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Thread started 10/30/17 10:50am

67Cadillac

Are the Itunes 2017 Masters The Best Available Fidelity for Prince's 1978-90 Catalog?

I'm in the market for a new sound system, and was wondering if the 2017 Itunes releases offer the best sound for Prince's peak era material. Specifically, I was wondering how they compare to stuff like the DJ Foefur remasters and the DJ Pantal mixes, which I have but didn't check out yet. Any thoughts?

[Edited 10/30/17 10:54am]

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Reply #1 posted 10/31/17 1:00am

bluegangsta

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The HD Tracks are the best (except for Controversy).

Always cry 4 love, never cry 4 pain.
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Reply #2 posted 10/31/17 4:52am

leecaldon

Wouldn't Tidal's wav quality stuff trump lossy music on itunes?

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Reply #3 posted 10/31/17 5:27am

TwiliteKid

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67Cadillac said:

I'm in the market for a new sound system, and was wondering if the 2017 Itunes releases offer the best sound for Prince's peak era material. Specifically, I was wondering how they compare to stuff like the DJ Foefur remasters and the DJ Pantal mixes, which I have but didn't check out yet. Any thoughts?

[Edited 10/30/17 10:54am]



Sorry, what 2017 releases? I’m not aware of anything being re-released this year, aside from Purple Rain.
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Reply #4 posted 10/31/17 8:06am

databank

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bluegangsta said:

The HD Tracks are the best (except for Controversy).

What's wrong with Controversy? eek

A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/
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Reply #5 posted 10/31/17 8:13am

databank

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67Cadillac said:

I'm in the market for a new sound system, and was wondering if the 2017 Itunes releases offer the best sound for Prince's peak era material. Specifically, I was wondering how they compare to stuff like the DJ Foefur remasters and the DJ Pantal mixes, which I have but didn't check out yet. Any thoughts?

[Edited 10/30/17 10:54am]

Doesn't, as said above, iTunes provide only lossy files? Not that we all can hear the difference between 320 and Flac (I can't), but if you're an audiophile then you may want to avoid iTunes and look for a lossy site (HDTracks being one). In any case there's no such thing as "iTunes 2017 masters": those are sourced from the same masters the original CDs were made of (if not from the CD's themselves).

.

I don't know how good or bad the fanmade mixes sound but I'd be inclined to avoid anything fanmade: basically those "remasters" are remasters of a master as opposed to a real remaster that, theorically at least, should be made from the original, pre-mastered tape. So unless those guys are professional engineers and really good at what they're doing, I would assume that tweaking an official release maybe isn't the best idea from an audiphile's perspective. I'm no specialist, though, so maybe I'm wrong about the whole thing.

A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/
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Reply #6 posted 10/31/17 8:38am

paisleypark4

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databank said:

67Cadillac said:

I'm in the market for a new sound system, and was wondering if the 2017 Itunes releases offer the best sound for Prince's peak era material. Specifically, I was wondering how they compare to stuff like the DJ Foefur remasters and the DJ Pantal mixes, which I have but didn't check out yet. Any thoughts?

[Edited 10/30/17 10:54am]

Doesn't, as said above, iTunes provide only lossy files? Not that we all can hear the difference between 320 and Flac (I can't), but if you're an audiophile then you may want to avoid iTunes and look for a lossy site (HDTracks being one). In any case there's no such thing as "iTunes 2017 masters": those are sourced from the same masters the original CDs were made of (if not from the CD's themselves).

.

I don't know how good or bad the fanmade mixes sound but I'd be inclined to avoid anything fanmade: basically those "remasters" are remasters of a master as opposed to a real remaster that, theorically at least, should be made from the original, pre-mastered tape. So unless those guys are professional engineers and really good at what they're doing, I would assume that tweaking an official release maybe isn't the best idea from an audiphile's perspective. I'm no specialist, though, so maybe I'm wrong about the whole thing.

I have to say, that Lovesexy Remaster by DJ Foefur is outstanding. The album thumps without having to be tweaked at all. The other albums kind of messed up by removing album versions for a new vision and adding extended version (so be cautious), but Lovesexy generally untouched.

Straight Jacket Funk Affair
Album plays and love for vinyl records.
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Reply #7 posted 10/31/17 9:43am

databank

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paisleypark4 said:

databank said:

Doesn't, as said above, iTunes provide only lossy files? Not that we all can hear the difference between 320 and Flac (I can't), but if you're an audiophile then you may want to avoid iTunes and look for a lossy site (HDTracks being one). In any case there's no such thing as "iTunes 2017 masters": those are sourced from the same masters the original CDs were made of (if not from the CD's themselves).

.

I don't know how good or bad the fanmade mixes sound but I'd be inclined to avoid anything fanmade: basically those "remasters" are remasters of a master as opposed to a real remaster that, theorically at least, should be made from the original, pre-mastered tape. So unless those guys are professional engineers and really good at what they're doing, I would assume that tweaking an official release maybe isn't the best idea from an audiphile's perspective. I'm no specialist, though, so maybe I'm wrong about the whole thing.

I have to say, that Lovesexy Remaster by DJ Foefur is outstanding. The album thumps without having to be tweaked at all. The other albums kind of messed up by removing album versions for a new vision and adding extended version (so be cautious), but Lovesexy generally untouched.

mad neutral sad

A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/
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Reply #8 posted 11/01/17 4:14am

leecaldon

paisleypark4 said:

databank said:

Doesn't, as said above, iTunes provide only lossy files? Not that we all can hear the difference between 320 and Flac (I can't), but if you're an audiophile then you may want to avoid iTunes and look for a lossy site (HDTracks being one). In any case there's no such thing as "iTunes 2017 masters": those are sourced from the same masters the original CDs were made of (if not from the CD's themselves).

.

I don't know how good or bad the fanmade mixes sound but I'd be inclined to avoid anything fanmade: basically those "remasters" are remasters of a master as opposed to a real remaster that, theorically at least, should be made from the original, pre-mastered tape. So unless those guys are professional engineers and really good at what they're doing, I would assume that tweaking an official release maybe isn't the best idea from an audiphile's perspective. I'm no specialist, though, so maybe I'm wrong about the whole thing.

I have to say, that Lovesexy Remaster by DJ Foefur is outstanding. The album thumps without having to be tweaked at all. The other albums kind of messed up by removing album versions for a new vision and adding extended version (so be cautious), but Lovesexy generally untouched.

Some of those Foefur remasters do sound great. It's a shame the albums themselves weren't left untouched.

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