Black Sabbath - CD Comparisons

Update:

I'm seeking out the Japanese Vertigos. Hope they are the answer.

 

Aside from this wonderful audiophile forum, I wonder if those Rhino re-masters might be the unsung hero to Black Sabbath's rise in popularity with a new generation.
Not that the music isn't good enough for a new generation, but the Rhino re-masters made Sabbath sound more powerful/current with that heavy compression
(and probably 99% of the population doesn't care too much about sound quality, only the power given to these old warhorses). Just a little observation.

 

Zen makes a good point.

 

I haven't heard the Black Box, but I love the Castle 96 remasters.

 

Old thread ...

Personally, I thought the Black Box sounded like crud less than 60 seconds into the 1st CD I listened to.

 

Wow...a 7 year bump. Sabbath has never really needed a reissue campaign to rekindle interest in the band. It's never waned. Besides, theres been so many different campaigns that only the audiophiles and hardcore collectors bother anymore. I agree The Black Box sounded like crap to me from day one....but to many listeners, I'm sure they'd say they are just fine.

 

I was jumped on pretty hard on this forum for saying I liked the Black Box and still do. Out of 154 reviews on Amazon, I counted 7 or so that attacked the sound quality. These are the mainly 1 and 2 star reviews. So, I'm guessing most of the dissenters fall here. Now I certainly understand that this forum is about sound quality. I'm just thinking there has to be a few people who consider themselves to be audiophiles that wrote reviews. I just don't like people telling me their opinion used as fact about sound. Too many different variables.

 

Hi, long time lurker and I just decided to make an account to post on this great thread.

What is everybody's opinion on the Japanesse 2010, 2011 and 2012 SHM-SACD releases? I listened to them and I am very impressed by the sound quality and also of how detailed they sound.

 

The dynamic range of the Black Box and other remasters has been reduced. Not really an opinion there. EQ is a matter of taste, however. Do a search on this forum for better sounding CDs. Your ears will eventually thank you for it.

 

Do a search. Some are great, and others not so much. Welcome to the forum. Great information here.

 

Is it the sound of thunder that sounds like crud to you?

 

^^^ I didn't say that I listened to the first CD first. I listened to Sabotage first.

 

So all you knew at that point was that Hole in the Sky sounded like crud. I hope you didn't dismiss the entire set based on that.
Strangely enough, I've owned the Black Box since 2004, but don't think I've ever got around to playing Sabotage. Guess that's because I'm a sucker for the first four and just a couple of songs from SBS and Technical Ecstasy each.

 

Vol 4 from the Black Box is one of the absolute worst mastering hack jobs I've ever heard.

 

<snicker> Welcome to the forum, Osvaldo. No need to question kevin5brown's bona fides

 

Roland (member rjstauber) created a thread with a very thorough comparison of the various Black Sabbath CDs.

 

I did listen to them all. Varying levels of ... crud ... but all bad compared to much better sounding CDs out there.

As Gerry said in post 84: EQ can be a personal preference, but squashed dynamics simply ruins a recording, no matter what the tonal balance is.