High quality sound albums

[MidnightSensi2]

Here is a pretty typical 'vocal enhancer' curve preset... this was just what I had on my laptop to screenshot but other software same thing (doesn't mean people use it as is, but, this is what you expect as a starting point when selecting something like that). This is a vinyl no-no.

(sorry if this is off topic, but, just feel it relates if we are discussing formats for the recommended tracks - i'll be back to picking tracks soon lol)

 

[MidnightSensi2]

First a bump to PENG's list!

1 Third Eye Blind (CD)
2 Mahler: Symphony No 5 / Abbado, Lucerne Festival Overture (BR)
3 Anesthetize by Porcupine Tree (BR)
4 Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (CD/SACD/Vinyl)
5 Depeche Mode – Violator (CD/SACD)
6 Cake Fashion Nugget (CD/Vinyl)
7 Breaking Silence (Gold CD, Limited Edition)
8 Aja by Steely Dan CD with the MCA label, Catalog # MCAD-37214
9 Patricia Barber's Cafe Blue and Companion (CD/SACD)
10 Grace for Drowning BR
11 KEB' MO' - KEB' MO' (NUMBERED LIMITED EDITION HYBRID SACD)
12 Guitar Noir by Laurence Juber (on DVD-Audio)
13 Miserere/Vox Patris Caelestis
14 Jazz at the Pawnshop CD/SACD
15 Gaucho DVD-A/SACD
16 Brain (Hybr) [Hybrid SACD – DSD
17 6 and 12 String Guitar by Leo Kottke
18 Donald Fagen-The Nightfly (vinyl, DVD-audio)
19 Pink Floyd-Wish You Were Here (Nimbus vinyl, Analogue Productions SACD)
20 Sonny Rollins-Way Out West (vinyl, MoFi CD)
21 Ry Cooder-Jazz (vinyl) (actually, any Ry Cooder recording is pretty high quality)
22 John Coltrane-Blue Train (vinyl, SACD)
23 Fry Street Quartet Beethoven, ISO Mike
24 Fry Street Quartet Haydn, ISO Mike
25 The Harper Brothers, Remembrance, Live at the Village Vanguard. Polygram
26 David Benoit, Waiting for Spring, GRP
27 Michel Camino, Solo, Telarc.
28 Larry Goldings, Awareness, Warner Brothers.
29 Houston Person, The Art and Soul of, 3 CD set, HighNote
30 Carmina Burana, Telarc CD-80056
31 Symphonie Fantastique, Reference Recordings RR-11CD1812, Telarc CD-80041
32 Silk Road Journeys, Yo-Yo Ma & The Silk Road Ensemble, Sony SS89782 (SACD)
33 Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone (Hybr) (Snys) (Hybrid SACD – DSD)
34 Tchaikovsky, Korngold: Violin Concertos, Deutsche Grammophon (SACD)
35 Dancing in the Dark, Telarc SACD-63592 or any of the Tierney Sutton SACD
36 Concord Jazz SACD Sampler Volume 2
37 The Most Happy Fella, KOC-CD-8507
38 Patricia Barber nightclub UDSACD 2004
39 Concord On A Summer Night Dave Brubeck Quartet, CAT # SACD-1025-6
40 Yo-Yo Ma & Friends songs of Joy & Peace, CD
41 Live at Royal Albert Hall, Adele, BR
42 Green, R.E.M., DVD-A
43 Out of Time, R.E.M. DVD-A
44 Automatic For The People, R.E.M. DVD-A
45 Sea Change, Beck, DVD-A
46 A night at the opera, Queen, DVD-A
47 DSOTM, SACD
48 Radiohead - all CD's
49 Natalie Merchant, "Tigerlily" (Mo-Fi), CD
50 Everything But the Girl, "Acoustic", CD
51 The Who, "Quadrophenia" (Mo-Fi), CD
52 Yuri Temirkanov conducting the St. Petersburg Philharmonic through Shostakovich 7, CD
53 John Elliot Gardiner conducting the Philharmonia through Holst's "The Planets" and Percy Grainger's "The Warriors", CD
54 Tokyo Kosei wind orchestra, "Year of the Dragon", CD
55 Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, "Live Art", CD
56 Dvorak New World Symphony, RCA Living Stereo, SACD
57 Saint-Saens Violin Concerto, Vieustemps Violin Concerto, London Symphony Orchestra, Kyung-Wha Chung, The Super Analogue Disc (Vinyl)
58 Fiona Apple - When The Pawn
59 Luis Miguel - Romance
60 Luis Miguel - Aries
61 Karl Denson's Tiny Universe
62 Karl Denson's Dance Lesson #2
63 Nickel - This side
64 B&W - A sound experience
65 Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Sessions
66 Cantate-Domino by Oscar's Motet Choir SACD
67 Queen, A Kind Of Magic, vinly version
68 John Mayer - where the light is Live in LA, BD version
69 Led Zeppelin albums 1,2,3, and 4 (Vinyl version)
70 Tom Petty's MOJO (Vinyl version)
71 Pink Floyd's "The Wall" (Vinyl version)
72 CSO Brass Live - Hybrid SACD (CSO Resound)
73 Mylo Xyloto by coldplay
74 Tracy Chapman - Crossroads, vinyl version
75 Tom Petty's Hard Promise (Vinyl version)
76 Radiohead - The King of Limbs Live from the Basement (BR version)
77 Jack White - Blunderbuss
78 Russian Violin Concertos - Fischer/Kreizberg first "proper" SACD
79 Mozart: Quartet & Quintets - Kuijken String Quartet
80 The Doobie Brothers - What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits Ultradisc UHR™ SACD
81 Chris Jones - Roadhouses & Automobiles (CD : Stockfisch Records)
82 Johnny A - Get Inside
83 Johnny A - Sometime Tuesday Morning
84 Paper Airplane - Alison Krauss and Union Station, CD
85 Dan Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg's Twin sons of different mothers (original vinyl)
86 Come Away With Me - Norah Jones, SACD
87 The Idler Wheel - Fiona Apple, CD
88 Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd
89 The Sky Is Crying - Stevie Ray Vaughn , SACD
90 Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City Music Hall [Blu-ray] (2007)
91 The Girl In The Other Room - Diana Krall, SACD, CD
92 The Planets, Op 32, Gustav Holst, SACD, CD
93 Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2, SACD hybrid
94 Holst: The Planets / Elgar: 'Enigma' Variations [Limited Edition, Original recording remastered]
95 The Dark Knight Rises: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, CD
96 Batman Begins: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, CD
97 Eagles Hell Freezes Over, The Eagles, CD, DTS 5.1
98 The Last Resort by Trentemoller, CD
99 Imogen Heap, any CDs
100 Live in GaDansk Ship Yard, CD, DVD
101 Song Up in Her Head - Sarah Jarosz, CD
102 Shed Your Skin - Ray Montford, CD
103 The Four Seasons - Vivaldi, Ann Sophie Mutter, CD, DVDA
104 Broken Soul Jamboree, CD
105 Puzzle Dust EP, CD
106 Bubble Control EP, CD
107 Surrounded, DVDA, DTS CD
108 Pergolesi: Stabat Mater - A tribute to Pergolesi, HD Flac 96/24
109 Mahler: Symphony No 5 / Abbado, Lucerne Festival Overture, BR
110 The Greatest - Cat Power, CD
111 Flute Mystery by Fred Jonny Berg [Blu-ray Audio] [Hybrid SACD - DSD]
112 Baby, It's Cold Outside - Holly Cole, KOCH Records, FLAC 44.1/16
113 Mahler: Symphony 8 [Blu-ray] (2011)
114 Hearts And Flowers - Joan Armatrading, CD
115 Borodin Symphony No.2 in B Minor - RCA Victor LSC-2298 Red Seal

I am listening to #115 again, definitely a high quality vinyl, strings are smooth, brass are airy, and golden warm. For $30 I thought it was a good deal. It does (could be just my copy/luck) have a couple of static pops but most of them do anyway.

Now we need to talk about how to shorten it to say 50. The goal would be that each of the 50 will be of truly high quality, high enough to take advantage of the best 2 channel home systems.

 

[MidnightSensi2]

Then, has anyone else listened to....

Ice Age by How To Destroy Angels. Off the Omen EP (FLAC 24/96)


Anyone have any interest in me listing some electronic/edm tracks? They are different in mastering usually, but not necessarily not impressive. Can give them a listen as HD as you can streaming and decide from there?

 

[MidnightSensi2]

Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile ('I'm looking forward to joining you, finally' is awesome. Huge dynamics, synth but mixed with drums that you can feel in your chest, and a nice growling low end).

 

[3db]

Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile ('I'm looking forward to joining you, finally' is awesome. Huge dynamics, synth but mixed with drums that you can feel in your chest, and a nice growling low end).

Love that album. I have it on CD .. Wretched is my favorite tune.

 

[PENG]

Please let me know what you think of it, both from the standpoint of the performance, and of the dynamic range.

The Muti one finally shows up this evening. It is kind of late so I only did a quick comparison with the Telarc one using the first 2.5 minute O Furtuna. Following is my first impression.

DR - Base on my Marantz's VU meters, I would rank them roughly the same. Muti had a couple more dB in the beginning but only because the typani hit harder, Telar won by a couple dB when the bass drum hits. With the volumne know at 9:30 position (past 9:00 pm at the time), the initial quite passage registered about 0.02W average, or -47 to -48 dB, with peaks of up to about 1W or -20 dB, may be a touch higher. Just an aside, it is so laughable that so many people would make claims about how adding a 200W amp "opens" their speakers up, without saying anything about their listening environment, spl level etc.

Sound quality - I preferred the Telarc one (Shaw) for the apparently better layering and its notably better bass drum reproduction.

Performance - The Muti one seems more lively. I am listening to it now in my HT room upstairs but still using my other 2 channel system, very enjoyable so far, and it continues to seem more lively and dynamic than the Shaw version, not better DR in terms of SQ, but in terms of performance by the orchestra I would guess.

Overall - I probably would end up preferring the Muti one for it's apparently more lively performance but I am not going to conclude until I have finished listening to both at least twice from beginning to end.

 

[HifiSystems1]

+1 on the Third Eye Blind album. Eric Valentine is a standout in his field!I do agree that the engineering is most important- and a standard CD wave file has plenty of dynamic range and the frequency response needed for music.For those looking for unplugged and live- the Jackson Brown Solo Acoustic Vol 1 & 2 are excellent. Well mic'd and well recorded pieces of music!

 

[PENG]

Please let me know what you think of it, both from the standpoint of the performance, and of the dynamic range.

Okay I have listened to them back and forth a few times now. The Muti one has better DR overall but the Shaw one isn't bad either. Both have pros and cons and I find the Shaw one a touch more musical but the Muti one is much more lively. For this kind of music I would pick the Muti one for sure. I am going to remove the Shaw one from the list in my next update.

 

[PENG]

The album is this one, and called La Stravaganza.

The two CD/SACD set features Rachael Podger, violin with Ate Dei Suonatori.

It is in the Dutch Channel Classics label. They have deservedly won awards for engineering excellence.

Rachael Padger is certainly in contention as the greatest Baroque violinist currently before the public.

These are really fine spirited performances and as previously stated superbly engineered.

I had not mentioned this before, as music of the Baroque is not everyone's "cup of tea." However I love music of the Baroque and have a big collection of it.

The other thing is PENG, I have a large enough collection of really fine performances and recordings to send you into bankruptcy!

THANKS!! This is a wonderful album that I can listen to repeatedly! Excellet performance and highly enjoyable, plus top notch SQ. Thanks again for letting us know.

 

[afterlife2]

Nice. Did you get the SACD version Peng?

 

[Bexiesbruv]

Then, has anyone else listened to....


Anyone have any interest in me listing some electronic/edm tracks? They are different in mastering usually, but not necessarily not impressive.

Yes.

Would Olafur Arnalds come into this category? My son got me to listen to some of his music and this artist was one I was particularly impressed with, both SQ and content. Also Alan Parsons Project.

Bex

 

[PENG]

Nice. Did you get the SACD version Peng?

Yes if you referred to the La Stravaganza one I have the SACD version and it costs a fortune, that's why TLS Guy warn me about sending me to chapter 11. I could not get Muti's Camina Burana in SACD but the CD sounds great. Interesting enough I find it even more enjoyable with Audyssey on. I had it in Stereo today, actually right now(so Audyssey is in effect) by mistake and suddenly realized I like it better than in Pure Direct. Normally the opposite is true for 2 channel listening in my room. It is possible that the Muti one benefits more from the subwoofer for some reason.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I just got The Dark Knight Rises Ultimate Motion Picture Score (MPS). I can tell the dynamic range on these tracks are so much wider than the highly compressed tracks on the Original Soundtrack (OST).

On the OST, the volume is pretty constant (loud most of the time and constantly in-your-face). But on this MPS, it can go from very soft quiet passages to extreme loud in a heartbeat! It scared the heck out of me at times!

 

[PENG]

Just realized for some reasons I have not listened to this 96 khz/24Bit recording until now. For <$20 from HDTracks IMO this is a must have. In fact it seems to be the best sounding one I have ever bought from them regardless of bit rate/depth/format. The title is:

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14 HD175399

I can honestly described it as smooth (strings, as opposed to grating/harsh), airy (brass), live like transparency, for example the bells are totally transparent yet of substance such that you can feel the thickness of the wall as opposed to being thin sounding. It really offers enjoyment that could come close to live concert experience. I might have exaggerated a little but I truly believe it is among those must have, best money can buy kind of deal. I firmly believe in the recording/mastering process being most critical, and there is no point paying HDTracks extras for their 192/24 versions.

The only disclaimer I can think of for this one is that it probably won't be good for ADTG and others who can't live without bass. In fact, right from the beginning, it sounded so much better than the Symphonie Fantastique, Reference Recordings RR-11CD that I listed in this thread so I was a little disappointed after anticipating and waiting for the bass drum hits in the last two movements only to find that they never came close.

Other than that it beats the much more expensive Reference Recording CD in terms of sound quality for sure. I don't think the lack of heavy bass drum hits had much to do with the recording and mastering process but the conductor, I mean, by his choice. I bet ADTG would have forced Mr. Eugene Goossens to put someone with the strongest arms by the bass drum, but too bad he wasn't there to supervise the recording session.

 

[djreef]

Sweet! I'll have to check that out. Just picked up the two Nirvana Blu-Ray Audios, and they sound amazing. Much clearer in 2 channel than the grungy originals. I guess that's also where that term comes from.

 

[PENG]

Sweet! I'll have to check that out. Just picked up the two Nirvana Blu-Ray Audios, and they sound amazing. Much clearer in 2 channel than the grungy originals. I guess that's also where that term comes from.

I like this version of the Symphonie Fantastique so much that I started searching for reviews to see what others thought about it and so far found just one:

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique - Eugene Goossens,London Symphony Orchestra | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic

I concur with everything the reviewer said about it.

I am not sure if the DVD-A would sound better than the HDTrack one but it sure costs lot more. I can't imagine it would though.

Amazon.com: Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique (HDAD Master): Music

This is unusual because most of the time I find HDTracks are not competitive at all.

 

[Pyrrho]

I like this version of the Symphonie Fantastique so much that I started searching for reviews to see what others thought about it and so far found just one:

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique - Eugene Goossens,London Symphony Orchestra | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic

I concur with everything the reviewer said about it.

I am not sure if the DVD-A would sound better than the HDTrack one but it sure costs lot more. I can't imagine it would though.

Amazon.com: Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique (HDAD Master): Music

This is unusual because most of the time I find HDTracks are not competitive at all.

It is a lot cheaper on CDR:

Amazon.com: Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique: Music

For your question regarding the format, you will want to convert your HD format as planned, because one never knows what sort of messing about that may be done with different releases.


By the way, is your download a three track recording, like the review says of the DVD-A? If so, then you will not be simply testing digital sampling rates, and I would expect the 3 channel version to be superior.


This looks like it might also be the two disc set with the DVD-A, though it is a bit unclear if that is the case:

Amazon.com: Symphonie Fantastiqe: Music


Amazon is not the only place to buy this music; here, it is cheaper, though I do not know what shipping will be (nor do I know anything else about the company selling it):

Sir Eugene Goossens-Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique-HDAD 2496 24192 | Acoustic Sounds


Also, here is a reviewer who likes this, but prefers another version:

http://***********/2010/07/berlioz-symphonie-fantastique-op-14-the-london-symphony-orchestrasir-eugene-goossens-cd-dualdisc-of-dvd-advd-video-2-or-3-channel-classic-records/

[For some reason, this web site changes the link every time I try to post it. Replace the *********** with "a u d a u d . c o m" (without the quotation marks, and remove the spaces, which I added because this website otherwise replaces it with ***********) and you will have the link.]

And obviously, there are very many recordings of this popular piece, too many for most of us to have ever heard all of them to be able to decide which is best.

 

[IanU]

Peter Erskine Trio ''As it is'' on ECM is one of my long time reference albums.Lots of space and beautiful interplay among the members of the trio.

 

[PENG]

It is a lot cheaper on CDR:

Amazon.com: Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique: Music

For your question regarding the format, you will want to convert your HD format as planned, because one never knows what sort of messing about that may be done with different releases.


By the way, is your download a three track recording, like the review says of the DVD-A? If so, then you will not be simply testing digital sampling rates, and I would expect the 3 channel version to be superior.


This looks like it might also be the two disc set with the DVD-A, though it is a bit unclear if that is the case:

Amazon.com: Symphonie Fantastiqe: Music


Amazon is not the only place to buy this music; here, it is cheaper, though I do not know what shipping will be (nor do I know anything else about the company selling it):

Sir Eugene Goossens-Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique-HDAD 2496 24192 | Acoustic Sounds


Also, here is a reviewer who likes this, but prefers another version:

http://***********/2010/07/berlioz-symphonie-fantastique-op-14-the-london-symphony-orchestrasir-eugene-goossens-cd-dualdisc-of-dvd-advd-video-2-or-3-channel-classic-records/

[For some reason, this web site changes the link every time I try to post it. Replace the *********** with "a u d a u d . c o m" (without the quotation marks, and remove the spaces, which I added because this website otherwise replaces it with ***********) and you will have the link.]

And obviously, there are very many recordings of this popular piece, too many for most of us to have ever heard all of them to be able to decide which is best.

Excellent point! I think mine:

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14 | HDtracks - The World's Greatest-Sounding Music Downloads

that is most likely the two channel version on the other side of the DVD and not the one on the CD.

My point though, is that if I rip it onto a CD or USB at 44.1/16 and then compare the downconverted ones with the original 96/24, they would sound the same to me. I have not done so on this one yet but have done with others including 192/24 ones so I think the result would be predictable.

For now I have only compared it with my CD, the Kojian one recorded in 1982 and released in Rerence Recording label in 1989. I remember paying a fortune for it at the time, but now available for only $14.99 at Amazon.com. Still, it is amazing the much older recording can sound so much better. Just a reminder, I am only comparing the two in terms of sound quality, loosely referenced to "live" base on my concert going experience (obviously the unreliable "memory" is a factor here).

 

[djreef]

Well Peng, you need to get out more! Build some more reference memories. We just saw LaTraviata a month or so back here. Word has it our Symphony is planning something for DeBussy in the early spring. LaMer is one of my all time favs.

DJ