Budget record labels

[bumpy]

When looking through back issues of artist (say Chet Atkins) I find myself avoiding any albums on the 'budget' labels like Music for Pleasure, Pickwick etc

But these are often the labels that put out 'Best Of' CDs which are ideal for covering a career of music.

So purely from the Audiophile perspective am I doing these labels a disservice?

[Sherwood]

When looking through back issues of artist (say Chet Atkins) I find myself avoiding any albums on the 'budget' labels like Music for Pleasure, Pickwick etc

But these are often the labels that put out 'Best Of' CDs which are ideal for covering a career of music.

So purely from the Audiophile perspective am I doing these labels a disservice?

No, the music selection may be good but they cram too many tracks on each side crushing dynamics and detail!

Curiously, streamed versions of these albums can be OK because these issues are not applicable.

[bumpy]

Very good point that I hadn't thought of. Am I right in saying the optimum length of a CD is about 70 mins with full red book spec and to get more on, the mastering process will introduce losses, like an MP3 vs wav file.

[struth]

Very good point that I hadn't thought of. Am I right in saying the optimum length of a CD is about 70 mins with full red book spec and to get more on, the mastering process will introduce losses, like an MP3 vs wav file.

as said they reduce the dynamic shifts so it takes less room on a disc. not really an mp3, but its just been tweaked for the worse. afaik

[Macca]

Red Book max is 79.57 minutes.

[bumpy]

So who is primarily responsible for the Audiophile qualities of an album. - Artist, recording studio, sound engineer, record label etc

Or is it just a happy coincidence

[Macca]

So who is primarily responsible for the Audiophile qualities of an album. - Artist, recording studio, sound engineer, record label etc

Or is it just a happy coincidence

what are you defining as 'audiophile qualities'?

[struth]

i would thik its a mix of everything tbh although the engineer may have biggest say on how it turns out

[bumpy]

what are you defining as 'audiophile qualities'?

Its the difference between an everyday cd and one that makes you impressed with the recording quality, drawing you into the music.

At the other end of the spectrum are CDs that are overly compressed and best enjoyed on low to mid fi systems. Before an argument ensues let me say that, if its music I like, then even a cheap radio does it for me. But, there is of course the reason why we as a group push on past the transistor radio.

[bumpy]

i would thik its a mix of everything tbh although the engineer may have biggest say on how it turns out

Perhaps then we should start a list of desirable engineers as well as artists. Has that been done?

[struth]

there is a list of best uncompressed cds.. widest swings etc; ie, dynamic range. cant remember its name tho. someone here will.
In fact there are a few i think. Steve Hoffman had one as did stereofile.

[Macca]

Perhaps then we should start a list of desirable engineers as well as artists. Has that been done?

The way I see it if you don't like the music all the production values in the world won't help.

Pretty rare that a recording is not exactly what was intended, at least not since the mid 1970s by when most of the restrictions of primitive recording equipment were vanquished.

All music could be produced like a Patricia Barber album, the reason it isn't is not because they didn't know what they were doing.

[Pigmy Pony]

If a particular album by an artist we like is available in different formats and pressings of varied quality there's nowt wrong with choosing the version you like best. But if our buying decisions are guided by production quality we will end up just listening to our systems rather than the music.

[Pigmy Pony]

Who's Patricia Barber? Was she in Haircut 100?

[Pigmy Pony]

No, the music selection may be good but they cram too many tracks on each side crushing dynamics and detail!

Curiously, streamed versions of these albums can be OK because these issues are not applicable.

I used to have Ride a White Swan (T. Rex) and Fire Brigade (The Move), both 6 short songs each side. So not overly crammed. So there were other reasons why they might have sounded a bit shit. Or maybe they weren't even that bad and the problem was my Fidelity HF43 record player...

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/5DkAAOSwoLlim4no/s-l400.jpg

A Fidelity HF43 yesterday. Waiting for me to pile 6 LPs onto the autochanger :)

[Lawrence001]

Red Book max is 79.57 minutes.I understood red book didn't have a specification for time/length but strictly following the spec on speed, pitch etc (maybe plus the spacing of "grooves"?) gave a limit of 74'33'' or something around that.

CD manufacturers found they could get away with loosening the spec slightly but the discs still played - although early machines would often not play to the end as they weren't designed to. From memory you could play from the start, I don't think they rejected a disc unless you tried to play a track that was beyond the time limit, but that might just have been a quirk of my early Philips player.

[Macca]

I have a couple of over-length discs that won't read at all on 1980s players but are fine on all others. Just give out Disc Error.

[dave2010]

I think there's a bit of a confusion earlier on up thread re "discs" like CFP etc. If they were the vinyl LPs they may - or may not - be OK. Cramming more on to an LP side definitely compromises the quality - reduces the potential dynamic range - and limits bass reproduction. There were other factors for LPs - such as the quaity and weight of the vinyl used, plus maybe other factors such as quality control, and how the discs were cut. CDs are another matter. Most of the factors which determine the quality of CDs are due to the mastering, as the data is purely digital. The number of pieces on a CD should have little do with it as long as the whole digital data stream is playable. However, note also that some CDs did try to get too long a digital data stream on, and that would not play on all players.