Which format of DT12 did you buy?

[wolfking]

I am so impressed with this album, I'm thinking about getting the box set.

[BlobVanDam]

Jewel cases feel dated and cheap to me. I bought the box set, but if I wanted one of the smaller versions I would absolutely buy the digipack.

Plastic is a lot less cheap looking than cardboard and glue.

[wolfking]

Yeah, the pasting of the booklet is really poor and very cheap IMO

[me7]

Jewel cases feel dated and cheap to me. I bought the box set, but if I wanted one of the smaller versions I would absolutely buy the digipack.

I have to disagree 100%.

[a51502112]

The 2 disc should at least have had the Docu on it.

Just the album again in a largely unplayable format is a bit lame.

I ordered the standard.
Are you saying there's a version with a documentary? Which version?
(Grabs credit card.)

[aprilethereal]

The 2 disc should at least have had the Docu on it.

Just the album again in a largely unplayable format is a bit lame.

I ordered the standard.
Are you saying there's a version with a documentary? Which version?
(Grabs credit card.)

The box set.

[a51502112]

"Take This For The Pain (Mike Mangini Audition Improv Jam)"- 30 minute documentary of previously unreleased Mangini audition footage and jam."

I thought it was a "making of the album". Never mind, but thanks.

[aprilethereal]

"Take This For The Pain (Mike Mangini Audition Improv Jam)"- 30 minute documentary of previously unreleased Mangini audition footage and jam."

I thought it was a "making of the album". Never mind, but thanks.

Yep, unfortunately it isn't. The box set would be too expensive for me anyway

[ZirconBlue]

Deluxe.  I want the documentary from the box set, but I don't want it enough to pay $100.

Since the majority bought the deluxe version, it would be interesting to know how many bought it out of convenience/availability etc, and have no use for the 5.1 mix. It seems only a minority actually have use for it, even out of those who own it.

I do not currently have a 5.1 set-up, but I plan to have one in the future, so I went ahead and got the deluxe edition.  I like to think ahead.  (I bought LSFNY on dvd when it first came out, even though I didn't yet own a dvd player at the time.)

[faizoff]

Though I dont have a traditional 5.1 setup with the speakers and all, I bought the deluxe edition as my computer plays 5.1 mixes very well and pair that along with the headphones I have 5.1 mixes sound amazing.
I might grab a standard edition as well since I hate digipacks and really wished they'd stop gluing the booklet to the digipack.

[MoraWintersoul]

Haven't gotten any yet, but I'm getting the standard edition as soon as possible.

[jayvee3]

Though I dont have a traditional 5.1 setup with the speakers and all, I bought the deluxe edition as my computer plays 5.1 mixes very well and pair that along with the headphones I have 5.1 mixes sound amazing.
I might grab a standard edition as well since I hate digipacks and really wished they'd stop gluing the booklet to the digipack.

Yea, this is exactly what I did. I simply played the 5.1 in my macbook dvd player, (made sure it was switched to 5.1), and plugged in my good headphones. And even though the mix didn't bother me like some, it sounds AMAZING, and considerably better in 5.1 with good headphones. Well worth the extra $3 in my mind..

[Kotowboy]

I caved and bought the CD/DVD edition - it was a mere £2 more and the packaging is way nicer.



Since the Deluxe Edition booklet is glued in - can people who have the std jewel case edition tell me if there is anything on the back page or is it just black ?

[drew512]

Signed CD+DVD and (unsigned) LP for me.

This. 

[Kotowboy]

I made a day of it.

Took a train to a town 20 minutes away where they have an Enormous shopping centre ( mall ) .

Bought the album from HMV then went to Costa Coffee and had a latte and a sandwich whilst I looked thru the artwork.

[Implode]

I preordered DT12 and The Mountain together on Amazon. And even though The Mountain has been out for a couple weeks, I still won't get the CD's until Friday at the earliest. 

[adastra]

LP and Standard cd ^_^  !!!   LP  for home listening and CD for my Mercedes Benz

[Bolsters]

HDTracks has DT12 on its front page but when I click on it, it just brings up their Dream Theater page with only ADTOE listed. But it looks like we'll be able to get the album there soon!

[Implode]

[Zydar]

HDTracks has DT12 on its front page but when I click on it, it just brings up their Dream Theater page with only ADTOE listed. But it looks like we'll be able to get the album there soon!

I am definitely getting the HDTracks of this album. I got their ADTOE and it sounds awesome.

Edit: I just got a mail that said my copy has shipped (along with the new Haken, finally!) so it will arrive tomorrow.

[Kotowboy]

Someone explain in a nutshell what HD Tracks is and why it's better than the CD

[BlobVanDam]

Someone explain in a nutshell what HD Tracks is and why it's better than the CD

HDTracks is a site that releases albums in higher than CD quality (usually 24bit / 96Khz as opposed to 16bit / 44.1Khz).
The more important difference is that they also appear to often use a different master. In the case of ADTOE, people report that the HDTracks version of ADTOE had a much better dynamic range (I think someone said it was 9 or 11 or something, but I could be mistaken on that).

[Zydar]

Someone explain in a nutshell what HD Tracks is and why it's better than the CD

From their website:

"Why is HDtracks better than MP3s and even CDs?

    An MP3 is like watching a movie on your phone.
    A CD is like watching the same movie on an 13 inch LCD screen.
    An HDtracks 96/24 download is like watching the same movie from the DVD source on a 50 inch plasma TV.
    An HDtracks 192/24 download is like watching the same movie in 3D from the Blu-Ray source on an 80 inch plasma HDTV."

I bought ADTOE from their site and it sounds great. I pick up some nuances here and there that I didn't find on the CD version.

[Kotowboy]

What format are they in ? Wav ? If you burn it to CD - does it revert to CD Quality ?

[me7]

Someone explain in a nutshell what HD Tracks is and why it's better than the CD

It sells music in "24bit 98kHz". In theory, it should sound exactly the same as the CD to any human being and be totally worthless, but there is a slight chance that the record company could release a better sounding (= less compressed) master that way, not because "24bit 98kHz" is really better but just because they want to.

[Zydar]

They come in FLAC format, and no it shouldn't revert to CD quality.

[Bolsters]

What format are they in ? Wav ? If you burn it to CD - does it revert to CD Quality ?

An audio CD has to be 16 bit and 44.1khz so in order to burn the HDTracks files you would need to convert them to that format first. Though if you felt inclined to do so, it would be better than the official release. The most significant difference between the two versions is the master that they've used, and that would be preserved after converting the HDTracks files down to CD quality.

As for formats, they offer a variety of choices such as FLAC, AIFF, WAV, and I believe also ALAC.

[me7]

What format are they in ? Wav ? If you burn it to CD - does it revert to CD Quality ?

The format isn't really better, it is just possible that it will be a better master. Converting it to CD won't hurt the quality because the additional bit depth and sampling rate don't matter really.

[Kotowboy]

 

I'm no audio snob but I always prefer CD over Mp3 . But I don't think i'd ever be that picky tbh.

Unless DT12 sounded like Death Magnetic and the HDTracks were like the Guitar Hero mixes.

[Nefarius]

Box set of course, I just love those versions! I'd probably buy the albums before BCASL again if they were re-released as box sets with goodies. The last three DTs (DT12 yet to be shipped) and the last two plus the upcoming Ayreon are perfect examples of how I like my albums. I think it would be very nice to have more albums released in such great shape.

Greetings...
Nef

[ariich]

For anyone who has the HDTracks version of ADTOE - if you rip it to higher bit-rate mp3s, is the sound still notably better than doing the same from the regular version of the album?

It sounds to me like if it was a different master then even losing a bit of the detail will still give a better sound than doing the same from the main album. I mean, I have no problem with the ADTOE sound, but if it can sound better then I might be interested, and the main reason I ask is that I do most of my listening on my iPod.

If the HDTracks version of DT12 is similarly better mastered, I would definitely be tempted by that as the album is just a little on the loud side for me.

[me7]

Absolutely, a better master still sounds better when you convert it to mp3 or AAC.

Remember Death Magnetic? On one side, you have the awesome lossless Audio CD version, and on the other side the Guitar Hero version that was released as game DLC in some compressed format, most likely low-bitrate mp3. Which version do you prefer?

That said, I have little expectations for the HDtracks version. It will probably be like the 5.1 mix: almost the same as the CD, just without clipped drums.

[soulburner]

Yes, ADTOE on HDTracks is not just a higher resolution file with 24 bits and stuff. It's a different master and it's audio quality will not be reduced in an audible manner after downsampling it to 16 bit and 44.1kHz. An mp3 file created from the HDTracks source will sound better than a similarly created file sourced from the CD.

[CrimsonSunrise]

I'll order the CD, but for now I just did the digital.

[ariich]

me7 and soulburner, thanks for confirming that. I might consider getting it for ADTOE, but I'm probably more interested in how it sounds for DT12 when that comes out, so I'll probably hold fire for the moment.