Crosby, Stills & Nash - HDTracks

[firedog]

Couldn't resist. Am downloading it now. The first 3 tracks sound good. But are much louder. For comparison, here is the DR of the previous standard Redbook remaster:

 

Again, this is Redbook, not the hi-res.

 

 

foobar2000 1.1.7 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.0

log date: 2012-10-11 05:14:49

 

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Analyzed: Crosby, Stills & Nash / Crosby, Stills & Nash [Expanded Edition]

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DR Peak RMS Duration Track

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DR10 -0.03 dB -12.98 dB 7:24 01-Suite: Judy Blue Eyes

DR12 -0.56 dB -15.75 dB 2:39 02-Marrakesh Express

DR11 -2.87 dB -18.02 dB 4:39 03-Guinnevere

DR12 -1.34 dB -14.56 dB 2:45 04-You Don't Have to Cry

DR10 -0.28 dB -12.37 dB 2:57 05-Pre-Road Downs

DR9 0.00 dB -12.30 dB 5:28 06-Wooden Ships

DR11 -1.39 dB -19.23 dB 2:38 07-Lady of the Island

DR11 -0.67 dB -14.31 dB 2:41 08-Helplessly Hoping

DR10 0.00 dB -11.95 dB 4:18 09-Long Time Gone

DR9 -0.40 dB -11.81 dB 5:12 10-49 Bye-Byes

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Number of tracks: 10

Official DR value: DR10

 

Samplerate: 44100 Hz

Channels: 2

Bits per sample: 16

Bitrate: 803 kbps

Codec: FLAC

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As you can see, some songs on the hi-res only slightly compressed compared to this, others pretty heavy compression added.

[firedog]

I need to track down the Steve Hoffman Audio Fidelity Gold CD now and compare.

 

Listening to the album again on headphones as I write this. I am not writing it off by any means, but it is a mixed bag.

 

 

Gary

 

the Gold CD is for sale on Amazon

[firedog]

Have listened to this several times now. Don't like it. Find the sound fatiguing. Must be b/c of the volume compression.

 

I asked HDTracks to give me credit toward a different album as I thought the sound was subpar. I'll let you know what happens. This is the first hi-res download from them I really thought wasn't worth the money.

 

Guess I'll try the Steve Hoffman gold CD. It got great reviews.

[firedog]

HD Tracks wouldn't give me a credit for the download, they did offer me a discount coupon for my next purchase. Not really valuable, as they send me a discount coupon once or twice a month anyway.

 

I mentioned my concerns about the sound of the album. They specifically answered that they are simply distributing the files as provided by the recording company, and that they don't alter them in any way. I also told them I'd be more hesitant to buy product from them in the future, as they don't stand behind their product in terms of customer satisfaction. The customer service rep said he would pass on my comments about the album and their policies to the higher ups.

 

As far as volume compression, David Chesky stated in an interview for Audio Stream that the amount of volume compression is an artistic decision, and he sees no reason for them to be involved in that decision at all - in fact, he said they absolutely wouldn't be involved in it for music made by other artists. I'd respect that point of view, except that it is a bit simplistic: for the vast majority of these remasters, the record company is making the "artistic" decision and not the artist. So it's a purely commercial decision, and not an artistic one.

[firedog]

On the other hand firedog ... if you bought a CD would you really expect a refund from the store because you didn't like it?

 

Eloise

 

Eloise-

 

Actually, my experience with music stores is that they will give you a credit if you return a disc. Some will let you listen to it before you buy. I wouldn't return one just because I didn't like the music, but I have returned them for other reasons, including bad sound. But the case here is different.

 

I'm buying a remaster of something that I know already I like the music. The point of buying a remaster, especially a hi-res one, is to get something better sounding than what was previously available. That's also how it is marketed by HDT (see their web page for the download).

 

IMO, what I received was of inferior SQ to previous (not hi-res) CDs.

 

BTW, I don't know what it's like in the UK, but in the US (I don't live there either) lots of establishments accept returns with no (or minimal) questions asked. This is especially true for some retailers that are internet/catalogue based, as they understand that their long term success is based on consumer confidence about ordering items sight unseen (in this case "unheard").

[firedog]

Okay, so my disappointment with the HDTracks version prompted me to get the gold CD. IMO, it sounds much better. Not fatiguing. Too bad the hi-res was volume compressed, it would have been interesting to compare it to the Steve Hoffman version otherwise.

 

Here are the DR values, posted again for convenience:

foobar2000 1.1.7 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.0

log date: 2012-10-13 07:18:05

 

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Analyzed: Crosby, Stills & Nash / Crosby, Stills & Nash [AFZ 131]

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DR Peak RMS Duration Track

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DR12 -0.15 dB -14.83 dB 7:25 01-Suite: Judy Blue Eyes

DR12 -1.55 dB -16.48 dB 2:38 02-Marrakesh Express

DR12 -2.81 dB -18.28 dB 4:39 03-Guinnevere

DR12 -2.32 dB -15.81 dB 2:44 04-You Don't Have To Cry

DR11 -0.50 dB -14.25 dB 3:01 05-Pre-Road Downs

DR10 -0.30 dB -14.06 dB 5:27 06-Wooden Ships

DR12 -3.54 dB -21.87 dB 2:38 07-Lady Of The Island

DR11 -2.91 dB -17.28 dB 2:41 08-Helplessly Hoping

DR11 -1.58 dB -15.51 dB 4:16 09-Long Time Gone

DR10 -0.30 dB -13.23 dB 5:16 10-49 Bye-Byes

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Number of tracks: 10

Official DR value: DR11

[firedog]

Don't they listen to these first themselves and do their own analysis before they pop it up for sale on the site?

 

Apparently not. Their policy is to give us what the labels give them. They only seem to intervene if it is a case of the master not being "real" hi-res, or some other obvious defect. Not what we would call SQ.