They all sound the same to me, and they are all distorted. Mostly notable on Time, AnotherLove and Wow, for example...

Krid said:

Hi everyone, With all the different versions apparently available, has anyone been able to compare the sound quality? I have just downloaded the "mastered for itunes" version and it sounds pretty good on my stereo (with the exception of Breakdown - sounds odd...). But I know there is a better-than-CD wav version available - how does this sound? Can itunes play this? Or do I need a different player for that (I have my mac mini connected to my stereo). And - as a great vinyl fan - has anyone already received the vinyl version yet? Any Info highly appreciated 😀

I believe Vinyl wont be issued until later in the year, a store I spoke with said they had a provisional release date for November, something to do with Prince having an issue with them

JoeyCococo said:

I am no technician so I can't technically explain but Prince's stuff does not sound super. If you are into great sound quality, Prince is not who you listen to although, the One Night Alone album sounds great. Listen to Sarah McLaughlin who sounds incredible. Pyle one thing bat Prince though, is his vocals. As I buy better equipment, more revealing DACs, I hear more of the detail in his vocals.

I know about the sound quality - but that has not stopped me buying all Prince records almost always on the first day of release... Must be the music, then...

Romeoblu said:

I'm so glad I'm not an audiophile.

I used to laugh at my father for being too much of an audiophile. However it's too damn obvious on alot of Prince records. Thankfull I have learned to ignore it a bit more than earlier. Still he should do something about it.

Love the new albums, but, anybody still expecting the remaster of Purple Rain to be an improvement on the original master is probably delusional or at least overly optimistic. I expect it to be mastered similarly to these and most current releases: too loud, compressed and distorted. I totally expect to prefer the mastering of the original release.

Of course, I'm a collector and I won't let there be a hole in my collection so I'll be picking it up regardless... Hope there's lots of good bonus material to make it worth it!!

I've been hearing some distortion on a couple of tracks on AOA (The Breakdown and Breakfast Can Wait in particular) when I listen on some fairly high-end in ear monitors.

I wondered if the earphones had developed a fault but I've not heard similar distortion on some other albums I've listened to recently using the same equipment.

It's a shame, as I otheriwse like the albums a lot.

tobydavies said:

I've been hearing some distortion on a couple of tracks on AOA (The Breakdown and Breakfast Can Wait in particular) when I listen on some fairly high-end in ear monitors.

I wondered if the earphones had developed a fault but I've not heard similar distortion on some other albums I've listened to recently using the same equipment.

It's a shame, as I otheriwse like the albums a lot.

U are correct. Most of those songs are clipping.

Yep! A whole bunch of clipping. Some worse than others of course.

Funny how everyone can't wait for remasters of 80's stuff, I can't wait for proper masters of 21st century stuff. I can always turn up and punch up the old stuff and it sounds great while retaining all the sonic fidelity that was intended. I can't restore that fidelity to new stuff. I can EQ some of the distortion out but that's only a slight improvement, it doesn't prevent ear fatigue.

Here's hoping the remasters come with deluxe packaging and lots of bonus material so that's worth my $$. I have no reason to believe that they will be a sonic improvement.

The CDs sounded good on my computer with my headphones. However, in my car Art Official didn't sound as good; I had to adjust the bass and treble. It, still, didn't sound great, even after that.

I'll check out Plectrum, tomorrow.

I find it odd that these songs were allowed past quality control. the Breakdown especially. Its one thing not be able to hear it (perhaps their ear drums are shot after so many live performances) but you can clearly see clipping on a computer screen. Yet nowt was done to fix the issues. Thankfully it doesnt really bother me and Im loving the albums, but for a professional outfit like that to allow product onto the market that is flawed is surprising.

Rebeljuice said:

I find it odd that these songs were allowed past quality control. the Breakdown especially. Its one thing not be able to hear it (perhaps their ear drums are shot after so many live performances) but you can clearly see clipping on a computer screen. Yet nowt was done to fix the issues. Thankfully it doesnt really bother me and Im loving the albums, but for a professional outfit like that to allow product onto the market that is flawed is surprising.

Yep, easy to hear or see...

As far as a flawed product being released: this is the industry standard, not a flaw in the Prince release. All music is mastered this way now.

Enjoy your Purple Rain remasters!! (this is why I hope there's lots of bonus material)