It least someones knows how to do it right

F1nut
F1nut Posts: 50,734
edited May 2009 in Music & Movies
The gold cd's being reissued on the Audio Fidelity label and remastered by Steve Hoffman have the following printed on the slipcase,
The original dynamic range of this recording was not maximized, brickwalled, limited or compressed in any way during remastering.

I got my copy of The Band S/T last week and I have to take my hat off to Steve Hoffman for doing it right. Bravo!
Political Correctness'.........defined

"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

President of Club Polk

Post edited by F1nut on
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited May 2009
    Bravo! maybe more people will take a listen to this and realize how a good recording should be presented and mastered.

    I'm just curious if the time and cost was more than say for other recordings?
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • george daniel
    george daniel Posts: 12,096
    edited May 2009
    Thank you Steve Hoffman,, always setting the bar up a notch.:cool:
    JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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  • rolandocarey968
    rolandocarey968 Posts: 2
    edited May 2009
    I have recently came across this CD I must say Bravo too. I loved that music and clarity of every bit.

    I think bad recoding could be the reason of failure of that album. any way they have done really good job.
    Rolando Carey missing my high school mascots
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited May 2009
    Pretty much anything Steve Hoffman touches turns out to be a masterpiece. I have a lot of his stuff. I'd have to say some of his best stuff is:

    Bonnie Raitt - Luck of the Draw
    Gerry Rafferty - City To City
    Heart - Dreamboat Annie
    Leon Russell - s/t
    The Doors - s/t, LA Woman
    Eagles - Hotel California

    He's done some great work on the Creedence catalog as well. The gold stuff is great, but he also has an SACD boxed set that's supposed to be amazing.
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited May 2009
    Ah, and Tull Aqualung...
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    edited May 2009
    Where can some of these be purchased?
    Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
    Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
    Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
    Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
    Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
    Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited May 2009
    They're all out of print. Best place is ebay. Consider yourself warned on the prices....
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,734
    edited May 2009
    On the other hand, it speaks volumes about the sad state of the record industry today that Audio Fidelity even found it necessary to include that description on the slipcase.




    thsmith, any of the online retailers such as Music Direct, CD Universe, Elusive Disc or Acoustic Sounds will have the current releases.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited May 2009
    F1nut wrote: »
    thsmith, any of the online retailers such as Music Direct, CD Universe, Elusive Disc or Acoustic Sounds will have the current releases.

    Correct, but a huge percentage of his overall work is out of print.
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited May 2009
    He also worked on the Dexter Gordon issues on vinyl 45 rpm two disc. Muy exelante!
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited May 2009
    Yes, his vinyl is supposed to be superb as well, but I've not heard any of it. All I can speak for is his cd work, which is fantastic. Steve Hoffman is practically a cult hero. His full discography is on www.stevehoffman.tv
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • cnh
    cnh Posts: 13,284
    edited May 2009
    It's nice to see someone is not trying to blast our sound into the next solar system. I'm getting tired of new redbook CDs that are compressed and enhanced to play at TV commercial sound levels....sheeeeshhhh! What's the point of producing MP3 sound on a Redbook?

    cnh
    Currently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!

    Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
    [sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash]
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited May 2009
    I'm also a big fan of Mobile Fidelity. However, there are a select few titles that MFSL and DCC (Steve Hoffman's main body of work) both put out, and I always like the Hoffman version better. The 10cc soundtrack, Queen Night at the Opera, and The All-Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbisson are the three that come to mind. Also, if you compare the tracks from Hoffman's Tull Aqualung to the same tracks on MFSL's Living in the Past (e.g. Locomotive Breath), the Hoffman versions win. I don't know if he's just a genius, or has the most amazing set of ears ever created, or both, but his work is superb, just no getting around it.
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited May 2009
    Hoffman's dream, as per interviews with him that I've read, is to take a stab at the Beatles catalog. Doesn't appear that he was included in the remasters that are due out in September, though. Strange that they wouldn't have him participate, since he's done wonders for the McCartney/Wings stuff, and he did "Ringo" as well.
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,734
    edited May 2009
    I don't know if he's just a genius, or has the most amazing set of ears ever created, or both, but his work is superb, just no getting around it.

    One word, tubes.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • lightman1
    lightman1 Posts: 10,794
    edited May 2009
    Thanks, J. You've jogged my memory and am now searching for some long gone recordings.
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited May 2009
    F1nut wrote: »
    One word, tubes.

    Well, yes and no. The DCC golds, the GZS series, are all done with tubes in the mix. The aluminums, the DZS series, are all solid state. There are a few titles that he released in both series. Blues Hoot for example. It's an interesting analytical listen to compare the two. Of course, I'm listening with a tube preamp :p But his solid state stuff is nothing to sneeze at, so it's not like Hoffman just runs the master through tubes and voila. The man knows his ****....
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • majomor
    majomor Posts: 1
    edited May 2009
    F1nut wrote: »
    The gold cd's being reissued on the Audio Fidelity label and remastered by Steve Hoffman have the following printed on the slipcase,



    I got my copy of The Band S/T last week and I have to take my hat off to Steve Hoffman for doing it right. Bravo!

    i read quite a few reviews on amazon talking about steve's remastering of "school's out" by alice cooper and the vast majority were negative-has anyone out there
    heard it?
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited May 2009
    I haven't heard it.
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • George Grand
    George Grand Posts: 12,258
    edited May 2009
    When you start out with a masterpiece like The Band's self-titled second album, it's difficult to go wrong. For over 30 years that recording has been a landmark for both performance, and recording quality in my opinion.
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