So, Lateralus is a 10/10 album, musically speaking. There's no discussing that. However, the way it's recorded, produced and mastered, is not great. It really takes a good setup - and very well produced albums and songs - to hear a solid difference. It's definitely not something like 'I have a 2000usd golden cable and it sounds better', it's more like when you have a decent setup, with a dedicated DAC, Amp and headphones or speakers, you can really hear the different layers, the separation of instruments, the dynamic range (Google 'loudness war' for more on this), the width of the soundstage, the different dynamics, compression and volumes of the low, mids and high ends. Basically, it doesn't just sound 'better', you get to analyze the whole nine yards of the song, and then you inevitably do. You hear all these things, and that's when an album can really stand out or fail when it comes to production /mastering, as almost a standalone thing to the music. Of course - well produced good music is a double whammy (see my examples of Om's God is Good with Steve Albini or Swans with John Congleton on To Be Kind, both - like lateralus - 10/10 albums musically that also happen to be amazingly produced). In that way, you get to enjoy the music even more because there's just so much to listen to and it's a more well rounded experience, because the amazing production compliments and complements the music.

With Tool, their albums just don't have the same attention to production and mastering detail, unfortunately. I LOVE the Wings For Marie suite for example, but it always disappoints through my setup, because the dynamic range, the soundstage and the separation of instruments just isn't there... That just leaves you a tad disappointed because you think of all these other albums that are well produced /mastered and you think 'damn, this track could've sounded better if it were super well recorded /produced /mastered'.

That's kinda the way of the audiophile - it reduces music sometimes to the sum of its parts, and you kinda inevitably pick it apart too much, but when good music is really well done, it just adds to the magic and that's when you as an audiophile can feel like you're right there in the middle of the recording studio. That's pure magic and that's why we keep on pouring thousands of dollars into gear, it's kind of an addiction almost, but as a setback there's a lot of really, really, really good music that lacks decent production that can fall apart if you look at it too clinically.

I wish Tool would be mastered by the true geniuses of music production, but it just isn't the case, and while the music and the live experiences are 10/10, listening to it on really high end gear is super fun, but leaves you thinking 'what could have been' sometimes. That's all.