Outstanding Demo CD's etc...

S Clark · « **Reply #500 on:** 23 Oct 2009, 01:26 pm »

Quote from: charmerci on 23 Oct 2009, 09:48 am

As I'm still stuck with only with a set of headphones, this one seems to sound fantastic -

Brian Wilson's Smile.

I'm pretty sure - but not absolutely positive that I've seen anybody suggest any of these artists with suggestions of great sounding recordings. I think that there are a few within these artists....

Talking Heads
Neil Young
Stevie Wonder
CSN(Y)
Van Morrison
Joni Mitchell
Eric Clapton
Sting
Aretha Franklin

Anyone?

Sting's "Brand New Day" and "Mercury Falling" are very well recorded. Most of his stuff is pretty well done.
I have a couple of Joni Mitchell cd's that don't match up well to the vinyl.
Can't speak to the rest of your list.

fishinbob · « **Reply #501 on:** 23 Oct 2009, 04:20 pm »

Quote from: S Clark on 23 Oct 2009, 01:26 pm

Sting's "Brand New Day" and "Mercury Falling" are very well recorded. Most of his stuff is pretty well done.

+1

adydula · « **Reply #502 on:** 23 Oct 2009, 04:24 pm »

Hello,

I can speak to the Joni Mitchell part, somewhat.

I have mentioned "Miles of Aisles" the I really like and its a great cd, maybe not as good as vinyl.

But I would say its not really up to the 'demo' standard....good but not great.

I am being cautious here because some of us (me included) tend to bias our opinion on whether something is demo quality based on our past experiences.

I grew up with Joni Mitchell and her voice etc and really like the style etc...

What I would hope someone would do is to chime in on any of her later cd's / recording and see if these are demo quality....

All the best
Alex

adydula · « **Reply #503 on:** 23 Oct 2009, 04:25 pm »

sorry double post?

Alex

Don_S · « **Reply #504 on:** 23 Oct 2009, 04:43 pm »

Quote from: adydula on 23 Oct 2009, 04:24 pm

Hello,

I can speak to the Joni Mitchell part, somewhat.

I have mentioned "Miles of Aisles" the I really like and its a great cd, maybe not as good as vinyl.

But I would say its not really up to the 'demo' standard....good but not great.

I am being cautious here because some of us (me included) tend to bias our opinion on whether something is demo quality based on our past experiences.

I grew up with Joni Mitchell and her voice etc and really like the style etc...

What I would hope someone would do is to chime in on any of her later cd's / recording and see if these are demo quality....

All the best
Alex

Alex, I agree with your assessment of "Miles of Aisles". The same applies to her earlier works--great music but not "demo standard". I am not familiar with her latest recordings. I was a great fan when I was young and so was she but we went different directions on our music tastes. Actually Joni Mitchell went in a different direction---I stayed the same wonderful person.

Joni was always more of an artist than a performer so her albums were high quality. As I said, I am not familiar with her latest work but I own and feel that "Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm" and "Dog eat Dog" are reference quality with excellent clarity and great dynamics. However, the choice of songs leaves something to be desired--at least for me. But Joni Mitchell's voice shines on both and saves the day.

Anybody have any experience with reissues of "Blue"?

adydula · « **Reply #505 on:** 23 Oct 2009, 05:03 pm »

Thanks Don..

I will look in to these releases as soon as I get done with the digitizing process.

Alex

Srgtfury · « **Reply #506 on:** 24 Oct 2009, 06:32 am »

Listening to The Steve Davis Project-Quality of Silence, track 11 at approx. 1"36". when the horn grace notes upward, at listening spot, 92-93db at that point, and the notes from the horn are clear and precise , on my Ht3's, Arcam AVR600 as PrePro and Halo A51 biamped 2 channel listening. Boosting the volume level on the Arcam from 67 to 69 level, gives 93-94db at the same listening level, same position on the track 11, gives significant distortion in the horn notes. Now, I don't ever listen at that level, but with al the "Silence" going on, I boosted the volume. At any rate, can anyone try out the passage-there are others on the same track too, for comparison. I know some of you have the Ht3's and A51, also.

Thank you very much

Fury

adydula · « **Reply #507 on:** 25 Oct 2009, 05:14 pm »

Hey Srgtfury,

I dont have that material or combination of gear.

I did go listen to the samples and this seems like its a really good cd.

You might want to comment on the quality of this recording as well.

Alex

Srgtfury · « **Reply #508 on:** 25 Oct 2009, 06:22 pm »

Hi alex,
o
This is clearly a demo quality recording, IMHO, as others have posted above. I ordered it from Amazon, based on the posts earlier in your thread and can also endorse the recording quality as top notch on my system. I realize that the DB level I tried out was way over the top, but the observation is reproducible. I am going to try to remove the woofer from the setup, by disconnecting the speaker wires, but I really don't think that there was that much low frequency present to cause clipping. I'd like to know what others think of same section at the same DB level on their various systems, however.

Thank you very much

Fury

adydula · « **Reply #509 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 02:16 am »

Hello,

In the process of digitizing my collection I came across a selection from a friend in NY, Mr. Lonewolfe..(lol)...and I dont usually listen to this type of music...you know the old 'not my cup of tea' but I forced myself anyhow...

Its a movie sountrack by John Horner, "Glory".

On the SongTowers....this is absolutely an awesome piece. I never have seen the movie, but I really think I know what to expect when I finally get to see it.

The sound is so transparent and wonderful, the mood can catch you and the fifes and drums are very well done.

Classical, orchestral , whatever its demo good.

Thanks to Mr. Wolf!!

All the best
Alex
aa

zybar · « **Reply #510 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 02:21 am »

Quote from: adydula on 26 Oct 2009, 02:16 am

Hello,

In the process of digitizing my collection I came across a selection from a friend in NY, Mr. Lonewolfe..(lol)...and I dont usually listen to this type of music...you know the old 'not my cup of tea' but I forced myself anyhow...

Its a movie sountrack by John Horner, "Glory".

On the SongTowers....this is absolutely an awesome piece. I never have seen the movie, but I really think I know what to expect when I finally get to see it.

The sound is so transparent and wonderful, the mood can catch you and the fifes and drums are very well done.

Classical, orchestral , whatever its demo good.

Thanks to Mr. Wolf!!

All the best
Alex
aa

Go watch the movie - it is excellent and won two or three Oscars.

George

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #511 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 02:31 am »

Alex...

Quote

On the SongTowers....this is absolutely an awesome piece.

Glad you got to that one Alex....it is very good...

And the vocals are by the Boys Choir of Harlem (also known as the Harlem Boys Choir) ....heavenly....good stuff.

Link....Glory...Soundtrack...1990

ctouhey · « **Reply #512 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 05:03 am »

I'm wondering how folks are capturing their CDs. A few years ago, the best methodolgy was using Exact Audo Copy to do the extraction and the LAME encoder to do the compression. Wondering what folks who are streaming music are using these days.

adydula · « **Reply #513 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 04:47 pm »

ctouchey,

This is covered in the Discless Circle. Check it out.

I have several posts on this topic as well.

Be glad to converse with you over there or PM.

Alex

adydula · « **Reply #514 on:** 27 Oct 2009, 06:38 pm »

Hello,

I recently listened to Shawn Colvins " Steady On" and I thought it was really well done, its a little 'reverb' live, meaning like a concert like sound, good but a little less sudio like I am used to.

It has more of that polished feel, with more instruments in the ensemble.

The Live 88 acd which has many of the same songs has been touted as a 5 star demo classic by reviewers.

Well its really good, but their is a stark difference between the two cds.

The sound on the Live 88 sound is just Shawn Colvin and her guitar. Simple and sweet.
The voice is really nice, the guitar sounds very real, you can hear her 'chair' squeaking and moving...

Both are really great...I am glad I ahve both because they both are really pretty nice

All the best
Alex
aa

TJC712 · « **Reply #515 on:** 28 Oct 2009, 12:48 am »

Quote from: TJC712 on 16 Sep 2009, 06:09 am

Quote from: adydula on 16 Sep 2009, 12:31 am
TJC712,

Morph the Cat - Donald Fagan....got the 2 disc version. I only listened to the 2 ch disc, not the high res version, yet.

What to say:

WOW, Gorgeous, Lucious, Fantastic, Great, Awesome....

Whoever recorded and or mixed this cd has their act together.
This is a 10 out of a 10 CD.

Jim Salk, many of these selections could be demo selections for your Salk demo discs for sure.

The overall presentation is excellent, the sounds are crisp and clear, the imaging etc is just first class.

Even though I am not a real Donald Fagan fan this is a must have cd.

I need to know if any other if his cds are of this high caliber quality??

Help!!

All the best
Alex

NOTE: I have to say that on the SongTowers this is a real treat!!

This is why it was considered to be a "badge of honor" for a musician to make it to the final cut of any track on a Steely Dan/Donald Fagan album. Fagan's a noted mental case in getting the sound "just right". Pick up SD's Two Against Nature and Fagan's Nightfly. You will enjoy!

If you are still looking into Fagan/Steely Dan material, pick up Fagan's Kamakiriad... tight, funky, crisp... demo material for sure... just listened to that for the 1st time in a long while.

capwkidd · « **Reply #516 on:** 29 Oct 2009, 01:47 am »

Anyone know what song / artist they where playing in the MLB room in RMAF? I hear that the artist might be called La Bamba... anyone have info? Seemed like a good demo track to me!

Anyone know the guys name that was running the show in the MLB room (with the glasses)?

Did anyone hear the chinese drum disc in the Monarchy/Lenehan audio room? I actually purchased that one....

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #517 on:** 29 Oct 2009, 02:35 pm »

Quote from: TJC712 link=topic=63936.msg686627#msg686627 [quote

If you are still looking into Fagan/Steely Dan material, pick up Fagan's Kamakiriad... tight, funky, crisp... demo material for sure... just listened to that for the 1st time in a long while.

Ditto that.

adydula · « **Reply #518 on:** 29 Oct 2009, 03:32 pm »

Ok help me out here there are a few to choose from on Amazon...remastered, import, the el cheapo original etc...which one to get?

Thanks
Alex

adydula · « **Reply #519 on:** 29 Oct 2009, 11:57 pm »

Just listened to Rebecca Pidgeon, The Raven.

I have the SACD version but with my OPPO BD 83 listened to the 2 ch tracks and then to the SACD tracks in DSD and PCM.

I much preferred the 2 ch tracks over the SACD ones.

The disc is demo quality for sure, the voice is marvelous and the sounds of the strings, drums etc are so sweet.

Thanks for this recommndation, its AWESOME!

Alex
aa