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Today's Audiophile Album Playlist

ElPee said:
Here's one that should be in everyone's CD collection:
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D'oh! Don't have that, on my list. Thanks for the reminder.


KrisM said:
Question, though. Do non-gold CDs from these companies count?
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Yes, I should have qualified that. The "platinum" releases from makers like MFSL surely count. :)

Dennie said:
But, you bring up a point I've wondered about. Should we have a "Audiophile" Playlist? Which would include the Non-Gold disc's.

Dennie
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KrisM said:
Yeah, that's why I asked. But I also noticed that LPs from the "gold" disc companies were mentioned, too, so I figured something like an aluminum CD from Mofi would be safe. I know the few aluminum Mofi CDs I've heard don't lose anything to their gold ones. Apples and oranges comparison, though, I know.
I don't want to stir the pot, but I'm not sure how much the gold aspect is important. I've always just thought that the companies that used it put extra effort into the release as a whole.

An audiophile playlist would be cool. Even cooler if a comparison to a non-audiophile version was done.
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Dennie said:
Lets see what PW has to say? Maybe he can change the title to say "Gold/Audiophile"? Maybe not.

Dennie
shrug.gif
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RE: A general "audiophile" playlist. Yes guys I think that's a great idea! :thmbsp: I'm cool with changing the original intent of this thread to incorporate those releases as well. Having two separate threads in which "gold" releases pop up with regular SACD's, DVD-A's, Blu-Spec CD's, XRCD's, HDCD's, SHM CD's, etc. in an general audiophile release thread would render this thread redundant. So let's change this thread's intent to encapsulate all audiophile releases. :thmbsp:

I did anticipate this problem when I made the thread last night, but, frankly, I didn't think there would be much interest in this thread and that mainly I would be posting my gold releases in it so at least others on AK would know of them if they did not already. Happily it seems I was proven wrong! :thmbsp: I also don't have nearly as many "audiophile" releases in non-gold formats as I do gold formats so that was an influence on my original intent as well.

Let me go edit the OP yet again! :stupid:

In the meantime:


Joni Mitchell - Blue (DCC)

DR = 11

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^^^...Cool! :thmbsp:



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Old Ways -- 24k Gold CD

Neil Young

1996 MFSL Ultradisc II

"Young is countrified & having a ball", August 8, 2000
By J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Old Ways (Audio CD)

A straight ahead country album from Neil Young featuring Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings - "OLD WAYS", originally released in 1985- is traveling down the road again with a country band International Harvesters.

Guest appearances by some notables as - Bela Fleck on banjo, Hargus "Pig" Robbins on piano, Rufus Thibodeaux on fiddle, Ralph Mooney on steel guitar, Marty Stuart on mandolin and Terry McMillan on harmonica, plus his usual sidemen Ben Keith, Spooner Oldham, Tim Drummond and Karl Himmel.

This re-mastered album is pure fun, sounds better than ever. Give a listen and see if you don't agree - "OLD WAYS" is a real down-home barn-raisin' time!

Side one

"The Wayward Wind" – (Herb Newman, Stanley Lebowsky) 3:12
"Get Back to the Country" – 2:50
"Are There Any More Real Cowboys?" – 3:03
"Once an Angel" – 3:55
"Misfits" – 5:07

Side two

"California Sunset" – 2:56
"Old Ways" – 3:08
"My Boy" – 3:37
"Bound for Glory" – 5:48
"Where Is the Highway Tonight?" – 3:02
 
I need not say more :smoke:
1979 Japanese pressing.
Wow just WOW...
 

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The OP looks great PW. Great idea for a thread! :thmbsp:

My latest addition to my XRCD collection. I love Jenny's work and this one sounds fantastic.... :yes:

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The Hunter -- K2 Super Encoding XRCD24

Jennifer Warnes

1992 Private/Jasrac (Import Japan)

The follow-up to Jennifer Warnes' well received Leonard Cohen covers album, Famous Blue Raincoat, The Hunter finds Warnes applying her velvety voice to tunes by everyone from Todd Rundgren ("Pretending to Care") to the Waterboys ("The Whole of the Moon"). Cohen himself lends a hand too, co-writing "Way Down Deep." While Warnes began her career as a straight-ahead pop singer, she stretches her sound out on The Hunter to accommodate ballads and more rock-oriented tracks with equal aplomb. It's miles away from her early-'80s pop success with "Up Where We Belong," and definitively confirms her status as a mature, sophisticated song stylist.

Album Tracks:
1. Rock You Gently
2. Somewhere, Somebody
3. Big Noise, New York
4. True Emotion
5. Pretending To Care
6. The Whole Of The Moon
7. Lights Of Lousianne
8. Way Down Deep
9. The Hunter
10. I Can't Hide
 
Dennie said:
The OP looks great PW. Great idea for a thread! :thmbsp:
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Thanks, Dennie, and thanks for your and KrisM's input! :thmbsp:

These releases have been peppered throughout various playlist threads on AK for years and it will be nice to have a thread to consolidate as many as we can. :yes:


10cc - The Original Soundtrack (MFSL)

DR = 11

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I don't have any of those super-dooper-fancy CD's, I have one Sony 20bit Gold CD I will post later.

This one is spectacular by MFSL, retains the warmth of the original album and is all music, surface noise is non existent.

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Earth, Wind & Fire~All n' All
One of my all time favorite albums, I played my original vinyl to death, still have since I bought it '76-'77..don't remember. I bought this Sony Master Sound CD many, many years ago. It says something like 20 or 16 bit mastering blah blah...Gold CD, the packaging is very cool. It is super nice sounding....I think that's it for me, like I said no SACD player...:tears: :D

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Catcher10 said:
Earth, Wind & Fire~All n' All
One of my all time favorite albums, I played my original vinyl to death, still have since I bought it '76-'77..don't remember. I bought this Sony Master Sound CD many, many years ago. It says something like 20 or 16 bit mastering blah blah...Gold CD, the packaging is very cool. It is super nice sounding....I think that's it for me, like I said no SACD player...:tears: :D

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Looks very nice, thanks for sharing! :thmbsp:

Btw, though I have a SACD/DVD-A player, I hardly ever use it. I play the vast majority of my albums/music via FLAC rips in standard Redbook (16/44.1) format.


Asia - S/T (AF)

DR = 11


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Here's a gold release that I find much better than the original cd pressing. It's still not a great sounding album, but this release helps do it some justice.
 
Dio - The Last in Line (AF)

DR = 10

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Compared to my original press cd, this one sounds "meatier" but the op is clearer (yet more hollow). Like so many of these releases, apples and oranges for me.
 
Cool thread!

I have a bunch to post, however my posts will only be on vinyl.

Question: Do Japanese vinyl pressings qualify for this thread?


I'll start with this one:

Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers
Like Someone In Love
-Blue Note- (45rpm, Music Matters Ltd.)




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......
 
the_nines said:
I have a bunch to post, however my posts will only be on vinyl.

Question: Do Japanese vinyl pressings qualify for this thread?
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Thanks Nines!

Vinyl is fine, such as those released by MFSL for instance. :thmbsp:

Japanese vinyl...I'm not sure. :scratch2: I know that many of my first press CD's are Japanese, but though I often find those to be the best sounding versions of certain albums, they are not "audiophile" in the sense of being different since they are just standard Redbook CD's, so I haven't planned on posting them in here. I assume the same goes for vinyl Japanese pressings; however since I'm not into vinyl personally I must profess ignorance on this issue.

However, with that said (if it is indeed correct), since the term "audiophile" is imo very ambiguous and arbitrary, I can see that what is generally considered as the best sounding version of a release (on standard vinyl or CD) could also be considered "audiophile" in that sense. So I think that this thread could encompass such releases and I, at least, have no problem with them being in here. :thmbsp:

So, short version: I think regular CD and vinyl releases that are considered at least among the best sounding versions of an album are fine and once again that this thread could evolve into something more encompassing regarding what is an "audiophile" release by including what are regarded as the best sounding versions of an album even if (or regardless of whether) those are just standard vinyl and CD issues. After all, imo, often my standard first press CD's (or later standard remasters/remixes) are the best sounding versions of a given album, so surely they are "audiophile" in the most important sense of the word: they sound the best to me! :music:


Bryan Adams - Reckless (MFSL)

DR = 11

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Jethro Tull - Aqualung

2 versions: first the DCC release:

DR = 15

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and the 2011 40th Anniversary Steven Wilson remix/remaster:

DR = 13

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Despite the impressive DR of the DCC gold master, which was long what I used for listening to this album (I also have a regular remaster and a regular 1st CD press, both of which are of lesser quality imo), the 40th Anniversary edition renders it (and all my other editions) irrelevant and makes this album not just tolerable sounding but actually good sounding. It's great to finally see this album get a good sounding release. :music:
 
Rush - Moving Pictures (MFSL)

DR = 14

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Imo this release sounds "warmer" (as do many of these gold releases imo) than the original press CD I have. As such, when I'm in more of mellow mood (like now), I choose to listen to this one over my regular first press CD. But the original press CD is my favorite version of this release for its clarity and dynamics.
 
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