Is New Vinyl Exempt from Loudness Wars?
It's hit or miss with the new stuff, for reasons stated above. You have to make sure where it's sourced from. However, if you go with the established re-issue labels, such as MoFi, DCC, Classic Records and many others, it's clearly stated the records were cut from the original masters, i.e. analog. Do a little research. There are MANY vinyl records being re-issued from many, many labels now that go back to the ORIGINAL ANALOG MASTERS. I'd give some links here to internet sellers that specialize in this. There is a TON of good stuff out there sourced from the original analog masters. However, I don't know if it's allowed to give a direct link in this case. If it is, someone please advise and I'll throw a few out there. If it's not and you want to know, send me an e-mail and I'll answer directly. I've got a LOT of the re-issue stuff, and it's very,very good. WAY Better than any CD version, and usually better than hi-res digital files. Be advised, as a disclaimer, I am a resolute vinyl junkie. To me the best vinyl always trumps the best digital. Cheers, Crazy Bill |
Speaking as someone who masters for production, I can tell you that, broadly, everything said above is true. Essentially, it is all in the mastering, and there is no reliable way to tell if a given LP has been mastered appropriately for that medium. Proper LP mastering is distinctly different from CD mastering in nearly all cases. With LPs, there is no absolute 0 dBFS ceiling to compress up against, as well as a number of other aspects of LP production that require very different mastering considerations. (That’s why LP vs. CD "shootouts" of the "same" recording are, in nearly all cases, simply bogus.) But none of that means that the same, highly compressed, CD master can’t, with some exceptions or minor modifications, be cut to an LP. The LP in that case will likely sound like crap, quite possibly worse even than the "identical" CD, but there is no way for the buyer to know that in advance. I work with both LPs and digital media a lot. As far as I’m concerned, except as an artifact and as still arguably the best archival media, LPs should otherwise be obsolete. There is no theoretical reason why Redbook CDs, respectfully and properly mastered, shouldn’t in all cases sound as good as or better than any LP. The fact that they often don’t speaks more to the irresistible temptation to abuse the remarkable power of digital technology than to some intrinsic sonic superiority of the LP. In short, I’m sorry, but, as a consumer, there is no reliable and consistent answer to your question. Good luck and more’s the pity. |
The Dynamic Range Database is a good resource for comparing new vinyl and CD releases, at least in terms of raw dynamic range: http://dr.loudness-war.info/ The vinyl releases aren't always there, but are listed enough such that I use it as a resource when buying new vinyl. It's also interesting to look at older releases and compare the CD and vinyl versions. |
