R.E.M. Monster Frequency Problem

[afsnj]

I must say, I find this shocking.

 

I too have had the experience that most are discusssing here. Luckily, HDTracks has offered me a substitution.

 

I never thought I could be getting a 5.1 to stereo mix-down.

 

This completely unacceptable. I would imagine that MOST folk are expecting a direct derivative of a stereo master.

 

[AlainGr]

I experienced the same problem with a few other albums - Deep Purple "Machine Head", Metallica "Metallica" and to a lesser extent, Foreigher "IV"...

 

After that, I began to be a lot more careful, checking here before choosing and downloading a new album from HDtracks...

 

Maybe it does not mean a thing, but the three of them are from Rhino/Warner Brothers, they seem to come from DVD-A media (as opposed to other albums from SACD). And if I recall correctly, Warner Brother has developed something that automatically mix down the surround into 2 channels... (re:http://patches.sonic.com/pdf/white-papers/wp_dvd_audio.pdf)

 

Alain

 

[PeterSt]

Ehm, be careful that it's not the exact other way around ...

 

A mix-down usually sounds quite normal, with everything in there, usually quite well-balanced. But :

This will be completely "overblown", hence is compressed hugely (should be 12dB at least) and usually clips (to avoid the huge compression).

 

A 2ch *not-mixdown* issue of the same DVD-A is the one which sounds strange, lacks all sorts of music coming from the other channels which are not on there and often lets "flange" sounds in an on/off fashion, which otherwise would go in a circle (through all the channels one by one). But :

The sound quality by itself will be okay from these.

 

Mentioned Machine Head belongs to this latter group (which will be in the far minority).

 

There is no way out of this, and the separate 2ch recordings in parallel to the multichannel are so rare that I don't think I own one.

When something from a DVD-A still sounds good to you ? good for you !

 

Anyway, this is why I always say that you can look for 24/192 on DVD-A because this will never have been a multi channel recording. Now though, you muct be careful that it's not upsampled ot something (Hotel California is a good example of that).

 

2c

Peter

 

[Synfreak]

There IS a dedicated high-resolution stereo mix (the remastered original stereo mix) on the DVD-Audio (AFAIK 88,2/24).

 

Most DVD-Audio discs contain high resolution stereo AND multichannel material, so - usually - there's no need for a 5.1 to 2.0 downmix.

 

These specialists which have made the HDTRacks content just don't know how to use the software the right way ... ;-)

 

'Hotel California' even has two different stereo mixes:

1. the - remastered - original stereo mix

2. and a new stereo (re-)mix (maybe made out of the 5.1 remix project)

 

[Son_of_Thor]

The HDTracks download is a down-mix from the 5.1 DVD-A version with all of the channels included and it does sound awful! After purchasing from HDTracks and making a complaint to them they offered me a substitute album (REM Green which sounds as it should).

 

I then bought the DVD-A from Amazon (which was cheaper than the HDTracks purchase) and downmixed the 5.1 with all channels myself using some free software from the net and it sounds exactly like the HDTracks download (awful). I also extracted the 2 channel 88.2/24 from the same purchased disc to flac and it sounds very pleasant. I.E. HDTracks/Warner have made a real mess of this release and should have released the 88.2/24 2 channel version from the DVD-A

 

I've had some cracking purchases from HDTracks but have also paid for some rubbish like this release. As a result I'll wait a few weeks after HDTracks releases and trawl the net for reviews before making any further purchases.

 

Hope this helps..

 

Si

 

[afsnj]

I would like to believe Synfreak re DVD-A's having the actual hi-res stereo tracks on the DVD-A. But, why da hell are these outfits using DVD-A's as there source? Are these legitimate companies? What kind of licensing agreement exists between them and the music producers? It just sounds a but strange to me.

 

In response to those who imply that such mix downs may be acceptable--they are are most certainly not! I don't need to tell you folks that true multi-channel recording are quite rare, usually found in the classical orchestral arena and specialty recording arrangements. Most all multi-channel stuff is manufactured in the studio. Why would I want a mix based on this!

 

 

[Rob McCance]

ALL my plain-ole RedBooks sound AWESOME...and they cost $3 a piece on Amazon. And the selection is infinite.

 

But, it's fun to read the rants of the early adopters, none the less.

 

And yes, I know there are bad Redbooks, as well as bad HiRezz as well as bad Vinyl all available for consumption. I avoid them.

 

 

 

[agentalbert]

Just reading this thread. "Monster" is still up at HD Tracks. Anyone know if they've ever substituted the files or if its the same bad downmix? Surprised they still have it up when they know its bad. Well, not too surprised, actually.

[new_media]

Pono Music has Monster in 24/88.2, which I assume is the stereo mix from the DVD-A.

 

HDtracks is still showing it in 24/96, so I would guess they are still selling a downmixed version.