What happened to Music From Big Pink on HDtracks??

[pdf1964]

It was there available for download, Nov. 1 but has since disappeared.

[CatManDo]

Here's the entry on the FindHD site with all the details. The HDtracks links are of course now dead

 

Find HD Music | Music From Big Pink - The Band

 

Usually HDtracks announces popular new releases. That wasn't the case with this album. It showed up when the new website was launched.

 

Maybe it was an error and the release hasn't been cleared yet. It is available on the prostudiomasters.com :

 

The Band, Music From Big Pink in High-Resolution Audio - ProStudioMasters

[WINDIANRECORDS]

Anyone compare this version to the MoFi? I have that vinyl, and I cannot fathom how it could sound any better. Levon Helm's drum sound is frighteningly realistic, and most songs its only in one channel! I have compared the MoFi to the Sony reissue from, what, 2000? There were some awesome b-sides on that CD, though...

[regnaD kciN]

Obviously, neither of them can hold a candle to the Steve Hoffman remaster (which doesn't exist). ;-)

[pdf1964]

Thanks for the tip. I purchased the 192/24 version from ProStudioMasters. It sounds fantastic. I compared it to the MOFI CD, and hands down the download is better. Extraordinary sound!

[goldendarko]

back on there now it looks like

[Allan F]

Thanks for the tip. I purchased the 192/24 version from ProStudioMasters. It sounds fantastic. I compared it to the MOFI CD, and hands down the download is better. Extraordinary sound!

 

Do you mean the MoFi SACD?

[goldendarko]

I'm sure he did, doubt a CD would sound as good as a 24/192 hi-res version

[Allan F]

I'm sure he did, doubt a CD would sound as good as a 24/192 hi-res version

 

Unless I'm missing something, he didn't imply that it would. What he said is, "Hands down the download is better". There have been instances, you know, where people have found that a well remastered audiophile CD sounded better than hi-res download of the same album.

[CatManDo]

I'm sure he did, doubt a CD would sound as good as a 24/192 hi-res version

 

There are lots of CDs that sound better than a hi-rez reissue of the same album. The mastering differences are much more important than the advantage of hi-rez over CD.

[latitude94941]

There are lots of CDs that sound better than a hi-rez reissue of the same album. The mastering differences are much more important than the advantage of hi-rez over CD.

 

+1

[WINDIANRECORDS]

So if you have the ability to compare it to the MoFi, what are the differences that stand out to you?

 

I know that when I compare the Sony reissue from 2000 to the MoFi, the medium-high end are more upfront, which I feel makes the record a little too treble-heavy for my tastes - Whereas the MoFi focuses more heavily on the low-end (unintended pun), but since it is so tight, it sounds much more natural and musical than the low-end on the Sony. Dumbed down, it seems that the Sony mix was sort of flat A/D, whereas I feel that the MoFi A/D chain really helped the situation by keeping the A/D step closer to A than D...

 

Again, its all opinions on what coloring you like with your music, but I feel like this specific album feels more natural to me with the thick bass than the somewhat flat Sony - I have no idea whether or not this is a new mix/ a new master, or even maybe the hi-res version of the 2000 Sony transfer. Just asking for any opinions (I've got this album 3 different ways, I'm wondering if I should bite on the 4th).

 

Thanks!

[firedog]

It's back at HDT: Music From Big Pink | HDtracks - The World's Greatest-Sounding Music Downloads

[HiResSteve]

There are lots of CDs that sound better than a hi-rez reissue of the same album. The mastering differences are much more important than the advantage of hi-rez over CD.

 

I agree, but...

 

I have listened to and compared the CD layer and the hires layer (24/88) of the Steve Hoffman Yes Close To The Edge disc. The first minute of And You And I pretty much demonstrates what is really lacking in 16/44 (hello 1983 technology!). No doubt these are the same masterings, but there is just so much missing from the 16/44 in terms of texture, detail, space, harmonics. I mean it's not even close. There is no way I would ever listen to the 16/44 version again unless I am in some kind of limited situation like a car. This was playing them back with the same DAC at their native rates without upsampling or any other mucking about.

 

This tells me that most likely other audiophile cds from MFSL, DCC etc, are likewise just pale comparisons of what that mastering could sound like. They were great back in the day, but I'm afraid I have just heard too much good hires stuff now that I just don't get excited by 16/44 even if it was mastered by SH himself.

 

Of course it's not hard to find a really bad mastering in hires and compare that to a really good mastering on cd and say "What about this? See I told you so." But in that case you are really just comparing masterings and we all agree mastering counts. I am not saying hires can fix a bad mastering. Nothing can. Things get more interesting when you compare an audiophile mastered cd on DCC/MFSL with, let's say, an adequate hires mastering, like the Doors albums for example. At that point some might find the hires mastering might not be as good (perhaps a little thin-sounding) but despite that, they might prefer the greater decay on cymbals or more palpable sound-stage that the hires version affords.

[Stiv]

On my iPhone ....Huge Band fan here. I think the HDtracks Big Pink is a let down, at least compared to the MFSL SACD. Doesn't have the spaciousness, top-to-bottom, side-to-side, and back-to-front. Hate the way the HD version sounds pinched in certain frequencies ... God that's so audiophile cliche sounding ... but the upper mids don't sound natural to me, and if a ever a record depend on a kind of 'found' sound, it's this one. The MFSL brings the color to the low-end tones. ... You get more of a sense of the movement down there, and the actual differences the bass sound. Vocals have more of a presence on the SACD and you can really hear the acoustic instruments resonate ...

 

(The DCC cd is great too, but that's a different mix. )

[chriss71]

Here are the values (from the HDTracks version):

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Analyzed: The Band / Music From Big Pink

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

DR Peak RMS Duration Track

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR9 0.00 dB -11.65 dB 5:20 01-Tears Of Rage

DR10 0.00 dB -11.55 dB 3:18 02-To Kingdom Come

DR10 -0.10 dB -12.09 dB 3:30 03-In A Station

DR9 -0.13 dB -12.61 dB 2:55 04-Caledonia Mission

DR9 -0.01 dB -11.75 dB 4:34 05-The Weight

DR8 0.00 dB -9.66 dB 3:03 06-We Can Talk

DR10 -0.15 dB -11.76 dB 3:01 07-Long Black Veil

DR9 0.00 dB -11.23 dB 5:14 08-Chest Fever

DR10 -0.20 dB -13.52 dB 4:01 09-Lonesome Suzie

DR8 -0.01 dB -9.80 dB 3:10 10-This Wheel's On Fire

DR11 -0.39 dB -13.36 dB 3:12 11-I Shall Be Released

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Number of tracks: 11

Official DR value: DR9

 

Samplerate: 192000 Hz

Channels: 2

Bits per sample: 24

Bitrate: 5715 kbps

Codec: FLAC

 

The MFSL blows it out of the water... (and not only from the DR Values, also from the sound...)

[WINDIANRECORDS]

On my iPhone ....Huge Band fan here. I think the HDtracks Big Pink is a let down, at least compared to the MFSL SACD. Doesn't have the spaciousness, top-to-bottom, side-to-side, and back-to-front. Hate the way the HD version sounds pinched in certain frequencies ... God that's so audiophile cliche sounding ... but the upper mids don't sound natural to me, and if a ever a record depend on a kind of 'found' sound, it's this one. The MFSL brings the color to the low-end tones. ... You get more of a sense of the movement down there, and the actual differences the bass sound. Vocals have more of a presence on the SACD and you can really hear the acoustic instruments resonate ...

 

(The DCC cd is great too, but that's a different mix. )

 

Thanks; that's sort of what I figured - I'll may buy it during a sale, but I stand by the MoFi record (and the S/T that just came out, wow!). Sounds like our subjective thoughts about what makes this record great are the same, which is why I was concerned the Hi-Res transfer would lose out on the magic of the MoFi.