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VT Mastered for iTunes (The Studio Albums 1989-2007) sounds much better

brunosamppa

By brunosamppa,
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brunosamppa

brunosamppa

Posted
Posted

Hey People, The Vapor Trails version Mastered for iTunes sounds much better than the original CD mastering. Check it out!

 

Not Remixed, but better than nothing for now!

 

I think the work was done by Andy Vandette at Masterdisk

 

 

(is part of the "Rush: The Studio Albums 1989-2007" set released today)

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mrvander

mrvander

Posted
Posted
Too bad for me. I don't participate in the Apple ecosystem. I'm curious though, do you have to buy the entire collection to get the VT tracks or can you buy them individually? At what cost? Lossy or lossless?
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LedRush

LedRush

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I was wondering about this. Does anyone else confirm this? I don't want to rebuy the album twice if its not a noticeable improvement.
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clem

clem

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I went ahead over there and gave a couple of clips a listen. I can't really tell with my tinny computer speakers, but it DOES sound a bit better. Problem is, you have to shell out $16.77 for the album. Not sure if it's worth it.

 

I've always said that remastering won't help Vapor Trails. It needs to flat out be redone. From scratch.

 

Oh well, to be fair, there are some that love this album. I've never been able to figure that one out. I guess I should be thankful we're all different.

 

Clem

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rugen

rugen

Posted
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the problem with VT is not only the mix, but the songwriting, the songs sound like a jam session rush with rage that was left unfinished.
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ShlappinDahBass

ShlappinDahBass

Posted
Posted

Link?

You need a link to iTunes?

 

:LOL:

 

I don't use Apple products. So, I don't have it don't have it installed to any of my PCs.

 

:D

 

You do have a browser and working fingers, no?

 

Yeah...but my keyboard is all the way over there...

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LedRush

LedRush

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It seems that these remastered are going to be released on disc as well. There's no way I'm buying a third or fourth copy of an album, but I might be convinced on VT if there is a noticeable improvement in sound quality. But then I'll probably have to buy it a third time when the remix is finished. Sigh.
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Todem

Todem

Posted
Posted (edited)

It needs a remix as well.

 

Just listen to the Retrospective remix of OLV....sounds worlds better.

 

One day they will remix/remaster this thing.

 

One day.

 

Some great classic Rush tunes on that diddy.

 

Ceiling Unlimited

Ghost Rider

Vaportrail

Earthshine

Freeze

Nocturne

Sweet Miracle

Secret Touch

Edited by Todem
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EagleMoon

EagleMoon

Posted
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I listened to a lot of these tracks and compared to the originals with headphones I can definitely hear a difference. Everything sounds clearer and open, less compressed. Like they should sound. Really nice.
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custom55

custom55

Posted
Posted

OK. So I tested Lakeside Park for the Mastered for iTunes vs. Lakeside Park from the a regular iTunes version. I do hear a crisper bass on the MFI version, with my earbuds on. It it worth it? Still not sure and still need more listening/comparing. I will sample a few other songs. I really need to buy a turntable and go back to LP's, like this guy...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhtfF9nf4wA

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Pound of Obscure

Pound of Obscure

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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.

 

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.

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thizzellewashington

thizzellewashington

Posted
Posted

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.

 

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.

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LedRush

LedRush

Posted
Posted

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.

 

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.

 

So the HDTracks are will hold more information than the soon-to-be-released CDs of these remasters?

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Peartlee

Peartlee

Posted
Posted

I'm seriously considering buying everything HDTracks has to offer for RUSH. I'd give my left nut for higher quality versions, and uncompressed remasters at 24/96 is perfect! The samples sound great. Even the samples of CA sound better IMO. Everything but CA was remastered from the original masters done on analog equipment (just read the descriptions for more info).

 

I just wish I had portable hardware capable of playing back 24/96 files. Sadly my iPod does not. I'd never leave my car if I could rock out to those files!

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