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Topic: Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ? (Read 449138 times) previous topic - next topic
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Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #125 –
Perhaps the worst mastered CD's are Sony/BMG with their hidieous DRM. just a thought 
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace. (Oscar Wilde)

Doktor Lorenz

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #126 –
For crushed dynamics
Banco da Gaia: You Are Here (2004)
Porcupine Tree: Deadwing (2005)
Röyksopp: The Understanding (2005)

For bad sound:
Brian Eno: Taking Tiger Mountain by strategy (1974) [even the 2004 remaster is brittle and nasty]
801: Live (1976) [the 1999 remaster was done poorly with uneven track volume and EQ, and an inexcusable master fade chopping off the last climactic seconds of the final song]

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #127 –
new album of korn has a lot of clippings, but dynamics aren't totally squashed.

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #128 –
Quote
For crushed dynamics
Porcupine Tree: Deadwing (2005)
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=345725"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Buy the DVD-A and rip the 5.1 mix!  +1.08 albumgain 

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #129 –
Quote
new album of korn has a lot of clippings, but dynamics aren't totally squashed.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=345733"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


It hasn't been even released yet... 

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #130 –
Quote
Quote
new album of korn has a lot of clippings, but dynamics aren't totally squashed.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=345733"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


It hasn't been even released yet... 
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=345825"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

but you can download it

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #131 –
Some of the worst mastering i ever heard was done to the song "Wyclef Jean - Industry" from the album "The Preacher's Son". Whenever the bass line comes in, the overall volume decreases for a short moment, like with the peak limiters they use on radio stations. Very unpleasant to listen to, mastering-wise (i like the song!).

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #132 –
One I haven't seen mentioned is Van Halen III.  Yeah, the songwriting's not up to par and most people don't care for Gary Cherone, but the production and mastering is just crap.  It would be much more listenable if they hadn't killed it in post.

As far as Oasis, I haven't listened to them in years, but I know exactly what people are referring to - and I definitely believe it was intentional, and is part of the appeal... the first track of What's The Story just blows your head back with the aforementioned "wall of sound".

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #133 –
Yeah, Porcupine Tree has some loud albums.  I'm going to get both In Absentia and Deadwing on DVD-A to compensate, as they are both award winning masters.

I don't know how many people listen to fantasy/power metal here, but man, those are some compressed CDs.  Rhapsody comes to mind.  Their CDs have no dynamics whatsoever.  Demons & Wizards is bad too with a -10 dB on "Chrimson King."  It is such a shame since many of these bands have incredible musicians that would benefit from good recordings.

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #134 –
Quote
Yeah, Porcupine Tree has some loud albums.  I'm going to get both In Absentia and Deadwing on DVD-A to compensate, as they are both award winning masters.

I don't know how many people listen to fantasy/power metal here, but man, those are some compressed CDs.  Rhapsody comes to mind.  Their CDs have no dynamics whatsoever.  Demons & Wizards is bad too with a -10 dB on "Chrimson King."  It is such a shame since many of these bands have incredible musicians that would benefit from good recordings.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=346061"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


As I just posted over in the metal topic I think Kamelot's The Black Halo sounds pretty good... but I've never been a big Rhapsody/Dragonforce/Sonata Arctica/anything that's not Kamelot guy.

Edit: On-topic, Cold's 13 Ways to Bleed On Stage is probably the most well-composed nu metal album I've heard (not that that's saying a lot) but its dynamics are home to more squash than my lunch last Thursday and it features the world's first clip-solo.

Edit: I apologize for the squash joke.

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #135 –
Soad's Hypnotize.

AG -11.91db

Totally wasted record. Shame for such a great band.


/edit: Added a screen of Kill Rock'n'Roll

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #136 –
Kyuss - And the Circus Leaves Town

Terrible
EAC>1)fb2k>LAME3.99 -V 0 --vbr-new>WMP12 2)MAC-Extra High

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #137 –
God, Hypnotize by a long shot. Great songs but I can't listen to them, all the clipping is driving me crazy.

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #138 –
Quote
Soad's Hypnotize.

AG -11.91db

Totally wasted record. Shame for such a great band.


/edit: Added a screen of Kill Rock'n'Roll


[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=349220"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


that's strange....my copy of Hypnotize RG's at -11.47dB and peaks at 0.999969

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #139 –
Quote
Soad's Hypnotize.

AG -11.91db

Totally wasted record. Shame for such a great band.


/edit: Added a screen of Kill Rock'n'Roll


[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=349220"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Honestly, I'd consider SOAD to be one of the few bands where loud, distortion-filled sound actually fits the music.  It's kind of hard to explain, really; you just kind of have to "get" what the band is about to understand.

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #140 –
Maybe so, but clipping is NEVER good.

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #141 –
What about U2's Beatiful Day? It's totally awful!

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #142 –
I really liked Daft Punk in the past, especially the stuff on the Homework album and what they did in and around that time (great singles & remixes). Discovery was ok, but nothing special and then not that long ago came the huge dissapointment that was Human After All. Since this is a mastering thread let me just say that whatever good musically was on it (not much really) got destroyed by the awful mastering. In my book too loud is always too loud and with that necessarily a bad thing, but coupled with DP's heavily (re)sampled, filtered and processed sound it's even worse, as all the otherwise barely if at all audible processing artifacts become very loud and you find yourself swimming in an ocean of distorted noise - yuck. Definitely a tiresome listen if there ever was one.

I'm guessing this last album didn't sell all that well (not surprised at all if that's in fact the case), since they're already coming out with a collection titled "Musique Vol.1 1993-2005" to be officially released in april (if nothing else this collection is a nice showcase of how they've gotten progressively & considerably worse with each album). Fortunate enough to have a copy already, I compared the first track on it also titled Musique, with a copy of it from a single released in 1996. I decided to do this because the trax on this collection lifted from their early releases which I like and own all on cds and/or vinyls sounded considerably worse than I remembered. As you're able to see from the screenshots, my ears and "audio memory" didn't play any tricks on me...

Musique in 1996
[a href="http://img299.imageshack.us/my.php?image=musiqueoriginal3ca.png" target="_blank"]

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #143 –
Quote
Fortunate enough to have a copy already,...[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=375127"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

 
 

The mastering on their Human After All remixes disc is very awful, too. Track 1 has a RG value of about -3, the next track -10. I almost destroyed my speakers

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #144 –
hmm, I think the vast majority of albums mentioned here are absolutely *meant* to sound the way they do. An obvious exception is Californication - surely the band didn't want the kind of clipping we end up with?

Audioslave? yeah meant to be overloud. sad? perhaps.

Oasis - we can blame this all on Oasis, I do remember from back in the day being shocked by how much louder their CDs were than everyone else. I think they sound fine for what they are.

Lenny Kravitz. hmm i only have his greatest hits and i can't say i was ever bothered by the sound, but if people tell me the distortion wasn't their on the orignal albums, then that sucks i guess, but hey at least the fans are getting something *new* for their money

Metallica ...And Justice For All - this is just poor production, not bad mastering. The album has always been noted for having no bass guitar etc.. I can't comment on St. Anger as i don't do new metallica.

Sleater-Kinney, the Woods - I love this album and all its distortion.

The Strokes? surely that distortion is part of their signature sound? people would probably whinge if they released a clean sounding record.

Someone mentioned Pearl Jam Binaural - are you seriously whinging that they decided to record some binaural songs rather than normal stereo?! My ears tell me it's nicely mastered.

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #145 –
Whatever...

Look their best customers are the ones who shun P2P to ensure that they get the best quality. I am one of those. Probably I am mad spending money, but I do not care. However I take no shit. I bought one Audioslave CD. The self-titled one, and I can tell you that that was the last one. The same goes for the Strokes. In fact to save myself disappointment I avoid hearing anything they put out. Not that difficult since I shun the radiostations, whose demise will be my best day of my life. I hate their 10 song long playlist.

Triza

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #147 –
All Black Metal albums
-foobar2000 + Burrrn + EAC
-HD 80Gb using High QualityVBR MP3s

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #148 –
Quote from: Sphix on
All Black Metal albums


Yes, i was wondering why did't anyone mention it. Especially early BM like Bathory, Mayhem. Yesterday i was listening to Zyklon B - Blood must be shed. Man, awful band, awful music, awul mastering, just a waste of time and material used to print this piece of sh*t.
But poor mastering here is used mostly to hide the lack of abiltity of these 'musicians'.

But newer black-metal (symph-black) like Dimmu Borgir is not so bad (i mean the mastering, the music is still horrible  )

Whats is the worst mastered CD [your opinions] ?

Reply #149 –
U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - So very loud, mp3gain minus 12.00 on some tracks 
Death is the one thing we all face