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ak2112

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Everything posted by ak2112

  1. No amount of better mastering of mixing can improve bad music. VT is easily my least favorite Rush album. It sounds boring and tired. I can never make it through the whole album, bad mastering not withstanding. I'm not going to waste my money on the remix, but that's just my opinion.
  2. Why are people posting compilations? Those dont rate as proper albums IMO. I have all of them, though I listen to Vapor Trails the least because, well...its garbage. My fave is and always has been Hemispheres.
  3. My Counterparts SACD showed up today and I'm just now getting through my first listen. I only have the original 93 CD release to compare it to, but I can say without question that on my system, the SACD blows the original away. Geddy's bass has more balls, the overall soundstage is tighter, with greater separation between instruments. Vocals are also crystal clear and not buried in the mix. Most importantly, the SACD isnt brickwalled to all hell like the original CD is and you can crank the SACD with zero distortion. If you have SACD playback capability, I highly recommend this one. Another interesting aspect of the SACD is that Stick it Out is about 20 seconds longer and Nobody's Here is also longer than the original CD. Kind of neat!
  4. Depends on your receiver. It may read as almost anything. All the important info will be coming from your CD/SACD player.
  5. Love Counterparts and aboslutely detest VP. Its the only Rush album I cannot almost NOT listen to at all. Just tired and unfocused IMO.
  6. Interesting to hear everyones opinion on the album. I think Counterparts was the best album they had put out since Power Windows and is also right up there with Moving Pictures so I'm really looking forward to my SACD arriving! Definately going to compare it to my original 1993 CD.
  7. Has anyone here on the forum got the Counterparts SACD yet? Just curious if anyone with SACD playback has had a chance to listen to it. I ordered it and the Close to the Edge SACD and they shipped on 3/1 but it takes a while to get stuff up here to Alaska. Really looking forward to this one since its the first Rush album to be released on the SACD format. Lots of potential here. Plus, its one of my top 5 Rush albums of all time!
  8. Not after the crap job done on the 5.1 mix for 2112. Absolutely awful...
  9. I'm glad the bluray sounds good to you because I got the DVD-A version which should be identical to yours and its easily the worst sounding high Rez disc I own. The 5.1 mix is weak. The vocals come pretty much out of the front speakers and not the center channel and the surrounds are mostly just echoes of the other channels. Plus the sound is muddied and distorted. Why Rush continues to use Chyki for their surround mix is beyond me. This release is shameful.
  10. For those interested that also have an SACD player, I just read that Audio Fidelity will be releasing the Yes album "Close to the Edge" and Rush's "Counterparts" on SACD before the end of the year! First the upcoming 2112 deluxe version on DVD-A and Bluray and now this. A great time to be a Rush fan! BTW, they'll be hybrid SACD's so even if you don't have an SACD player, you'll still be able to enjoy what will no doubt be an audiophile grade remastering...awesome!!!!
  11. Oops, I just saw that someone else posted the same kind of thread! Sorry about that but maybe having two threads will makes sure we find out what rarities they're pulling out for this tour!
  12. I just got through reading Neils latest update and he mentions the alternating setlists for this tour, which I've seen already. However, he also says that there are some "one-off" songs they're playing on this tour as well. Does anyone know which songs they have played as surprises on this tour? This is the first I'm hearing about this. Pretty cool, but I want to know which gems they're playing. You know, since they now have the whole string section, what a better opportunity than now for them to play my all time favorite Rush song, "Losing It"!!
  13. QUOTE (GeddyLeeRoth @ Oct 3 2012, 08:43 AM) I still have original CD issues of AFTK thru MP and want to finally replace them. I did a little research, and all I see are 1997 remasters. I have all their other 'classics' remastered, but no date is shown. Are these the only versions? The 97 remasters are loud brickwalled crap. The original CD's sound way better. If you want other versions, go with some of the MFSL gold CD's (though stay away from 2112 as its terrible) or get some of the Japanese 25.8P CD's or the original Anthems. The Anthems sound fantastic.
  14. I have waited a while before giving what I consider a full opinion of the new album because I wanted to truly digest it and let my initial enthusiasm wear off so that I could give a "fair and balanced" review. While I dont think its a classic, I do think its a very very strong album and the best one they've made since Counterparts. The best album they've ever made? Not quite, but how many other bands that have been out as long as they have are putting out albums anywhere NEAR this awesome? They dont exist. Heck, Pete Townsend says its a waste of time to even MAKE an album. Then again, what do you expect from a guy who hasnt made a great album since Quadrophenia!
  15. Man, thanks to the OP for starting this thread. I've been a drummer for 30 years now and credit Neil with getting me into the instrument. DW drums are very nicely made, but I do not like how they sound, especially live. Neils drum sound with the Tama's in the early 80's was warm and silky and the DW's sound hollow to me. I'm glad I'm not the only one who notices this. When he switched to Ludwigs in the late 80's I thought it was a step down in sound but its even worse now.
  16. QUOTE (metaldad @ Aug 14 2012, 02:26 PM) Improv . He needs to totally revamp his solo and this is the way to do it . I think his solo's have become boring and predictable , this will change that I wish he would do away with his drum solo altogether. I'd much rather here one or two deep cuts or something they've never played live before than to sit through yet another drum solo. I love Neil and have enjoyed his solos through the years, but again, I'd rather here some songs!
  17. No way is the Garden better than The Pass...people are too close to the new album to have proper perspective IMO.
  18. Huh, I had just the opposite thought on the album. I've never had a 55 minute albumm go by so quick. Now Vapor Trails...there's an album that was too damn long. Even more, it was an album I wish had never been made...all of it is poop. Clockwork Angels is a masterwork.
  19. QUOTE (AndroidOnTheRun @ Jun 18 2012, 07:31 PM) QUOTE (ak2112 @ Jun 18 2012, 08:27 PM)QUOTE (Anthony2112 @ Jun 18 2012, 03:32 PM) Vapor Trails might be Rush's best album. Yes, for that you do deserve to suffer greatly! Pure drivel that album.....and I was about to say about myself how much crap I've got for saying I thought VT was their worst album. I predict (and hope) that they wont play a single song off VT on the new tour. Wait, I take that back. I hope they do play one or two off of VT so I can go take a pee/poop and get some beer. Opening a can of worms here ... but can you put succinctly why you dislike VT? Except for the whole mastering... thing... I'm always a bit baffled that it gets no love. Is there something about the material itself that people find so objectionable? Not looking to start an argument so much as understand the other side. (If it's the sound thing, well, just say it's the sound thing and I'll let it go.) Pefectly reasonable question, and I can answer it easily. It was in BAD need of editing. Almost every song on the album is way too friggin long! They seem to be long for no good reason. Thats the main thing that bothers me about the album. A second reason, is that there are no real melodies to any of the songs either. The whole album seems unfocused and tired to me; not at all like an album by a band that had been apart for almost 7 years. Just horrible.
  20. Interesting to me that several have mentioned Snakes & Arrows as one of their favorite sounding Rush albums. I wonder how much of that has to do with the fact that it was the follow up to the horrible sounding VT? Anyway, I love the sound of that album as well, although the original CD release beats the so called high-resolution MVI version by a mile. The 5.1 of the album is horrible.
  21. Ten years and still not enough time has past to wipe away the stench that that wretched album left.
  22. QUOTE (Anthony2112 @ Jun 18 2012, 03:32 PM) Vapor Trails might be Rush's best album. Yes, for that you do deserve to suffer greatly! Pure drivel that album.....and I was about to say about myself how much crap I've got for saying I thought VT was their worst album. I predict (and hope) that they wont play a single song off VT on the new tour. Wait, I take that back. I hope they do play one or two off of VT so I can go take a pee/poop and get some beer.
  23. Vapor Trails is far and away the worst album the band has ever released IMO. Pure garbage (and I'm talking about the songs, not the mix/mastering). I try and listen to it twice a year all the way through and every time its pure torture. Clockwork Angels and Snake & Arrows however...pure genius!
  24. All the recent talk about how bad the new album sounds got me to wondering what the last truly great sounding album the band released. I'd be interested to hear if we could come to any consensus on this? Since I dont listen to it a lot, I cant say for sure, but I'd be willing to bet that T4E is probably the last album by them that isnt brickwalled and squashed to death, since it was released before the days of the loudness wars, but I cant say for sure. The last truly great sounding album that I own personally, is Power Windows, the Japanese 32.8P version. Although a fully digital recording at every phase (DDD), it has warmth and real dynamic range with great seperation of the instruments and vocals. Anyone else want to chime in hear? Obviously VT is out, as well as S&A, although S&A was an improvement over its predecessor, but the bar was set pretty low. Clockwork Angels is better than VT as well, but just barely. I would really like to know where the guys are going wrong, but I put most of the blame on their producer. I like what he brings out in the band in terms of energy and arrangements, but he seems to lack the technical knowledge or will to make sure the recording and mixing are done in such a way as to preserve the dynamic range of the album. The mastering is out of the producers hands and its a crucial point of making an album, but even the best mastering engineer cant do squat with an album that wasnt recorded with sound quality in mind. So.....what are the opinions on here. You can even be more general if you want: WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST SOUNDING RUSH ALBUM EVER RELEASED AND WHAT WAS THE LAST DECENT SOUNDING ALBUM?
  25. Yes, it does seem like this forum is getting a little out of control in terms of people being too harsh to others. I mean, in the end, its just music people! As has been said, we're all here because we love Rush, but that doesn't mean that the forum should be run like some kind of North Korean politcal prison camp. If you don't like the nes album or any other album or song by the band, thats fine by me. Just explain why you feel the way you do and allow other to agree or disagree...but it should at least try to be in a respectful manner. I dont get all the hate that's spewed on here sometimes. For instance, I think the new album is great, but it is a sonic abortion, without a doubt. Is this my opinion? Yes! However, I can back up my opinion with emperical, repeatable data (i.e. the dreaded waveform, dynamic range numbers, etc.). However, even though the band has clearly lost its way in terms of putting out a good sounding album, I can still look past that and enjoy the music, which is the most important thing at the end of the day. I would just hope that we can all be respectful to one another. I actually learn a lot from those I disagree with sometimes and I'm always open to having my mind changed.
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