'98 UK Raw Power Enhanced CDs Question

Wally Swift

Wally Swift

Invader
I've been back into Iron Maiden for a few years now since getting off the bus back in the mid 80's. So I've got my collection up to snuff with original vinyl pressings of everything up to and including No Prayer. After that I've got the original EPIC CD of FOTD, Japanese original CDs of the two with Blaze and the regular US CD copies of everything later except Dance of Death which I just haven't gotten around to yet.

About a year and a half ago I picked up a great CD player [SONY XA20ES] after years of messing around with a cheap DVD player for CDs. This score [free] and the fact that used CDs are dirt cheap now has me taking CDs more seriously these days.

I'm interested in obtaining the early Maiden recordings on CD.

Ok, so as I understand it from reading about CD SQ on the Hoffman forums with early Maiden it's best to shoot for pressings made before the 1998 Sanctuary/Metal-Is masterings which are roundly panned as horrible sounding. I've never heard any of them. I have located the 1995 Castle 2 CD versions of SSOASS [new/SS $5!! whoa!] and the self titled. The former sounds good and the latter sounds fantastic imo.

The other day I picked up NOTB and POM on the "RAW POWER" label discs made in the UK. These are "enhanced CDs". The date on them is 1998 and they are licensed from Castle.

Are these the same masterings as the hated by many Santuary/Metal-Is versions? I can't seem to find any info on the Hoffman forums about this, just assumptions that they are the same because of the 1998 date. The thing is these Raw Power CDs aren't horrible at all. Yes, they are a bit loud but not terribly brickwalled the way I've read that the Sanctuary ones are. In fact I think Steve's bass sounds really good on these Raw Power versions.

So what's the deal? Are there different masterings for the Raw Power UK CDs as opposed to the Sanctuary versions?

Thanks!
 
They’re the same. I find them terrible. Not necessarily on a clipping brickwalled level but the mastering is a destruction to everything Martin Birch did.
 
jeffgt14 said:
They’re the same. I find them terrible. Not necessarily on a clipping brickwalled level but the mastering is a destruction to everything Martin Birch did.
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I do notice there's less space, or "air" between the instruments compared to the original vinyl pressings, I assume this is because of the increase in volume. I'm just a little surprised how much hatred gets leveled at these. Imo they're just not that bad.
 
I have the 1998 albums and I don't think they're that bad at all. The way I've seen them described on this and other forums you'd think you were about to listen to the band farting down the microphone when you stick one of these cds on.

I think I'm lucky I don't have Spock ears that can pick up every little nuance of detail on a cd that some people seem too. I have the castle 2 cd albums too and to me theirs a difference and they are better than the 1998 remasters but I hardly notice much difference.

I honestly think some people like to sound like musical snobs when talking about mastering mixing. I mean theirs obvious examples of bad mastering and mixing like death magnetic for example but theirs others that I just cannot hear what others hear.
 
Wayne Bond said:
I have the 1998 albums and I don't think they're that bad at all. The way I've seen them described on this and other forums you'd think you were about to listen to the band farting down the microphone when you stick one of these cds on.

I think I'm lucky I don't have Spock ears that can pick up every little nuance of detail on a cd that some people seem too. I have the castle 2 cd albums too and to me theirs a difference and they are better than the 1998 remasters but I hardly notice much difference.

I honestly think some people like to sound like musical snobs when talking about mastering mixing. I mean theirs obvious examples of bad mastering and mixing like death magnetic for example but theirs others that I just cannot hear what others hear.
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I agree with all of this.
 
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