The Future of Audiophile Releases? Mudcrutch, Metallica, and others

[Woochifer]

With the demise of DVD-A, Warner seems to be trying some new things to sell to the audiophile market.

I got the new album from Mudcrutch last week. In case you don't know, this is Tom Petty's original band, and it's their "debut" album. Altogether a very good album -- easily Tom Petty's best album since at least Full Moon Fever, if not all the way back to Long After Dark. Aside from Mudcrutch being a good album, it's also one of the better rock recordings I've heard in a while. Shouldn't be surprising considering that the album was recorded live-in-studio with live vocals and no overdubbing.

Well, one item of curiosity included with the CD is a flyer describing the upcoming LP version. This has all of the trappings of what's now increasingly common for LP releases -- double album, mastered at 45 RPM, gatefold packaging, and a list price of $30. The LP has become almost exclusively a niche market aimed at audiophiles.

But, the Mudcrutch LP release has one additional intriguing feature -- a bonus "full dynamic range" CD. They describe this CD as transferred from the same "uncompressed" master tape used to create the LP version. It also means that the "enhanced" CD was transferred at a lower level, while the regular CD obviously was dynamic range compressed to raise the average level.

It brings up some intriguing questions, like why do CDs have to be issued separately as "full dynamic range" versions, when all that they did was lower the transfer level? And why would an LP use an "uncompressed" master tape, when in fact the CD has a much wider dynamic range? I understand that direct metal mastering, 45 RPM mastering, and shorter sides can all raise the dynamic range that can go into a vinyl release. I guess that the common practice of compressing the dynamic range of an LP out of concern for mistracking has gone by the wayside, now that vinyl is no longer a mass market format?

Another interesting set of releases coming out is Warner's Metallica LP reissues. These will all be issued as 45 RPM double albums, half-speed mastered by Stan Ricker (of Mobile Fidelity), and issued on 180-gram vinyl. And Justice For All in particular will be a 4-LP set (I have the original DMM-plated release that crammed the entire 70+ minute album onto a single LP, which turned the levels WAY down).

Here's the link to Warner's audiophile website. Lot of other interesting releases. Looking through them, it seems that Warner has not yet settled on a single strategy to selling audiophile releases. Some of their audiophile releases are CD/DVD sets that include 96/24 PCM tracks on the DVD, others are plain LPs (selling for $17), others are the 45 RPM double albums ($30). Some releases include regular CDs with the LP, others are pressed on 200-gram vinyl.

http://www.becausesoundmatters.com

[mbbuchanan]

Sounds to me like a very good way to sell the same album over and over again. If you have masters it's just a matter of transfer and packaging. As far as a " full dynamic range cd", sounds kind of like snake oil.

[E-Stat]

It brings up some intriguing questions, like why do CDs have to be issued separately as "full dynamic range" versions, when all that they did was lower the transfer level?

Because 99% of all rock recordings all all horribly compressed? Lowering the average level does nothing to restore the lost dynamics.

rw

[markw]

Sounds to me like a very good way to sell the same album over and over again. If you have masters it's just a matter of transfer and packaging.

This is what's been keeping Pink Floyd rolling in money since the 70's.

But, I will say that the Mo Fi release (both vinyl and "gold" CD) of their DSOTM is far superior to the original capital vinyl and CD.

[JohnnyV]

There's a very informative article about this at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_wars . Presuming the CD was mastered using heavy compression, a "full dynamic range" version would sound tangably different with more expressive peaks and troughs in volume -probably "better" for most listening enviroments. I would suggest that any of these re-issues are more the industry's clumsy solution to a self-inflicted problem than a cynical marketing campaign.

[Woochifer]

There's a very informative article about this at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_wars . Presuming the CD was mastered using heavy compression, a "full dynamic range" version would sound tangably different with more expressive peaks and troughs in volume -probably "better" for most listening enviroments. I would suggest that any of these re-issues are more the industry's clumsy solution to a self-inflicted problem than a cynical marketing campaign.

Excellent point. This is kind of what I was hinting at, but you nailed it.

The Mudcrutch album is a very good recording, and the CD itself is not excessively loud. An improved "full dynamic range" CD version can incorporate all sorts of changes that produce noticeable changes to the sound quality. I think it's a marketing ploy that they claim that the LP and "full dynamic range" CD version are sourced from a less compressed master tape. But, given how compressed CD releases have gotten, it's very easy to imagine how a CD can sound better by simply lowering the levels and allowing for more of the full range to get transferred.

Sounds to me like a very good way to sell the same album over and over again. If you have masters it's just a matter of transfer and packaging. As far as a " full dynamic range cd", sounds kind of like snake oil.

It's not snake oil if the resulting CD actually sounds better than the original release (remains to be seen, since I've not yet heard the "full dynamic range" version). Like I said earlier, a "full dynamic range" remaster can incorporate many different changes to create a very different sound. The Mudcrutch album was mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering, which is one of the best post-production houses around. If anyone would know how to audibly improve upon an already good CD release, it would be them.