audiophile65 Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 I would appreciate which download (PCM or DSD) of Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" has the best SQ and from which download source (HDTracks, Acoustic Sounds Super Hi-Rez, etc.). Thanks. Link to comment
firedog Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 The recent PCM 96 and 192 at HDT and AS are from the same remaster so they're the same; the DSD is from an earlier remaster and sounds slightly different. Both are really good. Which is better is a matter of taste. I have a slight preference for the 192, but it's very slight. Main listening (small home office): Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments. Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three . Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup. Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. All absolute statements about audio are false Link to comment
kennyb123 Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 The 192 PCM from HDTracks is outstanding. A lot better than the DSD ripped from the SACD. Digital: Sonore opticalModule > Uptone EtherRegen > Shunyata Sigma Ethernet > Antipodes K30 > Shunyata Omega USB > Gustard X26pro DAC < Mutec REF10 SE120 Amp & Speakers: Spectral DMA-150mk2 > Aerial 10T Foundation: Stillpoints Ultra, Shunyata Denali v1 and Typhon x1 power conditioners, Shunyata Delta v2 and QSA Lanedri Gamma Revelation and Infinity power cords, QSA Lanedri Gamma Revelation XLR interconnect, Shunyata Sigma Ethernet, MIT Matrix HD 60 speaker cables, GIK bass traps, ASC Isothermal tube traps, Stillpoints Aperture panels, Quadraspire SVT rack, PGGB 256 Link to comment
CatManDo Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 I agree. The latest transfer is more dynamic and detailled than the one done for the SACD. Claude Link to comment
originalsnuffy Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Another vote the for 24/192 from HDTracks. I have the first DSD release, and who knows how many versions on 16/44. But the HDTracks version has a certain rightness to it. Link to comment
mindnoise Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 +1 for the 24/192 from HDTracks. I have both the stereo and mono versions, the mono really is fantastic! Jay Raised on TV. Link to comment
rwwjr44 Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 I vote for the mono 24/192 HDTrack version. Aurender N10, Esoteric F-05 Integrated Amplifier, Synergistic Active USB, Oppo 203, Synergistic Atmosphere Level 3 UEF Speaker cables, Legacy Audio Focus SE, Rega Planar 10 turntable with Aphelion 2 cartridge. Link to comment
tonyking Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 I have the HDtracks 192/24 and although I have not heard the other releases it is one of my favourite hi-res digital downloads...highly recommended. Link to comment
Mike Pinkerton Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Why is the mono version preferable? -mike Link to comment
CatManDo Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 It's a question of taste. When it comes to 1950's jazz recordings, I prefer mono only when the stereo mix (which wasn't the priority back then, because most people bought mono records) wasn't well done. That's not the case with Kind of Blue. BTW, the Kind of Blue mono mix which is now being available is not the original mono mix, because the mono tapes are lost. Like the stereo mix, it has been newly mixed from the 3-track tapes. Claude Link to comment
PAP Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Hi everybody So you all prefer the pcm to the dsd? Did anybody by any chance do a direct comparison of the two?. Link to comment
orgel Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 So you all prefer the pcm to the dsd? Did anybody by any chance do a direct comparison of the two?. I prefer the most recent HDtracks 192/24, and that's as a result of doing A–B comparisons with the DSD version. Like some others, I give the edge to the PCM mono mix, but I agree that it's a matter of preference. --David Listening Room: Mac mini (Roon Core) > iMac (HQP) > exaSound PlayPoint (as NAA) > exaSound e32 > W4S STP-SE > Benchmark AHB2 > Wilson Sophia Series 2 (Details) Office: Mac Pro > AudioQuest DragonFly Red > JBL LSR305 Mobile: iPhone 6S > AudioQuest DragonFly Black > JH Audio JH5 Link to comment
CatManDo Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 I compared the PCM download with the SACD (based on the same DSD transfer as the DSD download) Claude Link to comment
nrj53 Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Anyone know anything about the new MoFi SACD that is on the Music Direct site? It says that this is a new mastering from the original analog tapes. Ross. Link to comment
nrj53 Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Sorry. It is Bitches Brew that MoFi has just released. Although the question still holds. Ross. Link to comment
CatManDo Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 It looks like MFSL will use the recent "final" transfer done by Steve Berkowitz and Mark Wilder (in both PCM and DSD), which is also used for the HDtracks download. If that is true, it all comes down to the difference between PCM and DSD. It wouldn't make sense to do one transfer session on these fragile tapes, and then give them to MFSL to have another go. According to Steve Berkowitz, who, with engineer Mark Wilder, has overseen all of the Miles Davis reissues going back many years, both of the original 3-track tapes used in recent years to produce the SACDs as well as 2008's blue 180g vinyl 50th Anniversary Collection box set (which was poorly pressed on 180g with a lot of noisy non-fill, gee I wonder who pressed it? no I don't) are now in very poor condition even though they sat untouched in the vault from 1959 until 1992. Wilder and Berkowitz recently decided to do another and perhaps final 3-track KOB transfer: to DSD, to 192/24 bit PCM (and probably other resolution digital) and at the same time, a two-channel stereo and a mono mixdown to analog tape. The two channel mix down will most likely be the source of a Mobile Fidelity stereo reissue coming later in the year as part of that label's Miles Davis stereo vinyl reissue project. Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" Monophonic Reissue From Sony/Legacy: An Analog Planet Exclusive! | Analog Planet The article only mentions the MFSL LP reissue, but that could be due to the fact that it's a vinyl news site. Claude Link to comment
hvbias Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 In my opinion the mono is the superior mix. More coherent and doesn't have the reverb on Trane in the opposite channel which is a bit odd. The recent mono mix from 3-track is very good, I'd say the 24/192 HDTracks version is the best digital version. But IMO it's a bit too dry and clinical compared to the original 6-eye mono which was probably mixed and mastered on tube equipment. If you can find a needle drop of that, that is the way to go. All IMO. Link to comment
firedog Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 In the latest TAS pdf "Buyer Guide to Cables... 2014", there's an article about the best hi-res downloads of 2014. The Absolute Sound Buyer One of the ones reviewed is Kind of Blue, in which the author praises the HDT 192k version. He then goes on to compare it to the Acoustic Sounds (SHR) 192 version, and pronounces the AS 192 download as noticeably superior. AFAIK these are the same download, both derived from the recent Berkowitz/Wilder remaster. Both sites have extensive notes on this download and both say the same thing regarding source. So the TAS guy made me laugh. How can I take anything that magazine writes as worthwhile after this? Main listening (small home office): Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments. Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three . Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup. Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. All absolute statements about audio are false Link to comment
Musicophile Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 In the latest TAS pdf "Buyer Guide to Cables... 2014", there's an article about the best hi-res downloads of 2014. The Absolute Sound Buyer One of the ones reviewed is Kind of Blue, in which the author praises the HDT 192k version. He then goes on to compare it to the Acoustic Sounds (SHR) 192 version, and pronounces the AS 192 download as noticeably superior. AFAIK these are the same download, both derived from the recent Berkowitz/Wilder remaster. Both sites have extensive notes on this download and both say the same thing regarding source. So the TAS guy made me laugh. How can I take anything that magazine writes as worthwhile after this? Probably the HDTracks version has more embedded jitter as it was copied to often via the wrong non audiophile Ethernet cable. Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment
acousticsguru Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Probably the HDTracks version has more embedded jitter as it was copied to often via the wrong non audiophile Ethernet cable. Maybe the guy didn't notice there's both a stereo and a mono download because his one ear is attached to his forehead? Be that as it may, my vote on the best version goes to the new 24/192 PCM (and I do have the other versions including most sought-after Japanese SACD to compare to - admittedly happy to have the alternative track there, not included in the PCM), stereo for sentimental reasons (I'm too young to have grown up with the mono LP, but in the same vein, won't argue with those who have and find the mono mix superior for the same - their own - sentimental reasons). Greetings from Switzerland, David. Link to comment
astrotoy Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Do all of these reissues have the correction for speed error made in the original vinyl release, which was caught in the Classics vinyl reissue done years ago? Larry Analog-VPIClas3,3DArm,LyraSkala+MiyajimaZeromono,Herron VTPH2APhono,2AmpexATR-102+MerrillTridentMaster TapePreamp Dig Rip-Pyramix,IzotopeRX3Adv,MykerinosCard,PacificMicrosonicsModel2; Dig Play-Lampi Horizon, mch NADAC, Roon-HQPlayer,Oppo105 Electronics-DoshiPre,CJ MET1mchPre,Cary2A3monoamps; Speakers-AvantgardeDuosLR,3SolosC,LR,RR Other-2x512EngineerMarutaniSymmetrical Power+Cables Music-1.8KR2Rtapes,1.5KCD's,500SACDs,50+TBripped files Link to comment
acousticsguru Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Do all of these reissues have the correction for speed error made in the original vinyl release, which was caught in the Classics vinyl reissue done years ago? Larry The first remastering that I owned that had correct pitch was the Mastersound Gold CD. I won't say every re-issue ever since did because that was in the nineties (we're talking about, literally, the most-reissued jazz recording in the history of, well, recording), but all the relevant (recommended) ones (maybe I should say, all the so-called "must-have" ones since then) do. The 24/192 PCM remaster is/was reported to be the last ever possible from the original session tapes, due to deterioration - if that's true, there's literally no use waiting for another. Greetings from Switzerland, David. Link to comment
fritzg Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 In the latest TAS pdf "Buyer Guide to Cables... 2014", there's an article about the best hi-res downloads of 2014. The Absolute Sound Buyer One of the ones reviewed is Kind of Blue, in which the author praises the HDT 192k version. He then goes on to compare it to the Acoustic Sounds (SHR) 192 version, and pronounces the AS 192 download as noticeably superior. AFAIK these are the same download, both derived from the recent Berkowitz/Wilder remaster. Both sites have extensive notes on this download and both say the same thing regarding source. So the TAS guy made me laugh. How can I take anything that magazine writes as worthwhile after this? Wow. He thinks they are different? That would create a problem. Link to comment
acousticsguru Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Wow. He thinks they are different? That would create a problem. Indeed - this is so nutty it's tempting to find out what the deal is exactly… Link to comment
kumakuma Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Indeed - this is so nutty it's tempting to find out what the deal is exactly… Expectation bias based on author's past experiences with Acoustic Sounds? Sometimes it's like someone took a knife, baby Edgy and dull and cut a six inch valley Through the middle of my skull Link to comment
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