And while I am on a roll…. Digital v…..

[Minicoupeman]

I have recently brought a few Beatles albums from the early 70’s ( very much analogue) and compared them to the Beatles Box Set versions. Ie. Not Giles Martin remixes but just digital transfers. All on LP. A friend who streams exclusively said “ the Box Set stuff sounds like it is about to go into overload….but it never does. The analogue doesn’t do that. Same detail, same soundstage but easier on the ear” we both preferred the original analogue. My concern is a lot of you will never ave had the opportunity to compare and as such, you are stuck with the digital transfers. And if this applies to everything digital? . ………a whole generation, perhaps two generations, are sadly deprived.

 

[DomT]

It’s true that more modern recordings are mastered differently. But tastes change depending on what people grew up with. I can imagine younger people who grew up with recent recordings maybe saying that the old Beatles stuff sounds muffled or warm or something as it’s different. As always people’s personal reference points lead the way.

 

[bencat]

I only have the box set Beatles albums remastered . None of them sound like they are going in to overload but that may be my ears . There is a trend to say vinyl is good digital is bad , sorry but not true . Digital is different and some find it hard to accept which is fine . Digital when done well is accurate many may not like it because they are used to Vinyl sound and that is fine but digital remasters of the Beatles catalogue is far closer in my view to what was recorded and what they wanted to put out at that time .

 

[ziggy]

Played some remastered Beatles material on Qobuz today and it has never sounded so good.

 

[maddog_007]

I have all three Beatles Anthology on vinyl and I always enjoy the studio chit chat between all five in Abbey Road .
The sheer musical enjoyment overcomes any recording shortcomings.

 

[tuga]

I have recently brought a few Beatles albums from the early 70’s ( very much analogue) and compared them to the Beatles Box Set versions. Ie. Not Giles Martin remixes but just digital transfers. All on LP. A friend who streams exclusively said “ the Box Set stuff sounds like it is about to go into overload….but it never does. The analogue doesn’t do that. Same detail, same soundstage but easier on the ear” we both preferred the original analogue. My concern is a lot of you will never ave had the opportunity to compare and as such, you are stuck with the digital transfers. And if this applies to everything digital? . ………a whole generation, perhaps two generations, are sadly deprived.

Not sure if this is true about The Beatles' remasters but I wouldn't be surprised to find that some material originally mastered in analogue has never been properly transfered and/or remastered in digital (and consequently sounds/is better in pre-digital vinyl).

The issues run from dynamic range compression to inadequate EQ and/or de-emphasis to excessive gain which leads to clipping (e.g. intersample overs). All the result of poor workmanship and/or corporate greed.

 

[EddieRUKidding]

I only listen in Vinyl and tape these days on my HiFi and leave CD to the Car, no streaming its against my religion.

 

[Pedro2]

I’m struggling a little with vinyl replay at the moment. In particular, how some albums, to my ears, just sound better when streamed (Tidal). I believe that the level of detail, combined with silent background (no pops and crackles) nails it for many (most?) on my Linn streamer. It’s led me to think that I need to compare each one, and where necessary, part with the vinyl version (I’ve not got many so won’t take too long).

Must admit, I’ve got a few jazz classics (Kind of Blue etc) that sound great on vinyl, but many others don’t. Typically, I recently bought a Stephen Stills Manassas double second hand, and it sounds cr*p in comparison to Tidal stream - very disappointing.

 

[Minicoupeman]

Appreciated. My comments were not meant to suggest that analogue is better. BUT different and wouldn’t you rather hear Beethoven conducting his music than anyone else? Wouldn’t you want to hear The Beatles as released, not ‘updated’?

 

[bencat]

No

 

[Tony T]

 

[hiesteem]

 

[hiesteem]

Must admit, I’ve got a few jazz classics (Kind of Blue etc) that sound great on vinyl, but many others don’t. Typically, I recently bought a Stephen Stills Manassas double second hand, and it sounds cr*p in comparison to Tidal stream - very disappointing.

I also have Manassas on Cd and it is not a good recording. I think the original recording effects the reproduction, whether it be Vinyl or cd, not sure about streaming, as I don't have any experience of it.

 

[hiesteem]

I think where Beatles is concerned, we are talking about some recordings dating back to 63 on vinyl. I stumbled across a copy of Introducing the Beatles, Veejay 2nd edition, recorded in stereo.
Not having a turntable, I took it to my local Audio T store and and they let me test both sides for condition. This was on their Linn lp12, Orgasmik
top of the range turntable.
The album whilst in excellent condition was a fairly flat recording done in an early type of stereo reproduction, which we had a bit of a giggle about. So I can well believe that with some form of digital remastering these early Beatles albums could easily be improved upon.

 

[bencat]

As with all things recordings , albums , digital mastering and who did what all have relevance for any music that is produced . As noted some music was recorded for Vinyl and in the case of the Beatles the early albums were recorded and most time spent on the Mono recordings as Stereo was this new fangled thing that only the real technofreaks had . So mos of the early albums only sound there best as Mono recordings so we all need to convert our systems to Mono and then they will sound at their very best , oh no wait a minute they probably wont .

The Beatles Box set has had money time and the gifted talents of the original producer mastering and mixing from start to finish I am sure that they wanted the whole collection to sound as good as it could on todays systems and in my view it does .

 

[John (big)]

Being a child of the 1940's my first few years were firmly 78's and BBC radio, later to include Radio Luxemburg drifting in and out, pre PCM BBC radio usually valve sets were acknowledged as the cleanest and most accurate medium. Late 1950's LP's were either MONO or STEREO masters the electronically reproduced stereo from mono masters are usually dire, in the 1960's things improved until the 1973 fuel crisis when companies including EMI used cheap fillers in the vinyl, 1980 sees the advent of CD it has been suggested some companies deliberately degraded vinyl as they saw more profit in CD.

The advent of transistors allowed all sorts of adjustment of sounds, some engineers were better than others, American recordings are/were often bassier than UK recordings due I believe to rooms in the USA being larger & of lighter construction than here. Often copies of Master tape's were sent abroad ending up with better pressings whether analogue or digital ie my German pressed White album.

As for digital recordings I have bought analogue classical LP's and later digital recordings by the same violinist & orchestra/conductor the digital sounding harder, the famous digital glare.

I normally express a preference for analogue recordings building work meant my records were 90 miles away. recently I bought the digital re-mix of Wish You Were Here, After comparison the remix is better than my pristine original, I bought the recent digital mono remix of Pet Sounds again superb though I have nothing to compare it with.

In the last few weeks I have played records with my Cartridgeman Musicmaster for the first time only to be surprised how much more than I remember is being found in the grooves. Lots of master tapes indeed with some companies all, have been converted to new digital formats usually to cut storage costs I just hope nothing has been lost in the process since the original can never be regained.

If this ramble indicates anything it is that if great care is used in every step of analogue/digital production by engineers with "feeling" the result is likely to be good.

 

[tuga]

The Beatles were mixed for a different stereo Era. I find that isolating an instrument or vocals on a single speaker to sound very unpleasant.

 

[bigfool1956]

As Universal bought Island records and shipped most of the masters to a facility in the USA, then carelessly allowed it to burn down, digital is all we have going forward. Not just Island masters, but they're the lost ones that most annoy me.