Noise In The City is the Album of the concert from the Art Of Noise performed in August 1986 at Tokyo’s Nihon Seinenkan .

The album includes the famous songs of the group like ” Moments in Love “, ” Peter Gunn “, ” Legs “, ” Paranoimia “…

The recording was done in full digital on a Sony PCM 3324 24 multi-tracks in 1986. Mixing was done from the multi-track tape by Gary Langan.

It’s also the opportunity to compare the same album with 3 different streaming sources (Amazon, Apple, Qobuz). Without revealing the results, but you will see that it is possible to obtain a coherent result between the different digital supports, including the CD.

You can find the measurements of each edition in the different parts and listen to the samples of these albums here.

This album includes 12 tracks : 

1. Intro – Peter Gunn
2. Close (To The Edit)
3. Paranoimia
4. Eye Of A Needle
5. Legs
6. Moments In Love
7. Beat Box
8. Instruments Of Darkness
9. Peter Gunn
10. From Tokyo To Hammersmith And Back
11. Opus III
12. In The Mood

We will review 5 editions (Vinyl, CD, Streaming Amazon Music, Streaming Apple Music, Streaming Qobuz) of this album.

First we will analyze each edition in detail (technical and qualitative analysis) then we will compare the successive editions with their dynamics and assign a final score and you will be able to listen some samples.

Review of the editions:

Part 1: Presentation of the editions

Part 2 : Waveform and dynamique comparaison

Parts 3 : Spectrum comparisons

Part 4 : Spectrogram comparaisons

Part 5 : Summary, scoring and Sample

Part 1: presentation of the editions

Ed1 : Vinyl ref MOVLP2554 – 2021

Presentation

Ed1 the vinyl edition of this album with two white disks and and a particular notation of the sides T, A, O, N.

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Label	Warner Music / Music On Vinyl
Reference	MOVLP2554
Format (speed)	LP 33.3 RPM Double (sides named T, A, O and N)
Type	Vinyl LP white, Limited Edition (1500) and Numbered
Master	Digital 24-44.1kHz
Mastering/Pressing	Mixed in London
Original recording	Digital 24-44.1kHz (Sony PCM 3324)
State	EU
Year original	1986
Year production	2021

Ed2 : CD MOCCD14069 – 2021

Presentation

Ed2 is the CD edition of the box.

Label	Warner Music / Music On CD
Reference	MOCCD14069
Format (speed)	CD with 16 pages booklet
Type	CD
Master	Digital 16-44.1kHz
Mastering/Pressing	Mixed in London
Original recording	Digital 16-44.1kHz (Sony PCM 3324)
State	EU
Year original	1986
Year production	2021

Ed3 : Streaming Amazon Music – 2021

Presentation

Ed3 is the streaming Amazon Music HD version of this album.

Label	Warner Music
Reference	Amazon Music HD
Format (speed)	Streaming HD
Type	16-44.1kHz
Master	Digital 16-44.1kHz
Mastering/Pressing	Mixed in London
Original recording	Digital 16-44.1kHz (Sony PCM 3324)
State	EU
Year original	1986
Year production	2021

Ed4 : Streaming Apple Music – 2021

Presentation

Ed4 is the streaming Apple Music of this album.

Label	Warner Music
Reference	Apple Music HD
Format (speed)	Streaming Lossless
Type	16-44.1kHz
Master	Digital 16-44.1kHz
Mastering/Pressing	Mixed in London
Original recording	Digital 16-44.1kHz (Sony PCM 3324)
State	EU
Year original	1986
Year production	2021

Ed5 : Streaming Qobuz – 2021

Presentation

Ed5 is the streaming Qobuz version of this album.

Label	Warner Music
Reference	Quobuz
Format (speed)	Streaming HD
Type	16-44.1kHz
Master	Digital 16-44.1kHz
Mastering/Pressing	Mixed in London
Original recording	Digital16-44.1kHz (Sony PCM 3324)
State	EU
Year original	1986
Year production	2021

Part 2 : Waveform and dynamic comparaisons

Waveform

The waveform represents all the tracks of the album.

It is very rare that all versions are similar. All releases are very dynamic with a global DR15!

Dynamic

We start this test by measuring the dynamic. Dynamic represents the ability to reproduce a wide range of sounds from the softest to the loudest. 

For our 5 editions we have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR):

	Ed1: Vinyl Test	Ed2: CD	Ed3:  Amazon Music	Ed4:  Apple Music	Ed5:  Qobuz
GLOBAL	DR15	DR15	DR15	DR15	DR15
Min	DR12	DR12	DR12	DR12	DR12
Max	DR19	DR20	DR20	DR20	DR20
Intro – Peter Gunn	DR16	DR16	DR16	DR16	DR16
Close (To The Edit)	DR16	DR16	DR16	DR16	DR16
Paranoimia	DR14	DR15	DR14	DR14	DR15
Eye Of A Needle	DR12	DR12	DR12	DR12	DR12
Legs	DR13	DR14	DR13	DR13	DR14
Moments In Love	DR16	DR16	DR16	DR16	DR16
Beat Box	DR19	DR20	DR20	DR20	DR20
Instruments Of Darkness	DR14	DR13	DR14	DR14	DR13
Peter Gunn	DR13	DR13	DR13	DR14	DR13
From Tokyo To Hammersmith And Back	DR18	DR18	DR17	DR17	DR18
Opus III	DR19	DR19	DR20	DR19	DR19
In The Mood	DR12	DR13	DR13	DR13	DR13

The DR is very good with DR15 for all releases . We find a maximum DR of DR20 for digital media and DR19 for vinyl. The dynamics are excellent for this album, and all the supports are treated in the same way, even for the CD which is not impacted by the compression.

As a reminder, the scale goes from 0 to more 20, but the dynamics are considered good from 12, quite good between 10 and 11, and deteriorate below 10.

Part 3 : spectrum comparisons

Spectrum

The Spectrum allows to check the tonal balance of the music (balance between treble, medium and bass sounds) and to detect process that may have been carried out during the recording, the mixing, mastering or manufacturing phases. It is also possible to detect frequency interference issues.

The curve represents the average frequency distribution over the sample “Moments In Love”.

The interesting features on this curve Ed1 vinyl are the following:

1. The two curves representing vinyl and CD are very similar up to 14 kHz
2. there is a drop in high frequencies above 15 kHz compared to CD (yellow zone), without any special reasoning.

For the spectrum of Streaming Amazon Music (white) vs CD (blue), the two curves are strictly identical up to 20 kHz (using the same master)

The graph below shows the difference between the Streaming Amazon Music (Ed3) and Streaming Apple Music (Ed4). The two curves are strictly identical up to 18 kHz, with an attenuation of the Apple Music version beyond.

The graph below shows the difference between Streaming Qobuz (Ed5) and the Streaming Amazon Musc (Ed3). , the two curves are strictly identical up to 20 kHz .

Part 4 : Spectrogram comparaisons

Spectrogram

Spectrogram is another representation of frequency versus time of a track. For each channel (right and left), horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents frequency. The amplitude is represented by the intensity (brightness) of the color of each point in the image.

For the spectrogram of the Ed1 vinyl, the yellow arrow shows the limit is below 22 kHz (the sampling frequency of the master). The green arrow shows the harmonics created by the vinyl playback method.

All the digital releases show the frequency limit at 22kHz (yellow arrow) . The black area (white arrow) shows that there is no signal above 22 kHz, which is normal for a 44.1 kHz sampling rate.

Part 5 : Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed1 : Vinyl ref MOVLP2554 – 2021

The pressing of the vinyl is very good with a reduced surface noise.
The attenuation above 15 kHz has very limited impact on the rendering of the track, the warmer rendering of the vinyl distinguishes it from digital editions.

• Rating:
  • Dynamic: ●●●●● (5/5)
  • Bandwidth: ●●●oo (3/5)
  • Surface Noise: ●●●●o (4/5)
  • Restitution: ●●●●o (4/5)

• Sample : “Moments In Love” vinyl 24 bits 88.2 kHz :

Ed2 : CD MOCCD14069 – 2021

It is rare to find a CD that is not overly compressed. It is the case here with a DR15 (with a track with a DR20). Rendering is dynamic and very precise, with a digital resolution in coherence with the recording format of the Sony PCM3324. A CD rendering as we would like to see more often!

Note that the CD is delivered with a booklet (absent on the vinyl).

• Rating:
  • Dynamic: ●●●●● (5/5)
  • Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4/5)
  • Restitution: ●●●●o (4/5)

• Sample : “Moments In Love” CD 16 bits 44.1 kHz :

Ed3 : Streaming Amazon Music – 2021

The Streaming version of Amazon Music HD is in line with the CD version and uses the same format as the CD.
The rendering is clear and dynamic.

• Rating:
  • Dynamic: ●●●●● (5/5)
  • Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4/5)
  • Restitution: ●●●●o (4/5)

• Sample : “Moments In Love” streaming Amazon Music 16 bits 44.1 kHz :

Ed4 : Streaming Apple Music – 2021

The Streaming version of AppleMusic HD is in line with the CD version and the other streaming release. It uses the same format as the CD (16 bits 44.1 kHz).
The rendering is similar to the other streaming editions.

• Rating:
  • Dynamic: ●●●●● (5/5)
  • Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4/5)
  • Restitution: ●●●●o (4/5)

• Sample : “Moments In Love” streaming Apple Music 16 bits 44.1 kHz :

Ed5 : Streaming Qobuz – 2021

The Streaming version of Qobuz is in line with the CD version and the other streaming release. It uses the same format as the CD (16 bits 44.1 kHz).

• Rating:
  • Dynamic: ●●●●● (5/5)
  • Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4/5)
  • Restitution: ●●●●o (4/5)

• Sample : “Moments In Love” streaming Qobuz 16 bits 44.1 kHz:

This concert transcribes all the dynamics of Art Of Noise’s electronic music. The CD version is a very nice reproduction of this album, and its booklet which makes the difference with the dematerialized versions in streaming. Concerning the Streaming, we notice that in the case of this album, the 3 tested versions are similar. For the lovers of the vinyl, this one brings the warmth of the vinyl and a very good dynamic in spite of the small limitation to 15 kHz.

Detail of the ratings :

• Dynamic :
  1. Significant dynamic compression, DR less than 7
  2. Compression of the present dynamics, DR between 7 and 9.
  3. Correct piece DR >=10
  4. No dynamic compression (DR >12), dynamic rendering
  5. No dynamic compression, high DR and very dynamic sound rendering
• Spectrum :
  1. Spectrum cut and less than 15 khz
  2. Spectrum cut at 15 khz
  3. Spectrum not conforming to the original and cut (not HD) or original but limited bandwidth (but less than 20 kHz)
  4. Spectrum conforming to the original (but not HD)
  5. Spectrum conforming to the original with HD resolution (higher than 24kHz)
• Surface noise (only for vinyl):
  1. Continuous audible noise
  2. Audible surface noise except on passages with a high level of noise
  3. Reduced surface noise, barely audible on low level crossings
  4. Low surface noise, very good quality
  5. Very low surface noise, no defects, almost inaudible on the quiet passages (exceptional disc)
• Restitution :
  1. Low quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  2. Average quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  3. Quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Good record.
  4. High quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Very high level disc.
  5. Maximum quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Exceptional disc.

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