What is your personal reference audiophile recording (best sound quality)?

[Musicophile]

Everybody in this forum probably has his or her "best recording ever".

 

Please name here the couple of albums that you consider to be references in regards to recording quality (not necessarily musical quality).

 

Please also name which formats you'd recommend.

 

Some of my favorites are:

 

Antonio Forcione Live (redbook)

Carol Kidd Debut (24/96)

Bach: St Matthews Passion - Dunedin (24/88)

[20hertz]

I use Friend' N Fellow recordings often. Also like Amina Claudine Meyer, The Bessie Smith album, however the SACD version is not great.

[mayhem13]

'She' by Harry Connick Junior........

Amazing stereo seperating and soundstage

Great resolution

Best Piano tones I've heard to date.

You owe it to yourself to check it out!

[cjf]

The three I listen to the most as a reference are:

 

Fleetwood Mack - Rumors, 24/96 HD Tracks

Pink Floyd - Wish you were Here, 24/96 Immersion Rip

U2 - The Joshua Tree, Remastered DELUXE EDITION - 16/44.1 download from U2 website

[coot]

Any Reference Recordings 176 dvds. I like the Delibes.

[sandyk]

Like cjf, I also like Fleetwood Mac - Rumors, 24/96 . It does suffer from a bit of clipping though.

I ripped the DVD-A that the HDtracks DL comes from to my PC, and it then sounds far better than direct from your typical SACD/DVD-A player.

I also like a few tracks from the DVD-A of "Diana Krall- The Girl In The Other Room",

as well as a couple of tracks from the 24/96 Linn Records DL of "Claire Martin-Too Darn Hot"

24/192 tracks "What's New" and "I've Got a Crush On You" from the Linda Ronstadt DVD-A rip are great too, as they show just how good her voice is.

"Americas" and "Equinox" in 24/192 from Barry Diament's Soundkeeper Records, are however in a class of their own!

 

Alex

[Jeff In San Diego]

I use an iTunes download of Carly Jepson's "Call me, maybe". If that sounds good on a system, then it can play ANYTHING.

[chg]

"What's New" and "I've Got a Crush On You" from the Linda Ronstadt DVD-A rip are great too, as they show just how good her voice is.

 

Alex

 

Just two days ago I sent someone a Linda Rondtadt audio link and said almost the exact same thing. I said, "I forgot how good her voice really is".

 

This is a really good thread question musicophile.

[accwai]

A few good ones I've accumulated over the years:

 

• Maxim Rysanov: J.S.Bach Suites Nos. 1, 4, 5 Hybrid SACD
  
• Carol Kidd: All My Tomorrows 96/24, vinyl
  
• Jazz at the Pawnshop Reguler CD
  
• The Famous Sound of three blind mice, Vol. 1 Regular CD
  
• Ondekoza: Fujiyama AQCD
  
• Mickey Hart: Planet Drum Au20 CD
  
• Ana Caram: The Other Side of Jobim Reguler CD
  
• Será una Noche: La Segunda 176/24
  
• Ry Cooder, V.M. Bhatt: A Meeting by the River Regular CD
  
• 郭雅志: 城市暢想 (Guo YaZhi: City Rhapsody) AQCD
  
• 羅晶: 將軍令 (Luo Jing: General's Command) Regular CD
  

That's off the top of my head. I'm sure I'll be able come up with more if I dig a little deeper. All of them are good music as well as good sonics, maybe except Planet Drum, depending on your taste. Some of them are available in multiple formats. The format listed are what I own.

 

Andy

[bluesman]

The early Rob McConnell / Boss Brass recordings are excellent. Big Band Jazz Vol 1 was a double direct-to-disc Umbrella recording made in 1977. The playing, recording and tunes are all stellar - it's one of the best performances and best recordings I've ever heard. It was recorded twice in case there was a problem with the first take, but both were close to perfect and have been released on CD as well (the latter apparently from a master tape also made during the D2D sessions). These guys simply define the groove.

 

Amazon's had the CD (Umbrella UMB CD-4) off and on. They also offer many RM mp3 downloads, but this is not yet among them and I can't comment on the quality of their digital files because I've not heard any. The original D2D double vinyl album is selling for about $250 when you can find it, and there's a very good reason. There's also a standard LP at standard prices when it's available, but I haven't heard one and can't vouch for the quality (which is said to be very good in multiple reviews over the years).

 

Mel Torme was quoted as saying that Concord CCD 4306 (Boss Brass with Mel Torme) was one of the two or three best musical experiences of his life - and it sounds like he's correct. It's well worth buying and ripping the CD. Sadly, I can't find any HD downloads of any RM recordings yet. Most of the 10 or so RM albums I have are excellent-to-outstanding for both music and recording / reproduction, from Trio Sketches (with Ed Bickert and Neil Swainson) to his TenTet (try the Justin Time 173 CD "Thank You Ted") to the big band work.

[audiventory]

CDs:

 

Bass testing:

VA - album "Deep Bass. Low Frequency Sound Adventures"

 

Hi-frequencies and basses testing:

Cezaria Evora - album "Nha sentimento"

Goran Bregovitch - album "New Collection"

 

I'm using any HD source or CD (produced 5 and less years ago) for testing of high and mid frequencies. Listen acoustic guitars and hi-hats.

 

Bass must be clean and legible. I have to hear all the notes.

[babybear]

Depending on what source I am using (redbook, SACD, or LP) here are some great recordings that are also great music:

 

CD:

Houston Person - So Nice

The Fairfield Four - I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray (and specifically cut #2 - These Bones). The vocals on this are spectacular.

Cream - Live at Royal Albert Hall (both on CD & LP) great music and great recording

Chris Botti - Italia - very good recording - cut #4 with Paula Cole - The Very Thought of You is really, really good.

 

SACD:

James Taylor - Hourglass (one of the best recordings that I have heard). Cut #4 - Gaia will really test any system in terms of vocals, soundstaging and imaging and bass dynamics and impact.

 

LP:

Bill Berry - For Duke - spectacular recording and music in this tribute album to Duke Ellington. This is the best sounding recording that I have ever heard.

 

Shelly Manne - Hollywood Jam - great music and also a great recording.

 

Linda Ronstadt - any of the 3 Nelson Riddle albums - What's New, Lush Life and For Sentimental Reasons. The vocals are soaring and will push your system. I have also listened to the 24/96 version of What's New which is also very good.

 

Arnie

[SoundQcar]

All of the below are capable of transporting you to the recording venue...

 

Benny Goodman & Friends (London CD 820 179-2) Recorded in the early 70's, and released on CD in '84, this incredible effort makes you wonder why the majority of CD's in that era sounded like flat-lined garbage. Really an unbelievable recording of some very nice swing standards. 'I Ain't Got Nobody' and 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' are not to be missed.

 

A Tribute To Stevie Ray Vaughan (Various: Unknown Label CD) An all-star gathering of bluesman and Bonnie Raitt in a live tribute concert to the late, great Vaughan....this is a "you-are-there" recording. Hardly a day goes by that I don't at least listen to the Buddy Guy cut. When someone talks about your walls melting away and the recording literally pressurizing your space, this track is what they mean.

 

The Fred Hersch Trio Plays (Chesky Records CD) Fairly mellow piano jazz with the occasional spicing up of the attack. I'm normally not a big fan of Chesky's content, but this one is too good to pass up. 'Doxy' is the last track on the album...and they saved the best for last. An amazingly recorded drum solo at the 4+ min mark is the standout, along with Fred's excellent piano work.

 

For Duke (M&K Realtime CD or LP...if you can find) Probably the best studio recording I've ever heard. In a revealing system, everything gets shown to you....sheet music pages being turned, the musicians readying for their solo, all is laid bare for you. I lost my mint vinyl pressing of this recording during a move years ago, and I'm still pissed about it.

 

Clifford Jordan Quartet 'Live at Ethell's' (Mapleshade CD) While the overall content on this disc doesn't always grab me, the sonics are the absolute epitome of a reference recording. Actually the majority of the Mapleshade discs are impeccably recorded....you just have to find what you dig.

[Chipper]

I'd recommend anything done by Maestro Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Most of their albums were recorded with Telarc and it provides some crystal clear audio quality. It helps that I like lots of soundtrack music.

[SoundQcar]

I'd recommend anything done by Maestro Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Most of their albums were recorded with Telarc and it provides some crystal clear audio quality. It helps that I like lots of soundtrack music.

 

Mancini's Greatest Hits is a particular favorite of mine from Kunzel.

[Chipper]

100% agree with the Mancini album! Baby Elephant Walk!

[JeffH]

I always seem to end up listening to Keb' Mo' - Suitcase.

[Brian A]

Since buying my first DAC last year, I must admit I've been listening to the sound of my system a lot more than prior years.

 

There are a few tracks that stand-out for me as ones good for "auditioning" changes.

 

I have put them in an iTunes playlist. Within that list, four tracks tax pretty much everything in my system are:

- I Can See Clearly Now (the bass can activate resonances in my room)

- Homeless (syllabants, sound stage width)

- My Dear Companion (where's Linda? If I can locate her, all is well in the world).

- I Got a Home (Oh the humanity! An old man with his harmonica. One microphone.)

 

This is great music, and I have to be careful not wear out its welcome by listening to it too much.

[Jud]

Can't divorce musical quality from recording quality, because unless it has the former, I'm just not going to listen to it. With that proviso, the following have proved to be references of mine over a long period of time for various aspects of music reproduction in my system:

 

The Harrow and the Harvest, Gillian Welch - This is really good quality straightforward recording of voice (with recessed harmonies that allow the main vocal to shine through) and acoustic guitars. A system has to do the simple basics really, really well or it hasn't got a prayer of handling orchestras and live rock concerts. This recording is every bit good and spare enough to show you whether your system can pick up nuances of expression in vocals and acoustic guitar.

 

The List, Rosanne Cash - Her dad Johnny Cash wrote down 100 songs that he felt she (and everyone) ought to know as The Great American Songbook. Here she performs a selection of her favorites from that list, with production from her husband, who lovingly puts her voice front and center. 500 Miles is a particular favorite, and probably my acid test for vocal reproduction.

 

The Brandenburg Concertos, J.S. Bach, Jordi Savall conducting Le Concert des Nations - Not only point/counterpoint, but five and six-part harmonies, particularly among the strings. This is aided by the use of period instruments, overall quieter than a modern orchstra, so certain instruments are less likely to dominate or drown out others. Extremely talented players on an individual level, and probably without peer as an ensemble as conducted by the amazing Savall. So beautiful and so much clarity into what each of the instrumental parts is doing that you can practically hear Bach inventing Western music for the next few centuries. My reference for orchestral music, especially massed strings. I have the pleasure of being able to hear it in DSD format (albeit converted - very nicely - to PCM by Audirvana Plus).

 

Take It So Hard, Keith Richards and the X-Pensive Winos, from Live at the Hollywood Palladium - Ever been to a Stones concert (or any live large-scale rock concert, really)? Felt the bass thud through your chest, the whack of the drums, the hoarse, raw edge to the vocals? This song has all of that. My reference for how real, unpretty, butt-kickin' rock and roll should sound.

 

Heigh Ho, Tom Waits, from Stay Awake, an album of Disney soundtrack music - Squashed, growled and rough as you'd expect a mining song sung by dwarves to be. The "soundstage" on this comes up maybe to your knees. My reference for when something in my system is trying to present a grand soundstage that doesn't exist. All your references for choosing components can't be pretty, or when you need rough out of your system it may not be there. This is rough, man.

 

Go Tell It On the Mountain, The Blind Boys of Alabama - The growling bass and howling tenor of gospel, with all the ranges in between, backing up singers like Aaron Neville, Chrissie Hynde, Tom Waits, and Richard Thompson. My reference for harmony vocals, from angelic (Neville) to rock (Hynde) to down-'n'-dirty blues (Waits).

 

Nice thread.

[john dozier]

Sheffield Labs, the LA Phil recordings. CD redbook only, but what sound!

[SoundQcar]

 

The Harrow and the Harvest, Gillian Welch - This is really good quality straightforward recording of voice (with recessed harmonies that allow the main vocal to shine through) and acoustic guitars. A system has to do the simple basics really, really well or it hasn't got a prayer of handling orchestras and live rock concerts. This recording is every bit good and spare enough to show you whether your system can pick up nuances of expression in vocals and acoustic guitar.

 

The List, Rosanne Cash - Her dad Johnny Cash wrote down 100 songs that he felt she (and everyone) ought to know as The Great American Songbook. Here she performs a selection of her favorites from that list, with production from her husband, who lovingly puts her voice front and center. 500 Miles is a particular favorite, and probably my acid test for vocal reproduction.

 

 

Nice thread.

 

Jud,

 

Thanks so much for the heads up on these two albums. I went over to amazon, put on a pair of "ear muffs", and cue'd them both up.....wonderful recordings and very satisfying musically as well, especially the Welch disc! Stuck in my cart immediately.

 

...and yes, very nice thread!

[Musicophile]

Since buying my first DAC last year, I must admit I've been listening to the sound of my system a lot more than prior years.

 

There are a few tracks that stand-out for me as ones good for "auditioning" changes.

 

I have put them in an iTunes playlist. Within that list, four tracks tax pretty much everything in my system are:

- I Can See Clearly Now (the bass can activate resonances in my room)

- Homeless (syllabants, sound stage width)

- My Dear Companion (where's Linda? If I can locate her, all is well in the world).

- I Got a Home (Oh the humanity! An old man with his harmonica. One microphone.)

 

This is great music, and I have to be careful not wear out its welcome by listening to it too much.

 

Agree. In addition to the albums mentioned above, I also like you have a list of regular test tracks, and it includes Homeless as well (prove that in the 80s not ALL CDs were badly recorded) and Holly Cole, but I use So And So, from Don't Smoke in Bed, the same Album as I Can See Clearly Now (Which is a great song by the way). So And So has the advantage of being just Holly and the double bass.

[Musicophile]

 

The Brandenburg Concertos, J.S. Bach, Jordi Savall conducting Le Concert des Nations - Not only point/counterpoint, but five and six-part harmonies, particularly among the strings. This is aided by the use of period instruments, overall quieter than a modern orchstra, so certain instruments are less likely to dominate or drown out others. Extremely talented players on an individual level, and probably without peer as an ensemble as conducted by the amazing Savall. So beautiful and so much clarity into what each of the instrumental parts is doing that you can practically hear Bach inventing Western music for the next few centuries. My reference for orchestral music, especially massed strings. I have the pleasure of being able to hear it in DSD format (albeit converted - very nicely - to PCM by Audirvana Plus).

 

 

 

Nice recommendation, need to check this out. The Brandenburgs are still, in spite of sometimes being disregarded as the "pop music of baroque", one of my favorites, and I cannot tire to hear them. So far my favorite was Il Giardino Armonico, but the sound quality of that recording is only so-so from a sound quality point of view.

[Brian A]

...Holly Cole, but I use So And So, from Don't Smoke in Bed... just Holly and the double bass.

Good recomendation. Bought it. (Used "Like New" Amazon $1.94 ... + $2.98 shipping.) Man, CDs are cheap now-a-days.

[esldude]

Wow, Holly Cole is a terrific suggestion. I love that recording. I listen to it often.

 

On the other hand, in CD, I haven't seen anything equaling Wilson's work. I do wish they were available as hi-rez material. I am not convinced more than well done 44.1 is needed. Wilson is about as good as it gets in that.