Have anyone bought the remastered vinyls? I'm just wondering if they are digitally remastered, and if that would make them sound more like the cds? Would that ruin the warm vinyl sound? Do they sound in any way better than the original vinyls?
The original vinyls still sound best.
Also the covers of the recent EMI versions look very dubious, very grainy with less detail and contrast.
They look as if the sources were just scans of the original album covers.
Jjeroen wrote:
Unfortunately they are obviously audible digital transfers...
So YES they sound like cd's and are therefore totally useless.
Just think for a moment before you write. The reputed "harshness" of cd sound is caused by the fact that music played from cd retains all the high overtones present up to 22050 Hz. Vinyl's more "mellow" sound is caused by the fact that very high pitches cannot be reproduced from the analogue grooves, causing a rapid degrading of pitches over 15000 Hz (and even below occasionally). So even if the remastered vinyls are sourced from digital recordings, the result still sounds significantly different.
So for someone who hasn't collected all of the original vinyls and was wanting some shiny new records these should be avoided? Do they sound a little better that cds?
I have a high end turntable and digital system, and I have bought various remasters on cd's and have some original vinyls over 2 decades. The basic rule is that the newer the remaster, the "louder" it is remastered (search "loudness war" for a very good explanation!!!). And that's not good. This has crept into vinyl too.
Although people have heard various versions, here's my opinions based on what I've heard and learned. If anyone knows better, please add. I'm not pretending to know more than anyone. I just don't want others to make the mistake of giving away good older cd's or vinyl and spending money on something actually inferior. I'm glad I didn't throw out my old vinyls and cd's when the new ones came out. I learned the hard way.
1. First of all, I'm not a fan of the Japanese remaster in the 2000's. They are louder than previous remasters. They're impressive at first, but fatiguing after a while.
2. On CD, the best remasters are the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab remasters of ANATO, ADATR, NOTW and The Game. From there, the Japanese NON-remasters 2nd pressings. An example is Jazz. There is bass on that cd that is not present in any other "remaster". The original pressings of Miracle, Magic are still better. The 1994 British remasters are next in line.
They appear quieter at first, but that's because they don't limit the bandwidth.. This may seem contrary to what were all told and I fell for the remaster farce for almost 2 decades, buying the same albums over and over.
3. On vinyl, the original is always best. Don't bother with Innuendo as they have edited down songs. Mobile Fidelity vinyl is something special. The new vinyls you talk of sound pretty good, whether from digital sources or not. If it's digital, you will still hear those extra bits and resolution not possible on the cd.
4. Vinyl is not always better with Queen. The Mobile Fidelity CD of ADATR is much better on cd than the new vinyl. So it all depends on how it was mastered etc.
5. We need to move on to properly remastered high resolution files at 24 bit/96 khz. They exist, but not with Queen (that I am aware of)
Do not get fooled by remasters on vinyl or cd. Remastered does not necessarily mean better. People are now searching for old cd's that warn that they were taken from analog and not remastered, because they were not mastered loud.
Someone wrote that even from digital masters, vinyl will beat the cd's. This is very true in most cases. An exception is the QPR album as the loudness just led to distortion on the vinyl. in that case, I find the cd to be better. So buy one vinyl and see for yourself. Don't break the bank.
Steer well clear of the remastered vinyls, brittle, distorted, harsh. All the things vinyl shouldn't be.Apparently QP knew very little of these remastered vinyls Justin didn't even know they had been taken from digital, which is disturbing in many ways. A disaster of the highest order, really, really disappointing.
Complete waste of money, don't give EMI and QP your hard earned cash.Search for good quality originals from EMI or Elektra, give them a good clean and look after them.
Of the remasters, I really like the ADATR Millennium Edition, I think that is a superb release.The ANATO Centenary Edition sounds good to me, along with the 30th anniversary release (although these were all warped from the factory) unfortunately I haven't heard any MFSL releases or the DCC ANATO.
I agree on the Japanese CD re-issues, they use heavy noise reduction and at first sound great, but give them time and you realise they have had too much work done.
I'm currently in the process of finding near mint first pressings of all the vinyl. It sounds superb and is good fun. I've lost complete faith in any vinyl releases getting the treatment they deserve, so will content myself in finding really good original pressings.