Worst sounding Cd's ever

Chibi Nappa said:
I don't think anybody was making that comparison. With both players connected to the same system, a high end record player sounds better than any CD player (provided the source sound for mastering the record was not 16 bit digital audio itself).
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While we agree on most things it seems, I have a couple of different issues with this statement.

1) Define "better". On what quantitative scales by what definitions is one "better" than the other. I'm not saying that CD is better than vinyl, nor am I saying the opposite. I'm saying that I have no idea other than personal subjective opinion on just what that judgment is being made.

47) If a digital pre-master will not sound better mastered to vinyl than it will mastered to CD, then that kind of punches a hole in your conclusion that vinyl is "better" than CD. I'm sure your reasoning is something along the lines that 16-bit pre-master has to make no format changes to go to CD, giving the CD the advantage in that special circumstance.

When you flesh it out, though, that argument doesn't work. If vinyl were a superior format, it would sound better than CD regardless of the source, because the implication is that the distortions of vinyl are more pleasing than the distortions of digital, which would mean that imposing vinyl distortions on a digital pre-master would improve the sound whereas the CD would not add the more pleasing distortions.

There's only one reason why some folks prefer the sound of vinyl over CD. Because that's what they've been brought up to believe that reproduced sound "should" sound like, that somehow analog distortion is "better" distortion than digital distortion. It's no different than those that claim that 35mm film looks "better" than digital video.

The reality is they both are distortion - or if you prefer, inaccuracy in reproduction - that takes the viewer/listener away from reality, and to say that one is "better" than the other has no meaning outside of expressing a personal preference.

G.
 
Carcass's Reek Of putrifaction sounds incredibly filthy. Yet the horrid production can be charming if you're in the right mood.
 
Chibi Nappa said:
What can one CD player possibly do differently than another CD player aside from the D/A conversion? The cheapest $5 CD player in the world still reads every last bit of data exactly perfectly off of the disc. D/A conversion isn't that tricky and the cheap stuff isn't that bad.
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I know this thread is a week old and the post I'm quoting is much older, but I'd like to answer this for anyone searching in the future. I agree that a cheap CD player isn't bad. But there is more to a CD player than just reading data and D/A conversion. CDs aren't linear in nature. The data on them is in packets. The CD player has to run an algorithm stored on the CD to decipher the data and assemble it. The CD player may or may not (likely nowadays it will) have oversampling, but it also needs error correction to catch and replace missed packets. A CD player also will likely have dithering built-in. Finally, the CD player's going to have a preamp. There's circuitry in there that carries an audio signal and sends it out to your receiver or power amplifier.

If I've missed any points along the line, I'll add them later. Got to go find the book!
 
EuroHobbes said:
Now, me being the noob, I thought Rick Rubin was one of those top-notch super-duper producers and I was wondering if you all think the same about the American Man records by Johnny Cash?
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I don't think they're called American Man records, but i know what you mean.

Personally i think they are something which should have been beautiful, but they were kinda ruined with vocal distortion here and there.
For me, the American albums are Johnny's cash's last words, and i'd rather just turn up my stereo than have them crunch at me whether i like it or not.
 
dodgeaspen said:
I hope this is the best place for this post. I was wondering what profecional CD's sound the worst to you as far as mixing & or mastering is concerned. My vote for the worst of all time is Metaillica And Justice For All. The bass sucks and their is a most annoying mid guitar moan that drives me out of my mind. It's not like they were in a low budget studio or didn't have the money to get project done the right way. I'd like to know what you think is a bad mix / master job.
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IMHO, the thin guitar sound and all the rest is totally appropriate for the material on And Justice for All. It works for the genre. When I was twelve, hearing the song 1 for the first time got me completely out of rap/hip hop and I will always be greatful. :)

My votes for the worst-sounding are Rush's Vapour Trails, Metallica's Death Magnetic, and Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication. I really like the material on all three, but just can't stand the sound!
 
Crap I forgot one ... Genesis - Invisible Touch!
Pat Metheny - Zero Tolerance for Silence has to be in there as well.
 
leaningpine said:
That's a pretty good looking waveform compared to most of the waveforms nowadays!

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Pink Noise?
 
i've noticed Californication keeps coming up over and over in this thread.

Does anyone know, is there a definitive answer as to why it sounds like it does?
Some blame mastering, and others blame Rubin, saying that the mixing would have to have been carried out with that kind of mastering in mind for it to have worked.

Basically, is it Rick Rubin's choice to have it sound that way, and if so,why? considering the great sounding records he's produced in the past (BSSM for one)
 
I would say some low key punk bands but other than that if its a big artists and the cd's been mastered this decade it should sound pretty good.. we're comming to the age tho where home mixes and masterings are starting to compete with professional mixes and masters.
 
Waltz Mastering -
Are you really saying that not completing the RIAA EQ cycle isn't going to sound like, well like a 1st generation non RIAA cycle completed LP master slapped onto CD - ie: pretty bloody bad? I've done a bit of LP to CD archiving & restoring - and initially with just the cruddy soundcard in a generic PC. I even did an LP of a CD I'd bought early on in the non RIAA'd days & the archive, (non restored), version which had the completed RIAA cycle sounded way, way better even having been done with crud worthy hardware.
Neurotica,
Budgie cassettes were made to wear out - then be replaced & eventually upgraded to LP then, one day long down the track with CD after they'd taken the time to do a decent remaster.
 
moresound said:
It's really hard to say but....When I first heard Tommy Bolins *Private Eyes* I thought every album by everyone else sucked.
Even now if you are to listen to it you would swear that it was recorded yesterday. Very advanced sound for the times--30+ years ago.





:cool:
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Hey - I've still got that vinyl... just converted it to MP3 - it is a really kickarse sounding album... not so keen on the toons after all this time tho... :D
 
Can't stand the RHCPs anyway, so not too bothered how bad Californication is - Blood on the Tracks is frustrating as hell though, as the songs are great but you can tell nobody involved gave a fuck about the sound. Wonder how it would fare with a remastering.
 
i strongly urge anyone that has already picked their worst master ever to go to itunes and type in 'Brandon Boyd the wild trapeze'

its not the loudest thing ive ever heard, but you will not believe your ears for a commercial release. its SO bad. the whole album. sounds like an arse.
 
As much as I love the music on the record, KISS' Hotter Than Hell has got to be one of the muddiest, sludge-full, cardboard-boxy sounding records I've heard (although oddly enough, I've become so used to that sound that I can't imagine the LP without it!)
 
skuthepoo said:
i strongly urge anyone that has already picked their worst master ever to go to itunes and type in 'Brandon Boyd the wild trapeze'

its not the loudest thing ive ever heard, but you will not believe your ears for a commercial release. its SO bad. the whole album. sounds like an arse.
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Jesus, that's grim! :(
 
clockstrikesten said:
As much as I love the music on the record, KISS' Hotter Than Hell has got to be one of the muddiest, sludge-full, cardboard-boxy sounding records I've heard (although oddly enough, I've become so used to that sound that I can't imagine the LP without it!)
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This is true. That record is awful....
 
Everyone jumps on the Death Magnetic bandwagon of hate. I've never heard it. I hate Metallica. Surely it aint that bad, huh?
 
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