Monitor headphones are what made me hate compression so much (and love good mastering) ever since I bought a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50X years ago.

I recently acquired a pair of Technics EAH-F50B too to use them outside (when we'll be able to go outside again haha) as they are bluetooth, but even though they cost twice as much as the AT (€300 vs €130) to my ears the inner EQ simply makes them less pleasant than the natural, full sound of the AT.

There's this opinion around that "neutral headphones are boring" but in my opinion it's very far from the truth.

This is a pretty fascinating discussion ngl.

Album Rating: 3.5

LMAO

Ha! I didn't mean to sound sarcastic at all, this is actually an interesting conversation about the production merits of BiB and HtH.

Album Rating: 3.5

All I know is solrage and Sabs have some looooong posts boy. Page 3 of this thread might be the longest page in the history of sput. Scroll up and down it....

Album Rating: 3.0

@Sabrutin: What made me hate compression was just hearing compressed VS non-compressed tracks back-to-back in JRiver with volume leveling. It's pretty clear once you even out the average volume how much worse compressed music is.

I always say that if neutral headphones sound boring then you should put on more exciting music! LOL

@Titan: I'm not one for short posts as is the typical Sput/Twitter style. I come from the days of forums where I had in-depth discussions with posts that were thousands of words long. Old habits and all that.

Album Rating: 3.0

Went through AC/DC's 80s albums last nights and here's my thoughts:

For Those About to Rock: Honestly, this album sounds as good as BiB. Very similar production style with minimal differences. Songs aren't nearly as strong and the pacing is awful, but the stretch from Inject the Venom to C.O.D. is solid. One of my favorite moments in AC/DC is the start of the Inject the Venom solo where Brian screams "stick it!" and Angus does that string slide. I suspect some studio trickery as I don't think you can quite get that sound naturally!

Flick of the Switch: I appreciate that they tried to go back to basics and a rawer sound on here but the album still sounds awful, almost like it was recorded in mono. Guitar tone is the worst of their career. Songs are damn solid though. I wish Guns for Hire was the opener though as it's one of their best.

Fly on the Wall: Their worst produced album by far. Brian's a reverby mess and the album is painfully bright. Songs are better than I remembered though. Shake Your Foundations has one of their catchiest choruses ever, though TBH I think I prefer the album's second half to the first overall. Playing With Girls has some filthy riffing, Hell or High Water and Back in Business are also both catchy as hell.

Blow Up Your Video: I still really like this one. Production is better than Fly but it's still too bright, but thankfully they dialed back the reverb on Brian's vocals. I love the opening trio of tracks. Meanstreak has such swagger. Really, the only bad tracks here are Ruff Stuff (maybe their worst song ever) and Go Zone.

Album Rating: 3.0

Dude, Go Zone is one of my favourites on that album...

Ruff Stuff isn't so bad either imo lyrics-aside, I like how relatively subdued it is.

FTATR is great but I think they tried to make it heavier than BiB by making everything a bit more compacted together and beef up the snare. In their defense, they achieved it.
I also think it's a pretty solid record in general. Other than the t/t Evil Walks, Inject the Venom, Night of the Long Knives and especially Breaking the Rules are my favs there.

"almost like it was recorded in mono"
oh never thought about it this way but I can see where you're coming from.

Album Rating: 3.0

I'm convinced there's no song for which someone can say "this is the worst on the album" and there's nobody out there that will go "that's one of my favorites!" LOL I still think the album would be better if Ruff Stuff had been replaced with Borrowed Time (single b-side). Go Zone and Snake Eye (the other single b-side) are about equal though.

One thing that sucks about FTATR is that the t/t sets the tone so well and then I Put the Finger On You and Let's Get it Up just completely demolishes it. I don't think either are terrible songs, but they don't really fit the darker/heavier tone of the rest of the album. I think it would've been better if they'd had those tracks open the album's second half, which is overall lighter. Better running order would've been: 1. FTATR 2. Snowballed 3. Inject the Venom 4. C.O.D. 5. Evil Walks 6. I Put the Finger On You 7. Let's Get it Up 8. Breaking the Rules 9. Night of the Long Knives 10. Spellbound

Album Rating: 3.5

'One thing that sucks about FTATR is that the t/t sets the tone so well and then I Put the Finger On You and Let's Get it Up just completely demolishes it.'



I've been saying this for almost 35 years! Exactly.

Album Rating: 3.0

Did 90s AC/DC last night, so thoughts:

The Razor's Edge: I think I want to like this one more than I do. It's (by a good distance) their best-produced album since FTATR; Thunderstruck is one of their top 10 songs; Fire Your Guns, Moneytalks, and t/t are all solid too... but, man, everything else is pretty dismal. Are You Ready is OK, but the material after that may be the most forgettable of their career.

Ballbreaker: Love the guitar tone on this--those warm, dark, clean-crunchy JTM45s are so distinctive--and the production is nice and dry but with better separation/definition than Flick or their 70s albums. Songs are consistently solid. The stretch from The Furor to Hail Caesar is some of their most underrated work. Only tracks I don't care for are Cover You in Oil and Love Bomb. Whole album has a laid-back, bluesy feel, but with a dark, menacing tone, which stands out from their more fun/party-oriented post-FTATR albums.

Album Rating: 3.0

'Mistress for Christmas' and 'Let's Make It' are forgettable, but half of Ballbreaker isn't? And 'Cover You In Oil' is among the worse on that album?



Dude, we have the exact opposite opinion on these two albums.

"One thing that sucks about FTATR is that the t/t sets the tone so well and then I Put the Finger On You and Let's Get it Up just completely demolishes it"

I would simply cut Let's Get It Up to be honest, it feels redundant after Finger.

"[Thunderstruck,] Fire Your Guns, Moneytalks, and t/t are all solid too... but, man, everything else is pretty dismal"

Those are my favorites too by a notch, but I think the rest is mostly fine too. For example I used to laugh at Mistress for Christmas but now I respect how it's built for the solos, or the swinging If You Dare, or the energy in general.
The thing I enjoy less about it is how the production can get really messy in places while in others is great (if still a bit overproduced, but I don't hate it).

"The stretch from The Furor to Hail Caesar is some of their most underrated work."

Yesss mate, agreed! Really wish they did more lengthy stuff like Honey Roll in general. Starting to think Ballbreaker *as a whole* is their best post-FTATR album

Album Rating: 3.0

@RTR: What half of Ballbreaker do you think is forgettable? FWIW, I used to think that whole album was forgettable, but it's grown on me over time. Maybe it's lacking in a few up-temp, high-energy songs, but I think they do the whole slowed down, dark groove thing really well there.

@Sabrutin: Let's Get it Up isn't great but I think it's good enough to make the cut. I probably like it better than Night of the Long Knives.

I don't hate Mistress for Christmas, but Rock Your Heart Out, Got You By the Balls, Shot of Love, Let's Make It, Goodbye... are all mediocre or worse IMO. At least If You Dare has some good energy and is less bland than Rock Your Heart Out.

Not sure where I'd rate Ballbreaker on the whole with their post-FTATR albums, but like I said it's grown on me a lot.

Album Rating: 3.0

@sol The Honey Roll, Burnin' Alive, Love Bomb and t/t. So not half, but a third.



I remember nothing about any of these songs. Granted, I haven't listened to the actual album in years, but the same is true of most of the rest of my AC/DC's, and I can at least remember the chorus to most of the songs on those.

Album Rating: 3.0

Honey Roll and t/t have some pretty filthy riffage (Honey Roll's chorus sucks though). I actually think Burnin' Alive's chorus is one of the album's catchiest. Love Bomb is a real dud, though.

Album Rating: 3.5

Burnin Alive and The Furor both rip

Caught with Your Pants Down is another highlight. Or, as we know it today, Demon Fire lol. Seriously they managed to self-steal both the 0:15 and 0:55 parts damn.

"Let's Get it Up isn't great but I think it's good enough to make the cut. I probably like it better than Night of the Long Knives."

I see. Personally NotLK has one of my favorite AC/DC choruses, plus it's pretty dark for them... or, well, the title is. The lyrics don't really say anything other than the name of the event haha.

And yeah not denying that the second half of Razors is a lot weaker than the first

Album Rating: 3.5

Cant wait till we get to Black Ice. I think that's their best since BIB.