toronto_downtown Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Hey everyone! I am very new to the site so this is my first post (or at least first post with any substance). About a year ago, a friend gave me the Rush discography in mp3 form so I've been listening to practically nothing else besides it. I've become a super fan and they are now my favourite band. I want to actually buy my own copies of the albums now since it's the right thing to do. I don't collect CDs or vinyl so I just want to get the absolute best digital copies in any format. I figured some of you on here would have a good idea where to point me. Basically the sound quality is important as is the mix or remaster. I heard that the Rush discography has been remastered various times and I wouldn't know which ones are considered best or which mastered version is used to make the mp3s (or FLAC or whatever) that are for sale. So if I want to buy the best version of the entire Rush discography as the best quality digital file, where should I buy it from? Thanks for any help! I will contribute to the discussion on these forums more soon since I have a lot to say as someone that heard the entire discography all at the same time. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2U1S1H2 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I have a similar question, about digital copies on eBay with titles like "the spirit of the body electric" and "red sector dreams" are these real or are they things people made up? Ps sorry I added to your question.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxdistortion Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 (edited) R2U1S1H2 - I've no idea about the Ebay digital copies - I think all of Rush's catalog are pretty decent sound-wise. Theres no particular "remaster" that makes EVERY rush fan balk and go "ugh, it sounds so terrible". , or is there a "must-own" one. I know that's happened with some Led Zeppelin fans on both extremes, who swear that the 1990 remasters are either inferior or superior to the 2008 remasters or the just-released 2014 remasters. Those differences are more pronounced I'd say, but opinions vary. The worst example of a remaster that I've experienced was Genesis. Their 2007 remasters of their back catalog are absolutely mind-bogglingly AWFUL, and people shuld stay far away from them. But I digress . Here's your main options: 1. The "Sectors" CD box sets (3 box sets, about $35 each, each box set contains 4 albums and one of those albums as a 5.1 surround mix). it might be a good start, and you get nice packaging. To my ears, the "Sectors" box set isn't a whole lot different compared to the 1997 "Rush Remastered" CD series. Which are what most of the digitial releases are based off of. Prior to that, there were the early to mid 80s original CD releases, and those have far greater dynamic range, but I wouldn't say its life changing. 2. if youre REALLY batshit insane, what they're doing this year apparently is they're re-re-re-mastering alot of rush's back catalog to a Vinyl and Blue-Ray Audio combo. For every month, a Rush album will be issued on a Vinyl/blue-ray audio combo from Fly By Night to Presto. Whether or not thats' gonna be any good is anybody's guess, but I gather this way will be alot more expensive, as you'd be probably shelling out $30 per ONE album. http://www.rushisaba...d-vinyl-in-2015 I've never owned a Blue Ray audio disk, so i can't comment on it. It would be comparable to a downloaded HD track, but you may veer towards it becuase you would get a physical copy and artwork and things like that. http://www.rush.com/...elease-in-2015/ Edited December 19, 2014 by maxdistortion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tas7 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 SACD version of Hemispheres is worth it. Rush - Gold a compilation is great for sound as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2U1S1H2 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Ok I think then the ones on eBay are definitely fakes or whatever. I'm so excited for Rush a month next year I have all old used vinyl but new vinyl bluray digital download yay!!! Rush heaven!! On another note I'm glad I found this forum and people I can talk Rush with! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YYZumbi Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 (edited) Hey everyone! I am very new to the site so this is my first post (or at least first post with any substance). About a year ago, a friend gave me the Rush discography in mp3 form so I've been listening to practically nothing else besides it. I've become a super fan and they are now my favourite band. I want to actually buy my own copies of the albums now since it's the right thing to do. I don't collect CDs or vinyl so I just want to get the absolute best digital copies in any format. I figured some of you on here would have a good idea where to point me. Basically the sound quality is important as is the mix or remaster. I heard that the Rush discography has been remastered various times and I wouldn't know which ones are considered best or which mastered version is used to make the mp3s (or FLAC or whatever) that are for sale. So if I want to buy the best version of the entire Rush discography as the best quality digital file, where should I buy it from? Thanks for any help! I will contribute to the discussion on these forums more soon since I have a lot to say as someone that heard the entire discography all at the same time. lol If you wanna buy the CDs and convert to flac (or whatever) on your own, then I say you should buy the sector boxes + the box set called The Studio Albums 1989-2007. That is the best remasters, the album Presto is a huge improvement! http://www.amazon.co...1&keywords=Rush http://www.amazon.co...d_bxgy_m_text_y http://www.amazon.co...d_bxgy_m_text_z http://www.amazon.co...MWG0423WH4NS6G7 And if you wanna buy their albums digital, then you go to this site: http://www.hdtracks..../result/?q=rush There you get the songs in 24bit flac. I bought Clockwork Angels Tour from there (I had it already on CD, but wanted to see the different), and I must say that it sounds kinda nice, better then the CD! Edited December 19, 2014 by YYZumbi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YYZumbi Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 SACD version of Hemispheres is worth it. Rush - Gold a compilation is great for sound as well. SACD is a joke... I bought Presto SACD, and I could not hear any different on it and the latest remaster on normal CD... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YYZumbi Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 For every month, a Rush album will be issued on a Vinyl/blue-ray audio combo from Fly By Night to A Show Of Hands. Whether or not thats' gonna be any good is anybody's guess, but I gather this way will be alot more expensive, as you'd be probably shelling out $30 per ONE album. http://www.rushisaba...d-vinyl-in-201 Fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicky6 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 The problem for me is that. i heard these albums so many times that no matter how they are mixed, they are just worn out.. Thats why i listen to rush live more than studio nowadaya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxdistortion Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 (edited) my mistake. also, the press release was kind of confusing . I thought it was a bundled release. I'll skip the vinyl but definately willl look into at least a cpl of the eventual Hi-Res audio tracks later this year. I've been wanting to take the plunge and see if that stuff is as worked up as its marketed to be. Unfortunately that would also mean an upgrade in equipment (higher-fidelity headphones at the least.) Edited December 20, 2014 by maxdistortion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toronto_downtown Posted December 20, 2014 Author Share Posted December 20, 2014 Thanks for the responses guys! So at the moment I'm leaning towards either buying the Sectors box sets and start ripping those myself of just buying the whole discography digitally from itunes or amazon or whatever is cheaper. Ripping the CDs seems like a pain since I don't want the actual discs, just the music files but maybe it's the best way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Segue Myles Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Thanks for the responses guys! So at the moment I'm leaning towards either buying the Sectors box sets and start ripping those myself of just buying the whole discography digitally from itunes or amazon or whatever is cheaper. Ripping the CDs seems like a pain since I don't want the actual discs, just the music files but maybe it's the best way to go. Not amazon...dont spend your money on basic mp3 files. Go for the box sets or iTunes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleMoon Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Thanks for the responses guys! So at the moment I'm leaning towards either buying the Sectors box sets and start ripping those myself of just buying the whole discography digitally from itunes or amazon or whatever is cheaper. Ripping the CDs seems like a pain since I don't want the actual discs, just the music files but maybe it's the best way to go. Not amazon...dont spend your money on basic mp3 files. Go for the box sets or iTunes. I hear a considerable difference in quality for the better with the digital downloads of "The Studio Albums" version from iTunes. I've downloaded several songs to compare and they sound great. Even the Snakes production sounds a bit clearer and brighter. I'm thinking of downloading more songs, I like it that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Segue Myles Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Thanks for the responses guys! So at the moment I'm leaning towards either buying the Sectors box sets and start ripping those myself of just buying the whole discography digitally from itunes or amazon or whatever is cheaper. Ripping the CDs seems like a pain since I don't want the actual discs, just the music files but maybe it's the best way to go. Not amazon...dont spend your money on basic mp3 files. Go for the box sets or iTunes. I hear a considerable difference in quality for the better with the digital downloads of "The Studio Albums" version from iTunes. I've downloaded several songs to compare and they sound great. Even the Snakes production sounds a bit clearer and brighter. I'm thinking of downloading more songs, I like it that much. I have no complaints with itunes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2U1S1H2 Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 SACD version of Hemispheres is worth it. Rush - Gold a compilation is great for sound as well. SACD is a joke... I bought Presto SACD, and I could not hear any different on it and the latest remaster on normal CD... I just bought those and left them in the wrapper the SACD Golds, hopefully they are worth something in sometime!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toronto_downtown Posted December 20, 2014 Author Share Posted December 20, 2014 That is interesting that a few of you are saying the iTunes downloads sound better than mp3 downloads. I wouldn't have thought the difference between m4a and mp3 would have been noticeable since the are both heavily compressed formats unlike something like FLAC. I guess I'm leaning towards the itunes downloads now. There is a pretty good deal of $80 for all the Mercury years music on there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleMoon Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Thanks for the responses guys! So at the moment I'm leaning towards either buying the Sectors box sets and start ripping those myself of just buying the whole discography digitally from itunes or amazon or whatever is cheaper. Ripping the CDs seems like a pain since I don't want the actual discs, just the music files but maybe it's the best way to go. Not amazon...dont spend your money on basic mp3 files. Go for the box sets or iTunes. I hear a considerable difference in quality for the better with the digital downloads of "The Studio Albums" version from iTunes. I've downloaded several songs to compare and they sound great. Even the Snakes production sounds a bit clearer and brighter. I'm thinking of downloading more songs, I like it that much. I have no complaints with itunes... I'm not sure what you mean, but I was just commenting on the fact that I had downloaded that particular set songs from iTunes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YYZumbi Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 (edited) Thanks for the responses guys! So at the moment I'm leaning towards either buying the Sectors box sets and start ripping those myself of just buying the whole discography digitally from itunes or amazon or whatever is cheaper. Ripping the CDs seems like a pain since I don't want the actual discs, just the music files but maybe it's the best way to go. Do not buy the music on iTunes or Amazon! Both are shit quality and destroy the music feeling so much! Just buy it on hdtracks.com. That is the best way to go if you wanna buy the music files! You wont regret it! Edited December 20, 2014 by YYZumbi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toronto_downtown Posted December 20, 2014 Author Share Posted December 20, 2014 Thanks for the responses guys! So at the moment I'm leaning towards either buying the Sectors box sets and start ripping those myself of just buying the whole discography digitally from itunes or amazon or whatever is cheaper. Ripping the CDs seems like a pain since I don't want the actual discs, just the music files but maybe it's the best way to go. Do not buy the music on iTunes or Amazon! Both are shit quality and destroy the music feeling so much! Just buy it on hdtracks.com. That is the best way to go if you wanna buy the music files! You wont regret it! I tried going to that site but any Rush album I click on just says "This product is not currently available due to region restrictions." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YYZumbi Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Thanks for the responses guys! So at the moment I'm leaning towards either buying the Sectors box sets and start ripping those myself of just buying the whole discography digitally from itunes or amazon or whatever is cheaper. Ripping the CDs seems like a pain since I don't want the actual discs, just the music files but maybe it's the best way to go. Do not buy the music on iTunes or Amazon! Both are shit quality and destroy the music feeling so much! Just buy it on hdtracks.com. That is the best way to go if you wanna buy the music files! You wont regret it! I tried going to that site but any Rush album I click on just says "This product is not currently available due to region restrictions." That is weird... it works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Segue Myles Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Thanks for the responses guys! So at the moment I'm leaning towards either buying the Sectors box sets and start ripping those myself of just buying the whole discography digitally from itunes or amazon or whatever is cheaper. Ripping the CDs seems like a pain since I don't want the actual discs, just the music files but maybe it's the best way to go. Not amazon...dont spend your money on basic mp3 files. Go for the box sets or iTunes. I hear a considerable difference in quality for the better with the digital downloads of "The Studio Albums" version from iTunes. I've downloaded several songs to compare and they sound great. Even the Snakes production sounds a bit clearer and brighter. I'm thinking of downloading more songs, I like it that much. I have no complaints with itunes... I'm not sure what you mean, but I was just commenting on the fact that I had downloaded that particular set songs from iTunes. As in comparison to Amazon and other download sights. Best audio quality for downloads as far as I am concerned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleMoon Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Thanks for the responses guys! So at the moment I'm leaning towards either buying the Sectors box sets and start ripping those myself of just buying the whole discography digitally from itunes or amazon or whatever is cheaper. Ripping the CDs seems like a pain since I don't want the actual discs, just the music files but maybe it's the best way to go. Not amazon...dont spend your money on basic mp3 files. Go for the box sets or iTunes. I hear a considerable difference in quality for the better with the digital downloads of "The Studio Albums" version from iTunes. I've downloaded several songs to compare and they sound great. Even the Snakes production sounds a bit clearer and brighter. I'm thinking of downloading more songs, I like it that much. I have no complaints with itunes... I'm not sure what you mean, but I was just commenting on the fact that I had downloaded that particular set songs from iTunes. As in comparison to Amazon and other download sights. Best audio quality for downloads as far as I am concerned! Oh okay, :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toronto_downtown Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share Posted December 21, 2014 Ok I went ahead and bought the Mercury Years on iTunes and it sounds great to me! I will wait and save a bit more money and buy "The Studio Albums 1989 - 2007"on iTunes as well. I really hate the iTunes media player but I guess I can just download the stuff through it and then listen on something better.. haha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja15 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 (edited) I tried going to that site but any Rush album I click on just says "This product is not currently available due to region restrictions." The entire Rush catalog appears to be not available for those with a Canadian IP address. Question for the resident audiophiles....I'm picking up a portable Hi-Res media player and just curious if there's a noticeable difference between 192kHz vs 96kHz 24bit downloads or would it be too subtle for the average ear? Also, recently came across the High Fidelity bluray audio release of FBN, FTK & Signals....any comments good or bad? Edited November 12, 2015 by Ninja15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Did you play the SACD of Hemispheres in a CD player or an SACD player? If it was a regular CD player it would be reading the CD layer and would not have the higher resolution of the SACD format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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