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David Bowie - Blackstar (2016)


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Oh no... Early in the thread I mentioned my mindset for dealing with this. I'm going to buy vinyl when I have to in order get around crushed titles...and maybe buy the new Korg DS-DAC-10R to start doing my own needle drops. It might be okay if you have desktop speakers or something less efficient that what I have but with 100dB speakers I have my DAC and amp turned down so far that I'm loosing channel balance so I'm really sensitive to this. I don't fear using a volume control to modulate the volume of my music - I can tell right away if my first instinct it to turn it down. I'll try to post a short needle drop clip if I can in the future so we can compare.

 

91LZPobeFtL._SL1500_.jpg

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That's really unfortunate because Bowie has made so many great albums and his <90's stuff recorded, mixed, and mastered well. In some regard certain albums are reference quality but this "Black Star" not so much. I thought things where starting to turn around and albums would slowly move back towards dynamics. This is a major slap in the face because this isn't just bricked its BRICKED probably one of the worst offenders in as many years.

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Just read that Bowie passed on today... RIP. What a loss. Haven't heard the new one yet, but will be getting it.

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Sadly all your opinions on DR mean jack. So do most Artists and Mastering engineers for that matter. Record companies call the shots. Surprising that all you smart people can't work this out. As a Mastering engineer myself my hands are tied. Mixes often get sent to multiple Mastering studios and the loudest and most prominent masters win. The losers starve.

RIP Bowie. You're a legend!!

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I listened to the 24/96 download on Sunday, before the terrible news, and returned to it today.

 

Great album musically, a must have. What a way to go for a musician!

 

Concerning the sound quality: the high dynamic compression creates kind of a big sonic mess of the bass and drums, like hearing them in a car system where the whole car vibrates with the speakers. The transparency is lost, which is a pity as the arrangements and mixes are very intriguing. Hi-rez is probably not worth it here.

 

Fortunately, the compression effects the vocals less.

 

I've heard DR5-6 albums which I had to turn lower or off as the sound was too fatiguing. This one fares better, the sound is muddy but not harsh. I guess it has to do with how treble is affected.

 

For those who think the album sounds fine: listen and learn, one day you will notice the harm that high compression does to the sound. It's not obvious to most people, that's why producers use it.

Claude

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RIP.

 

So sad, just two days after his birthday and soon after the album release. Mine is today.

 

Eno's interview mentions they recently talked about 'Outside' and they wanted to revisit it somehow.

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You guy's argue about sound quality being inadequate, when the artist was dying of cancer and is now dead?

 

It is now obvious he wrote that piece as a Requiem Mass whilst he was terminally ill...

 

So who cares about "the quality" of the bits and bobs and SQ?

 

The guy was a music genius and they will be referring to this piece in particular and him in general in 300 years plus (just as we are now with Mozart)... as the greatest individual piece of music written and him as the greatest musical artist since Mozart and his unfinished Requiem.

 

I think it is time we closed this thread in respect for the artist

 

Thank you.

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Just stop already... If you love this recording then the quality should be all the more important to you. Thus, my argument for buying it on vinyl...and going so far as ripping it to digital to have the mix that I want to listen to. No one is judging the person, the artist, or his legacy, just the trend toward highly compressed mastering with digital releases.

 

You guy's argue about sound quality being inadequate, when the artist was dying of cancer and is now dead?

 

It is now obvious he wrote that piece as a Requiem Mass whilst he was terminally ill...

 

So who cares about "the quality" of the bits and bobs and SQ?

 

The guy was a music genius and they will be referring to this piece in particular and him in general in 300 years plus (just as we are now with Mozart)... as the greatest individual piece of music written and him as the greatest musical artist since Mozart and his unfinished Requiem.

 

I think it is time we closed this thread in respect for the artist

 

Thank you.

A Digital Audio Converter connected to my Home Computer taking me into the Future

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Sadly all your opinions on DR mean jack. So do most Artists and Mastering engineers for that matter. Record companies call the shots. Surprising that all you smart people can't work this out. As a Mastering engineer myself my hands are tied. Mixes often get sent to multiple Mastering studios and the loudest and most prominent masters win. The losers starve.

RIP Bowie. You're a legend!!

 

Well mine mean something because I refuse to buy the heavily compressed material. If more people did this our opinions would start to mean a lot of jack.

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One thing I can say about CD vs LP, take Adele's 25 and compare the CD to the LP. The CD does distort because the volume is pushed to high. The LP does not distort. So even if they are the exact same master, the LP is better just due to the fact that it does not distort. I think it's atrocious when the morons who master these recordings feel it's OK to up the volume to the point of distortion. With CD audio, there is enough room to lower the volume so it doesn't distort. There's not reason at all (other than incompetence) to push to distorting.

 

So while the CD may be distorting, the LP most likely won't be.

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Well mine mean something because I refuse to buy the heavily compressed material. If more people did this our opinions would start to mean a lot of jack.

 

In an ideal world yes but in reality, unfortunately no. The vast majority listen to music on mobiles, in their cars and with off the shelf stereo systems. How many audiophiles listen to hip-hop, rap, rock, modern crap, etc? Not many. So everyone has to compete with over limited material or it "doesn't sound as loud" which equals more problems than us complaining.

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You realize this is an audiophile forum, right? Otherwise we would all be at a site called Spotify.

 

In an ideal world yes but in reality, unfortunately no. The vast majority listen to music on mobiles, in their cars and with off the shelf stereo systems. How many audiophiles listen to hip-hop, rap, rock, modern crap, etc? Not many. So everyone has to compete with over limited material or it "doesn't sound as loud" which equals more problems than us complaining.

A Digital Audio Converter connected to my Home Computer taking me into the Future

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

Analyzed folder: /Users/SteamPunkJunk/Desktop/David Bowie - Blackstar (Vinyl)

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

DR Peak RMS Filename

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

DR10 -0.76 dB -13.12 dB (null)

DR9 -0.57 dB -11.18 dB 02 'Tis A Pity She Was A Whore.m4a

DR10 -0.45 dB -12.16 dB 03 Lazarus.m4a

DR9 -0.46 dB -11.66 dB 04 Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime).m4a

DR10 -0.25 dB -12.52 dB 05 Girl Loves Me.m4a

DR10 -1.61 dB -13.48 dB 06 Dollar Days.m4a

DR9 -1.54 dB -13.02 dB 07 I Can't Give Everything Away.m4a

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

Number of files: 7

Official DR value: DR10

A Digital Audio Converter connected to my Home Computer taking me into the Future

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David Bowie

2016 - ★

1 x 12" 180g

24/96 FLAC

 

ISO Records

88875173871

Columbia

88875173871

Sony Music

88875173871 S1

European Black Pressing

Barcode (As printed): 8 88751 73871 3

Barcode (Scanned): 888751738713

Matrix / Runout (A side runout, etched): MPO 15-0736 A 88875-17387-1A RJ

Matrix / Runout (B side runout, etched): MPO 15-0736 B 88875-17387-1B RJ

Matrix / Runout (A & B sides runout, stamped): STERLING

Matrix / Runout (Side 1 centre label, A side matrix #): C-139259/AL88875173871

Matrix / Runout (Side 1 centre label, B side matrix #): C-139259/BL88875173871

Rights Society: BIEM/GEMA

Label Code: LC00162

 

Equipment:

Turntabel: Rega P3 24 w/ Universal Spacer (4mm)

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Phonoamp: Cambridge Audio 651P (MM in)

Audio Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

Audio Capturing: Adobe Audition CC

Manual Declicking: iZotope RX 3

Converting: foobar2000

 

Comment:

First Playback.

 

Tracklisting:

A1 - ★

A2 - 'Tis A Pity She Was A Whore

A3 - Lazarus

B1 - Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)

B2 - Girl Loves Me

B3 - Dollar Days

B4 - I Can't Give Everything Away

 

Total size : 782 MB (820 378 279 bytes)

Duration : 41:06.927 (236 825 016 samples)

Sample rate : 96000 Hz

Channels : 2

Bits per sample : 24

Avg. bitrate : 2660 kbps

Codec : FLAC

Encoding : lossless

Tool : reference libFLAC 1.3.1 20141125

Embedded cuesheet : no

 

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info.txt

A Digital Audio Converter connected to my Home Computer taking me into the Future

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I see some DR chit chat so personally I'm not reading this thread because DR analysis ruins music for me (that's just me, if you like it, that is swell). Knowing the DR of an album causes me to focus on DR when listening. Not fun.

 

I just wanted to chime in to say I think this album is really quite good. Well done Mr. Bowie!

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Sadly all your opinions on DR mean jack. So do most Artists and Mastering engineers for that matter. Record companies call the shots. Surprising that all you smart people can't work this out. As a Mastering engineer myself my hands are tied. Mixes often get sent to multiple Mastering studios and the loudest and most prominent masters win. The losers starve.

RIP Bowie. You're a legend!!

 

Yes, I understand you on this. A pity and the people mixing aren't the reason for this.

 

Listened to this over Amazon Prime music, sufficient fidelity for this. I like half of the music, but it would be better were it not so crushed. Much better.

And always keep in mind: Cognitive biases, like seeing optical illusions are a sign of a normally functioning brain. We all have them, it’s nothing to be ashamed about, but it is something that affects our objective evaluation of reality. 

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You guy's argue about sound quality being inadequate, when the artist was dying of cancer and is now dead?

 

It is now obvious he wrote that piece as a Requiem Mass whilst he was terminally ill...

 

So who cares about "the quality" of the bits and bobs and SQ?

 

The guy was a music genius and they will be referring to this piece in particular and him in general in 300 years plus (just as we are now with Mozart)... as the greatest individual piece of music written and him as the greatest musical artist since Mozart and his unfinished Requiem.

 

I think it is time we closed this thread in respect for the artist

 

Thank you.

 

I was in a coffee shop yesterday and asked the hipsters "working" there why they weren't playing any Bowie. They looked at me like I was a spider from mars. They didn't know who he was. They didn't care. I think it is very unlikely he will be regarded as Mozart in 300 years.

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