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Norah Jones Feels Like Home Coming to SACD and DVDA!

post #1 of 19
9/20/04 at 8:37am
Thread Starter 
According to MusicTap:

http://www.musictap.net/

I hope this signals a reconsideration by Blue Note regarding hirez. They sure have a superb jazz catalog that will sound great in the new formats.
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post #2 of 19
9/20/04 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
Im surprised there was not much of a response here. I know several people wanted this album in hirez. Fortunately it looks like we can avoid a format war discussion since we are getting both options.
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post #3 of 19
9/20/04 at 12:13pm
Lee, I'm happy to see it in hi-rez. I did not buy the album for that reason. I have the 1st album on CD and my friend who does not yet have an SACD player but has a high end system has the hybrid. I did compare them and while I easily preferred the SACD, it was not something I felt the need to re-buy as the CD is also of great quality. I'm generally the same way with special editions of movies. If it was something I was really wild about I might re-buy it. I have done my share of buying multiple formats and with more things out there than I can buy or listen to at this point I would try some new recording vs. something I already own.

That being said, they should have done what was done with the last Diana Krall album. I'm sure there are people who already have the album on CD and won't buy it. For me it is a no-brainer as to whether to buy the regular CD or the SACD.
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post #4 of 19
9/20/04 at 12:43pm
Thread Starter 
Phil,

I A/B ed an XRCD vs SACD of the Heifetz Beethoven last night and it was remarkable how the soundstage collapsed when we switched on the XRCD. And this was played back on a superb Audio Research CD3! The XRCD is very good however if you have just Red Book playback.
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post #5 of 19
9/20/04 at 12:45pm
How come I'm not suprised?
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post #6 of 19
9/20/04 at 1:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
How come I'm not suprised?


Rachael, do you think I would fudge the result if the XRCD sounded better? I certainly would report the truth in that case.
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post #7 of 19
9/20/04 at 1:28pm
Lee, I A/B ed the 1st Norah Jones disc regular CD vs. the hybrid and yes the SACD was smoother and had a bit more resolution (as far as the instruments sounding less harsh and natural and the whole thing having a bit more air to it) but the CD was not bad sounding. Certainly not a night and day difference. I used a Modwright XA-777ES. On the other hand I've done comparisons of other things and there were much bigger differences. Mastering, mixing and recording quality take skill and a well recorded CD or XRCD is still very nice sounding, especially with good quality playback and a good system. I've done other comparisons of stuff like Chesky DADs vs. the regular CDs and yes I prefered the DADs but the CDs are still good. Many people who don't have great CD playback may find a bigger difference vs. the SACD layer.

I don't have any of the new (or old) Living Presence recordings yet. I still have several SACDs and CDs I have not listened to. May head to Borders where they have the buy 3 get one free deal before the end of this week.
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post #8 of 19
9/20/04 at 1:59pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Mastering, mixing and recording quality take skill and a well recorded CD or XRCD is still very nice sounding, especially with good quality playback and a good system.


I agree. The best home run is too have a great original recording in hirez with great mastering.

The Living Presence albums are not out as far as I know. The Living Stereos are well worth it and can easily be found at $11.99.
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post #9 of 19
9/20/04 at 2:01pm
Thread Starter 
By the way, I have done many LP vs. SACD shootouts and the LP has won every time (we used very expensive tables and cartridges) and I was happy to report it...so there is evidence I am not been biased in favor of SACD in tests.
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post #10 of 19
9/20/04 at 2:22pm
Yes Lee meant the Living Stereos. "so there is evidence I am not been biased in favor of SACD." I never noted that Lee. But I would be willing to bet if it was put in the poll are what the results would be On most things, I prefer the hi-rez (DVD-A or SACD) vs. the CD. I've heard some of the Silverline discs and was not impressed by especially 'From the Front Row' series. I also listen on a fairly high end system, and while it is excellent for movies too, it is really geared and set-up (along with the room) for music more. I would also think that I would be in the minority on this board with a preference for most hi-rez things in stereo (not that I hate multi-channel and even have some discs I prefer in multi-channel).

I am probably even in the minority among audiophiles as I've gotten over analyzing and comparing to death vs. listening and enjoying. Many here, as it is a forum geared towards home theater, optimize their systems for that purpose. With affordable front projectors and thinner rear projection one's (e.g. DLP or LCD), most of the homes I've been in have the main speakers much too close to the walls (if not built in) vs. what would be done in a typical high end 2-channel system set-up and probably don't have the same priorities or tastes in the way they listen to music vs. say the way I do. That does not make it wrong. I've, for example, set-up stuff where people wanted to hear lots of bass vs. what I would do and that is what they wanted and that is OK.
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post #11 of 19
9/20/04 at 2:22pm
Lee,

You beat me to it...I just saw this news on NJ's forthcoming SACD/DVD-A and was planning on reporting it!
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post #12 of 19
9/20/04 at 3:52pm
This news came right on time, because tomorrow will see FLH re-released as a Deluxe Edition, with bonus tracks and a DVD of live stuff.

Link to Amazon

$15.99 at Best Buy tomorrow.

Now I'll have to decide which one to get, but I'd rather know about the high-res stuff now, and make my choice, than buy the Deluxe Edition tomorrow, and find out about the high-res version later. . .
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post #13 of 19
9/20/04 at 4:07pm
Matt, I agree and that's why I said it would have been better from the start if they just did the hi-rez. Generally at places like Best Buy the SACDs are about $1 more than the non-hybrid CD versions (except upon initial release when there is a sale sometimes). If the status of hi-rez is known and the price (whether that is $1 or $2 more) then one can make an informed decision that bests suits their needs. I did not bite on the orig. CD despite the claims by the record label there were no plans for hi-rez. I always have a backlog of things to listen to and buy and I just decided to wait.
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post #14 of 19
9/20/04 at 6:27pm
Lee, I'm not suprised they decided to release an SA-CD after CD sales slowed down. I tire of format roulette.
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post #15 of 19
9/20/04 at 6:43pm
Thread Starter 
Rachael,

I agree and I understand what you mean now. I'm a bit tired as well - why not do day and date always?

Otherwise it seems the labels are penalizing us...why penalize your best customers of your highest margin product?
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post #16 of 19
9/20/04 at 7:41pm
That's it Lee! I'm tired of the format shell game. When this album didn't initially come out on SA-CD, I thought, out'a the blue in about a year, it will appear. I'm tired of the retread approach of hi-rez, including vinyl too. all too often, they put out the CD and then you have to wait, months, maybe years or decades , to find out when it'll be put out on any of the better formats.

As a customer, because of the big-5's, that have now become the big 4's, actions like: __________ & ____ & ________ & _________ & %$!*^)#?: , I'm always on the edge of hostile. After five years of malfeasance on the hi-rez stage, I'm peeved and rightfully so, IMO.

I find that no matter how negative and critical I am of the big 5/4, no matter how utterly, completely cynical I get....it's never enough and they always suprise me and are even worse than I could of previously imagined.
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post #17 of 19
9/21/04 at 7:00am
Yup, I hate the game too. I bought the regular CD when it came out, as I believe Blue Note at the time said there were no intentions of releasing the album on SACD.

Now that I have the CD I won't spend even more money on the hi-rezz version. It's a shame, as I would much rather have the SACD.
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post #18 of 19
9/21/04 at 10:34am
Like a lot of people, I didn't get the latest Norah album in hopes that it would come out in hi-res after all. Woo Hoo!
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post #19 of 19
9/22/04 at 6:41pm
I'll be picking up the SACD. I wish it'd include the bonus tracks from the new Deluxe Edition of the CD that just came out but I know that won't happen.
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