Sound quality on LOVE again

[CatGirl]

Is it just me or is the sound quality of the songs on LOVE again kind of... grainy? I first noticed it on both "LOVE" and "again," but I figured the files I had were just sort of low quality. However, when I listen to the actual CD, a lot of the songs sound kind of muffled :S Ayu's voice and the arrangement don't have that kind of clarity that most of her other songs have. Has anybody else noticed this? It's really bugging me haha

[Livey~]

I'm not sure, actually.
I have a JP Version and on my Hi Fi System it sounds good.
The only thing I can't stand is the pauses between tracks..

[AyuGAME]

i think the mastering for SAKURA is really poor...

not the best mastering quality of her album

[Delirium-Zer0]

It's not just you, the audio is all very compressed and the waveforms do cut off. The mastering isn't very good at all.

[henrique]

This is a shame because 2 of the most beautiful songs of her career is in this album which is sakura and ivy.

[Delicious n Bold]

When I listened to Sakura, it did sound a bit crispy or something.

[lightningrod]

I think the mastering problem started with Rock 'n' Roll Circus

[!Lawi!]

Apart from the beginning of SAKURA, I haven't really noticed anything, but I don't have high quality headphones !

I know Livey, I never got used to it !

[Yoake]

I don't have any problem with the sound of my copy!

[ExodusUK]

It's so they can sell you remastered blu-ray audio versions of her albums for her 20th anniversary.

[NintendoHTF1242]

Originally Posted by ExodusUK

It's so they can sell you remastered blu-ray audio versions of her albums for her 20th anniversary.

l0l we've caught onto you ayu what a silly gal

[CatGirl]

omg, I'm so glad I'm not the only one who noticed ;_; And yeah, I definitely noticed it the most in SAKURA as well, which is a shame because it's my favorite of the album-only tracks :/ I also noticed it a bit in Wake me up and Song 4 u. I really hope that the mastering quality won't stay like this for the next album too >_>

[jiarongisme]

I thought I was the only one! I first downloaded it from AHS and I was wondering why it sounded kinda grainy when I'm using earphones, so I re-ripped it when I got the CD and it was still the same. That kinda sucks D:

[Zeke.]

I haven't noticed too much on this album but I don't listen to it a whole lot and when I do it's usually in the car. But, I have always noticed how the mastering on Return Road was just horrible. It gets crackly at certain points and there's parts in specific when Ayu hits a higher note and there's so much going on that it's just to much for the speaker, regardless of what quality speakers you are listening through.

[terra]

I also noticed it too, glad I'm not the only one. I hope her next release won't be like this again.

[Minttulatte]

I've heard the album just once but I did notice the problem at once. I had overplayed Song 4 u from the single mini and it's in much more higher quality than on LOVE again imo. Same goes for other songs that were previously released on LOVE and again. :<

[Delirium-Zer0]

Yeah, my LOVE again playlist in iTunes includes the versions from the minis as well.

Regarding Zeke's comment, The album definitely does sound better in my car thanks to the ambient engine & AC noise. I'd listen to it more if it weren't so ballad-heavy (not so great for driving lol).

[channy]

I have not noticed any flaws in quality. So far "Party Queen" remains the only album poorly mastered at some points.