"Singles" Sound Quality

Been reading some stuff on an Audiophile site about "Singles". They did some tests of the new CD version of Ceremony 7" against the original vinyl. The test showed severely limited dynamic range of the new CD compared to the vinyl. Also the guy claimed the Left/Right channels on several of the tracks on "Singles" had been swopped compared to the originals.

This kind of bears out what I have been thinking for years. I remember playing the New Order vinyl 12" back in the eighties and being blown away by the sonics. Today's CD re-releases are short changing us on sound quality. I don't want to go back to vinyl but I would like the back catalogue treated with a bit more respect.

Apparently HMV were playing the "Singles" CD instore and were asked to turn it down by the Till staff. Would this have happened if the CD didn't sound as tinny and thin?

Mine sounds fine but I haven't paid enough attention to the channel reversal that has been talked about.

I read the HMV thing on BCB last night but they were having a New Order bashing session in any case.

The "Singles" does sound turned up. When I scroll down the various versions of Ceremony in iTunes for instance,the Singles version blasts, while the others from various sources sound normal. Its the Ceremony 7" from vinyl that sounds the best. But that also might be because of the cleaning software I ran it through when I digitized it.

Unfortunately it's something of a mastering trend, everything is limited to f**k so it sounds LOUD! This leads to a decreased dynamic range as the lower volume parts are increased up to the volume of the louder parts (which are at the max). Most noticeable when you compare 10 year old CDs in your iPod against anything recent.

This processing does make a mockery of the idea that CDs are some kind of 'archive' format. I would prefer to have Ceremony straight from the reel and put on CD WITHOUT any further tampering.

And yes, the channels are reversed on most of the album I believe. (certainly Ceremony and Temptation)

Spotnick wrote: I'd be curious to know how you manage to realize that the channels are reversed... it's not like it should be noticable.... !

turn your headphones around!!!

well the hihats on Ceremony are panned hard right originally, also the dual guitars are panned hard left and right. Quite a striking mix and not a method used so much since the 60s (check out your Beatles stereo mixes), so it's relatively obvious.

Try listening to the intro of TPK. The album version (used on SINGLES) is perfect for telling whether the channels are reversed. Obviously just compare it to what you have on LOW-LIFE/RETRO/whatever.

So far as the sound quality issue, Temptation is very harsh in places, but there was always something about that version that didn't sound right to me, I'll spin the vinyl soon to compare it. Confusion also sounds harsh on the ears, the treble does seem rather cranked up on some of the other tracks. Maybe that is what single mixes sound like for the radio? As a 4 minute play it sounds fine but prolonged listening gives you earache.

That mix of Confusion isn't the right one for some reason, it's an edit of the Rough Mix. The proper 7" mix is the one that accompanies the video.

I can indeed confirm that the channels are reversed. I just tried listening to TPK on SINGLES, and discovered that the synth hits at the beginning go RIGHT-LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT, while on LOW-LIFE, they go LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT-RIGHT.

Too loud? What is this, seniors night?

I picked up singles today and it sounds pretty good, I'm not sure about the version of Temptation and I would have liked the version of TPK with the 'land of meat' part since it wasn't in International. I like how EGG and Ceremony sound on it, they don't sound like demos anymore. I thought Murder and SLY were singles though...no?