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Article: The Best Version Of… Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love


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On 3/8/2019 at 8:47 PM, JoshM said:

 

Thanks for the kind words. (I like MusicScope, too!) 

 

However, I'd caution against drawing conclusions about the 1985 versus the 2018 based on "Running" alone. It and "Waking the Witch" are the only tracks on which there's a significant difference in R128 scores (5.5 versus 7.9 for "Running" in Audirvana's calculations) between the 1985 and 2018.

 

I took a look at the waveforms while writing this TBVO, and you can definitely see a few momentary high peaks are slightly shorter on the 2018 "Running," but it seemed insignificant to me after repeated listening. (The DR scores on the song are only one point apart, FWIW.)

 

Taking the whole album into consideration, the 1985 is ahead on more tracks by  R128, but the differences are usually only fractions of a dB, and the 2018 is ahead on some songs, too. For the whole album, the DR scores are only one point apart. 

 

Given that, I think the better resolution of the 2018 is more important than any minor dynamic differences. But, as you note, on something like a $5 radio, I don't think the differences in resolution would come through.

 

Thanks a lot, @JoshM - now I'm $12 lighter in the wallet because of you. 🙂

 

Seriously, though, great analysis, and I'm really curious to audition it against my Japan mini-LP version (which uses the original '85 mastering). 

 

I particularly appreciate what you say about the relative DR levels and other dynamic measures of these two versions. Good dynamics are of course very important and to be highly valued - but DR differences as small as the ones you've documented here are not reliable indicators of superior/inferior sound. When the DR ratings of two different masterings get within 1-2dB of each other, that small level of difference is just as likely to be a result of different EQ and other mastering moves as it is a result of compression or peak limiting. Even when peak limiting is used, if it's used lightly enough to impact DR scores by only 1 or 2dB, it's often quite difficult to detect and IMHO is not a deal-breaker for an otherwise well-done remastering job.

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