thizzellewashington

The instrumental separation is so real.

I've always found the original VT pretty listenable, especially after the HDTracks version came out. That remaster sounds terrific. I didn't like the remixes on Retrospective 3 at all. Haven't listened to any of the streams of the new one but I'm excited to hear it, since it's one of my favorite albums of theirs. Nobody's putting a gun to your head and saying you can only own one version of the album. If there are certain tracks you like better on the original version, just swap those out and burn a new copy or make a playlist.

lol I'm not going to listen to this for the first time on a web-stream. Glad it sounds good, though! I just got the email from Amazon that my vinyl and 89-07 box set shipped. Excited to listen on Monday.

Not to mention some of the setlist ideas.

If they didn't release a DVD from any given tour, you'd have people complaining that they can't relive the tour outside of crappy audience-filmed YouTube clips.

lol

No preorder link for the CD yet.

Passing judgment on a release that exists to improve the sound quality of an album based on 30-second web-stream samples seems foolish.

I bought Snakes on vinyl when it came out in 2007. It sounds great. I badly want VT but it always goes for ungodly amounts of money on eBay. I have the remixed version preordered but I want a copy of the original as well.

Preordered the vinyl and the Atlantic box set. I wonder if they'll release a hi-res HDTracks version of the remix as well.

I bought three (CD, vinyl, HDTracks), so...

I don't think the albums are available individually. You have to buy the box set. But yes, it's a massive improvement.

Sure thing, man. No problem.

There are a lot of things to criticize Jann Wenner for. Being a John Lennon fanatic is not one of them.

Is there any way you can tell me how to do this using basic directions? Assume I am a computer moron. I have a Macbook Pro and all of my music is either on iTunes or CDs. I would appreciate any instruction on this matter. The FLACs look easy enough to purchase on HDTracks.com they also have AIFF files which are supposedly compatible with iTunes... Sure thing. AIFF files do play in iTunes, but they take up almost twice as much space as FLACs or Apple Lossless files. Here's how you convert them (I use a Mac as well): 1. Download a free program called X Lossless Decoder. 2. Open the program and go to "Preferences" in the top menu under "XLD" next to the Apple logo. 3. On the main preferences screen, select "Apple Lossless" as your output format. 4. You'll also want to create a folder on your computer or external hard drive and set that as the output directory, also in preferences. 5. Once you have the HDTracks FLACs downloaded, go into an album's folder, select all the tracks, and drag them onto the XLD icon on the dock. They'll automatically start converting to Apple Lossless and will be saved in the folder you set as the output directory. 6. Once you have them all converted, you can import them into your iTunes library. 7. Enjoy. Hope that helps.

I have an original Power Windows shirt that I got years ago at a thrift shop. it's all but melted by now so I never wear it anymore. Only break it out for Rush concerts.

I'd be surprised if they made new CD remasters for two different reissues within a year of each other. My guess is the CD of the deluxe version is the same master as the Sector one. That said, the deluxe edition is worth buying even if you have the Sector box set. It comes with a really cool graphic novel of the story, and it's got three live bonus tracks. Plus the 5.1 mix if you have the equipment.

Good times, that guy.

Note: I have all of the HDTracks box sets, which I converted to Apple Lossless so I could listen to the 24-bit versions in my iTunes. I've listened to about a third of the albums so far and the sound is phenomenal. Well worth the cash if you've got it.

If you're going to buy any digital files of the latest remasters, buy the HDTracks ones. They're more expensive but if you say you're an "audiophile," you're going to want to have the 24/96 FLACs. Paying money for compressed AAC files, even if they're supposedly "remastered for iTunes," is a waste. You can convert the FLACs to any iPod-compatible format you want.

That letter from Neil is incredible.

Yes. The CDs will sound better than previous CDs but by nature of the format, they can't hold as much data.

Does it have to be a DVD or can you burn them to CD? How much better is it? I'd be very interested in VT and CA. The HDTracks FLAC files are 24-bit/96khz, which is more than a CD can read. CDs are encoded at 16-bit/48khz. So if you want the full 24/96 experience then yeah, you have to burn them onto DVDs. You can downconvert them to 16/48 WAVs to burn them to CD, but that defeats the purpose of having the higher-quality files in the first place. I don't know what kind of setup you have, but on my stereo, my "CD player" is actually a DVD player, so these DVDs work fine. To anyone thinking of buying these: get the HDTracks versions or don't buy them at all. If you buy the versions on iTunes, you're buying 256kbps m4a files, which are no better than MP3s. The point of these is that the sound quality is better, and that's not happening if it's those files, no matter what they say about "mastered for iTunes." If you're listening EXCLUSIVELY on an iPod or computer speakers, you're fine. But otherwise, avoid. If you have the space on your hard drive, you can convert the FLACs to Apple Lossless, which can encode at 24/96. That way, you can at least have them in iTunes and put them on your iPod/iPhone or listen to them with headphones on your computer and get the full quality, even if you can't burn them to CDs.

Had to jump through a whole ton of hoops, but I got the HDTracks version of Vapor Trails burned to a DVD in 24/96. Listening to it on my stereo right now. It sounds great.

Nothing mastered specifically for iTunes is going to sound good on anything other than earbuds or computer speakers. I'm seriously considering buying the HDTracks box set, though.