Today's Recording's suck.....

heiney9
heiney9 Posts: 25,199
edited August 2005 in Music & Movies
Geez, I am so disgusted with the way today's pop music is recorded and mixed. I have the day off so I'm enjoying some listening time with my system and I'm just so frustrated at most of the music. It's great music but the producer/engineer has managed to ruin it. Eveything is to "hot" in the mix I'm tired of producers compressing the hell (life) out of the music. Sometimes I wanna chuck my whole system in the river and just get boom-box! :mad:

I could (and have) changed the type of music I listen to. More and more I look for discs with excellent production values, but I enjoy such a wide variety of music I can't just listen to well recorded stuff and forget about the rest.

Of course there are some discs I just won't listen to even though I like the artist. Do any producers remember how to do it right; not just for radio play and MP3 sales. :confused::confused:

I've been listening to Van Halen, Black Crowes, Rush today and it just sounds so flat and......well just crappy. Now I enjoy Diana Krall, Jewel, Hendrix, LZ, Blues, Jazz and some of this sounds good, really good. And a variety of other artists. I have over 600 cd's to choose from

Ah, the frustrations of today's music choices. I'm not nec. looking for any answers to my problem, I'm just venting a bit. :o

Thanks for listening

H9
"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
Post edited by heiney9 on
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited August 2005
    I don't know man, I just listened to a DCC LP of Van Halen last night. Ice cream man, Jamies Cryin etc. They were quite dynamic and alive. Maybe you need a turntable...

    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,199
    edited August 2005
    madmax wrote:
    I don't know man, I just listened to a DCC LP of Van Halen last night. Ice cream man, Jamies Cryin etc. They were quite dynamic and alive. Maybe you need a turntable...

    madmax

    Possibly......Does anyone know if the "remastered" Van Halen cd's sound any better? I doubt it....usually the remastering process uses more compression techniques so these older cd's fit the mould of today's cd's. I notice on older cd's the vol position on my pre is quite a bit higher.

    I just can't go through all the set-up trouble with adding a TT again. I guess I'll have to suffer....although this is the first time in about 2 years I put in a Van Halen cd. The thought of having to buy all my music on vinyl again....gives me chills :eek:
    Maybe it's time to get that old Yamaha TT w/ the Shure V15 up and running again for old time sake... :p Now where did I put all that Vinyl (what I have left anyways)

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited August 2005
    heiney9 wrote:
    Does anyone know if the "remastered" Van Halen cd's sound any better? I doubt it....usually the remastering process uses more compression techniques so these older cd's fit the mould of today's cd's. I notice on older cd's the vol position on my pre is quite a bit higher.
    H9

    I don't know about that particular one, or if it is even available but most remastered stuff is done quite well. They are normally done by someone who really cares about audiophile quality. Check out this site. www.acousticsounds.com

    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,199
    edited August 2005
    madmax wrote:
    I don't know about that particular one, or if it is even available but most remastered stuff is done quite well. They are normally done by someone who really cares about audiophile quality. Check out this site. www.acousticsounds.com

    madmax

    Thanks madmax....I'll be looking at this site for awhile this afternoon. I have a list of "demo" cd's I've been accumulating as I read different articles on audio. I shall get that out and start looking.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • Micah Cohen
    Micah Cohen Posts: 2,022
    edited August 2005
    Does anyone know if the "remastered" Van Halen cd's sound any better? I doubt it....

    Don't doubt it. I have the Warner Bros Remasters of the early VH stuff. The original CDs sound like mud. The remastered CDs sound like VAN HALEN, man. Bright, shiny and new. I'm hearing things I have never heard before.

    And here's more good news: This summer I'm listening to a slew of remastered issues of stuff I was listening to on the original CD releases... Bon Scott's AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Creedence Clearwater and even ZZ Top. All this stuff has recently been remastered and re-released on CD (just normal CD) by various companies, and they all sound astonishing. I have sold back all my original, "muddy" CD releases.

    The difference between the original muddy CD releases and these new remasters is like the difference between cassettes and CDs!

    MC
    ultramicah@yahoo.com

    "There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight." - Lon Chaney
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited August 2005
    heiney9 wrote:
    Geez, I am so disgusted with the way today's pop music is recorded and mixed. I have the day off so I'm enjoying some listening time with my system and I'm just so frustrated at most of the music. It's great music but the producer/engineer has managed to ruin it. Eveything is to "hot" in the mix I'm tired of producers compressing the hell (life) out of the music. Sometimes I wanna chuck my whole system in the river and just get boom-box!

    Yeah, it's horrible. The last two CDs I bought were almost unlistenable. One of them was cool, but it had drum programming and other junk on it. I wanna hear real instruments, dammit!

    Typically, most of the jazz CDs I buy are OK, but a lot of the stuff from commercial artists sounds horrible. Even some of the remastered stuff is garbage. Now I look for particular labels like Chesky or Mapleshade.
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,199
    edited August 2005
    Micah Cohen wrote:
    Don't doubt it. I have the Warner Bros Remasters of the early VH stuff. The original CDs sound like mud. The remastered CDs sound like VAN HALEN, man. Bright, shiny and new. I'm hearing things I have never heard before.

    And here's more good news: This summer I'm listening to a slew of remastered issues of stuff I was listening to on the original CD releases... Bon Scott's AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Creedence Clearwater and even ZZ Top. All this stuff has recently been remastered and re-released on CD (just normal CD) by various companies, and they all sound astonishing. I have sold back all my original, "muddy" CD releases.

    The difference between the original muddy CD releases and these new remasters is like the difference between cassettes and CDs!

    MC

    Good to know from a first hand source....thanks Micah, I'll have to start purchasing some new "remasters". At this rate the music industry needs to stop complaining about revenues :D

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited August 2005
    I think Yes' 90125 has an excellent production. As does pretty much anything by Pink Floyd and especially Rush.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
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  • nellis8166
    nellis8166 Posts: 292
    edited August 2005
    It's amazing what you hear when you have a decent system. After I upgraded to LSi9's it was like listening to cd's for the first time again and some of it no so good.
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  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,080
    edited August 2005
    Agreed, the AC/DC CD remasters are MUCHO better than the originals.

    The 180gm vinyl pressings are even better.

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,535
    edited August 2005
    Micah Cohen wrote:
    The difference between the original muddy CD releases and these new remasters is like the difference between cassettes and CDs!

    MC

    I agree. The sound quality of the first Van Halen album was just about the worst I've ever heard, except maybe for U2's "The Unforgettable Fire". The remastered Van Halen CD's in the HDCD format are a revelation. The last few years have been fantastic for remasters on CD. I've been particularly impressed by King Crimson reissues (also HDCD), Rolling Stones (even just the Redbook versions), CCR, and a bunch of others. Can't say I listen to much new pop music though.
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  • simm
    simm Posts: 570
    edited August 2005
    I bought remasters of early VH, Rush, AC/DC, and Dire Straits and think they do sound better than the original releases. I was initially unsure if they would be worth the money so I did it on the cheap. If you are a member of Columbia House use their buy 1 and get 3 or 4 free sales to get a few for the cost of shipping. If you can tell a difference in sound quality then buy more the next sale. I was able to replace the ones I wanted very inexpensively this way. Another plus to this is that I gave my original CD's to my 17 year old son and he is now becoming a fan of the "classics". :cool:
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited August 2005
    TroyD wrote:
    Agreed, the AC/DC CD remasters are MUCHO better than the originals.

    The 180gm vinyl pressings are even better.

    BDT


    Oh yea! Black in Black lp remaster is awesome. Have you heard any of the Credence Clearwater Revival remasters? Totally awesome. Some of them are now available on 12" 45 RPM. That has got to be something to hear!

    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited August 2005
    I like to follow the work of the producer and/or engineer on something I've really enjoyed. Most recently, I've been following David Z's work with Johnny Lang, Buddy Guy and John Mayall (to name a few). IMO there will never be a need to remaster these works. They're absolutley masterful the first go round.
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  • Demiurge
    Demiurge Posts: 10,874
    edited August 2005
    There is a TON of FANTASTIC music out there, but people are too goddamn lazy to search for it on their own.

    If you're listening to the radio you're looking in the wrong place.
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  • Toxis
    Toxis Posts: 5,116
    edited August 2005
    today's recordings typically do suck. But then again, we are in the age of the MP3. I'll stick to buying my asian Gold HDCD's. mmmmmmm
    Never kick a fresh **** on a hot day.

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  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,080
    edited August 2005
    madmax wrote:
    Oh yea! Black in Black lp remaster is awesome. Have you heard any of the Credence Clearwater Revival remasters? Totally awesome. Some of them are now available on 12" 45 RPM. That has got to be something to hear!

    madmax

    No, I haven't heard any of the CCR remasters, I hear that they are COOL though.

    I want all of ACDC remasters, however, that will take some time.....

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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  • Micah Cohen
    Micah Cohen Posts: 2,022
    edited August 2005
    Troy, I'll burn you my 2-disc remastered Bon Scott compilation and bring it to SC in Sept.

    MC
    ultramicah@yahoo.com

    "There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight." - Lon Chaney
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  • ninerbj
    ninerbj Posts: 870
    edited August 2005
    I agree the "hot" "compressed" releases now days suck big hairy moose c@#'s!!
    Any Rush fans hear when the Vapor Trails remaster is to hit the stores??

    Oh...and like MacLeod said, YES' 90125 remaster is wonderful! A must have!!
    "she had the body of Venus, with arms."
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  • ward91
    ward91 Posts: 338
    edited August 2005
    maddona has good recordings new ones and old ones.
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  • George Grand
    George Grand Posts: 12,258
    edited August 2005
    You guys get a little older and you'll realize that just about everything sucks. Then the fact that new music and the way it's recorded won't bother you so bad cause it'll blend in with all the other suckousity enveloping you. Trust me.

    George Grand (of the Jersey Grands)
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,199
    edited August 2005
    George Grand wrote:
    You guys get a little older and you'll realize that just about everything sucks. Then the fact that new music and the way it's recorded won't bother you so bad cause it'll blend in with all the other suckousity enveloping you. Trust me.

    George Grand (of the Jersey Grands)


    Suckosity is the new buzz word for today's recordings....I'm seriously thinking of going back to my Sony boombox. That thing sounded great. This whole audio thing is too time consuming and it's driving me crazy. Can't all the recordings be done properly so it don't have to get so pissed all the time....I'm sure it's shortening my life expectancy!!! Hell I really don't expect to live that long ;)

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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