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This reminded me of talk in the past about the Gastwirt version of Deja Vu having NR. A week or two ago I pulled it out again, and really, I'm not so sure. Yeah, there's less hiss than the Japanese HDCD version, but that one just seems like a lot of high end was added IMO. Any other thoughts?

I have all the Japanese Yes HDCDs . They all seem level- and treble-boosted (regardless of whether playback si through an HDCD decoder or not) , some quite ludicrously so. So there's plenty of hiss -- a brick wall of it in some cases. And plenty of flat-tops in the .wav forms. I wouldn't use Japanese HDCDs as a baseline for anything.

I recall reading ssomewhere that Gastwirt went through a period of applying NR pretty heavily, but then modified his philosophy. I think his 2 (?) tries at the Hendrix catalog were used as evidence. Or maybe it was an interview with the man. Certainly there's a difference between the amount of hiss on the Yesyears boxed set and the subsequent individual Yes CD remasters, which were both done by him within the space of a few years.

Btw, no matter what anyone writes on SHtv , soundwise, the 'gold' Atlantic remasters are *exactly the same* (bit -identical) as the subsequent 'silver' incarnations. I've lost count of how many morons have insisted that the 'gold' Fragile 'sounds better' than the silver version that came out shortly thereafter. The gold series was simply a way of introducing select remasters with expanded packaging, as limited-edition 'collectibles', before they were released as normal CDs.

Right on about the Atlantic gold CDs. Fang is another one - the remaster is "bright and tinny" while the gold CD "sounds great".

I know the Beach Boys discs from back then had NR, and I'm pretty sure the 1993 Hendrix discs did too (I'd have to check, but I seem to remember doing a comparison), but I didn't catch any on Deja Vu or the box set when I listened the other day. Either that or he did a damn good job with the NR. Although when I compared his CD with the "MoFi killer" (an Atlantic LP or some sort) I really didn't hear much difference at all.

Would you be interested in a sample WAV from the previous CD incarnation of Deja Vu (the fabled '88 version)?

Ryan

Sure, what the hell.

But is that the "good" pre-remaster?

It's the one Steve likes (as referenced in the thread you quoted here). I'll send something off to you later today.

Ryan

Xenu wrote:

CD Comments: This CD was among the earliest of CDs. The first pressings (made in Germany) were extremely bright and hard to listen to. The 2nd pressings offered an improvement, but not enough to make a difference. The remastered pressing is also too bright and tinny. However, the Atlantic-Gold (USA) CD sounds great.

I can provide .wavs and CE analysis of a track from the gold and silver "Fragile' that demonstrates they're the same remastering. And I coudl swear I've done so already on SHtv while I was a member in good standing.

Then again, doofi like Fang would probably say it's JITTER making the difference. so why bother?

krabapple wrote:Then again, doofi like Fang would probably say it's JITTER making the difference. so why bother?

No, he'd just say "it sounds different to me".

Yeah, Fang doesn't go in for justifying his opinions -- they just are. Which is sort of refreshing -- at least he's a pure subjectivist instead of trying to dress up his subjectivism in objectivist drag.

Ryan

lukpac wrote:...and I'm pretty sure the 1993 Hendrix discs did too (I'd have to check, but I seem to remember doing a comparison)...

I don't have 'em anymore, but I think the '93 remasters were the same as the Reprise CDs. I used to have both Ladylands and remember the mastering credits being almost identical.

Not to veer too far off topic, but I must be the only person in the world that likes the Reprise EL. I hear quite a bit of hiss on it and I also hear some NR but it doesn't bother me like some other NR'd to death discs I've heard.

Hi,

I don't have the 1988 CD, I just reported what Steve had written in another thread. His recommendations are usually spot-on.

About the noise reduction on the Gastwirt Deja Vu...it sounds to me as if there is unnaturally little hiss, but it is also the overall "closedness" of the sound that makes me think of noise reduction. The intro of Carry On simply does not have enough "air" that one would expect from a 1970 recording.

The thing is, though, I'm not sure it ever had that much air...

I'll have to listen to Ryan's file when I get home.

I just compared the Gastwirt CD to Ryan's clip. No difference in the hiss. The hiss also seems to match my dub of the "MFSL killer" LP (I think that's a Tom Port quote or something). So I think the NR debate can be finished. I'll check out the box set when I get a chance.

One odd thing - the intro to Carry On is narrowed down, as to mask the lack of anything in the right channel. As soon as the bass comes in, however, it widens back up. Seems like it might also be a trick to make the hiss seem less obvious.

The hiss also seems to match my dub of the "MFSL killer" LP (I think that's a Tom Port quote or something).

That's the magic 80's reissue Atlantic LP, right?

I didn't give you the beginning of Carry On, but the intro is hard-left on my CD.

Ryan