Finding The Best Sounding Genesis (Part 1), Album By Album...

So is that a good thing then? IIRC you recommended the Atlantic of this one

 

*BUMP* for the above.

Also, does anyone know anything (SQ?) about Genesis Black Triangle CDs?

 

Could the hum have always been there? I had Lamb on the cassette,and it seemed there was a bit of hum throughout the album,not just one channel.

 

Oh,I have Foxtrot on CD,and it sounds better than the Charsima cassette I had.

 

I apologize if this has been covered, but could someone rate all of the DE's in the following categories:

Great (lives up to it's Definitive title)
Good (but there are better versions out there)
Bad (find those better versions)
Horrible (avoid at all costs, get an LP if you have to)

I have the DE's of NC, Foxtrot, and SEbtP, and I like them all. I've got the original WEA of DUKE, and have never felt the urge to upgrade. I don't have a high-end system. I recently found cheap LPs of WIND, TRICK, and THREE, and was wondering how their DE counterparts compare?

Thanks!

 

The Atlantic is very satisfying. The target is very good also if you don't mind the volume tinkering.

 

Great (lives up to it's Definitive title)

None.

Good (but there are better versions out there)

Selling England, Lamb, NC, Trick, SE, Live

Bad (find those better versions)

Foxtrot, Duke

Horrible (avoid at all costs, get an LP if you have to)

Trespass

 

Couldn't agree more!

 

Rare as Hen's teeth, but the best I've heard so far.

 

Once you compare, the DE Selling England By The Pound sounds just lifeless and anemic.

 

Thanks! What is "SE"? What about And Then There Were Three & Abacab?

Glad I held on to my old Duke! But I actually like Foxtrot; maybe it's because I haven't heard any different version.

 

Selling England by the Pound

 

The US Duke is the one. The Charisma is nice also but not as full.

The Definitive Edition has noticable of NR.

 

Also forgot to ask about Wind and Wuthering

 

I like the Atlantic but many (whose opinion I trust, like JeffMCarney) prefer the DE. Either one is fine, neither is spectacualr.

The problem is the original mixes didn't have a lot of bottom end so the CDs sound somewhat thin. The DE has more bottom end EQd into it so it does sound fuller.

 

Is this also the case with ATTW3? I made a needle-drop of the LP and it came out waaaaaay too loud. I'm gonna try again, but this time try to bring up the bass a little more.

 

That album wasn't mixed as thin so the difference won't be a breaking point. I really love the UK vinyl of this album and the Atlantic CD has a similar tonality.

I also have the target and it's digitally identical except for an overal volume decrease.


Why do targets and Japanese CDs usually have the volume changed? Seems like unnecessary processing to me.

 

Maybe it's not the case Jamie. What if the original Japan and Target CD's "are" the correct volume and it's the later pressings that have been the victims of unnecessary processing?

 

They were mastered in the US so those versions would identical to what the mastering house sent out. Overseas there would be less scrutiny as the US label would probably never even see a copy.

Also, several WG target CDs I have are from pretty bad analog copies whereas the US counterpart is from a much nicer source. I can only assume targets are from whatever second hand source they were given. Sometimes it was actually a clone of the US or JPN CD (but it will already be a generation down) but others were from questionable analog tape sources. I have yet to hear a target that sounds better than another source even though I've purchased many that were supposed to be. I'm sure they exist but I'm not aware of one.

 

I don't remember if I told you about this, Jaime, but I got curious about the bottom end on W&W and plopped down like $2.99 for an old Atco LP a few months ago.

Compared to that old Atco or the Virgin/Charisma disc, the Atco LP had a really nice bottom end. They sound nothing alike in that respect.

Hence, I'm pretty convinced that the tapes that were used for the original CDs of W&W were simply no good. The DE sounds like it was from a different source tape to my ears. I don't think you could EQ that much bass in without it sounding really stuffy. The LP isn't super booming or anything, but it makes the original CDs sound like they were transfered via transistor radio.

 

Have you heard the U2 War Target Jamie? This one blows away any other mastering that I've heard so far, MFSL included. The Eagles Targets sound near identical to the original N. American releases to me. Were you also aware that not all Target masterings, even of the same album, do not sound the same?

 

You got that right. Too much back and forth differences of opinion.

And where will the SACDs fit into all of this?

 

Thanks!

 

I'm not a big U2 fan so I've never heard any version of that album.

I have a couple Eagles target CDs. Most are just digital copies of Barry's mastering with varying degrees of gain reduction added (.2dB all the way to around -3dB!). Barry's levels are very consistent but when they copied them for the targets they were all over the place. Weird.

The One Of These Nights target CD is the worst sounding of the bunch. It's quite bad yet it was suggested I get it because it "blew all other versions away." Its somewhat muffled and warbly sound is obviously from a poor analog copy. Maybe other One Of These Nights targets sound better. I'd hope so.

 

It's not one of my most listened to albums so I'll give it another listen. Thanks Jeff!