New miles davis cd.... wow


Just wondering what is wrong with my miles davis kinda blue cd. I just bought it tonight and was looking forward to some good listening. It sounds like a broken record or maybe one that is warped. Did i get a bad cd or is this thing just recorded that badly. I had to put in a Dave Grusin cd just to make sure my equipment was ok. It really sounds terrible. Lots of hissing in the background. I cant stand it. lmk asap Kevin
flyin2jz
I was always surprised how many used this disc for demo of new gear when I was a dealer. Great music, pretty groundbreaking for the time but a mediocre recording. Take an Al Hirt "Live at Dan's Pier" from 58 or 59 the same period as KOB and it just smokes it! Shows you what was possible at the time.

ET
I have two remastered releases of Kind of Blue. One is 20 bit remaster redbook CD (CK 64935). It has a lot of tape hiss, but sounds exceptional with a lot of detail. The second is hybrid SACD (CS 64935). They removed a lot of tape hiss on this newer release. But you might notice it doesn't sound as detailed as the previous 20 bit remaster on stereo mix. However, the crown jewel of the newer SACD release is the three channel DSD mix direct from master tape. Unadulterated, and as close as it could get to the master tape.
I just looked at both my SACD and my regular re-issue cd version and they both say "360 Sound" on the disc not "surround". I've always heard the hiss but I'm using Cornwalls so I'm kinda used to that.
There is a speed differential between the master tape and certain releases. It was a mistake that effected millions of copies. Maybe that's it, or a related issue.
I think Jond may be onto something. Is it a surround disk made to be played back on a multi-channe; player? Are you playing it in a dedicated CD player or in a DVD/universal player? If you are playing it back in a multi-channel player connected to a 2-channel system, did you choose to output PCM/stereo or did you default to multi-channel playback?

TIC
Quiet to very loud very suddenly is called dynamic range and a lack of compression. This can be inconvenient but it is indicative of a high quality mastering job. I'm not sure about the hiss you are hearing and I have no idea what version you bought, you said 360 surround, is this a multi-channel disc? Are you trying to listen to it on two channel gear? There seems to be more to this than a faulty disc.
the recording i bought sounds really quiet then suddenly its so loud that i have to turn it down. I just dont get it.
yea i think i may have gotten a bad one. it ssays on the cover remixed from 3 tube equipment. The disc itself says 360 surround, yea with hissing and terrible sound. I will go get another one and see. thanks for the info
I have it as part of the Miles and Coltrane Complete Columbia Recordings box set and it sounds great. I also have one cut from it on an SACD sampler and it sounds great. Seems to me you got one of the poor reissues.
I own the Columbia/Legacy version of KOB # CK 64935. It is a "Super Bit Mapping" remaster. The remixed tape was done on an "All tube three track Presto much like the one used for the original recording".

It is a phenomenal sounding CD.....

(....I can't believe I just said that)
for the recording of that time it is excellent. you probably have a defective cd. It should sound good.
I have three CDs of KOB and, allowing for modest tape hiss they all sound REALLY good This was an outstanding recording, and not just for the time. Yours may very well be defective. Dave
Keep in mind the original recording was made in 1959. That was years before even Dolby was available for hiss reduction. I don't have the current CD issue (I've got the 1997 CD but it looks like there is a 2001 issue too) but it sounds like they may have done little or no digital processing to the version you have.

Also note that close miking and multi-channel mixing wasn't used back then in the same fashion as it is today.

I find my version quite typical of recordings from that era. If your taste is a modern Diana Krall type of recording you're just not going to get that out of something done in the 1950s or 60s. I rather enjoy the direct, unprocessed simplicity that many of these older jazz recordings have.

Defective CDs don't typically produce hiss or wow/flutter but you can certainly take it back to the retailer and exchange it. If a second one sounds the same then it would appear you're noticing the recording equipment & techniques they used almost 50 years ago.