Thursday, 30 November 2017

More on the Soundtrack CD flaw

Audacity output comparing the CD and MP3 versions of "Off to See the World"
Maybe RCA's quality control unit is a guy with a phone
I was curious as to why some people could hear the flaw in "Off to See the World" in the movie's official soundtrack CD and some couldn't. I ran a quick poll on Twitter and found that my respondents split almost down the middle. However, the skip annoyed me so much that I actually went and bought the MP3 from Google with a little spare credit I had. This version does not have the flaw, which allowed me to compare directly. As soon as I did, the answer became obvious.

What you see above is a screenshot from Audacity (an excellent free program, by the way). The top two lines are the stereo track as ripped from my own CD, and the lower two lines are from the MP3. The skip is very obvious here, but crucially it's only on the left channel. This explains a lot, as anyone listening on a mono device (probably a phone speaker) would most likely not hear the problem. Those listening on even fairly cheap headphones, like me, tended to spot it instantly.
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7 comments:

  1. iisaw30 November 2017 at 18:27

    Nice forensic work, there! I hadn't gotten the soundtrack yet, thankfully. Looks like it's the digital version for me!

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    1. Logan1 December 2017 at 00:40

      I'm still happy to have the CD, as it's a nice physical memento of the film to go with my quad poster. Every other track is free from obvious flaws, and they sound great. But still, it's a pity about this one.

      Delete
  2. Pascoite30 November 2017 at 23:29

    You ought to send this evidence in to the record company. it's not just you saying something's wrong and leaving them to figure out what. You're showing them exactly what the problem is.

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    Replies
    1. Logan1 December 2017 at 00:38

      It's already been done. Whether anything will happen I don't know. I'll report back if it does.

      Delete
  3. NinTylo2 December 2017 at 00:44

    Well, it took A LOT of motivation, but my full review (in two parts) on the movie is now finally up...

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    Replies
    1. Logan2 December 2017 at 21:57

      You can post links if you want, you know! I'm still intending to do a Text Review Roundup for the movie once it's out everywhere (the last few countries get it this month), so I'll certainly link to yours there.

      I enjoyed your Best/Worst songs list as well. I may not agree with all of it (I'd listen to "Flawless" over "Glass of Water" all day long) but who said everyone had to agree? It was a good read and fairly expressed, and that's fine by me. :)

      Delete
    2. NinTylo5 December 2017 at 00:47

      Okay, thanks.

      Delete

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