A music thread for diehard analog guys that get great sound from cd


Case in point....The Third Mind "Live Mind"

On my Esoteric K-05X 

slaw

I've found tremendous bargains on CDs, SACDs and HDCDs at local thrift stores, usually less than $2 each. Some remastered, some original releases. 

I don't stream nor do I spin vinyl. My only source is an SACD/CD player that I enjoy very much.

I grade each of my 800 or so albums A+, A,B,C or D based on sound quality.

Parameters listened for are the usual stuff- clarity, timbres, soundstage, imaging, air, bloom, cohesiveness, dynamics.

Remastered almost always sounds significantly better than the original, especially if the engineer was Bob Ludwig. There are a others that are good too.

SACDs usually sound better than the standard "red book" versions, but not always.

Same thing for HDCDs.

Some artists do consistently class A sound, especially when remastered. Dire Straits, Depeche Mode, Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Enya, Steely Dan, Wang Chung, INXS, Bob Seger, ABC, Ozzy (yes, Ozzy!)...

For me, it's a lot easier to relax and enjoy the music when it's sound quality is classes A or A+. Class B is tolerable to listen to.

Classes C and D are mostly used to let a guest hear how bad they sound and then how much better classes B, A and A+ sound. Like hearing a different system, but it's not!

 

I realized since starting this thread, I should have worded it differently. Was hoping for favorite silver discs that are of exceptional sound quality that long time vinyl spinners are totally satisfied with. I listened to my three Mapleshade CDs recently and all were wonderful....

Bad Influence "Live at the Bad Habits Cafe"

Drink Small "Electric Blues Doctor, Live!"

Big Joe Maher/Jeff Sarli "Mojo"

I remember discovering MapleShade CDs long ago. I was really impressed with the recordings... I bought them all. I told a friend, who bought a few and said that the music was terrible (on the ones he bought), he couldn't understand why I recommended them. Then I realized that I was so impressed with the recordings... I wasn’t listening to the music... he was right (on some of the albums anyway).

 

I somehow missed this thread. One CD I have that features great sound AND music is:

 

- A Meeting By The River (on Water Lily Acoustics), an album of instrumental duets by Ry Cooder and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Recorded by Kavichandran Alexander on a tube reel-to-reel machine (the electronics of which were custom designed and installed by Tim DeParavicini of EAR-Yoshino fame). Absolutely stunning!