Just downloaded Pet Sounds from HDTracks, and I finally appreciate the recording

Growing up, I never liked the Beach Boys or appreciated their music.

Recently I read a lot of comments about how influential and groundbreaking their Pet Sounds album was, so I checked it out on Spotify Premium and was surprised at how bad the audio quality was. I then downloaded the AIFF from HDTracks, played it in Foobar, and was blown away by how much better it is.

I don't have much lossless music and mostly listen to Spotify. Not sure if the Pet Sounds version I downloaded sounds so much better (smoother, clearer) because it was from a different master or because it is lossless vs 320 kbps. I always assumed I wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but it is not subtle at all. Both the Spotify and HDTracks versions I listened to were stereo.

I really don't want to pay $25 an album, but if that's what it takes...

Maybe time to try Tidal?

 

Tidal has a free trial period, so you should definitely compare. However, I'm guessing you're probably hearing a different master between Spotify and HD Tracks.

Also, if you're digging it in stereo, I highly recommend Pet Sounds in mono. It's how Brian Wilson mixed it. The Audio Fidelity release has both stereo and mono.

 

There are a couple different masters on Spotify, one of which sounds better than the other, but neither one is even close to the one I just downloaded from HD Tracks. Would love to check out the mono version but not eager to pay again right now .

 

I've heard good things about the HD-Tracks recording - I should get around to picking it up.

The releases of Pet Sounds are painfully uneven. I have the 2001 anniversary CDs and the 2012 MoFi release. One of my friends has the DCC Vinyl. All three of them are stupidly different sounding.

 

Spotify has two stereo versions. The one titled "Pet Sounds" is terrible. The one titled "Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary Stereo Digital" is much better.

I just tried Tidal, and "Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary Stereo Digital" on Tidal sounds very close to the HD Tracks version I downloaded. Though subtle, it's clearly better than Spotify Premium. Will definitely check out the mono version on Tidal!

 

Get on the HDTracks mailing list - they have frequent sales.

 

I have found the same thing with digital and analog recordings. A top notch mastering can made a good album an engaging and fun, or a great performance sound unexciting and flat. Miles Davis - Filles de Killamajaro had deep bassy keyboard riff at the opening that blows me away on vinyl, but is lost on most of the digital copies I've heard.

As if we didn't have enough things to research and think about in this hobby....