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    The Computer Audiophile

    By The Computer Audiophile •

    Van Halen Studio Albums 1978-1984 High Resolution 24 Bit / 192 kHz Download

    thumb.jpgI've been a fan of Van Halen since purchasing the cassette of 1984 as a nine year old budding audiophile. The album cover depicting a child with cigarettes was quite controversial back in the day. Soon after immersing myself in all the treasures on the 1984 album I purchased the previous five studio albums completing my collection of Van Halen cassettes. When the Compact Disc versions of the first six albums were released I purchased each one. As a Sophomore in high school I heard Pearl Jam and Nirvana for the first time and my taste in music immediately changed. I subsequently sold all my Van Halen CDs, with the exception of 1984, at the local used record shop. It's hard to believe I collected about a dollar for each of the first five Van Halen CDs, and walked out the door satisfied. The time had finally come to replenish my Van Halen music collection when I noticed HDtracks offering Van Halen's first six studio albums in high resolution at both 24 bit / 96 kHz ex.png and 24 bit / 192 kHz ex.png. I opted for the 24/192 download, containing 8 GB of FLAC files. Thirteen minutes later I had all sixty tracks on my desktop. I started listening to the albums in order of release, Van Halen, Van Halen II, Women And Children First, etc. Soon after the first click of the mouse I was hooked on high resolution Van Halen. The first six albums sound as good or better than any Van Halen release in recent memory. In fact I've had the entire Studio Album collection on repeat for several hours. Maybe I'll watch Fast Times At Ridgemont High tonight so I can see Mike Damone sell Van Halen tickets to two kids for a "sixteen" dollar profit.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

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    Van Halen Studio Albums 1978-1984 24 bit / 192 kHz

     

    I downloaded the Van Halen Studio Albums 1978-1984 from HDtracks at 24 bit / 192 kHz ($109.98). A 24/96 version is available for $79.98. As I said in the opening paragraph the sound of these albums is fantastic. You Really Got Me and Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love both sound great. Eddie's guitar, Alex's drum & cymbal work, and Michael's bass all have great separation from each other throughout the entire two tracks. On disc 2 Van Halen II, I can't get over how great Spanish Fly sounds with its dynamic range score of 15. I only wish the track was 10:02 rather than 1:02. On Disc 3 Women And Children First the first two tracks sound better than ever. The long drum and guitar intro to Everybody Wants Some is worthy of some serious high volume. Disc 4 Fair Warning sounds good, but according to the measurement tools something is amiss with the album. I encourage readers to listen to the album first before making any judgement. The dynamic range values for all the tracks are very good. My favorites on this album Mean Street and Unchained both sound good. I can't definitively conclude this version of the album has been upsampled, but the frequency analysis appears to show upsampling from 44.1 to 192 kHz. On Disc 5 Diver Down tracks five through nine may be the best five tracks in a row on the entire collection. They all sound terrific. Eddie's guitars, electric and acoustic, sound as good as I've ever heard. Finishing up the Studio Album download is 1984. The album is full of hits and the all sound great. Many tech savvy readers will be surprised to see information near 30 kHz in the spectrum analysis for a few tracks. Nobody can hear this information, but it's a sign this is definitely a high resolution download.

     

     

     

    vh-tags-250px.pngThe downloaded files all contain embedded metadata also known as tags. All the albums are tagged correctly and the album art is embedded into each file. Some readers may dislike that the albums are tagged as Studio Albums 1978-1984 Disc 1, Studio Albums 1978-1984 Disc 2, Studio Albums 1978-1984 Disc 3, etc… rather than Van Halen, Van Halen II, Women And Children First, etc. However, the downloaded collection is labeled correctly. Each track has the Disc Number metadata tag entered properly. This enables users to sort by disc number. After importing the entire collection into JRiver Media Center I didn't have to change or add any metadata.

     

     

     

     

     

    Dynamic Range, Frequency, and Bit Depth Analysis

     

    All files were checked for true 24 bit content using Prof. Scott's 16 v. 24 bit checking tool. The results of this check are displayed HERE

     

     

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Analyzed folder: /Van Halen/Studio Albums 1978-1984/Disc 01 Van Halen

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Filename

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    DR12 -0.83 dB -15.82 dB 01-Runnin' With The Devil.wav

    DR12 -1.31 dB -16.16 dB 02-Eruption.wav

    DR11 -1.90 dB -15.55 dB 03-You Really Got Me.wav

    DR13 -1.80 dB -16.28 dB 04-Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love.wav

    DR12 -2.09 dB -16.14 dB 05-I'm The One.wav

    DR12 -2.59 dB -17.30 dB 06-Jamie's Cryin'.wav

    DR12 -2.70 dB -16.81 dB 07-Atomic Punk.wav

    DR12 -3.41 dB -17.42 dB 08-Feel Your Love Tonight.wav

    DR13 -2.78 dB -17.59 dB 09-Little Dreamer.wav

    DR13 -2.66 dB -18.54 dB 10-Ice Cream Man.wav

    DR14 -1.32 dB -17.25 dB 11-On Fire.wav

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    Number of files: 11

    Official DR value: DR12

     

     

    ================================================== ==

     

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]5010[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5000[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5001[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5002[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5003[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5004[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5005[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5006[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5007[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5008[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5009[/ATTACH]

     

     

     

     

     

     

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Analyzed folder: /Van Halen/Studio Albums 1978-1984/Disc 02 Van Halen II

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Filename

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    DR12 -0.86 dB -16.45 dB 01-You're No Good.wav

    DR11 -1.46 dB -15.78 dB 02-Dance The Night Away.wav

    DR12 -0.80 dB -15.72 dB 03-Somebody Get Me A Doctor.wav

    DR12 -1.46 dB -16.10 dB 04-Bottoms Up!.wav

    DR13 -1.48 dB -16.11 dB 05-Outta Love Again.wav

    DR12 -1.29 dB -15.57 dB 06-Light Up The Sky.wav

    DR15 -1.41 dB -20.95 dB 07-Spanish Fly.wav

    DR12 -1.64 dB -16.24 dB 08-D.O.A..wav

    DR13 -0.93 dB -16.28 dB 09-Women In Love....wav

    DR12 -0.63 dB -15.53 dB 10-Beautiful Girls.wav

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    Number of files: 10

    Official DR value: DR12

     

     

    ================================================== ==

     

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]5011[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5012[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5013[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5014[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5015[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5016[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5017[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5018[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5019[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5020[/ATTACH]

     

     

     

     

     

     

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Analyzed folder: /Van Halen/Studio Albums 1978-1984/Disc 03 Women And Children First

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Filename

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    DR13 -0.54 dB -16.80 dB 01-And The Cradle Will Rock....wav

    DR13 -2.19 dB -17.15 dB 02-Everybody Wants Some!!.wav

    DR12 -2.28 dB -17.29 dB 03-Fools.wav

    DR12 -2.85 dB -17.81 dB 04-Romeo Delight.wav

    DR13 -1.94 dB -18.72 dB 05-Tora! Tora!.wav

    DR13 -2.28 dB -17.13 dB 06-Loss Of Control.wav

    DR14 -1.84 dB -17.26 dB 07-Take Your Whiskey Home.wav

    DR13 -5.38 dB -20.99 dB 08-Could This Be Magic.wav

    DR13 -2.76 dB -18.38 dB 09-In A Simple Rhyme.wav

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    Number of files: 9

    Official DR value: DR13

     

     

    ================================================== ==

     

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]5021[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5022[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5023[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5024[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5025[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5026[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5027[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5028[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5029[/ATTACH]

     

     

     

     

     

     

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Analyzed folder: /Van Halen/Studio Albums 1978-1984/Disc 04 Fair Warning

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Filename

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    DR12 -1.97 dB -16.78 dB 01-Mean Street.wav

    DR12 -1.46 dB -15.54 dB 02-Dirty Movies.wav

    DR12 -0.98 dB -14.76 dB 03-Sinner's Swing!.wav

    DR12 -1.50 dB -15.33 dB 04-Hear About It Later.wav

    DR12 -2.01 dB -15.80 dB 05-Unchained.wav

    DR13 -1.49 dB -16.64 dB 06-Push Comes To Shove.wav

    DR12 -0.35 dB -14.44 dB 07-So This Is Love.wav

    DR13 -2.01 dB -16.35 dB 08-Sunday Afternoon In The Park.wav

    DR12 -2.16 dB -15.32 dB 09-One Foot Out The Door.wav

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    Number of files: 9

    Official DR value: DR12

     

     

    ================================================== ==

     

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]5030[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5031[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5032[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5033[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5034[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5035[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5036[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5037[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5038[/ATTACH]

     

     

     

     

     

     

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Analyzed folder: /Van Halen/Studio Albums 1978-1984/Disc 05 Diver Down

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Filename

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    DR12 -1.96 dB -15.95 dB 01-Where Have All The Good Times Gone!.wav

    DR11 -1.32 dB -14.46 dB 02-Hang 'em High.wav

    DR9 -5.00 dB -19.19 dB 03-Cathedral.wav

    DR13 -1.72 dB -16.82 dB 04-Secrets.wav

    DR12 -0.45 dB -14.94 dB 05-Intruder.wav

    DR11 -1.43 dB -14.08 dB 06-(Oh) Pretty Woman.wav

    DR13 -0.89 dB -15.42 dB 07-Dancing In The Street.wav

    DR12 -5.29 dB -20.80 dB 08-Little Guitars (Intro).wav

    DR12 -2.02 dB -15.58 dB 09-Little Guitars.wav

    DR12 -2.54 dB -16.86 dB 10-Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now).wav

    DR12 -1.53 dB -15.82 dB 11-The Full Bug.wav

    DR11 -3.70 dB -18.43 dB 12-Happy Trails.wav

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    Number of files: 12

    Official DR value: DR12

     

     

    ================================================== ==

     

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]5049[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5050[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5039[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5040[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5041[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5042[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5043[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5044[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5045[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5046[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5047[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5048[/ATTACH]

     

     

     

     

     

     

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Analyzed folder: /Van Halen/Studio Albums 1978-1984/Disc 06 1984

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Filename

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    DR12 -3.34 dB -18.89 dB 01-1984.wav

    DR12 -1.60 dB -15.74 dB 02-Jump.wav

    DR12 -1.51 dB -15.39 dB 03-Panama.wav

    DR13 -1.31 dB -16.07 dB 04-Top Jimmy.wav

    DR12 -1.08 dB -15.03 dB 05-Drop Dead Legs.wav

    DR13 -1.00 dB -15.92 dB 06-Hot For Teacher.wav

    DR13 -0.70 dB -16.01 dB 07-I'll Wait.wav

    DR12 -0.67 dB -15.47 dB 08-Girl Gone Bad.wav

    DR11 -0.36 dB -13.82 dB 09-House Of Pain.wav

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    Number of files: 9

    Official DR value: DR12

     

     

    ================================================== ==

     

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]5051[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5052[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5053[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5054[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5055[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5056[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5057[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5058[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]5059[/ATTACH]

     

     

     

     

     

     

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    Tournesol

    Great article. Thanks.

     

    I will wait for the single album releases though.

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    Julf

    Great review - but one small detail - I think "Prof. Scott's 16 v. 24 bit checking tool" should really be credited to users "nu774" and "skamp" @ Hydrogen Audio. Passing that test is no guarantee that the material is genuinely 24 bits - it only detects crude zero-padding, and any filtering, rate conversion or dithering will hide the zero bits.

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    boh

    Hi, thanks for the review! Just did a quick DR on my old CD:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Analyzed: Van Halen / 1984

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Duration Track

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR12 -4.92 dB -21.85 dB 1:09 01-1984

    DR14 -2.35 dB -18.45 dB 4:03 02-Jump

    DR14 -2.36 dB -17.96 dB 3:33 03-Panama

    DR14 -0.91 dB -18.78 dB 3:02 04-Top Jimmy

    DR13 -1.72 dB -17.71 dB 4:14 05-Drop Dead Legs

    DR14 -1.88 dB -18.74 dB 4:45 06-Hot for Teacher

    DR14 -1.26 dB -18.86 dB 4:44 07-I'll Wait

    DR14 -0.78 dB -18.18 dB 4:35 08-Girl Gone Bad

    DR14 -0.32 dB -16.61 dB 3:18 09-House of Pain

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Number of tracks: 9

    Official DR value: DR14

    Samplerate: 44100 Hz

    Channels: 2

    Bits per sample: 16

    Bitrate: 958 kbps

    Codec: FLAC: It seems like we have lost DR even though we have 24 bits to play with instead of 16?

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    wgscott
    Great review - but one small detail - I think "Prof. Scott's 16 v. 24 bit checking tool" should really be credited to users "nu774" and "skamp" @ Hydrogen Audio. Passing that test is no guarantee that the material is genuinely 24 bits - it only detects crude zero-padding, and any filtering, rate conversion or dithering will hide the zero bits.

     

     

    Yes, I am but a humble, naive user.

     

    That, and I always shell-script in zsh.

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    firedog

    Not going to buy this, but good to know that more classic rock has been released in hi-res without being volume compressed to death.

     

    Anybody have Redbook of this to compare the DR figures. Be interesting to see if the mainstream release is the same.

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    One and a half
    Not going to buy this, but good to know that more classic rock has been released in hi-res without being volume compressed to death.

     

    Anybody have Redbook of this to compare the DR figures. Be interesting to see if the mainstream release is the same.

     

    The DR database goes back to 1978 even vinyls.

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    testikoff

    Anybody have Redbook of this to compare the DR figures. Be interesting to see if the mainstream release is the same.

     

    The original VH CD releases in DR ascending order:

     

    DR10: Van Halen / Fair Warning

    DR12: Van Halen / Diver Down

    DR12: Van Halen / Van Halen II

    DR13: Van Halen / Van Halen

    DR13: Van Halen / Women and Children First

    DR14: Van Halen / 1984

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    Dr Tone

    The only other copies I have at my disposal are the HDCD reissues. Definitely a different master. I immediately go to Unchained and the intro guitar for unchained in the 24/192 version isn't as hard panned left and a little recessed, definite compression on the HDCD remaster. So if Fair Warning was up-sampled from something it wasn't the HDCD version.

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    jcpom

    if tracks are upsampled from 44.1 kHz, why pay more for 192kHz vs 96kHz?

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    woodcans

    There's a 10% off code good through 4/10 on HDTracks page for the set.

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    Krutsch

    Wow... I saw VH in Madison, WI, when they toured for their initial album release. That was the concert they apologized to the Sheraton hotel for trashing the place after the show (it's mentioned in the liner notes for VH II). I still remember Eddie running across the stage and sliding onto his knees to kick off Eruption. I am downloading this tonight...

     

    One question: is there really any reason to purchase the 192kHz version? Do you think the digital copies are really transfers made at that sample rate or are these just upsampled from 96 or even 44.1? Just curious...

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    agentalbert
    Hi, thanks for the review! Just did a quick DR on my old CD:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Analyzed: Van Halen / 1984

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Duration Track

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR12 -4.92 dB -21.85 dB 1:09 01-1984

    DR14 -2.35 dB -18.45 dB 4:03 02-Jump

    DR14 -2.36 dB -17.96 dB 3:33 03-Panama

    DR14 -0.91 dB -18.78 dB 3:02 04-Top Jimmy

    DR13 -1.72 dB -17.71 dB 4:14 05-Drop Dead Legs

    DR14 -1.88 dB -18.74 dB 4:45 06-Hot for Teacher

    DR14 -1.26 dB -18.86 dB 4:44 07-I'll Wait

    DR14 -0.78 dB -18.18 dB 4:35 08-Girl Gone Bad

    DR14 -0.32 dB -16.61 dB 3:18 09-House of Pain

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Number of tracks: 9

    Official DR value: DR14

    Samplerate: 44100 Hz

    Channels: 2

    Bits per sample: 16

    Bitrate: 958 kbps

    Codec: FLAC: It seems like we have lost DR even though we have 24 bits to play with instead of 16?

     

    The old CD may have had a high end boost, which can artificially juice the dynamic range. That's speculation, of course.

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    Tournesol

    This is my original CD from around 1984, an already awesome sounding CD. Just listen to the drum intro on Hot for Teacher. Kicks butt! The DR is quite impressive. Better than 24bit version.

     

    ----

    Analyzed folder: /Volumes/music/Van Halen/1984

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Filename

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    DR14 -2.13 dB -18.85 dB 06 Van Halen - Hot For Teacher.m4a

    DR14 -2.65 dB -18.13 dB 03 Van Halen - Panama.m4a

    DR13 -1.90 dB -17.76 dB 05 Van Halen - Drop Dead Legs.m4a

    DR12 -6.27 dB -21.87 dB 01 Van Halen - 1984.m4a

    DR14 -1.38 dB -18.92 dB 07 Van Halen - I'll Wait.m4a

    DR14 -1.72 dB -18.38 dB 08 Van Halen - Girl Gone Bad.m4a

    DR14 -2.59 dB -18.52 dB 02 Van Halen - Jump.m4a

    DR14 -2.00 dB -18.81 dB 04 Van Halen - Top Jimmy.m4a

    DR14 -0.64 dB -16.71 dB 09 Van Halen - House Of Pain.m4a

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    Number of files: 9

    Official DR value: DR14

     

     

    ==============================================================================================

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    Audio_ELF

    So... Are the 24/192 better than the 24/96? Are both better than a 16/44.1 CDRB copy?

     

    Or are we just being told to buy the highest bit rate just because they have bigger numbers in the adverts.

     

    Come on Chris... Try to get some of the lower bit rate versions an compare!!

     

    Subjective comparisons are fine.

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    BattleScarze

    Hi,

     

    Thanks for the review and letting us know about the releases...gotta love old Van Halen.

     

    I currently own the original red book CD's and the HDCD's...there is more "Air" in the HDCD's BUT there is slight sibilance which is non-existent on the CD's...has anyone noticed if there is any hint of sibilance on the hi-res downloads??

     

    I will most likely download but would really appreciate some honesty on the sibilance...again its slight but noticeable.

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    RobbieC
    Great review - but one small detail - I think "Prof. Scott's 16 v. 24 bit checking tool" should really be credited to users "nu774" and "skamp" @ Hydrogen Audio. Passing that test is no guarantee that the material is genuinely 24 bits - it only detects crude zero-padding, and any filtering, rate conversion or dithering will hide the zero bits.

     

    Stigler's law of eponymy.

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    Julf
    Stigler's law of eponymy.

     

    I prefer Whitehead's version - "Everything of importance has been said before by somebody who did not discover it"

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    EuroChamp

    Hm, my CD shows a different DR range:

     

    foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Duration Track

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR12 -0.10 dB -15.28 dB 1:09 01-1984

    DR7 -0.08 dB -9.13 dB 4:04 02-Jump

    DR9 -0.09 dB -9.96 dB 3:33 03-Panama

    DR9 -0.09 dB -10.89 dB 3:02 04-Top Jimmy

    DR7 -0.09 dB -9.03 dB 4:16 05-Drop Dead Legs

    DR7 -0.09 dB -8.98 dB 4:45 06-Hot For Teacher

    DR9 -0.09 dB -11.16 dB 4:45 07-I'll Wait

    DR7 -0.09 dB -9.15 dB 4:36 08-Girl Gone Bad

    DR7 -0.09 dB -8.91 dB 3:20 09-House of Pain

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Official DR value: DR8

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    Tournesol
    Hm, my CD shows a different DR range:

     

    foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Duration Track

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR12 -0.10 dB -15.28 dB 1:09 01-1984

    DR7 -0.08 dB -9.13 dB 4:04 02-Jump

    DR9 -0.09 dB -9.96 dB 3:33 03-Panama

    DR9 -0.09 dB -10.89 dB 3:02 04-Top Jimmy

    DR7 -0.09 dB -9.03 dB 4:16 05-Drop Dead Legs

    DR7 -0.09 dB -8.98 dB 4:45 06-Hot For Teacher

    DR9 -0.09 dB -11.16 dB 4:45 07-I'll Wait

    DR7 -0.09 dB -9.15 dB 4:36 08-Girl Gone Bad

    DR7 -0.09 dB -8.91 dB 3:20 09-House of Pain

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Official DR value: DR8

     

    That's because it's one ofe the remasters. My CD is from back in the eighties.

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    Veovis

    I'm a bit sceptic towards HDtracks since they rarely (never?) tell the costumer anything about the process behind their releases. How can we know that what they sell are true 24/96 (or 24/192) transfers of the best master tapes available? I'd be especially surprised if a record company actually makes two new digital transfers, one in 24/96 and one in 24/192, of the analouge master tape to sell as downloads through HDtracks. Until they at least tell me otherwise I would assume that they make one digital transfer in either 24/96 or 24/192 and then up- or downsample the result in order to sell as a different version. Which means what you buy is either bogus 24/192 or inferior downsampled 24/96 files.

     

    I hope I'm wrong about this, but until they introduce some kind of declaration of the stuff they sell I'll only buy things I assume is genuin hirez stuff, such as David Bowies latest album (24/48 i think). Or the latest Rush album in 24/96. When it comes to the older stuff from the analougue era I'm, as I said, a bit sceptic. Buying the 24/96 version of an Alice Cooper album from the 70's didn't exactly make me change my mind...

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    Somsak

    Interesting review but it seems a little light on direct comparisons to earlier releases of those albums. I have a 1990 CD of Van Halen’s first album. The DR results look so similar to those reported in the review for this HDTracks release that I wonder if it’s a coincidence. Does this new release from HDTracks sound better than the original CDs?

     

    Here are the DR results from that 1990 CD (which does sound good IMO):

     

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Analyzed: Van Halen / Van Halen

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

    DR Peak RMS Duration Track

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR12 -0.98 dB -16.03 dB 3:37 01-Runnin' with the Devil

    DR12 -1.59 dB -16.43 dB 1:42 02-Eruption

    DR11 -2.28 dB -15.70 dB 2:39 03-You Really Got Me

    DR13 -1.95 dB -16.33 dB 3:50 04-Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love

    DR12 -1.85 dB -16.27 dB 3:46 05-I'm the One

    DR13 -1.78 dB -17.55 dB 3:30 06-Jamie's Cryin'

    DR12 -2.51 dB -16.73 dB 3:02 07-Atomic Punk

    DR12 -3.58 dB -17.58 dB 3:43 08-Feel Your Love Tonight

    DR13 -2.29 dB -17.72 dB 3:23 09-Little Dreamer

    DR13 -2.58 dB -18.70 dB 3:20 10-Ice Cream Man

    DR14 -1.18 dB -17.33 dB 3:01 11-On Fire

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

    Number of tracks: 11

    Official DR value: DR12

     

    Samplerate: 44100 Hz

    Channels: 2

    Bits per sample: 16

    Bitrate: 948 kbps

    Codec: FLAC

    ================================================================================

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    Julf
    I'm a bit sceptic towards HDtracks since they rarely (never?) tell the costumer anything about the process behind their releases. How can we know that what they sell are true 24/96 (or 24/192) transfers of the best master tapes available?

     

    I guess what we really need is an updated version of the old SPARS code system (remember the "AAA", "AAD", "ADD", "DAD" and "DDD" codes from the early days of the CD?).

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    The Computer Audiophile
    I guess what we really need is an updated version of the old SPARS code system (remember the "AAA", "AAD", "ADD", "DAD" and "DDD" codes from the early days of the CD?).

     

     

    Hi Julf - that has been discussed before and I'm not sure I agree with you. Here's a good post from Paul Stubblebine, Mastering Engineer for some great sounding recordings.

     

    http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f13-audiophile-downloads/scandal-brewing-high-resolution-downloads-7735/index11.html#post94800

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    Julf
    Hi Julf - that has been discussed before and I'm not sure I agree with you. Here's a good post from Paul Stubblebine, Mastering Engineer for some great sounding recordings.

     

    And I get his point. I still think there should be some sort of auditable "product tracking" system, just like in most other industries.

     

    BTW, that thread also provided a great explanation of the 38KHz tone we see on some spectrum plots - leak-through from the motor control signal of the ATR-100 tape machine.

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    The Computer Audiophile
    And I get his point. I still think there should be some sort of auditable "product tracking" system, just like in most other industries.

     

    BTW, that thread also provided a great explanation of the 38KHz tone we see on some spectrum plots - leak-through from the motor control signal of the ATR-100 tape machine.

     

    It may be interesting to create a thread soliciting opinions on a new "product tracking" system. Maybe it's possible to come up with something that works.

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