11 hours ago, cetoole said:

Thanks for the heads up on this Iain.

Me too, now.

 

New Pallbearer:

https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/fear-and-fury

Will be trying Insomnium today as well, but starting with something more relaxed and absolutely perfect for the first autumn morning that actually feels like autumn.

James Blake - The Colour in Anything

Edit - seems like inserting album art isn't working....

Edited September 26, 20169 yr by Aura

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magik (avoid the remastered editions):

^ For a quick second I thought you were listening to these guys, and was quite shocked. Then I noticed the "i" instead of "y".

Rush - Freewill. (Actually I want to and will listen whole Permanent Waves album, but right now this song)

I love Geddy Lee's voice, especially before sleeping.

3 hours ago, luvdunhill said:

Pretty!

The Cars

 

I finally got around to listening to this one (listened to the Elektra HDCD on my home system and my portable a few weeks ago for reference) – the Red Book layer of the SACD.

There's a definite improvement – I'm hearing a lot more, period. The guitars are fleshed out with more body, the vocalists seem less "ghostly" (despite the ever-present reverb), the drums are deeper and more propulsive, the synthesizers are more detailed... overall, the sound is much less harsh. On the HDCD, the album is all leading edges, sharp and brittle. The Mo-Fi mastering is a lot deeper, soundstage and stereo image are far better defined and you hear more instrument/vocal resonances (missing on the HDCD) and it's easier to separate the bass guitar lines, for example, even while the synth is leading. On one of the later tracks, the synth seems to be almost in another key than the one I'm familiar with. The synths are a bit less loud and overwhelming, but have richer-sounding tones in exchange. Anyone who likes this album is in for a treat.

Almost needless to say I'm picking up Heartbeat City right away. I seriously doubt the Audio Fidelity version will stand up against the new release.

Edited September 27, 20169 yr by HiWire

I do believe we've discussed the use of The Cars to qualify high end audio recently.

Let's just say the responses were mixed.

Edited September 27, 20169 yr by swt61

Yeah, I just picked up both of those on SACD.  You all want to listen to only audiophile music in high res, that's on you.  Personally, I want to listen to the best resolution recordings of my favourite music (well, except for Rhino's Black Sabbath remasterings, which were ruined by the remastering more than the resolution).  I understand that you people don't "get" my point of view, but I don't understand you all actively discouraging people from listening to their favourite music that way.

It's just a matter of preference. I'd like to know more about your view of "best resolution", because I like hearing everything into the mix, but I dislike that sense of artificial resolution which at times is produced by excessive low-mid treble.

Unfortunately, a lot of music I listen to is very artificial, and contain that bump of which you speak, which a lot of people find highly desirable.  Tom Petty won't record with any other mic than the one he records with because of its sound signature.  Grado's headphones notoriously accentuate that region.  So I guess what I'm saying is that I've been pummeled into acceptance.

Best resolution would mean either analog or high res digital -- SACD/DSD or DVD/DVD-A/Blu-Ray/24/96.

So we can agree that we enjoy listening to the music we love, sounding as good as possible. I'm not much into "audiophile music" per se, but I must admit that it sounds great and listening to the beautiful beautiful sounds is an occasional guilty pleasure.

Same here... I like normal music more than "audiophile recordings", generally. It would be nice if more recordings were done at that level, but there is a stereotype of audiophile recordings (e.g., look at the catalogs of Mo-Fi, Audio Fidelity, Analogue Productions, etc.)... safe and predictable and old. They're all great canonical albums, but there's nothing new or surprising. Given the low sales volumes, that's a sustainable approach.

Edited September 27, 20169 yr by HiWire

Actually, when I say, 'audiophile music', I very specifically mean that music about which an article was written many years ago  (Stereophile?), when the writer noticed that all the music being played at a certain audiophile show didn't present much of a challenge to the equipment to reproduce, almost guaranteeing it to sound good, as it was fairly sparse.  It's alright and I own some, but do not listen to that kind of music usually.  As Antonio says, it's only an occasional guilty pleasure. 

Back to the Cars, I actually thought Roy Thomas Baker no slouch. He may not be Phil Spector or Jeff Lynne or Alan Parsons or Mutt Lange, but he still won his fair share of accolades and respect among critics and peers.

David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? (1974-76) on Tidal

Edited September 28, 20169 yr by robm321

My favorite album of theirs.

I've probably heard it 50 times by now and it never gets old. 

I'm not going to post a pic, but I finally tracked down a PCS 7067/8 Beatles White Album.  NM vinyl, but the sleeve and labels looks like they were dipped in water and tossed in a cave (maybe they were?).  It took a significant cleaning (1 part 91% isopro, 1 part distilled water, .5 parts white vinegar, two caps of jet dry, in a half liter spray bottle, followed by microfiber cloths), but it sounds amazing.  

Edited September 30, 20169 yr by EdipisReks1

Bon Iver -- 22, A Million

 

Opeth - Sorceress

I think I listened to Pale Communion once. This will get more eartime than that.

Edited September 30, 20169 yr by Aura

I just love that Sparkleteen MorrisseyWorship and Thunderhide ClassWar can share the same live billing!

 

 

Edited September 30, 20169 yr by Hopstretch

My VCR won't play your eurotrash. 

Sounds like a Morrissey song.

Regina Spektor - Remember Us to Life