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68.5.214.42
Greetings
just recently picked up 5 CDs from Amazon... a mix of jazz and some old rock such as Springsteen "River" cd and a Rick James CD.
Am frustrated that of the 5 I purchased they range from mediocre to very poor in terms of audio quality. was hoping Springsteen was good, its the worse of the bunch.Compressed, lifeless . Not listenable on my system. I know what it "could" sound like . I know what drums , guitar,sax, vocals etc should sound like on the Springsteen album and damn it, It sounds like crap. After skipping from track to track.... I just pulled it and went thru the rest of the CDs...surprisingly Rick James was a measure better... The Jazz CDs were decent (Michael Brecker), but not fantastic.
Garbage in Garbage out.(not talking content-ok, no judgement on Rick James please)
I purchase CDs, but am not into downloading albums yet or putting them on a digital drive.
Would you please divulge your secrets on where and how to find GREAT audio quality CDs and where they can be purchased. The problem is , on Amazon, if someone says they sound great...it does not translate to great audio quality....what are my options ... it seems that many have said that even though some have gone DSD, some of these sources sound no better than CDs which may not be recorded well....
suggestions requested.... I searched under "quality" under General and the Music asylum and did not find any cure alls to this dilemma .
Thanks ahead of time...
Follow Ups:
Carl G,
The best precaution is to never buy a single CD or SACD whose sound quality has not been well reviewed by Amazon customers AND whose sample tracks do not thoroughly satisfy your ear. It's possible to greatly improve our access to the music recorded on the CD but it's impossible to improve the actual recording quality itself. That's the reason why the sound quality of a CD can exceed that of a SACD for the same artist and work; the recording quality of the performance on CD was superior.
DG
I mean if you want the latest album of somebodies that's played all over, then you really have no choice.
If you are digging for previously released material, then there have often been re-releases, especially from original analog masters, that have improved upon the original CD releases.
It's best to know what you are buying.
I only buy stuff release after after about 1998 or so. I think the digital technology has improved considerably from that time onward, especially recently, EXCEPT for low budget artists sometimes.
There are a lot of awful pop recordings. Deal with it.
One of the few ways we can take control of that situation is to help others deal with it. If the reviews on Amazon and other sites don't disclose enough information about audio quality or lack of it, it's because lazy people (not saying you are) just want to bitch instead of sharing their impressions with others.
Instead of venting your displeasure here, post a review, however brief, on Amazon or elsewhere about the poor recordings.
Peace,
Tom E
Actually, I was indeed complaining, but of course was trying to find out if there is a work around... is there a place or a way to get MY artist's work in a format or better quality than what I have been finding...
after reading most member's responses, it looks like there is a possibility that I "might" find a better version of what I am looking for...but, not always likely.
For those of you that came up with places to search or how to deduce if the music I am looking for exists in a higher quality version, thanks so much.
Regards
and ...as you signed off your post Tom, Peace.
: )
Edits: 12/07/14
Although it probably came across that way. Sorry. It does help others, though, if you and everyone else who frequents the Asylum would post more reviews here and at the places of commerce where it is allowed.
For classical music, in order to hear more than the 20 second samples usually provided, I frequently borrow CD's from local library. Easy to do here in Madison, and we're aligned with a few dozen libraries to enlarge the collection available, all at no charge. Can't always get the exact recording I'm considering buying, but at least I can hear the music. In the case of pop music, there is usually only one version available, unless there exists some remastered garbage with compressed dynamics and sizzling high frequencies. Sorry I don't have any advice on how to avoid that. Perhaps if enough people comment on a specific release, someone will pay attention and do something about it. But probably not.
Few alternatives, other than to suffer through Springsteen's (and so many others) catalog in crappy, compressed, lifeless sound. However, there are plenty of decent, even some excellent recordings of pop music. Last night I listened to remastered Hendrix CD, and it was pretty incredible, so much better than anything I had heard originally in 1969.
Peace,
Tom E
Just type in artist and or name of album.
Edits: 12/07/14
Thank you for sharing.
I will consult this chart for future purchases.
Meat; It's the right thing to do. Romans 14:2
Ask the seller what brand of cd,; who was the recording engineer and who mastered it. Good luck.
That might have been true twenty five years ago. Not today.
Unrealistic attitude.
Hi i guess the best Record Labels care about their reputation
Maybe not so small others
But i have a kind question
You say " was hoping Springsteen was good, its the worse of the bunch.Compressed, lifeless . Not listenable on my system."
Could you point me to the precise disk ? i would like to buy it.
Seriously ... i have a weird idea and belief.
I had this sensation with a cd from Oasis ... ultra high distortion everywhere
On my system was just unbearable ... but on the higher quality system of a friend was still ugly but in a fascinating way
And i much preferred it in this way
So i would use that cd as a cd test
I believe that the best systems have the ability to make crap CDs listenable, contrarily to what is the general agreement
And if this is true is a great motivation to improve the quality of the sound rig of course
Thanks a lot.
Kind regards,
bg
I have it and the distortion may be intentional but, the sound quality is still just low and dynamics are almost nonexistent. it is seriously squashed with compression.
or a lawyer or a professor. popularity equaling quality - very dubious proposition. amazon is the ultimate in popularity of useage. mass mentalities (i presume) run it and mass mentalities buy from it.
roger wang
They hardly ever get better unless you are talking about DCC, Audio Fidelity or some (but not all) Mobile Fidelity.
As far as "The River" goes (not a great recording to begin with), the best version I have is the CBS Sony 50DP 355, made in Japan.
Regards,
Geoff
read the **bad** reviews before buying, because the bad ones are often
much more revealing than the good reviews.
My other observation is that most rock is meant to be played primarily
of car stereos, which for the most part are notoriously poor sounding.
A Springsteen album sounds bad? Don't be surprised. It likely wasn't
particularly well recorded originally.
Finally, if you are buying music originally recorded and issued here in
USA, but the disc you are buying is a "cheap" european import, do not be
surprised if the sound quality is bad, because the source will not be
very good.
...IIRC, J. Gordon Holt even created a "law" regarding sound quality: "Good recording, bad performance: Bad recording, good performance" or something like that. I've got plenty of audiophile direct-to-disc recordings from the 70s & 80s that are absolute proof of the first part of the law. The sound is spectacular but the music/performances are dreadful.
I've learned to listen thru the bad stuff if I like the music. Just an opinion but I think you really limit yourself if you insist on only good recordings. As unbelievable as it may seem, great sound isn't always at the top of the list of an artists priorities.
... Find a seller of CDs where you can have a listen before you purchase.
Or, do some research before you buy on Amazon.
Expecting excellence to just fall into your lap without any effort on your part is not a realistic expectation.
Good luck.
Smile
Sox
The only Bruce Springsteen's album that has an excellent sound quality is the Darkness on the Edge of Town....especially the "Racing in the Street" and "Factory" cuts...
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
Or buy on sale and expect to loose a certain fraction of time, but if the price is right that can be an acceptable gamble. Or buy from record labels that have an impeccable reputation.
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
Carl-
great query. If your system is very high on resolution, then, most audio quality will be revealed for how it sounds. You must enjoy the artist and their performance. You may want to look into SACD and/or DVD-Audio for the ultimate in sound quality. There is a plethora of outstanding material in the market place.
It's no different wih LP's - the quality of the recording is always a crapshoot. That's why we have conversations about recordings we can use to test or showcase our CD or LP systems.
Nothing by Springsteen would ever be used. I like his earlier stuff but the recordings are awful, sounds like they were mastered for AM radio.
Read the reviews and listen to the samples.
what site, which reviewers are geared toward reproduction of good audio ?
I don't think you can trust any single reviewer to be right 100% of the time. Look for reviews in as many places as possible in order to get many opinions and try to find a consensus on which recording might be best from both musical and sonic standpoints. Here are some suggestions:Audiophile sites like AA, Headfi, Audiogon, and others usually have music forums.
Audiophile Magazines like Stereophile, Absolute Sound, and others can be good sources for professional reviews.
Google searches can turn up tons of reviews. I googled "audiophile recordings" and got 31 pages of related info.
Edits: 12/06/14
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