LA & OC Audio Society meeting July 18th - BluePort CD's

John Casler · « **on:** 22 Jul 2004, 02:48 pm »

Just a quick note about the meeting last Sunday.

I was very impressed with the BluePort CD's.

In talking with Jim Merod (sp) you could just feel his "extreme passion" for recording.

He and Steve McCormack have some incredible sounding CDs.

I think the most significant thing is that they sound so "REAL". They truly sound like you are right there.

Instruments sound real, the sound of the venues, sound real, and the crowd noises sound real.

Most of the catalog is "jazz" and if you like jazz these are for you.

I picked up the "Carl Saunders Sextet - Live in San Francisco" and it is great.

The soundstage and imaging are perfect, with instruments perfectly placed around the stage. Everything is as clear as a bell and real sounding. (as Jim say's "warts and all")

The bad news is BluePort recently took down their website and is in the process of rebuilding it.

I think Tower and Amazon carry some of their CD's and a quick Google gave me the address below which has a couple.

http://www.uln.com/cgi-bin/vlink/musiclabels/cds-by-recordlabel-Blueport.html

And this site, tell you a little about the guys involved.

http://www.onsoundandmusic.com/index.html?http://www.onsoundandmusic.com/about.html&2

As I said, they "DO" have a passion for recording music in a way that makes it sound most real.

If you like Jazz, keep and ear open and an eye out for the label.

Russtafarian · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 Jul 2004, 08:13 pm »

I whole-heartedly agree John. Based on the music we heard Sunday night, Jim Merod is a damn good recording engineer. The dynamic realism he captures is that “naked mic feed” sound that you hear before all the sweetening and processing goes into the recording. Intentionally recording a jazz vocalist like Jackie Ryan without a compressor is like intentionally driving a car without brakes. You had better be able to gain ride that fader perfectly, or you’ll crash and burn the recording pretty quickly.

I listened to the Jackie Ryan CD at home after hearing it at the meeting and the contrast really challenged the correctness of my system setup. I’m now in the process of experimenting with speaker placement (a free tweak) to see if I can better reproduce this recording as I heard it Sunday night at the meeting. Thanks Jim for creating more work for me!

Check out www.blueport.com for a list of Jim’s CDs and ordering information.

Mad DOg · « **Reply #2 on:** 22 Jul 2004, 10:36 pm »

Quote from: John Casler

...I picked up the "Carl Saunders Sextet - Live in San Francisco" and it is great...

glad you're enjoying this...I finally got around to opening up my Noel Jewkes CD...another most EXCELLENT recording! next up is Chris Conangelo...

Jim Merod's recordings are really excellent! And to top it off, he is one helluva guy...down to earth, honest, dedicated and passionate about his work of reproducing good music!

John Casler · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 Jul 2004, 11:06 pm »

Russ, MD,

Yeah I am totally impressed. What "PASSION" Jim shows in his eyes and speech when he talks about recording.

Russ, were you listening 5.1 at home? Because at the meeting they were playing multichannel to stay with the theme.

I was begining to be overly impressed with the center fill imaging of the Sonus Faber, until I remembered that they were using the center channel speaker.

When I fired up "Carl Saunders - Live in SF", at home, I was very impressed with the soundstage Jim had created from multi-miked sources.

With the exception of the drum kit which ends up with a cymbal a little too far to the right of the actual soundstage position, the rest of the instruments are "dead on" with the picture below:

I'd like to see Jim and BluePort do well since much of what we heard was from tracks that aren't even available yet, like the version of Mr Bojangles, he recorded from a guy he "found" in a Hamburger Place in San Diego.

Not only was the guy good, but the recording was also great.

Mad DOg · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 Jul 2004, 11:36 pm »

Quote from: John Casler

...Because at the meeting they were playing multichannel to stay with the theme.

I was begining to be overly impressed with the center fill imaging of the Sonus Faber, until I remembered that they were using the center channel speaker...

Steve and Jim used regular 2 ch discs at the mtg running thru Steve's surround retrieval circuit to create the surround effects...

to be honest, that's the best that i recall hearing the Sonus Faber speakers ever sound! Steve and Jim's equipment and music really brought the speakers to life!

John Casler · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 Jul 2004, 12:22 am »

Quote from: Mad DOg

to be honest, that's the best that i recall hearing the Sonus Faber speakers ever sound! Steve and Jim's equipment and music really brought the speakers to life!...

I'll second that.

In fact, for musicality, aside from some "tubby/lumpy" bass probably caused by processing and multiple speakers, I felt they sounded better than anything we have heard at the meetings todate, including the $13,000 speakers which shall remain nameless.

Sa-dono · « **Reply #6 on:** 23 Jul 2004, 01:02 am »

Quote from: Mad DOg

Quote from: John Casler
...I picked up the "Carl Saunders Sextet - Live in San Francisco" and it is great...
glad you're enjoying this...I finally got around to opening up my Noel Jewkes CD...another most EXCELLENT recording! next up is Chris Conangelo...

Jim Merod's recordings are really excellent! And to top it off, he is one helluva guy...down to earth, honest, dedicated and passionate about his work of reproducing good music!

Took you darn long enough. Open up that sucker up and give it a listen!

Completely agreed on Jim! Definitely one of the great guys in the business. His reviews are even good stuff.

rlcordeiro · « **Reply #7 on:** 23 Jul 2004, 03:29 pm »

I too picked up the Carl Saunders CD. Now I am busy tweaking my system trying to make it sound like what I heard there. Are you sure they were playing the CD and not DVD-A. I agree the bass was not true but the rest was a perfect reproduction. I felt I could reach out and touch the instruments. You would need alot more current to add depth to the bass I guess

Mad DOg · « **Reply #8 on:** 23 Jul 2004, 05:11 pm »

Quote from: rlcordeiro

...Are you sure they were playing the CD and not DVD-A...

rlcordiero,

yes, it was the CD they were playing...i asked Jim.

John Casler · « **Reply #9 on:** 23 Jul 2004, 06:02 pm »

Quote from: rlcordeiro

I too picked up the Carl Saunders CD. Now I am busy tweaking my system trying to make it sound like what I heard there. Are you sure they were playing the CD and not DVD-A. I agree the bass was not true but the rest was a perfect reproduction. I felt I could reach out and touch the instruments. You would need alot more current to add depth to the bass I guess

Hi Ranjit,

Just wanted to mention it was a pleasure meeting you and your son.

What little I have been listening to "Live in SF" showed me that 2 channel was much better bass wise. While not the close miked detail of a studio recording, on my system it is "very" realistic in proportion and sound. The bassist, as you can see is slightly in the left portion of the soundstage and to the rear.

Now to decide what should be the 2nd Blueport CD

Russtafarian · « **Reply #10 on:** 23 Jul 2004, 11:32 pm »

John asked:

Quote

Russ, were you listening 5.1 at home? Because at the meeting they were playing multichannel to stay with the theme.

I was impressed at how good Steve's MAP1 sounded when matrixing stereo to multi-channel. I can't pull that off at home so I'm listening to the CD in stereo.

I can do 4.1 but only for discreet surround sources like DVD-V/DVD-A/SACD.

I don't use a center channel because I have yet to hear a center speaker that sounds better than the strong, pinpoint phantom center image that the Gallos produce.

Sa-dono · « **Reply #11 on:** 24 Jul 2004, 05:12 am »

Quote from: John Casler

Now to decide what should be the 2nd Blueport CD

If you want more upright bass, check out the Chris Colangelo disc.

Mad DOg · « **Reply #12 on:** 24 Jul 2004, 04:48 pm »

Quote from: Russtafarian

I was impressed at how good Steve's MAP1 sounded when matrixing stereo to multi-channel...

yes, so was i...it sounded even better than the discrete sources we were listening to in the other rooms!

Sa-dono · « **Reply #13 on:** 4 Aug 2004, 05:23 am »

Well today was audio day for me.

I had a chance to listen to the Tetra Manhattan 305 and Live 405 speakers; Calix Signature Phoenix Grand speakers; Chord BLU transport, DAC64, CPA 4000 preamp, and SPM 1400E amp; McCormack DNA-500 amp; and Acoustic Zen and Kubola-Sosna cables. Some nice stuff here.

I also had the chance to sample the rest of the BluePort CD's I haven't heard yet. Based on my listening, my favorites (in no particular order) are:

Chris Colangelo - 2 Trios + 1 Live!
Jaime Valle - Vital Signs
Nancy Marano - Sure Thing
Allen Smith Quartet - Cornucopia
Carl Saunders Sextet - concert CD

Noel Jewkes disc seemed good as well, in my short sampling...although it is on the mellow and slow side. The Dale Fielder Quartet albums had a bunch of great cuts, but only about half stood out to me. The Joe Diorio Trio album did not really stand out for me. I personally didn't really care for Jackie Ryan or Steve Situm's voices.