Worst sounding tracks you love!

amirm

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OK, let's have a list/videos of music that brings tears to your eyes because it is so good, yet so poorly recorded.

A few weeks ago I ran into this live presentation of The Civil Wars Billie Jeanne cover of Michael Jackson. I want looking for it and eventually found it on Amazon and bought it:


I preview tracks using my laptop computer and this sounded fine for a Youtube video played that way. Imagine my disappointment when I received the CD. The vocals sound like they are recorded with a smartphone in someone's pocket! So muffled and depressed in levels/dynamics. I don't think I have ever heard vocals recorded so poorly.

Yes it is an impromptu session in a record store. But they seem to have decent microphone and prep so there is no excuse for such lousy recording. Love the music so played the CD a few times but then couldn't listen to it anymore. It is so bad that if I turn up the volume in my car, the door panels resonate and buzz in unison with the music :(.
 

garylkoh

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This is mine. When I heard it on Youtube from a Facebook friend, I loved it. Unfortunately, the album isn't even available on CD. It was a waste of $10 to buy the mp3 of the album from iTunes.


Amir, for music from The Civil Wars, the Record Store Day vinyl is the best sounding album I have. The CDs are forgettable - even though I do like the music.
 

jazdoc

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This thread has the potential to break the internet....:D

A couple of recent releases with killer music where recording in a phone booth would have been a significant sonic improvement:

Raphael Saddiq "Stone Rollin' "


Caitlin Rose "The Stand In"

 

amirm

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Gary, we should stop up a store and sell digital versions of LPs! We get the rights of course but I am more and more running into situations where the Vinyl is there but the CD is not! And of course per your post the Vinyl sounding better.
 

garylkoh

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Amir, the digital measurement crowd might visit the store with flame-throwers......

One of my "super secret" demo tricks is that I often demo digital with my own vinyl rips. Beck proved with Morning Phase that even the mp3 of the vinyl sounds far better than the high-rez digital download.
 

Mosin

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Amir, for music from The Civil Wars, the Record Store Day vinyl is the best sounding album I have. The CDs are forgettable - even though I do like the music.

Gary, is it one of the 10" ones?
 

garylkoh

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jazdoc,

Are there any good sounding albums from them? Love the music.

This thread has the potential to break the internet....:D

A couple of recent releases with killer music where recording in a phone booth would have been a significant sonic improvement:

Raphael Saddiq "Stone Rollin' "


Caitlin Rose "The Stand In"
 

jazdoc

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jazdoc,

Are there any good sounding albums from them? Love the music.

None that I know of...but let me know if you find them. You are a vinyl bloodhound ;)
 

amirm

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Amir, the digital measurement crowd might visit the store with flame-throwers......
They can measure all the want :D. I can't take an LP in my car, not can I tolerate such lousy productions.

One of my "super secret" demo tricks is that I often demo digital with my own vinyl rips. Beck proved with Morning Phase that even the mp3 of the vinyl sounds far better than the high-rez digital download.
Let's create a little blind preference to demonstrate this and we are golden. Maybe a project for the next PNW Audiophile group?
 

garylkoh

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They can measure all the want :D. I can't take an LP in my car, not can I tolerate such lousy productions.

That's why I rip my LPs too. I create mp3's that I can play in my car.

Let's create a little blind preference to demonstrate this and we are golden. Maybe a project for the next PNW Audiophile group?

The Beck album has been discussed ad nauseum already. May be a project for the PNWAS might be a mp3 vs high-rez needle-drop . However, unfortunately our current meeting room has acoustics that truely suck. I don't think that we'd be able to hear a difference.
 

amirm

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Gary, what is your estimate of the number of tracks where the digital RIP (assume lossless for now) would sound better than the high-resolution digital release or CD? Hundreds? Thousands? A handful?
 

garylkoh

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I have absolutely no idea. I'll only talk about experiences that I have had.

The Beck album has been the only one I've found where the free included mp3 download was actually the "vinyl experience" - the test pressing was ripped in the studio and provided by the artist for download. I had another album - Ensemble HD - where the free download was a high-rez copy of the file that was used to make the lacquer. In that case, the digital sounded to me better than the vinyl.
 

amirm

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I must not be asking it right. I assume every LP master is different than original digital recording. What I am asking is what percentage of time people perceive it to sound better than the digital counterpart. Surely that is more than an LP or two or else, I don't get the fascination with Vinyl at all. It must sound different and that difference be able to be captured to sound meaningfully different than a digital that has not gone through that analog trip. No?
 

jazdoc

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The Kills "Live At Third Man Records"



Should have known better than purchasing a live TMR production, but I have this thing for Alison Mosshart. Absolutely killer (pun intended) performances by a great live band but one of the worst sounding recordings I've ever purchased.

Here's footage from last year's show at the Neptune that we were fortunate to attend

 

garylkoh

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I must not be asking it right. I assume every LP master is different than original digital recording.

There is no way to tell for sure. Most of the time, the LP sounds different from the CD, and even when I make a digital copy, the digital copy sounds closer to the LP than the CD does.

What I am asking is what percentage of time people perceive it to sound better than the digital counterpart. Surely that is more than an LP or two or else, I don't get the fascination with Vinyl at all. It must sound different and that difference be able to be captured to sound meaningfully different than a digital that has not gone through that analog trip. No?

In my own experience, except for very rare instances, I much prefer the LP. In some cases, I had acquired the CD first, and then when I get the LP, I much prefer the LP. I then end up doing a rip of the LP for demo's even though I already have the CD or even the hirez download. I must prefer the distortions that LPs bring to the table ;)
 

amirm

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Thanks Gary. That is what I was seeking to learn. Are you game offering some of your rips for comparison to digital? We could get a subset of the PNW audiophile group to opine and vote on whether they prefer them to the CD.
 

garylkoh

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Sep 6, 2010
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Thanks Gary. That is what I was seeking to learn. Are you game offering some of your rips for comparison to digital? We could get a subset of the PNW audiophile group to opine and vote on whether they prefer them to the CD.

That might be an interesting exercise..... if we can work out a rigorous protocol - I'm sure that's what you're best at. I'm extremely busy these next 3 months, but I'm game to do what I can with time I can spare.
 

Mosin

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... I must prefer the distortions that LPs bring to the table ;)
Maybe it's that the CDs are getting extra compression, so they sound better on lower quality equipment?
 

treitz3

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The very first song that came to *my* mind out of all of the plethora of songs out there I have heard is Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk". This is one of those songs that I truly wish were recorded so much better than it was. It still doesn't stop me from getting excited, tapping my toes or even get up and dance when I hear it though. One of my all time favorites.

Tom
 

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