Playing The Angel mastering analysis
This article provides an analysis of the mastering of Depeche Mode's eleventh studio album, Playing The Angel.
Background
The Compact Disc release of Playing The Angel is often described as a victim of the loudness war, which is a trend of increasing audio levels in recorded music.[1][2]
The vinyl version is mastered significantly less loudly, as is the Super Audio CD stereo layer. These different masters help preserve the dynamic range of the music, resulting in a subjectively more pleasant listen, since not every sound and section is the same volume as the other, and dynamics of transients such as snare hits are not artificially limited, which also results in distortion.
One could make the argument that the CD master is intended to sound this way, or that the CD version sounds the best to them. This analysis is not intended to dissuade one from enjoying the album how they see fit, only to provide information and raise awareness about the other available masters of the album in case you find it to be a more pleasant listen.
Analysis
This analysis compares the Japanese Compact Disc master, the vinyl master, and the Super Audio CD master. Most fans will likely have the CD and/or vinyl version which are quite common and easily played back, whereas the SACD version is part of the "limited" release of the album and playing the SACD layer requires niche equipment.
To provide a comparison of each audio master, audio samples of each song from each version of the album are available to listen to, and screenshots that simultaneously represent the waveform of each song from each version of the album are provided in the table below.
Furthermore, a measurement of the dynamic range of each audio master using foobar2000's foo_dr_meter component version 0.7 is included.
The "Official DR value" listed in the summary of each dynamic range analysis is described by the Dynamic Range DB's FAQ:
"The numbers ... represent the measured dynamic range of an album or its individual tracks. DR is short for dynamic range. Lower numbers mean less dynamic range, higher numbers mean higher dynamic range. In terms of audio quality a higher dynamic range generally means better quality. Heavy dynamic range compression during the mastering process is generally detrimental to the audio quality but how much depends on the genre and other factors. An album with DR 6 doesn't necessarily sound overtly bad. And an album with DR 12 doesn't necessarily sound good (but the DR isn't to be blamed at least). For rock/metal a DR of 8 and above is considered okay. Electronic music can still sound okay with DR 5 because it is less dense."
This is not an exhaustive article and there are still other variants to add to this page if found to be substantially different, such as the UK CD master, the multichannel variants (DTS, Dolby Digital, and SACD), the MODE box set version, vinyl re-issues, streaming versions, the versions found as part of the singles (both original pressings and the 12" Singles Box Set reissues), and even the few official Compact Cassette releases of the album. However, for all intents and purposes, the three versions compared at time of writing are sufficient to exhibit the differences in mastering between the most common variants of the album.
Audio samples and waveform screenshots
In order to facilitate quick comparisons between versions, the audio samples are contained within this single section. These samples are of the same section in each song, comprising a portion of a verse, where the audio is expected to be quieter than the chorus, and then a segment of the chorus.
The samples below have been encoded to M4A 128kbps to preserve bandwidth of this website. As a result of the lossy encoding, minor fidelity loss can be expected when listening to these samples.
| Song | CD | Vinyl | SACD | Waveform screenshot (click to enlarge) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. A Pain That I'm Used To | 
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| 02. John The Revelator | 
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| 03. Suffer Well | 
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| 04. The Sinner In Me | 
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| 05. Precious | 
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| 06. Macro | 
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| 07. I Want It All | 
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| 08. Nothing's Impossible | 
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| 09. Introspectre | 
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| 10. Damaged People | 
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| 11. Lilian | 
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| 12. The Darkest Star | 
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Compact Disc audio dynamic range report
The version analyzed is the Japanese CD release, catalog number TOCP-66471.
foobar2000 v2.1.5 / DR Meter v0.7 log date: 2024-07-09 18:15:32 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Analyzed: Depeche Mode / Playing The Angel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR Peak RMS Duration Track -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR2 -0.01 dBFS -5.91 dBFS 4:12 01-A Pain That I'm Used To DR2 -0.01 dBFS -4.45 dBFS 3:43 02-John The Revelator DR4 -0.01 dBFS -5.22 dBFS 3:50 03-Suffer Well DR4 -0.01 dBFS -6.09 dBFS 4:56 04-The Sinner In Me DR4 -0.01 dBFS -6.18 dBFS 4:10 05-Precious DR4 -0.01 dBFS -7.34 dBFS 4:03 06-Macro DR6 -0.01 dBFS -8.32 dBFS 6:10 07-I Want It All DR4 -0.01 dBFS -6.99 dBFS 4:22 08-Nothing's Impossible DR12 -1.00 dBFS -16.14 dBFS 1:42 09-Introspectre DR6 -0.01 dBFS -7.67 dBFS 3:29 10-Damaged People DR4 -0.01 dBFS -6.97 dBFS 4:50 11-Lilian DR6 -0.01 dBFS -9.58 dBFS 6:57 12-The Darkest Star -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of tracks: 12 Official DR value: DR5 Samplerate: 44100 Hz Channels: 2 Bits per sample: 16 Bitrate: 908 kbps Codec: FLAC ================================================================================
Vinyl audio dynamic range report
The vinyl capture analyzed is of unknown provenance but is sufficient quality for comparison purposes.
foobar2000 v2.1.5 / DR Meter v0.7 log date: 2024-07-09 18:16:22 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Analyzed: Depeche Mode / Playing The Angel (Vinyl) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR Peak RMS Duration Track -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR9 -1.22 dBFS -14.94 dBFS 4:12 01-A Pain That I'm Used To DR10 -0.19 dBFS -13.91 dBFS 3:42 02-John The Revelator DR10 -2.02 dBFS -14.61 dBFS 3:54 03-Suffer Well DR11 -2.25 dBFS -17.00 dBFS 4:57 04-The Sinner In Me DR11 -3.35 dBFS -16.73 dBFS 4:10 05-Precious DR11 -0.12 dBFS -18.07 dBFS 4:03 06-Macro DR13 -1.51 dBFS -17.51 dBFS 6:10 07-I Want It All DR10 -0.00 dBFS -16.20 dBFS 4:22 08-Nothing's Impossible DR11 -8.27 dBFS -25.13 dBFS 1:42 09-Introspectre DR11 -2.69 dBFS -17.41 dBFS 3:34 10-Damaged People DR11 -0.20 dBFS -15.57 dBFS 4:50 11-Lilian DR12 -2.00 dBFS -18.25 dBFS 6:50 12-The Darkest Star -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of tracks: 12 Official DR value: DR11 Samplerate: 44100 Hz Channels: 2 Bits per sample: 16 Bitrate: 772 kbps Codec: FLAC ================================================================================
Super Audio CD stereo layer audio dynamic range report
The version analyzed is a 16-bit, 44.1khz downsample converted from an ISO of a bit-perfect digital rip of catalog number LCDStumm260 performed on a modified Sony PlayStation 3. DSD audio was decoded using foobar2000 and its foo_input_sacd component.
Note that the Super Audio CD contains the CD master of the album on the "Red Book" CDDA layer for compatibility when played using a normal Compact Disc player. Playback using a Super Audio CD capable player is required to hear the SACD master.
foobar2000 v2.1.5 / DR Meter v0.7 log date: 2024-07-09 18:16:32 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Analyzed: Depeche Mode / Playing The Angel (SACD) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR Peak RMS Duration Track -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR8 -2.81 dBFS -14.91 dBFS 4:11 01-A Pain That I'm Used To DR13 -3.97 dBFS -19.10 dBFS 3:42 02-John The Revelator DR11 -2.88 dBFS -16.04 dBFS 3:50 03-Suffer Well DR12 -3.45 dBFS -17.81 dBFS 4:56 04-The Sinner In Me DR11 -3.14 dBFS -16.69 dBFS 4:09 05-Precious DR10 -3.42 dBFS -17.60 dBFS 4:02 06-Macro DR12 -3.92 dBFS -18.72 dBFS 6:10 07-I Want It All DR13 -1.74 dBFS -17.16 dBFS 4:22 08-Nothing's Impossible DR12 -9.04 dBFS -24.51 dBFS 1:41 09-Introspectre DR12 -3.92 dBFS -17.74 dBFS 3:27 10-Damaged People DR12 -2.60 dBFS -17.69 dBFS 4:46 11-Lilian DR12 -3.39 dBFS -19.05 dBFS 6:55 12-The Darkest Star -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of tracks: 12 Official DR value: DR11 Samplerate: 44100 Hz Channels: 2 Bits per sample: 16 Bitrate: 766 kbps Codec: FLAC ================================================================================
Further reading
- Sound On Sound: 'Dynamic Range' & The Loudness War
- Yamaha Music: What Is Dynamic Range, and Why Does It Matter?
- Alan Wilder: "Music For The Masses – I think not." (originally appearing on Side-Line.com circa March 2008, no longer available there, nor was it captured by the Internet Archive)
- FAQ - Dynamic Range DB
