Haim album 'Days Are Gone' CD vs Vinyl....

[garysan]

Has anyone got a vinyl of the above album? My CD is awfully mastered and I wondered if the vinyl was same or better?

I'm not alone in the negative camp for the mastering of this CD... Quite a few bad/neg comments on Amazon and discogs about it.

 

[vacdac]

Has anyone got a vinyl of the above album? My CD is awfully mastered and I wondered if the vinyl was same or better?I'm not alone in the negative camp for the mastering of this CD... Quite a few bad/neg comments on Amazon and discogs about it.

Hi Garysan,

Don't have this as yet but I really like Haim.......This thread belongs here really. Rather than the 2ch forum, which is for discussion of 2ch audio kit. Mebbe a mod can move it here instead Bud. >>> .http://www.hifiwigwam.com/forumdisplay.php?24-What-s-happening.

 

[browellm]

I'll let you draw your own conclusions: http://www.dr.loudness-war.info/index.php?search_artist=haim&search_album=days+are+gone

 

[MissionBob]

I'll let you draw your own conclusions: http://www.dr.loudness-war.info/index.php?search_artist=haim&search_album=days+are+gone

That really is crazy. I prefer vinyl but to abuse the CD format like this is frustrating.

 

[browellm]

That really is crazy. I prefer vinyl but to abuse the CD format like this is frustrating.

It's every single release to a greater or lesser degree. It's why I bought a record player 18 months ago despite not having a single piece of vinyl to my name.

 

[peterbj]

Also have the cd and really disappointed with the sound quality however it sounds better on the crappy stereo I have in the car so shows where they were going with the mastering

 

[garysan]

Also have the cd and really disappointed with the sound quality however it sounds better on the crappy stereo I have in the car so shows where they were going with the mastering

That's where mine has ended up. I am hoping that the vinyl is better and someone can provide me (us) with a high res or at least 44.1 rip of it for tolerable use in the listening room. I've bought the damn CD, I just want to be able to enjoy it :-/

 

[crimsondonkey]

That explains it. I bought all their singles/ EPs on vinyl and waited for the album to be released and bought that on CD like a silly rabbit. I sat there scratching my head wondering why it sounded so flat - case closed.

 

[parcelmonkey]

Also have the cd and really disappointed with the sound quality however it sounds better on the crappy stereo I have in the car so shows where they were going with the mastering

+1

I was going to ask the same question about Haim's album as well. I couldn't wait for this to be released, really looking forward to it. Got it home, placed in to the computer drive and ripped @ 100% on majority of tracks, 99.9% on others through EAC. Tagged and moved to NAS.

Fire up Kinsky app and played it through my Linn DS. WTF this sounds shite, really overblown and horrible. Not what I was expecting at all. If I was Haim I'd be disappointed, not in their album sales but in their lack of control over their own music, letting idiots in the music business do what they want with an artists talents. At least put out a deluxe version at the same time charge more I don't care; but include the more stripped back acoustic versions of the songs I like them for. Offer a hi-rez 24/96kHz download for purchasers. Anything, but not this crap they put out.

Recently they had a news item about FACT and music piracy. How artists can't make stuff for free, then I think it was Naughty Boy who said, 'people will still keep buying music, we as artists have just got to give them something good that they want to buy' or something like that.

Well, so far both 13 - Black Sabbath & Days are Gone - Haim have seriously disappointed me, not in the artists musicianship or talent but in the mastering and production.

Is it just me? Rant over and breathing steady again... :zip:

Ade/Parcelmonkey

 

[browellm]

Haim themselves probably had about this much --->.<--- say in it.

 

[smu]

My CD copy is really overbearing in the bass, I got it last week and it's only been on the once!

 

[garysan]

Thank God we have London Grammar

 

[crimsondonkey]

Thank God we have London Grammar

I have assumed this was sarcastic, as their DR is 8 as an average?

(Also, sorry, but the delivery and lyrics on 'metal and dust' make me cringe in a way that I haven't since Placebo! Must be just me).

 

[garysan]

I have assumed this was sarcastic, as their DR is 8 as an average? (Also, sorry, but the delivery and lyrics on 'metal and dust' make me cringe in a way that I haven't since Placebo! Must be just me).

Not sarcastic at all, I think it's a very well mastered CD compared to a lot out there. You can tell that a lot of time and effort went in to making 'If You Wait' whereas 'Days Are Gone' felt very rushed (both in mastering and dare I say, filler songs).

I'm not too fussed about the DR rating on that website and prefer to gauge with my ears rather than a set of numbers in all honesty.

I agree that Metal & Dust is the weak track on the album though.

 

[crimsondonkey]

Which is odd and very disappointing given the delays to the albums release. There were stories of production difficulties, but to release 'Days are gone' as it is represents poor judgement. If they didn't care how it sounded they should have rushed it out during festival season where they were clearly gaining popularity.

 

[garysan]

I'll let you draw your own conclusions: http://www.dr.loudness-war.info/index.php?search_artist=haim&search_album=days+are+gone

I've just been going through this website, comparing many of my favourite, most listened to albums and frankly, a lot of them are either borderline bad or in the bad sector. I've always thought they sounded great/mastered well and as I've improved my set-up over the years they've sounded even better. In comparison, U2 albums which I've always felt sounded a bit thin/flat through a good quality rig score quite highly.

One or two of my favourites actually score about as badly as Haim's effort which goes to show that DR certainly doesn't tell the whole story. We shouldn't rely on numbers and parameters and should instead decide with our ears.

I'll get my coat...

 

[browellm]

I've just been going through this website, comparing many of my favourite, most listened to albums and frankly, a lot of them are either borderline bad or in the bad sector. I've always thought they sounded great/mastered well and as I've improved my set-up over the years they've sounded even better. In comparison, U2 albums which I've always felt sounded a bit thin/flat through a good quality rig score quite highly.One or two of my favourites actually score about as badly as Haim's effort which goes to show that DR certainly doesn't tell the whole story. We shouldn't rely on numbers and parameters and should instead decide with our ears.

I'll get my coat...

No it doesn't but if you look at a band like London Grammar (seeing as they have already been mentioned) then if your music is sparsely recorded dubstep or similar acoustic material, your ears will tell you it doesn't matter so much.

This doesn't mean it's right, it's just that your ears aren't assaulted in the same way they would be with a densely recorded rock or electronica album.

The dr info site isn't making any sound quality judgements, merely showing what DR the album has. I wouldn't treat the Green/Amber/Red as some arbiter of quality, it's just an instant representation of a numerical value.

It has more use to me as a comparitive tool. I can confidently tell you that the vinyl records with higher DR sound better than their CD counterpart, just as many people can tell you that a "remastered" CD often sounds worse than the original CD, because all too often "remaster" means push up all the levels to make it sound louder.

 

[diplomat2.6]

I've got the 2x45rpm vinyl. It doesn't sound too bad, but I could imagine that it would sound a bit mushy and dull very easily. The vocals are distorted and it is very hard to tell what is making the bass notes. I would say that they haven't got the strongest voices, perhaps not requiring a pianist to move their hand if they were playing the vocal. Not especially powerful either. What proportion of the DR comes from a powerful voice do you suppose.? On holiday I witnessed a karaoke singing an Adele cover that was so powerful it made my ears hurt when at full belt, unlike the CD.

 

[garysan]

I've got the 2x45rpm vinyl.

Hi Peter, are you able to rip this to a digital file(s) (either 16bit/44.1khz or better)?