Knowing this blog means at least acknowledging Ian Shepherd’s activism in the industry Danamicrangeday.co.uk, anyone [link]? Our article on Dynamic Range day, anyone [link]?

As a matter of fact, reasons to love Ian are almost infinite. Not only has he worked on records from the likes of Culture Club; Tricky (a favorite around this blog), Keane, and Deep Purple, he’s also an Imogen Heap fan (another favorite). In conjunction with these small facts, Ian is also genuinely one of the most interesting minds of engineering and one of the leading crusaders against the squashing of dynamic range.

Knowing this blog also means acknowledging the heavy influence we believe Nine Inch Nails has in terms of influence sonically and in the realm of music business models.

That all being said, as soon as Hesitation Marks was announced to be mastered in a plethora of different versions (standard CD, vinyl, mastered for iTunes), including a prestigious audiophile edition of the record, 2020k seemingly jumped for joy. It seemed to be, at the least, a step in the right direction, right? We could all sonically agree on what this could mean if the record would live up to the hype, right?! [Link to information about the alternate mix].

We’d like to offer Ian Shepherd’s 15 minute video breakdown between the CD and audiophile versions of Hesitation Marks. The 2020k review of the record is pending, with sound waves from the record repeatedly pumping out the monitors, and it seems Mr. Shepherd has covered the bulk of the hype between these versions, hitting the nails (pun intended) right on their heads!

Enjoy and let us know your take between the versions in the comments section below!

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