No Need to Argue is the second studio album by The Cranberries, released in 1994. It represents a shift toward a darker and more emotional alternative rock compared to their debut album. Dolores O’Riordan’s distinctive voice, both soft and powerful, is at the heart of every track. The album blends pop melodies, jangly guitars, and atmospheric arrangements. Its themes range from personal relationships to social and political issues, as exemplified by the famous track Zombie. Other songs, such as Ode to My Family, explore nostalgia and family. The album achieved significant commercial and critical success, solidifying the band’s reputation. It remains a landmark of the 1990s rock scene. No Need to Argue is now considered a timeless classic of both the band and the era.

The review of this album showed that the versions available on streaming platforms differed. That is what I invite you to observe in this review.

For this review, you will find 6 versions tested:

• Ed 1: CD – 1994
• Ed 2: Tidal 2025 remastered – 2025
• Ed 3: Tidal Deluxe Remastered – 2020
• Ed 4: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2025
• Ed 5: Vinyl record – 2020
• Ed 6: Vinyl Record – 2025

Below you will find the description of the different editions, as well as the measurements of each edition in the following chapters.

The album is composed of 13 tracks:

1. Ode To My Family
2. I Can’t Be With You
3. Twenty One
4. Zombie
5. Empty
6. Everything I Said
7. The Icicle Melts
8. Disappointment
9. Ridiculous Thoughts
10. Dreaming My Dreams
11. Yeat’s Grave
12. Daffodil Lament
13. No Need To Argue

Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed 1: CD – 1994

Presentation

This is the original CD released in 1994 (ref: 731452405029).

Waveform and Spectrum: DR11

The waveform of the CD – 1994 version shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR11.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 22 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above this frequency (white arrow) due to the 44.1 kHz sampling frequency.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the CD – 1994 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Tidal 2025 remastered – 2025 (blue curve).The two spectra are similar, but with an accentuation in the bass below 60 Hz up to 8dB for the CD version (green area) and an attenuation in the treble (yellow area) up to 4-5 dB for the CD version. These differences will give a different tonal balance between these two versions. The CD is limited to 22 kHz (yellow arrow) due to its sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz.

Synthesis and listening

The CD version remains the best in this comparison. It preserves the full dynamics of the album as well as the original tonal balance, while the other editions lose either the dynamics or the balance.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Ed 2: Tidal 2025 remastered – 2025

Presentation

This is the Tidal MAX Remastered – 2025 presented in 24 bits 96 kHz (link).

All original tracks remixed and engineered by Stephen Street.
All tracks remastered/mastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room Mastering.
“Ode To My Family [IAN COOK Remix]” & “Zombie [IAN COOK Remix]” – Produced by Iain Cook.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR9

The waveform of the Tidal 2025 remastered – 2025 version shows a low dynamic range confirmed with DR9.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 30 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above this frequency (white arrow) due to the 96 kHz sampling frequency.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Tidal 2025 remastered – 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Tidal Deluxe Remastered – 2020 (blue curve).The two spectra are similar, but with an accentuation in the bass below 6 Hz up to 8dB for the 2020 remastered version (green area) and an attenuation between 1 and 10 kHz (yellow area) up to 3-4 dB for the 2020 remastered version. These differences will give a different tonal balance between these two versions. The 2020 remastered version is limited to 22 kHz (yellow arrow) due to its sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz.

Synthesis and listening

This 2025 remastered version resembles a stereo downmix of the Dolby Atmos mix. It retains the same tonal balance, with a 10 dB reduction below 60 Hz. The dynamics are also compressed, although less so than on the 2020 edition (which is rather unusual), still limiting the dynamic range compared to the Dolby Atmos version. This treatment of the bass makes it depart from the original release.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●ooo (2.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3.5)

Ed 3: Tidal Deluxe Remastered – 2020

Presentation

This was the Tidal Deluxe Remastered – 2020 presented in 16 bits 44.1 kHz. Between the start of this review and its completion, this version of the album is no longer available on Tidal (or other platforms). It has been replaced by the 2025 Super Deluxe 30th Anniversary edition. Streaming allows quick access to new releases, but it does not guarantee that older versions will remain available.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR7

The waveform of the Tidal Deluxe Remastered – 2020 version shows a low dynamic range confirmed with DR7.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 22 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above this frequency (white arrow) due to the 44.1 kHz sampling frequency.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Tidal Deluxe Remastered – 2020 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Vinyl record – 2020 (blue curve).The two spectra overlap perfectly up to 15 kHz. Above this frequency, the vinyl version attenuates significantly, with a difference of almost 20 dB at 20 kHz (yellow area).

Synthesis and listening

This 2020 remastered deluxe edition brings nothing new apart from the bonus tracks it includes. In fact, it is more compressed than the original CD, making it sound slightly less precise than the 1994 edition. this version of the album is no longer available on Tidal (or other platforms). It has been replaced by the 2025 Super Deluxe 30th Anniversary edition.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●ooo (2)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

Ed 4: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2025

Presentation

This is the Tidal Dolby Atmos presented in Dolby Digital Plus (768 kbits/s) or AC-4 (link).

Below the spatialization for all tracks. Click on the images to zoom in.

Below the video of spatialization for the track I Can’t Be With You.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR12

The waveform of the Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2025 version shows a very dynamic range confirmed with DR12.

The spectrogram of the Tidal Dolby Atmos track in 7.1.4 is limited to 20kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above (white arrow). This limitation is due to Dolby Digital Plus encoding, which is a lossy encoder that limits bandwidth to optimize data size for a bit rate of 768 kbits/s. The green arrow shows the 120Hz filtering of the bass channel (LFE).

The graph below represents the spectrum of the Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2025.
The spectrum of the Dolby Atmos version of Tidal in 7.1 shows that the front channels are more used compared to the other channels, followed by the side and rear channels. The LFE channel ilimited to 120 Hz. The white arrow indicates the high frequency limit at 20 kHz due to Dolby Digital Plus encoding.

Synthesis and listening

The Dolby Atmos mix is mainly front-oriented, with some subtle extensions in the side speakers (in a 7.1.4 setup), while the rear channels are used sparingly, except on tracks like Ridiculous Thoughts and No Need To Argue. The same sonic balance can be found as in the 2025 streaming and vinyl editions, with a less prominent low-end extension, resulting in a clearer and more detailed rendering.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization: ●●●●oooooo (3.8)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Ed 5: Vinyl record – 2020

Presentation

This is the remastered vinyl record, released in 2020 (ref : 731452405012). Présented in Gatefold with two LP in 33 1/3 rpm. This release includes bonus tracks.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR11

The waveform of the Vinyl record – 2020 version shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR11.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal above this frequency (white arrow) containing musical information and distortion due to the vinyl record’s operating principle.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Vinyl record – 2020 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Vinyl Record – 2025 (blue curve).The two spectra are similar, but with an emphasis in the bass below 6 Hz up to 8 dB for the 2020 vinyl record version (green area) and a strong attenuation above 15 kHz (20 dB at 20 kHz for the 2020 vinyl record version (yellow area). These differences will result in a different tonal balance between the two versions.

Synthesis and listening

This is the vinyl edition that comes closest to the original 1994 release in terms of tonal balance. However, it remains less dynamic than the original CD, since it was produced from the 2020 remaster, which was already more dynamically compressed than the original CD edition.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Surface noise: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)
  

Ed 6: Vinyl Record – 2025

Presentation

This is the remastered vinyl record, released in 2025 (ref : 602475914716). Présented in Gatefold with two LP in 33 1/3 rpm. This release includes bonus tracks.

All original tracks remixed and engineered by Stephen Street.
All tracks remastered/mastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room Mastering.
“Ode To My Family [IAN COOK Remix]” & “Zombie [IAN COOK Remix]” – Produced by Iain Cook.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR12

The waveform of the Vinyl Record – 2025 version shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR12.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal above this frequency (white arrow) containing musical information and distortion due to the vinyl record’s operating principle.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Vinyl Record – 2025 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Tidal 2025 remastered – 2025 (blue curve).The two spectra overlap perfectly up to 15 kHz. Above this frequency, the vinyl version increases in level from 10 kHz, rising more sharply above 15 kHz with a difference of nearly 8 dB at 17 kHz (yellow area).

Synthesis and listening

The vinyl edition from the 2025 remaster is close to the Tidal remastered version of the same year, but it delivers slightly more detail in the high frequencies, due to the emphasis above 15 kHz, as confirmed by spectral analysis. The sound is much clearer than on the vinyl remastered in 2020.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Surface noise: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3.5)

Reviewing an album takes a lot of time, and I work in several stages to complete it. In the case of this album, I had already prepared the analysis of the available versions while waiting for the anniversary edition to be released.
However, when the 2025 anniversary edition came out, the previous Deluxe version had disappeared from Tidal (as well as from other streaming platforms).
I decided to keep it in the review, even though it is no longer accessible today, because it clearly highlights the limitations of streaming services: for this album, it is now impossible to choose which version you want to listen to.
And in many cases, as is the case here, you can no longer access the original version (so you need the CD to listen to it) — only a remastered one.
In summary, the original CD version remains the most convincing in this comparison. It fully preserves the album’s dynamics and a tonal balance faithful to the 1994 release. Other editions, whether vinyl or digital remasters, tend to compromise either the dynamics (notably the 2020 edition) or the tonal balance (all 2025 versions).
In general, recent remasters boost the bass to achieve a more contemporary sound, but this is not the case with the 2025 version, where even the Dolby Atmos mix remains primarily front-focused.
If you are looking for a clearer and more detailed sound, the 2025 editions are worth considering, but for the most faithful listening experience, the 1994 original CD is the best choice.

Dynamic Range measurements and spectra are shown below.

Subscribe to MagicVinylDigital

If you like this review, please subscribe. You’ll receive information on new articles directly in your inbox.

Measurements

Dynamic Range comparaisons

Dynamic represents the ability to reproduce a wide range of sounds from the softest to the loudest. The target is to compare the dynamics of the music and not of the media (CD, digital files or vinyl).

For our 6 editions reviewed have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR) :

	CD – 1994	Tidal 2025 remastered – 2025	Tidal Deluxe Remastered – 2020	Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2025	Vinyl record – 2020	Vinyl Record – 2025
Global	DR11	DR9	DR7	DR12	DR11	DR12
Min	DR10	DR7	DR6	DR11	DR10	DR11
Max	DR14	DR11	DR10	DR14	DR12	DR14
Ode To My Family	DR10	DR10	DR7	DR12	DR11	DR12
I Can’t Be With You	DR10	DR8	DR6	DR12	DR10	DR11
Twenty One	DR13	DR9	DR8	DR13	DR12	DR14
Zombie	DR10	DR7	DR7	DR12	DR11	DR12
Empty	DR11	DR9	DR8	DR11	DR10	DR11
Everything I Said	DR11	DR9	DR7	DR12	DR10	DR11
The Icicle Melts	DR10	DR8	DR7	DR14	DR10	DR11
Disappointment	DR11	DR9	DR8	DR12	DR11	DR11
Ridiculous Thoughts	DR10	DR8	DR7	DR12	DR11	DR12
Dreaming My Dreams	DR12	DR11	DR9	DR11	DR11	DR12
Yeat’s Grave	DR11	DR9	DR7	DR12	DR11	DR12
Daffodil Lament	DR10	DR9	DR7	DR13	DR11	DR12
No Need To Argue	DR14	DR10	DR10	DR12	DR11	DR12

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.

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)
• Spatialization :
  • Between 0 and 5 for 5.1 or 7.1 channels configuration
  • Between 0 and 10 for Atmos configuration (7.1.4)
  • For more information on spatialization, you can read the article describing this parameter here.
• 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.

---