And as sure as night follows day, there will be another reissue ....
Useful input from DH; thank you. Those of us not experienced in or knowledgeable of the technical basis of these remastered reissues can do only one thing, which is to use our ears to determine whether a reissue presents any improvement over previous incarnations. Certainly, I hope that none of us automatically concedes or even wilfully imagines any such enhancement because we are " in thrall of the industry's hyperbole"; if that amelioration in sonic quality is discernible to me, I say so, but I am equally prepared to advise the punter not to bother if I think it is negligible or non-existent - that is one of the benefits of our remaining financially or commercially independent of any influence by the recording labels. Indeed, reviews here have both lauded the revitalisation of a classic recording but in some cases also confessed to hearing little difference from previous versions - and of course, sometimes a reissue of a recording is welcome simply because it was always very good.
Terence, the simple answer is absolutely nothing, provided:
1. The stereo transfer was made using the full capabilities of 16/44 technology, and
2. The same, and hopefully original, sources have been used for both.
Regarding the latter, unfortunately the major labels in particular have been milking the reissue market for decades with, as they admit now, copies of recordings that were not the originals on the feeble excuse that these were not restorable. As a recording engineer with experience back to analogue tape days, I know this is utter nonsense (see my May 2023 thread on "Baking the Ring"). Apart from repairing edits and possibly 'doctoring' some dropouts, there is no reason why a simple and competently done analogue-to-digital stereo transfer at 16/44 will not give you exactly what the production team heard in the control room at the time of the recording. Personally, I'd prefer no noise reduction.
I'm happy to expound further, particularly on so-called "hi-res", but as you say, Pandora's box is creaking ... A final comment, however, is that on this subject I'm often disappointed by how much MWI reviewers seem to be in thrall of the industry's hyperbole, instead of calling them out for their sheer cynicism.
Hello. I have so many incarnations of the Britten Requiem. I received the latest as a download at Christmas. I don't want to open a Pandora's box but I appreciate that these recordings get improved with remastering: altering balances, cleaning up distortion, fixing edits, etc., and I am happy to have them. But I will get these in a 16/44 download, no? What do I get by opting for a 24/96 etc. transfer? Thank you.
Message Thread
« Back to index | View thread »
Thank you for taking part in the MusicWeb International Forum.
Len Mullenger - Founder of MusicWeb