Remasters vs. Originals? Remasters worth it?

~~[MERIT]~~ · 06-10-2011, 06:25 PM

If I already have it in my collection, screw re-buying it just for a re-mastered version. But if I'm buying it for the first time, it all depends on the music. Stuff like Pink Floyd or The Doors is worth the extra money for the re-mastered version. Other older artist (Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, George Jones, etc) can only truly be enjoyed on vinal, with all of the pops and skips of the record player.

BastardofYoung · 06-10-2011, 06:37 PM

Yeah. It is. I like things that stand how they are flaws and all, as I think that is what makes the albums good in many cases.

The only times I have liked some remasters is when the volume is really low. Like I remember the original version of Gob's "Too Late... No Friends" you could turn the volume all the way up and it was still not loud... They eventually corrected that was the re-release, and it was good. That is when i think it is alright. Some of those old releases suffer from not being volume leveled very well, so I can see just improving that aspect of it.

Freebase Dali · 06-10-2011, 07:03 PM

Yea, making releases louder doesn't harm anything if the extent of it is bringing up the volume as a whole and maybe putting a brickwall limiter on the master channel with no actual compression so that any errant peaks don't surpass 0db. But that's literally like turning up the volume on your speakers but without the peak limiting.
In some cases, that isn't enough, and compression is actually needed to bring the lowest parts up without having the highest parts go over the 0db threshold... and that's when you're sacrificing dynamics for volume.

If the original mix had elements that were simply mixed far too low in context with the rest of the mix, the decision has to be made whether those elements are critical enough that the dynamics between them and the loudest parts can be lessened without any ill effects. It's really a matter of circumstance.
With that said, some songs could benefit from it, while others simply can't, without making that dynamics sacrifice. I think that's where some remasters go wrong, in that, in a lot of cases, loudness is put before dynamics simply because of the way a lot of music is mixed now days. Those are usually the cases where remasters of this nature go wrong.

Insane Guest · 06-12-2011, 11:31 AM

I've never bought a remastered album, and with the massive Floyd remasters set to come this year, I really have to make up my mind whether or not it is worth it.

Lord Dweedle · 06-12-2011, 01:22 PM

stick to mp3s, if u wanna listen to em on stereo then just burn em to disc..

otherwise go vinyl..

Zer0 · 06-12-2011, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord Dweedle

stick to mp3s, if u wanna listen to em on stereo then just burn em to disc..

otherwise go vinyl..

Do you even know what a remaster is?

BastardofYoung · 06-12-2011, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord Dweedle

stick to mp3s, if u wanna listen to em on stereo then just burn em to disc..

otherwise go vinyl..

As said, this has nothing to do with a remaster.

However, MP3 is just alright, FLAC is the better format if you have the space for it, ripping and burning FLAC is much better.

Lord Dweedle · 06-12-2011, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BastardofYoung

As said, this has nothing to do with a remaster.

However, MP3 is just alright, FLAC is the better format if you have the space for it, ripping and burning FLAC is much better.

well when u remaster a film it increases the quality of the image.

Cant be any different on audio since wiki says its basicly same thing..

if you want remaster quality then you get a remaster, but why bother getting discs when theres sites where u can buy remaster'd MP3s for 9c to 15c each?

Urban Hat€monger ? · 06-12-2011, 01:44 PM

THIS is what you call a remaster...

The Fall : The Wonderful And Frightening World Of The Fall: Omnibus Edition

BastardofYoung · 06-12-2011, 11:54 PM

I am not one to correct you, as I do not know the techincal aspects of it... so I am not going to rant about something where I will likely end up talking out of my ass on this one... If anybody can explain it it in a techincal way I will allow a much more knowledged person on the subject do so. But I think there is more to it than just "increasing the quality of image" or in this case sound.

06-10-2011, 06:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
BastardofYoung Buzz Killjoy Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 2,692	Yeah. It is. I like things that stand how they are flaws and all, as I think that is what makes the albums good in many cases. The only times I have liked some remasters is when the volume is really low. Like I remember the original version of Gob's "Too Late... No Friends" you could turn the volume all the way up and it was still not loud... They eventually corrected that was the re-release, and it was good. That is when i think it is alright. Some of those old releases suffer from not being volume leveled very well, so I can see just improving that aspect of it. __________________ last.fm ‎"I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people." - Jack Handey.

06-12-2011, 01:44 PM	#9 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,626	THIS is what you call a remaster... The Fall : The Wonderful And Frightening World Of The Fall: Omnibus Edition __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.

06-12-2011, 11:54 PM	#10 (permalink)
BastardofYoung Buzz Killjoy Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 2,692	I am not one to correct you, as I do not know the techincal aspects of it... so I am not going to rant about something where I will likely end up talking out of my ass on this one... If anybody can explain it it in a techincal way I will allow a much more knowledged person on the subject do so. But I think there is more to it than just "increasing the quality of image" or in this case sound. __________________ last.fm ‎"I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people." - Jack Handey.

06-10-2011, 06:25 PM	#1 (permalink)
~~[MERIT]~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Missouri, USA Posts: 4,823	If I already have it in my collection, screw re-buying it just for a re-mastered version. But if I'm buying it for the first time, it all depends on the music. Stuff like Pink Floyd or The Doors is worth the extra money for the re-mastered version. Other older artist (Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, George Jones, etc) can only truly be enjoyed on vinal, with all of the pops and skips of the record player.

06-10-2011, 07:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
Freebase Dali Partying on the inside Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5,584	Yea, making releases louder doesn't harm anything if the extent of it is bringing up the volume as a whole and maybe putting a brickwall limiter on the master channel with no actual compression so that any errant peaks don't surpass 0db. But that's literally like turning up the volume on your speakers but without the peak limiting. In some cases, that isn't enough, and compression is actually needed to bring the lowest parts up without having the highest parts go over the 0db threshold... and that's when you're sacrificing dynamics for volume. If the original mix had elements that were simply mixed far too low in context with the rest of the mix, the decision has to be made whether those elements are critical enough that the dynamics between them and the loudest parts can be lessened without any ill effects. It's really a matter of circumstance. With that said, some songs could benefit from it, while others simply can't, without making that dynamics sacrifice. I think that's where some remasters go wrong, in that, in a lot of cases, loudness is put before dynamics simply because of the way a lot of music is mixed now days. Those are usually the cases where remasters of this nature go wrong.

06-12-2011, 11:31 AM	#4 (permalink)
Insane Guest Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: CA Posts: 1,322	I've never bought a remastered album, and with the massive Floyd remasters set to come this year, I really have to make up my mind whether or not it is worth it.

06-12-2011, 01:22 PM	#5 (permalink)
Lord Dweedle Music Addict Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 127	stick to mp3s, if u wanna listen to em on stereo then just burn em to disc.. otherwise go vinyl..