Audiophile CDs

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by neilwilkes

Sorry to say this, but there is absolutely no difference in resolution between "regular" CD and any other type, be it SHM-CD or "Blu-Spec CD". All these are doing is charging a LOT more money to , er, make the damned CD properly in the first place. That is all - however you dress it up the actual audio data is still 16-bit 44.1kHz Red Book.
SHM-CD and SHM-SACD are tricks of marketing, and so-called Blu-Spec is the same but this time trying to make people think the product is related to Blu-ray in some way (although very cleverly not actually claiming this).

If you are hearing any difference at all it is down to one of 2 things:
1 - Better manufactured discs have fewer balance issues in players. The speed these things rotate at is phenomenally fast and a poorly manufactured disc can make a horrendous noise in the transport.
2 - Placebo effect. You expect it to sound "better" so you think it does.

I repeat - the audio data is still red book, and has no increased resolution whatsoever. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

I probably should have said "detail" as opposed to resolution, so I stand corrected.

At this point it's all rather moot to me as I've decided to step away from digital and focus exclusively on vinyl.

[BerryTheMusicMan]

Just ordered 13 Cheap Trick Blu-Spec CD2 , if nothing else they have an incredible amount of bonus track that I have most of . But at least I'm giving it a try because of the tracks features 2017 DSD mastering .
Hope it's worth the $300 spent .

[bigshot]

I got some of the multichannel Cheap Trick releases and the sound quality wasn't as good as the original. But that may be because of the surround mix.

[BerryTheMusicMan]

Originally Posted by bigshot

I got some of the multichannel Cheap Trick releases and the sound quality wasn't as good as the original. But that may be because of the surround mix.

Thanks for the info , I have almost every release from around the world so hoping for the best .

[slimdude]

Multi-channel music had never appeal to me because I'm not going to be at home sitting in a sweet spot on the couch for hours listening to music in my home theater, as if I'm watching and listening to a movie. If I do play music at home, I don't have to sit still to listen to it, I can hear it all over the house when I doing other things. I didn't do it when I was playing my record albums and CDs! That's why I've never bought into Blu-ray Audio, SACD nor DVD-Audio and beside they're just a very minimum of titles available in those formats, and it's not the genre of music that I listen to. When it comes to my music, 2-channel stereo is perfect for me because I listen to my music on the go, when I'm doing things around the house, yard work through my earbuds or via bluetooth in my car when I'm driving.

[bigshot]

I use music as background music sometimes too. But sometimes I sit down and really listen to it. A great performance in surround is amazing. And if there's video to go with it to project on a big screen, it's like being there. The problem with multichannel is that not everyone has the space in their home for it. When I was finally able to buy a house, the first thing I looked for was a place to build a great theater with a ten foot projection screen and kick ass 5.1. It's completely changed how I listen to music and watch TV. The best money I ever spent.

If you have wide tastes in music, there are a lot of great multichannel recordings, especially classical, opera and classic rock. There's some interesting jazz and electronic music too. The music is skewed to music fans in their mid 40s and up, but that is because that is the demographic that can afford to set up a multichannel system.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by bigshot

If you have wide tastes in music, there are a lot of great multichannel recordings, especially classical, opera and classic rock. There's some interesting jazz and electronic music too. The music is skewed to music fans in their mid 40s and up, but that is because that is the demographic that can afford to set up a multichannel system.

The vast majority of the young and middle generation doesn't listen to classical, opera and classic rock and those are predominately the age groups that buy and download music, whether if they have a surround sound system or not. If they did have surround sound, they still wouldn't buy that genre of music. There's nothing wrong with it, but they just don't buy and listen to that kind of music.

[bigshot]

Like I say, multichannel isn't marketed for kids. They can't afford the investment in equipment and don't have the space to install it. But kids grow up and their tastes mature and expand, so maybe when they grow up and can afford a good multichannel system... I certainly don't listen to the same music now as I did in high school. They'll probably have broader tastes too.

[eve88]

Hey Guys,

On this subject -- jazz artist Bob James is going to be releasing his new album - Feel Like Making LIVE! in Jan 28th next year and they've made a load of different formats for the release-- just pulling the below from his socials:

"Available in five different physical formats: 180gram Limited Numbered orange double vinyl LP, SACD, MQA-CD, MQA-CD + blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray. The hybrid SACD includes the DSD stereo and 5.1 surround sound for the ultimate sound quality experience. MQA is an award-winning technology that delivers the sound of the studio. MQA-CD plays on all CD players. When a conventional CD player is connected to an MQA-enabled device, the CD will reveal the original master quality. The live in-the-studio recording was stylishly filmed in 4K and recorded in high resolution audio and is available in Ultra HD blu-ray, which includes immersive sound with Dolby Atmos in Dolby TrueHD and Auro 3D. Bonus tracks and in-depth interviews are included. The music will also be available in uncompressed stereo at 96kHz / 24bit stereo formats."

Thought this was interesting, especially if your a newbie to the scene, to see what a difference to the sound these formats make. Also, I feel like Jazz is a really good introduction to it because it's the nuances that really shine through on these formats. Anyway, just a suggestion if you need some listening material.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by eve88

Hey Guys,

On this subject -- jazz artist Bob James is going to be releasing his new album - Feel Like Making LIVE! in Jan 28th next year and they've made a load of different formats for the release-- just pulling the below from his socials:

It's good that old school artists such as: Bob James are still recording new music because the crap that's being made now, I don't consider it as music.