The Megadeth PS 2011 remaster/25th anniv. edition...is it the original mix?

For the 25th anniv. edition of Peace Sells, did they reuse the 2004 remix/altered stuff, or is it the original mix of the album?

Disc 1 is a brand new 2011 remaster of the original mix.
Disc 2 is the 2004 remix
Disc 3 is the complete Randy Burns 2004 remixes (only 4 were issued originally as bonus tracks)
Disc 4 is a sub-par audience live recording

So when it comes to the studio material the box set contains 3 different mixes.

S.D. wrote:

Disc 1 is a brand new 2011 remaster of the original mix.
Disc 2 is the 2004 remix
Disc 3 is the complete Randy Burns 2004 remixes (only 4 were issued originally as bonus tracks)
Disc 4 is a sub-par audience live recording

So when it comes to the studio material the box set contains 3 different mixes.

Thanks, that's good to know. Amazon only lists it as 2 discs, the 2011 remaster and the live disc.

So, a question for you directly, S.D., assuming you have heard the 2011 remaster. I have gleaned that you are a more particular listener. Do like the 2011 remaster?

ZombieHavoc wrote:

S.D. wrote:

Disc 1 is a brand new 2011 remaster of the original mix.
Disc 2 is the 2004 remix
Disc 3 is the complete Randy Burns 2004 remixes (only 4 were issued originally as bonus tracks)
Disc 4 is a sub-par audience live recording

So when it comes to the studio material the box set contains 3 different mixes.

Thanks, that's good to know. Amazon only lists it as 2 discs, the 2011 remaster and the live disc.

So, a question for you directly, S.D., assuming you have heard the 2011 remaster. I have gleaned that you are a more particular listener. Do like the 2011 remaster?

I haven't heard it.

I was describing the Box Set that came with 3-LPs, 4CDs and a DVD. It sounds like the 2-disc version is disc 1 and disc 4 from the box set.

I have it and it's the remastered original mix.

Witchfinder wrote:

I have it and it's the remastered original mix.

How's the dynamic range on the remaster?

Witchfinder wrote:

I have it and it's the remastered original mix.

Excellent, thanks.

S.D. wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

I have it and it's the remastered original mix.

How's the dynamic range on the remaster?

I honestly can't detect much difference from the original other than it's louder. It's been awhile since I listened to it though.

Yikes! I found this .wav form from the 2011 remaster and it's horribly brickwalled. No thanks, I'll stick to the original CD. This is a travesty.

Wouldn't it be more the original CD sticking to you since you're bigger?

Here is what the original CD .wav form looks like...and this is what a .wav form SHOULD look like, lots of peaks and valleys demonstrating wonderful dynamic range.

S.D. wrote:

Yikes! I found this .wav form from the 2011 remaster and it's horribly brickwalled. No thanks, I'll stick to the original CD. This is a travesty.

Good lord! No wonder all I remembered was it was louder. I think all I listened to was the live set and the actual album I maybe listened to once in the car. I am very glad I have all my original Megadeth CDs.

SD, is there any chance this "Loudness Wars" nonsense will ever end??? I just don't get why it's necessary and it's ruining albums.

Yeah, see, this is what I'm beginning to get really picky with. So many of these remasters coming out these days are like that: brickwalled. This is why I'm at the point where I want the original pressings.



Dang, man, what do these guys do- just take the original masters and raise the volume on them, doing away with all the dynamics, and call it good?? Shoot, I can do the same thing with Cool Edit Pro. Maybe I should become a remaster pro, lol...no, I have too much respect for the music to do that.

Witchfinder wrote:

SD, is there any chance this "Loudness Wars" nonsense will ever end??? I just don't get why it's necessary and it's ruining albums.

Doubtful, not until the record labels change their view that LOUD = Good. There are some artists (who have creative control) that care about sound and don't follow this practice, but that's a rarity.

That's why audiophile labels like Audio Fidelity and Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs are so important, they generally don't use any compression on their releases.

Japanese CDs are still generally better, they use some compression but don't brickwall. The 1997 US Rush remasters are all brickwalled, but the Japanese SHM reissues aren't and are far superior in sound.

I used to have the remaster of Slayer's Reign In Blood a while back, but sold it, then recently got the original pressing. Sounds great to me compared to the remaster. Yes, I have to crank it way up to jam it loud, but that's fine. All the dynamics are there in all their glory. I can tell the difference, and I don't even currently have a super nice car stereo; just a regular one.

Matter of fact, when I get home I'm gonna rip both my 2004 remaster and original pressing of Peace Sells and compare the WAV forms. Now I'm curious...

metalheaded wrote:

I used to have the remaster of Slayer's Reign In Blood a while back, but sold it, then recently got the original pressing. Sounds great to me compared to the remaster. Yes, I have to crank it way up to jam it loud, but that's fine. All the dynamics are there in all their glory. I can tell the difference, and I don't even currently have a super nice car stereo; just a regular one.

I did the same thing, bought that Reign In Blood remaster and I could tell immediately that it didn't sound like the same album. Sold it quickly. Thankfully I had copied my original version prior to selling it.

For you LP lovers, another way to get around the brickwalled crap is to buy the LPs of current releases. You can't put as much compression on vinyl, so they have to master it separately and in most cases the LP will have much more dynamic range than the CD version.

I'm sticking to the originals with all of my Megadeth albums except for Killing is My Business...And Business is Good!, actually.

For those who might not understand why we're irritated with the whole "loudness wars/dynamics are gone/brickwalling" thing, I thought of a good example. It's like widescreen vs. full screen movies. With widescreen, you're getting the full, complete movie like it was intended to be watched. With full screen, sure, it's closer up and doesn't have the bars at the top and bottom, but you're not seeing the entire shot because they had to chop off a little bit at the left and right of the screen in order to "zoom up", so to speak. Same concept here. We want the entire music experience. When it's compressed, the dynamics get chopped off like a full screen movie.

Anyways, when I got home, I ripped both my 2004 Remaster and original copies of Peace Sells into WAV form, both of them exactly the same. Take a look at the results. This is the song 'Peace Sells'. The top two waveforms are the 2004 Remaster.




Quite the difference....I'm never getting rid of my originals, and it cements my resolve even more to hunt down originals of albums I don't have, yet.

[quote="S.D."]

Witchfinder wrote:

That's why audiophile labels like Audio Fidelity and Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs are so important, they generally don't use any compression on their releases.

Agree -those releases sound amazing!

Very good point there Metalheaded. Thats why I always prefer the original over a remaster.

metalheaded wrote:

Quite the difference....I'm never getting rid of my originals, and it cements my resolve even more to hunt down originals of albums I don't have, yet.

Who thought this "brickwalling" was a good idea in the first place? Is it just a matter of taking the easy way out and just pushing everything up into the red and calling it a day? I understand Rick Rubin is a big culprit here, but is he the originator of this practice?

MetalGuy71 wrote:

metalheaded wrote:

Quite the difference....I'm never getting rid of my originals, and it cements my resolve even more to hunt down originals of albums I don't have, yet.

Who thought this "brickwalling" was a good idea in the first place? Is it just a matter of taking the easy way out and just pushing everything up into the red and calling it a day? I understand Rick Rubin is a big culprit here, but is he the originator of this practice?

WOW!!!! Talk about ear fatigue.....................

pansies. More metal, amirite?

No uarnott.