Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A major label announces two surround titles within a couple weeks of each other, a first in a very long time in North America where the majors have given up on surround sound since around 2005/2006 when they withdrew from the Super Audio CD/DVD-Audio format war. Could this be the push some of us have been hoping for finally starting? Soundgarden and Bob Marley both getting brand new 5.1 mixes? Well after 8 weeks of asking we finally got the details of this release a few days ago in terms of the technical specs, they did go back to the original analogue multitracks to create the 5.1 mix and they did go back to the original analogue stereo master to create the vinyl, although they archived it to 24/192 and then mastered in the digital domain. Adam Kasper who produced Down on the Upside and King Animal was going to do the 5.1 mix, he has no 5.1 credits to his name so that was a bit concerning but at least he was using the multitracks so we knew we could hope for a fully discrete mix. Now as we begin to listen we realize it was all for nought, despite all the care taken or seemingly being taken to go back to the original source material we have a release that's been slammed in true loudness wars fashion. One might have expected the regular CDs and lossy digital download files to be victims, but this is also available on Blu-ray Audio in 24-bit/96kHz stereo AND on another audiophile website (name removed in case it's against review policies) as a 24-bit/192kHz download. These are both equally as dynamically challenged as the CD! It makes no sense. People buy 24-bit to listen to on superior equipment. Dynamically lifeless music is only bearable on the cheapest in ear buds while busy commuting or working out when you're not really paying attention to the music. Why Soundgarden? Why? Why doesn't the sonic integrity of your music mean more to you? Why Adam Kasper? Why? You're listening to this on studio monitors, you know what the original tape sounds like! We have gotten close to it with the original CD. This is so frustrating it's hard to put into words. Please, let the tipping point be nigh. Let's push this review to the top so people know not to waste their hard-earned money supporting mediocre releases. Here's the dynamic range log of the 24/192 download. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Analyzed: Soundgarden / Superunknown (Deluxe Edition) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR Peak RMS Duration Track -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR5 0.00 dB -6.46 dB 3:53 01-Let Me Drown DR6 0.00 dB -7.69 dB 5:13 02-My Wave DR7 0.00 dB -8.02 dB 4:43 03-Fell On Black Days DR6 0.00 dB -6.45 dB 4:26 04-Mailman DR6 0.00 dB -6.62 dB 5:07 05-Superunknown DR6 0.00 dB -7.76 dB 6:10 06-Head Down DR6 0.00 dB -8.12 dB 5:19 07-Black Hole Sun DR6 0.00 dB -6.68 dB 4:07 08-Spoonman DR6 0.00 dB -7.23 dB 5:48 09-Limo Wreck DR7 0.00 dB -8.25 dB 5:20 10-The Day I Tried To Live DR6 0.00 dB -6.90 dB 1:34 11-Kickstand DR7 0.00 dB -7.88 dB 4:17 12-Fresh Tendrils DR6 0.00 dB -7.05 dB 5:09 13-4th Of July DR8 0.00 dB -10.42 dB 2:15 14-Half DR6 0.00 dB -7.86 dB 7:04 15-Like Suicide DR6 -0.24 dB -7.55 dB 3:18 16-She Likes Surprises DR6 -0.54 dB -8.05 dB 5:27 30-The Day I Tried To Live (Alternate Mix) DR6 -0.20 dB -8.12 dB 5:13 31-4th Of July (Instrumental) DR6 -0.20 dB -7.55 dB 5:09 32-Superunknown (Instrumental) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of tracks: 19 Official DR value: DR6 Samplerate: 192000 Hz Channels: 2 Bits per sample: 24 Bitrate: 7813 kbps Codec: FLAC Stop the madness. Vote with your wallet. When these guys stop selling records they will ask why, they will read social media, they will see that people are tired of being fooled by the "loudness is better" approach that idiots in suits at record labels are telling you we want. We don't want that. We have NEVER signed petitions begging for more loudness wars releases. We have never pined for dynamically lifeless music. Dear Lord PLEASE let them not muck up the Bob Marley release. Adam Kasper, executives at Universal responsible for this release, Soundgarden; please all give yourselves a good kick in the backside for ruining this incredible album. Good people out there who love music, stick to your original 1994 CDs of Superunknown, the experience is much, much better. And if you are looking for the superior analogue experience then save up your coin (you won't need a lot more than the list price of this Super Deluxe set anyway) and find the German pressing that Willem Makee cut around 2004. It was from a tape copy of the analogue stereo master and is the only all analogue cut of Superunknown available. The new vinyl may be pressed very well at QRP but the mastering is the same as the CD if the downloadable vinyl rip files are any indication. Link to original superior 1994 CD release on Amazon is right here - Superunknown What a shame this project wasn't done with someone like Barry Diament from Soundkeeper Recordings. I just came across a great interview (search for "Audiostream Barry Diament" for the url) with Barry Diament talking about his illustrious career path and this bit really made me smile: "By the mid-1990's I realized that many clients were starting to evaluate my work using the level meters instead of the loudspeakers. At this point, I had to stop and ask myself just what I sought to accomplish as an audio engineer. Now, I enjoy loudness when it is appropriate but in my experience, if you want to shake the walls with AC/DC (or with Mahler), the best way to achieve this is with the playback volume control. Any other way, such as arbitrarily increasing the level on the recording itself involves a host of sonic trade-offs. First among them, is the sense of Life that comes from musical dynamics. Since my goals as an engineer are sourced in my love of music, I didn't want to participate in the ongoing Loudness Wars. All the truly great sounding records and CDs in my collection had much lower average levels than what the majors were releasing. I wanted to preserve all the musical Life in every source I mastered too and never used compression myself. While some say it increases "punch", the sonic evidence tells a quite different story. Besides, how does one increase punch by reducing dynamics, where the punch "lives"? So, I started accepting only those jobs where the client's prime interest was the musical presentation and the preservation of musical dynamics." Odd that Amazon ranks a review with THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY PLUS "helpful votes" way below countless reviews without a single helpful vote, do you think their weighting is 100% biased to "verified purchases" (I purchased mine on Amazon Canada)