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

[pvanosta]

I find Patricia Barber albums to be very well recorded (listen to the track 'Alfie' for instance, from the album 'Nightclub') and the album 'Café Bleu' is an audiophile staple as well.

[pvanosta]

Some of my test tracks for any new component:

 

- Anything by Patricia Barber on SACD (e.g. 'Alfie' from the album 'Nightclub')

- Stevie Ray Vaughn - Tin Pan Alley on SACD

- Michael Jonasz - Le Temps Passé (from the live album 'La Fabuleuse Histoire de Mr. Swing'

- Dead Can Dance - Yulunga on SACD

- Oscar Peterson - We Get requests in HiRez FLAC

 

[pvanosta]

11 minutes ago, Musicophile said:

Which version of We Get Requests do you prefer?

 

I’m hesitating between the K2HD and the Analogue Productions remaster. 

That is an excellent question. I have the Analogue production SACD, the regular Verve 16/44 CD and the HD Flac version (24/88). I need to revisit the HD vs. the SACD version to give an answer to that. Logic dictates the AP SACD should win the argument (I almost invariably like what they do) but will confirm when I can.

[pvanosta]

2 more popped into my head:

- Jazz at the Pawnshop (SACD)

- Bill Evans - Waltz for Debbie (SACD)

 

[pvanosta]

On 3/6/2019 at 9:55 AM, pvanosta said:

That is an excellent question. I have the Analogue production SACD, the regular Verve 16/44 CD and the HD Flac version (24/88). I need to revisit the HD vs. the SACD version to give an answer to that. Logic dictates the AP SACD should win the argument (I almost invariably like what they do) but will confirm when I can.

I can confirm I prefer the AP remaster on SACD. For me: wider soundstage (the brushing drum strokes on 'You look good to me' are completely outside my left speaker) and and better overall 'presence'. The difference is not night and day (unlike with the standard CD which sounds dead by comparison), but it's there.