enough. I could reach better results probably if it was a bit more louder.

 

[kn19h7]

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 Interesting test. I've got this with first try.
 

 
 Btw level of samples there is not loud enough, I've got volume in mixer at max and it still wasn't enough. I could reach better results probably if it was a bit more louder.

Was thinking the same before but this time I just leave the volume at my usual one without adjusting for it, maybe its the ideal volume ==

 

[Joe Bloggs]

I've been listening to the three versions, the FLAC, the 3rd mp3 in the OP, and Kail's simulation, and don't know what to think.
 
Kail's simulation has a lot of volume pumping compressor artifact that's not present in the OP mp3.
 
I try to listen for new effects added in the mp3.  In the end of the mp3 there's this wishy washy reverb that's obviously a local edit.
 
In the section starting from the 1 minute mark where the most obvious distortion comes in, I strain but can't pinpoint any effect that's new on the mp3.  However, "fa... la... do fa..." synth line sounds VERY different on the mp3 from the FLAC, leading even to somewhat different instrument localization for me... really dunno if simple distortion / EQ plugins can lead to such a change in character... at least it didn't on Kail's simulation.
 
All three edits sounded quite listenable to me.  Then again, my ears were just raped by Jimi Hendrix's 1969 Royal Albert Hall concert--up to and including "Smashing of the Amps"

  BRUTAL, I tell you, brutal.  But oh so fun

Up to somewhere around Voodoo Chile--Slight Return it was oh so fun anyway.  Then it was just brutal

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

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 Interesting test. I've got this with first try.
 

 
 Btw level of samples there is not loud enough, I've got volume in mixer at max and it still wasn't enough. I could reach better results probably if it was a bit more louder.

I remember I got to -42dB on this same test.
 

 

[LizardKing1]

I really think that was on purpose. Crappy dance mixes tend to have that. It's like some albums having the vocals sounding like they're singing through a megaphone. If you listen to White Stripe's first (homonimous) album, you'll notice. Were their recording gear really that crappy? No, they were going for that stomp blues voice =)
 
And on the last of OP's tracks the vocals behind the 'distorted' sample were as clean as a dance MP3 track should be. I don't know about you, but to me vocals are the most revealing thing ever in terms of distortion.

 

[Kail]

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And on the last of OP's tracks the vocals behind the 'distorted' sample were as clean as a dance MP3 track should be. I don't know about you, but to me vocals are the most revealing thing ever in terms of distortion.

 Have you heard mine version? Tube distortion there is over all track and yet vocals are even cleaner than in OP track.

 

[Kail]

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Originally Posted by Joe Bloggs /img/forum/go_quote.gif

In the section starting from the 1 minute mark where the most obvious distortion comes in, I strain but can't pinpoint any effect that's new on the mp3.  However, "fa... la... do fa..." synth line sounds VERY different on the mp3 from the FLAC, leading even to somewhat different instrument localization for me... really dunno if simple distortion / EQ plugins can lead to such a change in character... at least it didn't on Kail's simulation.
 

 OP track has more distortion, than processed by me, plus some EQ tweaking and adding more harmonics with saturator/exciter.

 

[kn19h7]

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 Have you heard mine version? Tube distortion there is over all track and yet vocals are even cleaner than in OP track.

to me its the opposite.. vocals in the OP mp3 is very close to the original flac, i'd say your edit is apparantly more 'coloured' in comparison
 

 

[Kail]

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to me its the opposite.. vocals in the OP mp3 is very close to the original flac, i'd say your edit is apparantly more 'coloured' in comparison
 

 More "coloured" is edit from OP. Compare it to original track. Mine don't have EQ/Saturation. Btw I've got flac version of this compilation, same distortion/overprocessing on those tracks. But others are ok. And I haven't heard such distortion in next compilations, so it's probably was an error, huge error.