Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

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SanDimasCharvel
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Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by SanDimasCharvel »

OK, so I started to go off about this in another thread and I am curious to see if anybody else has an opinion or cares about this.

If interest in RR is at an all time low as mentioned, that is so sad. Blizzard and Diary are such amazing albums. The younger generation is really missing out if they don't know about those albums. However, what doesn't help is that Sony/Legacy did a crappy job in 2011 of remastering them by brickwalling them on CD and even on the high res (what's the point of hi res when the sound file is terrible) so the current versions don't sound good and are missing a lot of the magic.

The dynamics just aren't there. The high peaks and low valleys in the songs are literally gone. They are like modern day albums, and that's not a compliment. The build up in title track of Diary of A Madman, for example, is just not the same. The low parts are louder and the loud parts are softer. The drum intro to Little Dolls doesn't have the peaks that pummel you. Every hit nearly sounds the same. And overall, the music really suffers throughout when you squish it like that.

To make a CD or hi res file that loud, the music must literally be squished. How's that for a technical term lol?

Jack - are you listening? Maybe you can do something about that. Those two albums need to be remastered properly so they can shine again like the original vinyl did or better. If Sony/Legacy put the care into those albums like they do Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue album, we would hear some completely amazing results and more people hearing it for the first time would be blown away. Instead, someone at Legacy likes to sticker Ozzy remasters as "Bigger, badder and Louder!" and doesn't realize that's what a volume slider or knob is for. Master it with the proper dynamics, then crank it up on playback, not during mastering where it's clipped, limited and compressed to hell and back. Squished.

For me, I've settled on the original Jet CD of Blizzard. It's not too bad. For Diary, I've relunctanly settled on the 1995 remaster. I think all the versions of Diary on CD are not really good and was so disappointed that the hi res files are just clones of the current brickwalled CD's.

Sorry for the rant. Maybe one day I'll have the time and money to go back to vinyl because I don't see anything changing with Legacy's logic. It's odd though that Ozzy isn't even on Sony's featured artist list when I checked recently. Maybe one day he'll be on another label that cares or just be independent. Who knows, maybe it's Ozzy's or Sharon's logic. Steve Harris of Iron Maiden likes remasters brickwalled and Metallica too. It's a shame. Sometimes it's the artist, sometimes the label, sometimes both.

I grew up with listening to the vinyl of these two albums, so maybe I'm just spoiled because I know how they should sound. Diary was especially spatial sounding. Other artists have remastered their albums to sound as good as the original vinyl, so why not these?
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

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The 2 studio albums I have only on cd, these are bought in the late 80's. Don't know how they compare to the nowaday versions on cd. I wonder if it's the same for Tribute? I felt my Tribute cd from '87 sounded a little more rich than the 2002 version. Always felt that cd's has less dynamics than vinyl. For instance the Tribute album. Have them both on cd and vinyl. The vinyl sounds more warm, more rich and dynamic!
Have to say I was dissapointed about the sound of the live cd in the boxset. The mix is terrible. It should have been mixed in 80's style. I prefer the sound of good boots like Montreal and Cleveland any day.
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SanDimasCharvel
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by SanDimasCharvel »

The Flying Dutchman wrote:The 2 studio albums I have only on cd, these are bought in the late 80's. Don't know how they compare to the nowaday versions on cd. I wonder if it's the same for Tribute? I felt my Tribute cd from '87 sounded a little more rich than the 2002 version. Always felt that cd's has less dynamics than vinyl. For instance the Tribute album. Have them both on cd and vinyl. The vinyl sounds more warm, more rich and dynamic!
Have to say I was dissapointed about the sound of the live cd in the boxset. The mix is terrible. It should have been mixed in 80's style. I prefer the sound of good boots like Montreal and Cleveland any day.
I agree, vinyl is usually much better than CD. Sometimes there are hi res files that are as warm and rich as the vinyl when they are done right, unlike the entire Ozzy hi-res catalog.

I agree about Tribute too. The 2002 was brickwalled. The 1995 sounds compressed. The original 1987 CD sounds best for digital versions.

With the box set live CD, I agree with that too. They not only brickwalled that, they also used Sound Replacer on the drums, except the drum solo. I'm glad we got it, but it's harsh on the ears.
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by barossadude »

In the 30th anniversary box set, we also had re-released vinyl albums of BOO & Diary - that I have had recorded directly to CD. Has any one done a side by side sound test with a good quality 1980 copy of BOO to the box set version? Is the box set vinyl version squished sounding as well, or just as rich a 1980 copy?
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SanDimasCharvel
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by SanDimasCharvel »

barossadude wrote:In the 30th anniversary box set, we also had re-released vinyl albums of BOO & Diary - that I have had recorded directly to CD. Has any one done a side by side sound test with a good quality 1980 copy of BOO to the box set version? Is the box set vinyl version squished sounding as well, or just as rich a 1980 copy?
That's a great question. I've wondered how both reissue LP's compare. I hope someone has done this. I have the box set but I'm not set up for vinyl now nor do I have a first pressing of either Diary or BOO. I wish I still had the LP's I bought in 1982. They sounded great but I foolishly and unfortunately sold a lot of vinyl when CD's came out. If the reissues sound as good as the originals, I'd hopefully find a way to somehow get them transferred nicely.
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by romeorose2 »

I don't know how people can listen to Vinyl. I've never heard a vinyl record that didn't make extra noise such as Hiss, Crackling, and Popping... The highest resolution in the world would be pointless to me if it meant I had to suffer through something that sounds like a bowl of Rice Crispies cereal or wood buring in a fireplace.
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by Paul Wolfe »

I've gotta say that I cannot tell the difference in "warmth" of vinyl over CDs or the "lossy" sound of MP3s... all those years of playing my guitar at deafening volumes has destroyed my ability to hear subtleties
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by skezza »

SanDimasCharvel wrote:
The Flying Dutchman wrote:The 2 studio albums I have only on cd, these are bought in the late 80's. Don't know how they compare to the nowaday versions on cd. I wonder if it's the same for Tribute? I felt my Tribute cd from '87 sounded a little more rich than the 2002 version. Always felt that cd's has less dynamics than vinyl. For instance the Tribute album. Have them both on cd and vinyl. The vinyl sounds more warm, more rich and dynamic!
Have to say I was dissapointed about the sound of the live cd in the boxset. The mix is terrible. It should have been mixed in 80's style. I prefer the sound of good boots like Montreal and Cleveland any day.
I agree, vinyl is usually much better than CD. Sometimes there are hi res files that are as warm and rich as the vinyl when they are done right, unlike the entire Ozzy hi-res catalog.

I agree about Tribute too. The 2002 was brickwalled. The 1995 sounds compressed. The original 1987 CD sounds best for digital versions.

With the box set live CD, I agree with that too. They not only brickwalled that, they also used Sound Replacer on the drums, except the drum solo. I'm glad we got it, but it's harsh on the ears.
I think I have the 2002 version. It's not too bad, but yeah, not great.

The Bark at the Moon remaster is one of the worst I've ever owned though. Utter disgrace of a CD.
SanDimasCharvel
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by SanDimasCharvel »

romeorose2 wrote:I don't know how people can listen to Vinyl. I've never heard a vinyl record that didn't make extra noise such as Hiss, Crackling, and Popping... The highest resolution in the world would be pointless to me if it meant I had to suffer through something that sounds like a bowl of Rice Crispies cereal or wood buring in a fireplace.
Any little crackling during the intro to I Don't Know drove me nuts. It wasn't the best turntable and tuner but I also read that vinyl from that era wasn't great. I know there are vinyl de-clickers out there. I tried a couple a long time ago and they affected the overall sound too much. Maybe there's something better now or maybe those 180 gram reissues were quieter?
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by SanDimasCharvel »

skezza wrote:
SanDimasCharvel wrote:
The Flying Dutchman wrote:The 2 studio albums I have only on cd, these are bought in the late 80's. Don't know how they compare to the nowaday versions on cd. I wonder if it's the same for Tribute? I felt my Tribute cd from '87 sounded a little more rich than the 2002 version. Always felt that cd's has less dynamics than vinyl. For instance the Tribute album. Have them both on cd and vinyl. The vinyl sounds more warm, more rich and dynamic!
Have to say I was dissapointed about the sound of the live cd in the boxset. The mix is terrible. It should have been mixed in 80's style. I prefer the sound of good boots like Montreal and Cleveland any day.
I agree, vinyl is usually much better than CD. Sometimes there are hi res files that are as warm and rich as the vinyl when they are done right, unlike the entire Ozzy hi-res catalog.

I agree about Tribute too. The 2002 was brickwalled. The 1995 sounds compressed. The original 1987 CD sounds best for digital versions.

With the box set live CD, I agree with that too. They not only brickwalled that, they also used Sound Replacer on the drums, except the drum solo. I'm glad we got it, but it's harsh on the ears.
I think I have the 2002 version. It's not too bad, but yeah, not great.

The Bark at the Moon remaster is one of the worst I've ever owned though. Utter disgrace of a CD.
The original Jet CD of Blizzard is much better especially since the bass and drums aren't replaced. It is interesting, however, hearing things like the pick slide that Randy did at the beginning of the Crazy Train solo that made it into the 2002 mix that's not on the original.

Indeed, Bark 2002 is horrible. It sounds an unmixed album, yet there's no remixing (or un-mixing) on Slow Down and One Up the B Side, oddly the 2 B-side tracks if you were in the U.K.
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by leftyaxeman »

I agree, I've been saying that for years.

I'm a guitarist on several guitar oriented forums and all these younger fellas slag Randy's tone. I always have Randy's back and ask if they've heard BOO & DOAM on vinyl because a lot of nuance is lost in the conversion to digital. It's a shame that you can't hear Randy as on the original vinyl pressings.

When BOO came out I was a 19 yo guitarist and his tone leap out of the speakers, amazing tone & technique and by the end of side one I had a new guitar hero. His tone was warm, full, and humongous! He was going to surpass EVH till his untimely accident. The compression(or squishing) really did a disservice to his tone. Nothing compared to his tone. Do an A/B comparison analog to digital, the vinyl kills it!!!

Jack should go back to the master tapes and release on 180 gram vinyl and peeps would be mesmerized.

Just my .02 cents.
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by SanDimasCharvel »

leftyaxeman wrote:I agree, I've been saying that for years.

I'm a guitarist on several guitar oriented forums and all these younger fellas slag Randy's tone. I always have Randy's back and ask if they've heard BOO & DOAM on vinyl because a lot of nuance is lost in the conversion to digital. It's a shame that you can't hear Randy as on the original vinyl pressings.

When BOO came out I was a 19 yo guitarist and his tone leap out of the speakers, amazing tone & technique and by the end of side one I had a new guitar hero. His tone was warm, full, and humongous! He was going to surpass EVH till his untimely accident. The compression(or squishing) really did a disservice to his tone. Nothing compared to his tone. Do an A/B comparison analog to digital, the vinyl kills it!!!

Jack should go back to the master tapes and release on 180 gram vinyl and peeps would be mesmerized.

Just my .02 cents.
True, the brilliance of his tone really came through on vinyl. I think the box set LP's were 180 gram. These days, they can do amazing hi res files that will sound as good as vinyl if they do a good tape transfer and master it properly to match the old vinyl and not squish it. The current hi res files were squished and probably would have been really nice if they weren't. What's the sense of all of that resolution when they ruin the quality like that?

Speaking of vinyl, Randy's tone on the original UK Crazy Train 7" of "You, Looking at Me Looking at You" amazes me, especially those lead wails in the intro as well as the other leads and the solo. Well, for that matter, all the rhythm tones are awesome too.
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by leftyaxeman »

SanDimasCharvel wrote:
leftyaxeman wrote:I agree, I've been saying that for years.

I'm a guitarist on several guitar oriented forums and all these younger fellas slag Randy's tone. I always have Randy's back and ask if they've heard BOO & DOAM on vinyl because a lot of nuance is lost in the conversion to digital. It's a shame that you can't hear Randy as on the original vinyl pressings.

When BOO came out I was a 19 yo guitarist and his tone leap out of the speakers, amazing tone & technique and by the end of side one I had a new guitar hero. His tone was warm, full, and humongous! He was going to surpass EVH till his untimely accident. The compression(or squishing) really did a disservice to his tone. Nothing compared to his tone. Do an A/B comparison analog to digital, the vinyl kills it!!!

Jack should go back to the master tapes and release on 180 gram vinyl and peeps would be mesmerized.

Just my .02 cents.
True, the brilliance of his tone really came through on vinyl. I think the box set LP's were 180 gram. These days, they can do amazing hi res files that will sound as good as vinyl if they do a good tape transfer and master it properly to match the old vinyl and not squish it. The current hi res files were squished and probably would have been really nice if they weren't. What's the sense of all of that resolution when they ruin the quality like that?

Speaking of vinyl, Randy's tone on the original UK Crazy Train 7" of "You, Looking at Me Looking at You" amazes me, especially those lead wails in the intro as well as the other leads and the solo. Well, for that matter, all the rhythm tones are awesome too.
I had forgotten I had the UK Crazy Train 7" till you reminded me. You're right, the tone on lead wails in the intro & solo, and rhythm are amazing!

I've got to go dig it out now! Thanks for the reminder!
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by SanDimasCharvel »

leftyaxeman wrote:
SanDimasCharvel wrote:
leftyaxeman wrote:I agree, I've been saying that for years.

I'm a guitarist on several guitar oriented forums and all these younger fellas slag Randy's tone. I always have Randy's back and ask if they've heard BOO & DOAM on vinyl because a lot of nuance is lost in the conversion to digital. It's a shame that you can't hear Randy as on the original vinyl pressings.

When BOO came out I was a 19 yo guitarist and his tone leap out of the speakers, amazing tone & technique and by the end of side one I had a new guitar hero. His tone was warm, full, and humongous! He was going to surpass EVH till his untimely accident. The compression(or squishing) really did a disservice to his tone. Nothing compared to his tone. Do an A/B comparison analog to digital, the vinyl kills it!!!

Jack should go back to the master tapes and release on 180 gram vinyl and peeps would be mesmerized.

Just my .02 cents.
True, the brilliance of his tone really came through on vinyl. I think the box set LP's were 180 gram. These days, they can do amazing hi res files that will sound as good as vinyl if they do a good tape transfer and master it properly to match the old vinyl and not squish it. The current hi res files were squished and probably would have been really nice if they weren't. What's the sense of all of that resolution when they ruin the quality like that?

Speaking of vinyl, Randy's tone on the original UK Crazy Train 7" of "You, Looking at Me Looking at You" amazes me, especially those lead wails in the intro as well as the other leads and the solo. Well, for that matter, all the rhythm tones are awesome too.
I had forgotten I had the UK Crazy Train 7" till you reminded me. You're right, the tone on lead wails in the intro & solo, and rhythm are amazing!

I've got to go dig it out now! Thanks for the reminder!
Cool. What an amazing b-side. I saw that Bob Daisley recently second guessed with hindsight the band relegating that song to a b-side in favor of "No Bone Movies".
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Re: Current poor sound quality of Blizzard/Diary CD's/Hi res

Post by Brian_D »

skezza wrote: I think I have the 2002 version. It's not too bad, but yeah, not great.

The Bark at the Moon remaster is one of the worst I've ever owned though. Utter disgrace of a CD.
God...you ain't kiddin'! That mix is atrocious...not to mention the absolute gutting of much of the guitar work on "Rock 'n' Roll Rebel." I HATE what they did to that album!
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