Rush Sector Boxsets: Worst Ever?

[Jaminbenb]

QUOTE (ghostworks @ Dec 30 2011, 04:46 PM)

^ agreed Danny comes off as a mostly mild-mannered, analytical type and Benny more akin to a petulant child I think we can all finally make an accurate assessment here (thanks, fellas!)

I got "Tiger Blood"!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(winning!)

[drbirdsong]

QUOTE (Jaminbenb @ Dec 30 2011, 12:23 PM)

....I stole box 2 from a friend and held it hostage until he agreed to loan me box 1...

I win the debate.

[ShowgunSam]

I've never seen such a varied group of mixed reviews on this box set. I received sectors 1 and 2 for Christmas. I was hoping to get 3, since I was really looking forward to hearing the remix of my all-time favorite records, Hold Your Fire and Power Windows (I know, it's weird especially for such a hardcore fan). I happened to look up the Sectors on Amazon and I was blown away by all the poor reviews. However, they mostly all come from people who have these ungodly expensive sound systems...

[ghostworks]

QUOTE (ShowgunSam @ Jan 1 2012, 11:19 PM)

I've never seen such a varied group of mixed reviews on this box set. I received sectors 1 and 2 for Christmas. I was hoping to get 3, since I was really looking forward to hearing the remix of my all-time favorite records, Hold Your Fire and Power Windows (I know, it's weird especially for such a hardcore fan). I happened to look up the Sectors on Amazon and I was blown away by all the poor reviews. However, they mostly all come from people who have these ungodly expensive sound systems...

the burden of caring deeply about music is a heavy one, my son

[drbirdsong]

Sometimes it is hard to let go of your audio expectations. I have a 12 disc changer in my big stereo. I loaded up a few CDs from the Sector boxes and turned out the lights and put away the packaging and just sat in the dark and listened for a while a couple of nights ago. I got about as close to my teenage listening experience as I have ever gotten.

 

Bonus: no hissing and popping from the vinyl.

 

[fordgt99]

QUOTE (ShowgunSam @ Jan 1 2012, 11:19 PM)

I've never seen such a varied group of mixed reviews on this box set. I received sectors 1 and 2 for Christmas. I was hoping to get 3, since I was really looking forward to hearing the remix of my all-time favorite records, Hold Your Fire and Power Windows (I know, it's weird especially for such a hardcore fan). I happened to look up the Sectors on Amazon and I was blown away by all the poor reviews. However, they mostly all come from people who have these ungodly expensive sound systems...

For what sector boxsets? Only negative reviews I read on the first boxset had to do with the glitches. I didn't see any crazy insane nutjob audiophile reviews.

 

I think this reply from Chad Kassem says it best. This is an interview about the Wish You Were Here SACD:

 

I hear a more natural rich sound from my SACDs; a blooming of the soundstage, more articulate vocals and a velvety smoothness in the instruments. Dynamics are a given improvement. It simply sounds like live music. Makes me want to listen more! Can these sonic improvements be measured or should we just get over the audiophile debate and just enjoy the music?

 

Chad: Yes. Trust your ears. If you like what you hear, just enjoy it. The reason I like SACD so much is it seems to be warm, smooth and rich. I find it less bright and sterile than a DVD Audio or CD. Specs don't always tell the whole story.

 

http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/albums/pink-...g-james-gu.html

[Barry]

Well, I have been a rush fan since 1980. I owned all the albums on vinyl when I was a kid, and I purchased all of the CD's as they were released. I never bought the 97 remasters, so my only frame or reference for the last 20 + years has been those original CD's and my memory of what the vinyls sounded like way back in the day.

 

In the late 80's I worked as an audio engineer...I have since moved on to a career in television, but I still write and record music and I think I have a pretty good ear for these things.

 

I am also fortunate that I now have the stereo system I could have only dreamed of as a kid. It didn't cost 20k, but it was a few thousand with all the speakers, etc.

 

I got all 3 sector sets for the holidays, and I have to say...I think the quality of the audio on all the disks is exceptional. Way better than what I have been listening to all of these years. I also really like the surround mixes. They wouldn't be my go-to choice, but they are fun to listen to.

 

I think it all comes down to personal preference, but I for one am glad that they exist and I am glad that I upgraded.

 

 

[ak2112]

I kind of wish I had never posted the whole 20K system comment. I didnt intend for it to come across as pompous. It was merely a statement to indicate the amount of effort I've put into putting together a stereo system I was happy and content to have for the rest of my life. The downside to owning a better quality system is that it really brings out poor mastering and recording. The 97 remasters sound like absolute dog $hit on my system and the Sector CD's only marginally better. The MFSL of Signals and Moving Pictures, along with the Candian WANK of Hemispheres sound as close to perfect as any Rush album I have ever heard. They EASILY beat any subsequent releases, BUT that statement is only relevant to MY EARS AND ON MY SYSTEM. I would not want to imply that others might not enjoy the Sector CD's or the 97 remasters. As a matter of fact, I rather enjoyed the 97 remasters back before I got my good system and was listening to tunes on a jambox. On my system, nothing sounds better than an SACD or DVD-A from a properly recorded and mastered album. To each his or her own to be sure!

[drbirdsong]

QUOTE (ak2112 @ Jan 2 2012, 05:51 PM)

I kind of wish I had never posted the whole 20K system comment. I didnt intend for it to come across as pompous. It was merely a statement to indicate the amount of effort I've put into putting together a stereo system I was happy and content to have for the rest of my life. The downside to owning a better quality system is that it really brings out poor mastering and recording. The 97 remasters sound like absolute dog $hit on my system and the Sector CD's only marginally better. The MFSL of Signals and Moving Pictures, along with the Candian WANK of Hemispheres sound as close to perfect as any Rush album I have ever heard. They EASILY beat any subsequent releases, BUT that statement is only relevant to MY EARS AND ON MY SYSTEM. I would not want to imply that others might not enjoy the Sector CD's or the 97 remasters. As a matter of fact, I rather enjoyed the 97 remasters back before I got my good system and was listening to tunes on a jambox. On my system, nothing sounds better than an SACD or DVD-A from a properly recorded and mastered album. To each his or her own to be sure!

I'm glad that you said it because I've been exploring sound systems more than I have in years and thinking about getting something new for the upstairs of my home. An added bonus is that I told my wife that I hadn't spent much at all on the Bose system downstaris.

[Jaminbenb]

QUOTE (ak2112 @ Jan 2 2012, 05:51 PM)

I kind of wish I had never posted the whole 20K system comment. I didnt intend for it to come across as pompous. It was merely a statement to indicate the amount of effort I've put into putting together a stereo system I was happy and content to have for the rest of my life. The downside to owning a better quality system is that it really brings out poor mastering and recording. The 97 remasters sound like absolute dog $hit on my system and the Sector CD's only marginally better. The MFSL of Signals and Moving Pictures, along with the Candian WANK of Hemispheres sound as close to perfect as any Rush album I have ever heard. They EASILY beat any subsequent releases, BUT that statement is only relevant to MY EARS AND ON MY SYSTEM. I would not want to imply that others might not enjoy the Sector CD's or the 97 remasters. As a matter of fact, I rather enjoyed the 97 remasters back before I got my good system and was listening to tunes on a jambox. On my system, nothing sounds better than an SACD or DVD-A from a properly recorded and mastered album. To each his or her own to be sure!

Trust me...they don't sound that different on a "everyday garden variety" system either!

 

 

I agree...better systems bring out more anomalies, but if it's mixed and mastered properly, it should sound the same on a cheap system as well as an off the charts system..

 

 

[stefano]

wow, LOUD again!

 

got both Sector 1 and 2, and honestly can't enjoy it on my home rig... overly loud!

still, much better than the 97 remasters imo

 

power windows (that has always been a sound reference to me) sounds much worse than the unremastered version.

 

surely, the sector's remastering is very 'appealing': forward kick drums, bass and effects, and loud!

it is great to listen on the run - on the car or in a portable rig it is more enjoyable than the previous releases.

 

but to listen it in a nicer equipment... its a shame!

the best example for me is Middletown Dreams's "middle aged madonna" part - soundstage's very compressed, the sound is edgy, and all instruments are much more forward than they should..

Edited October 26, 2012 by stefano

[drbirdsong]

The Sector boxes are not as loud as the 1997 remasters, but, yeah they are a bit loud. I put them on my phone permanently because they are made for the iPhone/Android/mp3 world.

 

Since I posted in this thread in January I got a new turntable and went back to vinyl for home listening. The wax RULES.

[Music746605]

As an audiophile, I like extra bits of quality, when using iTunes, it seems to make all music sound the same, regardless of the bitrate. But when I'm on Foobar2000, I can tell if there is a quality difference. I listen to a 192kbps version on Clockwork Angels, and compare it to a 320kbps version of the same album on iTunes and, eh, who cares? But when in Foobar2000, the difference is much more noticable to me. Somethings, the things about these remasters that people dislike is the fact that they often change little parts that most people couldn't care less about, and some people freak out over. I've used this as an example before, but inn the Vapor Trails remaster, the used live audio from the song Ghost rider for the chorus, and I always notice it and it freaks me out. It's all your ears and your preference. How much you care if you care at all.

[Astroboy2112]

Sectors sound amazing, you can finally hear clarity in muddy albums like Signals and Roll The Bones plus A Farewell to Kings in 5.1 is an awesome experience. Neil's cymbal work and Alex's guitars, previously buried under keyboards, really shine and benefit the most from all these new remasters.Some people are just stuck in the past, and anything that sounds remotely modern sounds too loud to them. Baloney! The sectors, iTunes remasters, and specially the HD Tracks versions of Rush discography all sound better than all previous formats.

[terrymcginnis83]

Hey all, sorry to revive this thread. You may or may not know me as Diablo Griffin (formerly terrymcginnis83), a regular on Steve Hoffman Forums. I've been contributing quite a bit to the 2nd part of the Rush CD Mastering Thread (mostly starting at page 17), which you can look at here: http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-rush-cd-mastering-thread-part-2.290440/page-17

 

That said, lemme give my view of the Sector sets. Tonality wise, they aren't bad. They sound much warmer and have a less harsh high end compared to the '97 remasters (which I honestly do not care for). But, the Sectors do have slightly more compression in comparison to the previous batch. Does that make me hate the Sectors? Absolutely not. They have nice EQ, sound great with earbuds on a phone, and have decent packaging for the price. These sets did play a big part in helping me get into Rush, and they were my top choices for a while. That is, until I got better pairs of headphones and started listening to the early West German Atomic and US silver-face CD's that I also happened to have. Better headphones can make a huge difference, and I truly started hearing the compression of the Sectors in comparison to the earlier discs. Then late in late 2013/early 2014, my audiophila :P got the best of me and I got the old Canadian Anthem CD's of :rush: , Caress of Steel, 2112, Signals, and P/G. All of them sound better than the highly praised WG Atomics IMO. For my Rush CD collection, I've now got many repeats which includes some WG Atomics, US silver-faces, Canadian Anthems, Japanese 25/32.8P's, MFSL's, '97/'04 remasters, SHM mini LP's, the Sector sets, and the Studio Albums '89-'07 set. The crazy combination equals over Rush 70 CD's. Yeah I know, I'm insane :D. I listen to whichever version I'm in the mood for, and of everything I've got, the '97's are the only ones that I ignore. It's not the compression that makes me hate them, although it certainly isn't a good thing. The problem is the harsh EQ that favors the highs and forgets the mid-range (AKA the dreadful "smiley-faced" EQ). The result is both harsh and dull at the same time. I still think the '97's are better than the Judas Priest remasters and Genesis stereo remixes.

Edited September 16, 2014 by terrymcginnis83