Audiophile CDs
Posted by: Hot Rats on 28 April 2010
I have a friend who is a self confessed audiophile. He buys a lot of audiophile CDs from specialist labels such as Mobile Fidelity, Audio Fidelity,JVC XRCD etc.
We've spent many hours recently comparing his gold CDs against the standard, albeit remastered, versions that can be purchased online for around £5.99 an album. The results have been interesting to say the least.
Let's start with the positive side. The DCC discs that have been remastered by Steve Hoffman are good. Some are very good. The soundstage on his mixes is wide with plenty of separation between instruments. I was particularly impressed with 'Fresh Cream', 'Hotel California' and 'Band On The Run'. He has also succeeded in producing a digital version of 'Jackson Browne's 'Late For The Sky' that is listenable. I have found all previous versions of this album on CD to be very poor. It was interesting to compare Steve Hoffman's remasters of albums by The Doors with the latest incarnations featured in the 'Perception'. The CD versions of the 'Perception' remasters are very good whereas the Hoffman remasters are more faithful to the sound of the vinyl albums. It's a matter of personal choice. His re-working of Bob Dylan's 'Highway 61 Revisited' was something of a revelation. It was superior to the CD/SACD hybrid that I have (We only compared with the CD layer)
Steve Hoffman's work for Audio Fideltiy is equally impressive. We listened to Simon and Garfunkel's recent 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme' on thr Audio Fidelity label and I found that to be much less impressive. While the instrumentation sounded good, the vocals left a lot to be desired. Maybe it's the mastering but it could of course, be a poor quality master tape.
Simon and Garfunkel seemed to fare better on Mobile Fidelity. I really liked their version of 'Bookends'. It sounds like a different mix to the new remasters. I felt that in comparison with DCC discs, Mobile Fidelity remasteres were disappointing. Their remasters are very 'clean' but they seem to have taken the essence of the music away in many cases. I refer in particular to their remasters of albums by The Band. I much prefered the standard remasteres of 'Music From Big Pink' and 'Cahoots' to the MFSL/MoFi counterparts.
JVC XRCD discs were pretty good, with the exception of Dire Straits' 'Brothers In Arms' which I really didn't like. I'll take the CD layer of the hybrid disc any day.
One disc did however, impress above others. The XRCD remaster of 'Jazz At The Pawnshop'. It seemed to have a wonderful natural sound that even bore comparison with the vinyl version on Proprius.
Which audiophile CD would others recommend as the reference by which others might be judged.
We've spent many hours recently comparing his gold CDs against the standard, albeit remastered, versions that can be purchased online for around £5.99 an album. The results have been interesting to say the least.
Let's start with the positive side. The DCC discs that have been remastered by Steve Hoffman are good. Some are very good. The soundstage on his mixes is wide with plenty of separation between instruments. I was particularly impressed with 'Fresh Cream', 'Hotel California' and 'Band On The Run'. He has also succeeded in producing a digital version of 'Jackson Browne's 'Late For The Sky' that is listenable. I have found all previous versions of this album on CD to be very poor. It was interesting to compare Steve Hoffman's remasters of albums by The Doors with the latest incarnations featured in the 'Perception'. The CD versions of the 'Perception' remasters are very good whereas the Hoffman remasters are more faithful to the sound of the vinyl albums. It's a matter of personal choice. His re-working of Bob Dylan's 'Highway 61 Revisited' was something of a revelation. It was superior to the CD/SACD hybrid that I have (We only compared with the CD layer)
Steve Hoffman's work for Audio Fideltiy is equally impressive. We listened to Simon and Garfunkel's recent 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme' on thr Audio Fidelity label and I found that to be much less impressive. While the instrumentation sounded good, the vocals left a lot to be desired. Maybe it's the mastering but it could of course, be a poor quality master tape.
Simon and Garfunkel seemed to fare better on Mobile Fidelity. I really liked their version of 'Bookends'. It sounds like a different mix to the new remasters. I felt that in comparison with DCC discs, Mobile Fidelity remasteres were disappointing. Their remasters are very 'clean' but they seem to have taken the essence of the music away in many cases. I refer in particular to their remasters of albums by The Band. I much prefered the standard remasteres of 'Music From Big Pink' and 'Cahoots' to the MFSL/MoFi counterparts.
JVC XRCD discs were pretty good, with the exception of Dire Straits' 'Brothers In Arms' which I really didn't like. I'll take the CD layer of the hybrid disc any day.
One disc did however, impress above others. The XRCD remaster of 'Jazz At The Pawnshop'. It seemed to have a wonderful natural sound that even bore comparison with the vinyl version on Proprius.
Which audiophile CD would others recommend as the reference by which others might be judged.
By the way, I'd feel remiss in not mentioning what I think is an incredible sounding audiophile recording, and it has pretty good music, too!
SINCE FOREVER - Fred Simon
Recorded in 24bit/96mHz, when played back in same format on top flight gear, the quality of sound becomes an instrument in the ensemble, becomes part of the very fabric of the composition and performance itself. That it's my music aside, I've never heard anything sound better.
All best,
Fred
quote:Originally posted by fred simon:
By the way, I'd feel remiss in not mentioning what I think is an incredible sounding audiophile recording, and it has pretty good music, too!
SINCE FOREVER - Fred Simon
Recorded in 24bit/96mHz, when played back in same format on top flight gear, the quality of sound becomes an instrument in the ensemble, becomes part of the very fabric of the composition and performance itself. That it's my music aside, I've never heard anything sound better.
All best,
Fred
I concur. Nice sounding record. And great music, too!