Re: SNR on Sensual World vs Hounds of Love

[Jon Drukman <jondr@sco.COM>]

No one yet knows why scott@psy.uwa.OZ.AU (Scott Fisher) said:
>Did the CD users of Kates music notice that the Signal to Noise (SNR) ratio
>on the "Sensual  World" CD got worse in comparison to "Hounds of Love".
>In other words, there seems to be more hiss on Sensual World vs Hounds of love.
>Anyone know if/how the production/technical/mastering side of these CDs differ?

Yeah, I noticed this and got flamed for it ages ago.  In fact, when I got
The Box Set, I noticed the hiss was even more obnoxious on the British
pressing of TSW.  I sat myself down right between my speakers and cranked
The Fog.  It sounded decent enough until Kate's voice came in, accompanied
by a horrible "tearing" sound (as the noise gate cut out) and a WALL of
hiss.  It's all over a LOT of the vocals on TSW.  Compare and contrast with
The Dreaming which was recorded in various commercial studios.  When her
voice comes in on "Sat In Your Lap" it is totally transparent.  I didn't
check very closely on Hounds Of Love, but I did check Never For Ever and
even The Kick Inside.  They were both far more transparent than TSW.

Richard Caldwell and myself have been quick to point the finger at Del
Palmer, who engineered TSW.  It might not be his fault entirely, but he's
the only scapegoat we could find in the liner notes.

Kudos to Larry DeLuca for saying, "TSW doesn't have a noise floor.  It has
a noise wainscoting."

-- 
Jon Drukman (space children intro mix)       uunet!sco!jondr      jondr@sco.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Always note the sequencer - this will never let us down.