Modern Vinyl "Masters" vs. CD--My Experience, It Really IS About the Music Options

[Engelsstaub]

Due to some recent past experiences in other threads wherein some members (who plainly state their honest dislike of vinyl) claim that modern LPs are just as dynamically clipped as their CD-counterparts, I'd like to take an opportunity to illustrate that this is IME not the case. I've heard it stated more than once that "vinyl is not about the music..it's about the ritual.) This is seemingly just plain-old lazy bias. It can easily be forgiven in that these posters make it pretty obvious that they don't purchase vinyl, let alone compare modern releases to their CD-counterparts.

Here are screenshots from needledrops I've done of some of my favorite recent records. All but one were released in the past two years. Warrel Dane's "Praises to the War Machine" was released in 2008. (As a fun side-note, the vinyl LP came with the CD and was limited to 1,000 copies worldwide.)

I would like to note that I did not cherry-pick these examples. I only have about three more needledrops that I also have a CD copy or iTunes Matched version of. I can upload those as well. It should also be noted that all of these examples are on the heavier-side of the metal genre and probably are far more dense in sound than most other examples from other genres.

I've brought each vinyl recording up to 0.1 under 0 dB for easier comparison. None of the peaks are "pops" or any artifacts associated with the LP medium. Only one had a "pop" that hit the ceiling and I corrected it before applying gain.


Borknagar - "The Earthling" from "Urd" (2012)

LP



iTunes Matched AAC




In Flames - "Ropes" from "Sounds of a Playground Fading" (2011)

LP



CD



(This album is an egregious example of how bad they can make a modern CD sound through destructive normalization.)


Saint Vitus - "Let Them Fall" from "Lillie: F-65" (2012)

LP



CD



(Yes, really. It sounds worse than it looks IME.)


Warrel Dane - "Brother" from "Praises to the War Machine" (2008)

LP



CD




Septicflesh - "Oceans of Grey" from "The Great Mass" (2011)

LP



CD




[continued in next post due to apparent image constraints]

[Engelsstaub]

I'm bumping in the interest of continued relevance and eventual conclusions.

I was really hoping others could contribute examples as well as almost all of my modern vinyl falls into nearly one genre. The only exception is The Beastie Boys' 20th anniversary remaster of "Paul's Boutique." I have both the LP and the CD, and that is the only example of the CD being equal (in lack of DRC) to the LP in my observation.

I have a few more that I could contribute (one from Paradise Lost's "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us," but I can assure you the conclusion would be for the vinyl in those cases. I haven't been transferring any new vinyl lately as I'm anticipating acquiring a new TT, cart, and sound card.

In any case I'd like to update some more findings on that In Flames record. I tested the vinyl against the CD with the TT DR Offline Meter to ascertain a measurement of dynamic range. These are the findings and seem to support what hilloyge and I believe. (It seems both "masters" suffer from DRC, but I contend that the vinyl suffers less.)

CD

CODE

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Analyzed folder: /Users/Jay/Music/Vinyl Rips/Vinyl Rips/In Flames/Sounds of a Playground Fading
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DR        Peak        RMS        Filename
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR3        -0.10 dB     -5.61 dB     01 - Sounds of a Playground Fading.wav
DR4        over        -5.19 dB     02 - Deliver Us.wav
DR4        -0.10 dB     -5.49 dB     03 - All For Me.wav
DR4        over        -4.95 dB     04 - The Puzzle.wav
DR5        -0.10 dB     -6.12 dB     05 - Fear is the Weakness.wav
DR4        over        -5.71 dB     06 - Where the Dead Ships Dwell.wav
DR8        -1.10 dB     -11.22 dB     07 - The Attic.wav
DR3        -0.10 dB     -5.24 dB     08 - Darker Times.wav
DR5        -0.10 dB     -6.19 dB     09 - Ropes.wav
DR4        -0.10 dB     -4.56 dB     10 - Enter Tragedy.wav
DR7        -0.10 dB     -12.58 dB     11 - Jester's Door.wav
DR3        -0.10 dB     -5.50 dB     12 - A New Dawn.wav
DR4        -0.10 dB     -6.40 dB     13 - Liberation.wav
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of files:    13
Official DR value:    DR4

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LP

CODE

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed folder: /Users/Jay/Music/Vinyl Rips/Vinyl Rips/In Flames/Sounds of a Playground Fading
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR        Peak        RMS        Filename
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR11        -0.32 dB     -13.69 dB     02 - Sounds of a Playground Fading.wav
DR12        -0.45 dB     -13.52 dB     03 - Deliver Us.wav
DR11        -1.40 dB     -14.13 dB     04 - All For Me.wav
DR11        -1.15 dB     -13.00 dB     06 - The Puzzle.wav
DR11        -1.61 dB     -14.41 dB     07 - Fear is the Weakness.wav
DR11        -1.24 dB     -14.16 dB     08 - Where the Dead Ships Dwell.wav
DR11        -5.32 dB     -18.57 dB     10 - The Attic.wav
DR11        -0.31 dB     -13.08 dB     11 - Darker Times.wav
DR12        -0.66 dB     -14.20 dB     12 - Ropes.wav
DR11        -1.19 dB     -12.91 dB     13 - Enter Tragedy.wav
DR12        -2.56 dB     -20.79 dB     15 - Jester's Door.wav
DR10        -0.75 dB     -13.22 dB     16 - A New Dawn.wav
DR11        -0.98 dB     -14.29 dB     17 - Liberation.wav
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of files:    13
Official DR value:    DR11

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I can keep uploading thirty-second samples too, but I'm wondering if that's always a completely adequate way of analyzing the DR of an entire song or album.