"Band on the Run" unlimited remaster, "retains the dynamic range of the original master recording" Options

[2Bdecided]

The anti "loudness race" trend continues...

HIGH RESOLUTION DETAILS

The audio industry has seen many technical innovations since Band on the Run was first released on vinyl in 1973, the most notable being digital recording. However, with the introduction of CD came two advances, “de-noising” and “peak limiting” which have become increasingly unpopular within certain areas of the music industry and amongst audiophiles.

De-noising was introduced to remove the inherent sound, or hiss, associated with analogue tape. The amount of processing used to remove tape noise can be varied, but when used excessively, many believe that it also has a detrimental effect on elements of the musical sound.

Peak limiting is a process that increases the loudness of music. It is achieved by holding the loudest peaks down and raising the overall level of the music. Much depends on the amount of limiting applied, but at its most extreme the result can be a serious reduction in the dynamic range and often audible distortion.

The release of The Beatles’ remasters in 2009 saw a marked change in attitudes towards these issues, where both noise reduction and limiting were used sparingly with the aim of representing the master tapes more accurately. Such is the case with the newly remastered CD of Band on the Run: tape noise reduction has scarcely been used and the degree of limiting is subtle. In addition digital technology has advanced with the ability now to offer recordings in 24 bit/96kHz. The high resolution version is being made available via download and is being offered in two formats: limited, which is comparable in volume to the remastered CD, and un-limited, which in comparison with the limited version will sound quieter, but retain the dynamic range of the original master recording.


Allan Rouse Abbey Road Studios

They're "only" charging an extra £3 / $5 above the comparable "CD" download, though you have no option but to pay for the 9 extra bonus tracks if you want hi-res.

If you just want the normal album, you're paying double to get hi-res (limited or unlimited version).

9-track "CD" download: £6 / $9
18-track "CD" download: £10 / $15
Hi-Res download: £13 / $20
Both Hi-Res downloads: £23 / $36

From here:
http://www.paulmccartney.com/bandontherun/

Cheers,
David.

P.S. I haven't heard it. It's a shame it's not on Spotify! (The recent John Lennon releases are).

This post has been edited by 2Bdecided: Nov 10 2010, 12:15

[C.R.Helmrich]

I'd probably take the limited version, because that's limiting how it should be done: subtle. When you compare the spectrograms in this post, you can see that the spectral content is almost identical in the limited and unlimited versions. There is a tiny bit more high-frequency content in the limited version, which is probably distortion due to the limiter, and three clipped transients (vertical lines), but the purple color of these added spectral components tells us that they are of very high frequency, very low level, and thus most likely inaudible. For comparison I delay- and volume-aligned the two versions from the upload thread by removing the first 231 samples of the unlimited version and amplifying the limited version by 0.69. The waveforms and spectra of the two versions are then so similar that I didn't bother trying to ABX them.

Thanks a lot for uploading the samples! Gave me a lot of insight. If every label would master its songs like the limited version of BOTR, there would be no loudness war.

Chris

P.S.: The 22-kHz line is weird. Probably not dither since its frequency varies and doesn't make sense. Maybe interference during A/D conversion of the tape.

This post has been edited by C.R.Helmrich: Nov 14 2010, 16:47

[2Bdecided]

The waveforms and spectra of the two versions are then so similar that I didn't bother trying to ABX them.

As far as I can see, in the samples here...
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....c=84945&hl=
...there's 1 peak of a few (12?) samples that's been reduced by about 0.5dB (sample 966828), and everything else is virtually identical. Even concentrating on that peak, I can't hear the difference. I wouldn't expect to be able to!

If only more "limiting" was like this!

I assume in the loudest parts of the album there are more squashed the peaks, and so it might become audible.

btw, it's interesting just A/B-ing the tracks without level matching. The level difference is obvious, but I bet 90% of people would also claim the louder track is brighter - probably better over all, as well as louder. Whereas once they're level matched, they sound identical. I wonder how many people have done listening tests biassed in this way?

Cheers,
David.

[Arnold B. Kruege...]

btw, it's interesting just A/B-ing the tracks without level matching. The level difference is obvious, but I bet 90% of people would also claim the louder track is brighter - probably better over all, as well as louder. Whereas once they're level matched, they sound identical. I wonder how many people have done listening tests biassed in this way?

This is one of the secrets to how to sell audio gear. Match levels by ear, which results in a random mismatch of about a dB or a few dB. Then present both alternatives along with a aales pitch about why one is obviously better.

Works just about every time!

People go into audio stores, whether brick-and-motar or web, with money to spend. To them, success is defined as actually making a decision and spending their money. All the sales people have to do is play along with them and help them complete their agenda. It seems almost cruel to confuse them with the relevant facts. ;-)