My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (US reissue) Vinyl rip in 24 Bit/96 Khz + CD

Bold choice, Kel.

Thanks a lot, great album.

What the shit? Kel you make my day.

What the shit? Kel you make my day.

What the shit? Kel you make my day.

I don't own a copy of this reprint (I wish), I have the original and I don't like the way it sounds, distortion kicking in at low to mid volume.

Not surprised to see such a low DR rating on this. Plain is known for iffy represses.

Not surprised to see such a low DR rating on this. Plain is known for iffy represses.

I hope someone does a rip of the original Creation LP..

This particular pressing was done with a digital master :(

Thank you.

@mooney

There is another hi-res vinyl rip out there if you look for it. But I don't know what version and they don't really list how they ripped it.

The other rip is by c0rtland and it is indeed superior to this one. It isn't too hard to find, but it's not perfect.

Love your rips Kel, and thank you for posting this. At first listen this doesn't transcend the CD in the way hoped for, instead it sounds more lifeless and slightly distorted. Certainly not the white whale version maybe pointlessly believed in for some time, but at least different layers are more prominent, that give more texture to the familiar monolith. Taking on board the above comments about low DR and digital master plus the known compression on this album...does anyone think or know of any markedly better version or should I just forget about it once and for all (of course, after hearing the C0rtland rip, for comparison, (assuming that is from an analog master), which someone might like to post a link to....) - seems there is nothing worthier to be had from the Plain pressing, for sure.

Got a CD, got a remastered FLACs from tapes...now it's time for cherry in the cake!
Thanks kel! This is one of my all time favourites!

c0rtland's rip is also sourced from Plain reissue and it also suffers from (unwanted) distortion. I actually have a 24/96 rip of this same pressing that someone gave me personally. Although no declicking was done to it, it sounds much clearer than either c0rtland's or Kel's rip. I would very much like to share it here but Avax admins are known to dislike "duplicate" posts, so...who knows? Anyway thank you Kel for all the work you've done!

I'm pretty sure c0rtland's rip is from the original '91 pressing.. That's what it says on What.cd.

I dont get why people complain about the quality of the rips. Who ask for that? We can listen too, so... Just say thanks, or something... O talk about the music itself... For example, "Oh, this band is a piece of shit..." o something like that.

Uh Bob, this is the hi-res audiophile forum...the quality of the source is the whole point of it. I think people are appreciative of the posters but the comment is necessarily about the quality - this isn't largely a place for new discoveries in music but new discoveries in sound quality of known music. Cheers.

@melmoth

My place, is also a place for new discoveries in music in sound quality !

The 24/96 rip of the Creation original also has DR9. So does the Creation cd. That's because the band was going after a woozy, gauzy, compressed, overloaded sound. So was pretty much everything on the label--that's part of the so-called shoegazer aesthetic. A couple of years later they brought us Oasis and the real amping up of the loudness wars.

I heard there were Plain copies cut from the original Sire stampers. Mine is not. What's the deadwax on yours, Kel?

Also, by 1990 it was common to cut vinyl from the cd in the first pressing. Does anyone know that's not the case with the Creation vinyl?

Actually, I am getting varied readings for this. Anyone want to post DR logs from other versions? First is supposedly creation vinyl. Second is Creation Japan cd press.

Analyzed: My Bloody Valentine / Loveless [anon 2496 nd]
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR9 0.00 dB -10.25 dB 4:16 ?-01 only shallow
DR9 0.00 dB -9.32 dB 2:38 ?-02 loomer
DR7 -3.31 dB -11.55 dB 0:56 ?-03 touched
DR7 0.00 dB -9.27 dB 5:31 ?-04 to here knows when
DR9 0.00 dB -9.87 dB 4:11 ?-05 when you sleep
DR9 0.00 dB -10.45 dB 5:34 ?-06 i only said
DR9 0.00 dB -9.65 dB 3:58 ?-07 come in alone
DR10 -0.34 dB -11.42 dB 5:19 ?-08 sometimes
DR9 -0.94 dB -10.96 dB 3:36 ?-09 blown a wish
DR10 0.00 dB -11.88 dB 5:35 ?-10 what you want
DR9 0.00 dB -9.95 dB 6:56 ?-11 soon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 11
Maximum peak difference (0.00 dB - -3.31 dB): 3.31 dB

Official DR value (Song Mode): DR9

Analyzed: My Bloody Valentine / Loveless [Creation Japan]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR11 -4.18 dB -16.46 dB 4:17 01-Only Shallow
DR10 -3.40 dB -14.80 dB 2:38 02-Loomer
DR5 -12.77 dB -19.22 dB 0:56 03-Touched
DR10 -1.34 dB -14.64 dB 5:31 04-To Here Knows When
DR10 -2.07 dB -14.89 dB 4:11 05-When You Sleep
DR10 -2.32 dB -14.70 dB 5:34 06-I Only Said
DR11 -1.59 dB -14.31 dB 3:58 07-Come In Alone
DR11 -4.60 dB -16.66 dB 5:19 08-Sometimes
DR9 -4.79 dB -15.42 dB 3:36 09-Blown A Wish
DR11 -2.21 dB -15.75 dB 5:33 10-What You Want
DR13 -0.52 dB -14.62 dB 6:59 11-Soon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 11
Maximum peak difference (-0.52 dB - -12.77 dB): 12.25 dB

Official DR value (Song Mode): DR10

@usernaim

'PLAIN-105 A2'

"Loveless" was probably one of the most compressed and undynamic records released back in the early 90s.

Thanks Kel Bazar, I didn't catch this at the time, I'll listen to it!!!

Love the controversy too, makes for exciting reading!

This DR mania is becoming ridiculous and a bit annoying :), use your ears, the range is not there in the first place. The problem with this album, as explained above by usernaim, is in the music itself, I've never heard a version that sounds good at high volume, distorsion and compression are painfully obvious.

I agree with Melmoth, as long as it doesn't get out of hand. Comparing rips and even posting alternate links is not very respectful, imho.

Exactly. Who cares about the DR shit? I dont even know what it means. And guest what? I dont care! Trust your ears, and thats all you need. Besides, we talking about My Bloody Valentine here... one of the most ridiculus noise bands ever. Cmon, go and ask to a shoegazer boy about the DR. They will looking the floor for an answer, while comb their hairs thinking you are stupid. Sound quality? It is welcome. But we are forgeting the music, the only thing that matters.

I'm a shoegazer boy, lol. Let's all wait for Kevin Shields' remaster, to come out in 2168.

Hey! Have some patience, those linear notes are always a bitch to get done :P

I suspected this compression was on purpose by the artists. This is what I like about avax.

We get to learn & share all sorts of trivia about the music.

Yes Kevin is, even as I type, building up to putting on his socks; next come shoes and then that first fateful move towards the studio.Nah only kidding we're stuck with what we've got and IMHO its pretty amazing. I think the guys are right about DR on this one. The whole My Bloody Valentine thing was about a feeling, a sonic attack layered upon layer. Just stand /sit and let it wash over you!
Thanks to @longjose, @someotherguy @sbandoboy for remembering that its the music that counts.

And.........thanks to Kel for the hard work.
Cheers & good day to all

It's not that the Dynamic range is not the point, it's the point as they seems to search for a less compressed vinyl version, but I think it would always get a 9 or 10, this is noise music, sometimes ambiant sounds without any need of dynamic in it. This music is meant to be heard at a blasting volume. Their concerts was maybe the loudest ever made.

Looking at the spectrals of the 24/96: a) no hi-rez music content, so this mastering is from a redbook digital source; b) there are very high frequency artifacts up near 40,000 Hz--something is wrong with this and a few other Kel Bazar rips from this summer.

Listening: the c0rtland version from what.cd and holyfuckingshit4000 has more bass--that could be merely a reflection of the Grado cartridge. It also has content above 22 kHz. But it sounds like there is a slight bit of mistracking.

@usernaim

In the 90's, many master where only in 16/44 only (Neil Young etc...)!

Kel, I know. And in many cases people say the vinyl is so much better anyway. Soundgarden is a good example.