ALL ABOUT MUSIC #2 - Non Surround, Not Covered In Other Threads

[skherbeck]

Here's a terrific audio doc on the making of 10cc's I'm Not In Love. It delves into their ingenious use of tape loops to create the haunting bed of vocals used throughout. Very clever stuff in the days before Pro Tools...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq7oGenbp2I

Wow, it's really interesting to hear how much work and creativity can be involved in the recording process (spoken by a non- music industry dude!)... Thanks for that.

 

[GOS]

I'm curious about the Air Supply SACD that is a "reissue"...I suspect it's a Hong Kong product...amazon says it was mastered from the original tapes...hmm...I wonder about that...maybe Quad Linda or the Multi Channel Maven can weigh in on this one...is this a "CD" sounding SACD..or is it a hi rez sounding disc...I would buy this one in a heartbeat if the sound quality is good...HERE

I understand why you are cautious....I may or may not have told you...I purchased a CD of their hits in the last year...and I must say the CD sounds amazing. So.....I paid very little for it....

 

[blue.monk]

A Frank Zappa documentary is in the works. And it sounds promising:

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/...l-life-possibly-fit-in-a-documentary-20150821

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Just some random thoughts...today after I had some wild caught coho salmon over a bed of organic angel hair(drizzled in extra virgin olive oil)...I turned my attention to music...my recently purchased Linda Ronstadt Greatest Hits Volume II had arrived and I gave it a spin and it sounds SO GOOD...and the content is very impressive..Quad Linda said that Volume II was the better one and she was right..Ronstadt's version of Hurt So Bad and Ooh baby baby caught me by surprise...very well done...I had mainly heard her do her own songs...but she can deliver on cover songs as well...and then I popped in James Taylor's Walking Man...the Hoffman mastered Gold Disc...and no surprise there...it sounded impressive...the content isn't what most would recognize...outside of the title song...but typical smooth James Taylor...aside from boasting about my culinary prowess...I wanted to stress to members that there are TON's of great sounding CD's out in the marketplace....just looking for a new home...many of these sound as good as or better than a lot of hi rez products...and the content is MASSIVE...just about anything you want is available....as most are aware...these older CD releases usually aren't compressed to death and provide wonderful warm sound..something that is getting harder to find in modern mastered recordings...do you yourself a favor and grab one of these vintage recordings and treat yourself...

And under the blanket of random thoughts...here is one....why do these so called audiophile outlets try to abuse their customer base...well maybe that's too harsh...but they do try to insult our intelligence...an example would be the Dark Side Of The Moon SACD(this is not the basis for a discussion about the blu ray vs SACD version)...which has been a very inexpensive product for years..and still is HERE...but in their infinite wisdom...Music Direct has a summer sale going on and you can get it for THIS PRICE..it's the same Guthrie mix...pretty sad IMO when they do these things...

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Just a reminder that a 10% sale is on at Acoustic Sounds now...promo code is LABORDAY here

 

[scifi]

Gregory Leps
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mam7WEz0Cc

Dr. Strangelove

John Lennon

:yikes

 

[Clint Eastwood]

SALE AT CDjapan now HERE..I have glanced at the titles available for this sale and there are some good ones....here is a good one...now compare that sale price to the price HERE

I know what some of you are thinking about this comparison...you think the sale price in Japan won't be that great after you add in the shipping...well...you would be wrong...in fact the shipping from Japan is cheaper...there are several shipping options to choose...I always use air mail(not registered and I've never had any problems)which is only 750 yen(right now that's $6.31)...now shipping from acoustic sounds..$10.35!...so the totals for the same disc are as follows..CDJapan $35.63...Acoustic Sounds $70.34...almost $35 less at the Japan store...of course you will get it quicker using acoustic sounds...and if you spend over $89 you can save that $10.35 for shipping...but even with spending over $89 at Acoustic Sounds...you are still paying around $25 more...now let me say this...there is nothing wrong with acoustic sounds....good company...but I can say the same for CDJapan....but I wanted to show this illustration to some who have never ordered from CDJapan...most regulars on here know these things...but we have some new folks that might be interested...and there is one thing I love to do....SPEND SOMEONE ELSE'S MONEY:bounce17

 

[DuncanS]

SALE AT CDjapan now HERE..I have glanced at the titles available for this sale and there are some good ones....here is a good one...now compare that sale price to the price HERE

I know what some of you are thinking about this comparison...you think the sale price in Japan won't be that great after you add in the shipping...well...you would be wrong...in fact the shipping from Japan is cheaper...there are several shipping options to choose...I always use air mail(not registered and I've never had any problems)which is only 750 yen(right now that's $6.31)...now shipping from acoustic sounds..$10.35!...so the totals for the same disc are as follows..CDJapan $35.63...Acoustic Sounds $70.34...almost $35 less at the Japan store...of course you will get it quicker using acoustic sounds...and if you spend over $89 you can save that $10.35 for shipping...but even with spending over $89 at Acoustic Sounds...you are still paying around $25 more...now let me say this...there is nothing wrong with acoustic sounds....good company...but I can say the same for CDJapan....but I wanted to show this illustration to some who have never ordered from CDJapan...most regulars on here know these things...but we have some new folks that might be interested...and there is one thing I love to do....SPEND SOMEONE ELSE'S MONEY:bounce17

Having just had the last credit card bill where I spent around £500 on music last month :yikes, its a dirty low down rotten thing mentioning a CDJapan SACD sale! Looks like it'll be the other Tangerine Dream SACDs I haven't got, &...&....

I have to say CDJapan are really good, very well packed, and I've had no trouble so far with just Airmail to the UK.

 

[César]

Amazed at the music available on economy clase in Emirates airline. Look at the picture for someone very familiar to us

 

[Clint Eastwood]

For those that have the Palladia Channel(channel 572 on Directv)...on Monday night at 9pm Eastern Standard Time..Jeff Lynne's ELO at Hyde Park concert will be aired several times...

 

[skherbeck]

Why does every new rock release sound like crap?! Maybe I've been spoiled by all this high-rez surround music, but I'm listening to the new Iron Maiden album ("Book Of Souls"), and I feel like I need to pull the ear plugs out so I can hear it clearly! This music sounds like I'm listening at high altitude and waiting for the pressure in my ears to equalize. Good music ruined by compression. The high end seems really muffled. If anyone out there listens to this cd, let me know if I'm crazy or you agree! Poor sound quality is really making it difficult for me to stay current with new releases.

 

[jimfisheye]

Why does every new rock release sound like crap?! ... this cd...

Are you listening to the 24 bit full quality release or a portable CD release?
I'd expect the CD version to be squished a bit and the high end bumped up so it sounds a little louder on portable devices.

Or.. is this one of those releases that's only offered in portable quality?
If so, that's really an intentional decision to not release it in full quality. (I believe the marketing department thinking is such a thing leads to double sales: Later on... "Oh, they've reissued it with upgraded sound now. I'll have to buy it again!")

Just curious.

Poor sound quality is really making it difficult for me to stay current with new releases.

There are some mighty embarrassing releases here in 2015 aren't there...
Low budget is one thing (I'm still a Hawkwind fan and love their albums even though some of them are some of the worst sounding mixes I've ever heard.).
The "Just release it as a CD and no one will be the wiser" thing has been taken to the extreme though.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Why does every new rock release sound like crap?! Maybe I've been spoiled by all this high-rez surround music, but I'm listening to the new Iron Maiden album ("Book Of Souls"), and I feel like I need to pull the ear plugs out so I can hear it clearly! This music sounds like I'm listening at high altitude and waiting for the pressure in my ears to equalize. Good music ruined by compression. The high end seems really muffled. If anyone out there listens to this cd, let me know if I'm crazy or you agree! Poor sound quality is really making it difficult for me to stay current with new releases.

That is what is called "modern mastering"...or what I call "butchering" the music...it's not your imagination that Book of Souls sounds compressed...because it is..you can see the numbers a the top of the list...but scroll down and check out what has happened to this music over the years...check out the releases in 2015...whenever you have a 6 or 7 as the DR of a title....it is pathetic....that's why I seldom buy new CD releases...I do my research on Ebay to find the older versions of albums that I like...check this out

 

[Quad Linda]

I've railed against this **** and had an earache (even with earplugs) after several shows I've been to lately. What do you expect when most younger people listen on earbuds and/or computer speakers. They don't know what music sounds like that isn't clipped.

 

[jimfisheye]

That is what is called "modern mastering"...or what I call "butchering" the music...

Nope. It's either mastering for a portable version (for tiny little media players) or it's simply poor, low budget work. Nothing more, nothing less.

Here in 2015, I don't purchase CD's anymore either. If I'm spending money, I want a professional 24 bit recording - and 5.1 surround would be nice too.
I have nothing against the portable formats either! Convenience and accessibility is a good thing! The more people listening to something, the better. Not everyone buys music, and that's just fine. mp3 (and pretty much the 16 bit CD format now) is simply the modern version of AM radio through a dashboard speaker. A fine thing! But it shouldn't be confused with modern professional release formats and actual modern mastering techniques.

Albums that aren't released in anything but portable quality... it's either cheapness or a bait & switch thing trying to get me to purchase the thing twice.

Cheapness is OK too actually! Bait & switch is not.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Nope. It's either mastering for a portable version (for tiny little media players) or it's simply poor, low budget work. Nothing more, nothing less.

Here in 2015, I don't purchase CD's anymore either. If I'm spending money, I want a professional 24 bit recording - and 5.1 surround would be nice too.
I have nothing against the portable formats either! Convenience and accessibility is a good thing! The more people listening to something, the better. Not everyone buys music, and that's just fine. mp3 (and pretty much the 16 bit CD format now) is simply the modern version of AM radio through a dashboard speaker. A fine thing! But it shouldn't be confused with modern professional release formats and actual modern mastering techniques.

Albums that aren't released in anything but portable quality... it's either cheapness or a bait & switch thing trying to get me to purchase the thing twice.

Cheapness is OK too actually! Bait & switch is not.

Actually it's exactly what I said it was...it's not limited to "low budget" work...some of the most iconic "wealthy" bands employ this method....it's not necessarily "poor" work either...most of the time it's intentional...fueled by the misconception that people don't "solely" listen to music anymore...it's either in the portable mode or as background music...as opposed to dedicated listening...this myth is further perpetuated by audio magazines....I do agree that what is called "modern mastering techniques" are certainly misinterpreted by many in the music business..it doesn't have to be done in such a compressed manner...as far as 24 bit recordings...that's no guarantee that it will have great sound quality...I have many older Cd's that surpass their 24/96 counterparts in the sound quality department...

 

[jimfisheye]

I'm not giving that kind of benefit of the doubt. I don't buy it for a second.

If someone is holding back on a professional release for marketing reasons (ie. only releasing portable), then... good luck with that! I don't care who you are or how big. If you have decided you're not going to release a full quality master of your album here in 2015... then good luck with that philosophy I guess.
If the argument is that "most listeners will not notice so it doesn't matter", well enjoy that low hanging fruit then!

I agree that a HD release doesn't mean it will sound good BTW!
I have plenty of 24 bit and HD sample rate releases that are identical in sound to the 16 bit CD releases. (As in they released the 24 bit files that had already been madly compressed and hyped for the intended CD release but before the final format conversion. Scamming people with the lure of high def. I call this bait & switch.)

I also have plenty of lowly 16 bit CD releases that sound very professional. Even the early CD resolution digital IS in fact still a very decent recording format.

All I'm saying is that a 24 bit release usually suggests that someone is more serious.

I also think that making a squashed master for portable use is a good thing. More people get to hear an album at the end of the day and that's a great thing.
It's only a problem when the actual full quality master is held back and ONLY the portable version is sold.


I really think that between the technology available now with the ability to deliver a 24 bit master directly to the consumer and the level of work by people like Steve Wilson, it's going to get much harder to release only a squashed 16 bit CD for your album and be taken seriously.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

I'm not giving that kind of benefit of the doubt. I don't buy it for a second.

If someone is holding back on a professional release for marketing reasons (ie. only releasing portable), then... good luck with that! I don't care who you are or how big. If you have decided you're not going to release a full quality master of your album here in 2015... then good luck with that philosophy I guess.
If the argument is that "most listeners will not notice so it doesn't matter", well enjoy that low hanging fruit then!

I agree that a HD release doesn't mean it will sound good BTW!
I have plenty of 24 bit and HD sample rate releases that are identical in sound to the 16 bit CD releases. (As in they released the 24 bit files that had already been madly compressed and hyped for the intended CD release but before the final format conversion. Scamming people with the lure of high def. I call this bait & switch.)

I also have plenty of lowly 16 bit CD releases that sound very professional. Even the early CD resolution digital IS in fact still a very decent recording format.

All I'm saying is that a 24 bit release usually suggests that someone is more serious.

I also think that making a squashed master for portable use is a good thing. More people get to hear an album at the end of the day and that's a great thing.
It's only a problem when the actual full quality master is held back and ONLY the portable version is sold.


I really think that between the technology available now with the ability to deliver a 24 bit master directly to the consumer and the level of work by people like Steve Wilson, it's going to get much harder to release only a squashed 16 bit CD for your album and be taken seriously.

The difference between what you are saying and what I am saying is this...you are stating what should be done(and I agree)...and I am saying what is being done...you have to keep in mind that in a business sense the "audiophile" community is a tiny segment of sales...hardly a blip on the radar screen....we just don't have the clout to make real change on a big scale...these companies have sold their souls to convenience instead of quality...the only hope for us is that specialty companies like AF keep providing us with content...because the mainstream content will remain mediocre...

 

[skherbeck]

Why does every new rock release sound like crap?! Maybe I've been spoiled by all this high-rez surround music, but I'm listening to the new Iron Maiden album ("Book Of Souls"), and I feel like I need to pull the ear plugs out so I can hear it clearly! This music sounds like I'm listening at high altitude and waiting for the pressure in my ears to equalize. Good music ruined by compression. The high end seems really muffled. If anyone out there listens to this cd, let me know if I'm crazy or you agree! Poor sound quality is really making it difficult for me to stay current with new releases.

My initial comments on this album were based on the redbook CD, so I took the plunge and purchased my first Hi-Rez download of the album from HDTracks for comparison... unfortunately it sounds just as compressed but does have slightly more clarity in the high end. Oh well. At least the songs themselves are great!

 

[GOS]

Not sure why...but I just felt like posting this picture....LOL!

And to make it relevant, here is the theme song from John Sebastian...of course...previously in the great band...Loving Spoonful.

[video=youtube;M6o0Cah5kQU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6o0Cah5kQU[/video]