Recommendations for first SACD buy (1 Viewer)

[stephen_z]

I just recently picked up a Sony SCD-CE775 to try out the SACD format. Can folks make recommendations of their top 5 choices? Any genre is welcomed, though I lean towards jazz and classical. I'm looking for selections which are sonically exceptional and really show off what SACD can do. 2-ch or multi-ch, hybrids with redbook would be great.

 

[Joe Cole]

Ok Stephen I;ll start with several off the top of my head in no order:
1. Jazz at the Pawn shop(2 SACD set)
2. Time Out which features Take Five - Dave Brubeck
3. Miles Davis, Kind of Blue
4. Lars Erstrand Tiro & Quartet with quests on opus3(Jazz at the pawnshop vibraphone player).
5. the Anthony Wilson trio on Grove Note(a great sounding guitar jazz sacd)
6. Bucky Pizzarelli - Swing Live.
7. Vivaldi Four Seasons - Massimo Quarta with Moscow Chamber orchestra on Delos
8. Beethoven The Strig Quartets by The Lindsays on ASV this and the Vivaldi are the best sounding classical SACDs i own.
9. Hilary Hahn plays Stravinsky and Brahms with Academy of St Martin in the Fields.
I am sure many more recommendations will follow.
Happy SACD listening!

 

[KeithH]

Stephen, there are a lot of Miles Davis titles out on SACD, and you cannot go wrong with any of them. A couple other jazz titles I like are The Dave Brubeck Quartet Time Out and Charles Mingus Mingus Ah Um. The Brubeck disc was originally released as a stereo-only SACD, but is now available with a multi-channel track. Some Best Buy and Circuit City stores still have the stereo version. Just look at the package before you buy. The Mingus disc is stereo-only.

 

[Evan S]

I'll be the third to recommend the Dave Brubeck disk. Just keep in mind that the original was recorded in 1959 and the SACD, in addition to bringing out the very best in the fidelity of the performance also will have the original tape hiss from the analog master in the background. I usually only notice it during the really quiet passages, but I don't want you to think they have artificially gotten rid of it. With all that being said, it's still probably my TOP SACD after 6 months of owning my player.

 

[Marvin]

Is anyone familiar with this disc:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...I1UQDU9LT9AK4K
I have the Sony NS755V on order and am also looking for disks to buy. This one seems interesting and I also expect to get a couple of the upcoming Rolling Stones releases.

 

[Peter Luna]

Stephen, the two SACD that I have been listening to the most are The Brandenburg Concertos conducted by Johannes Somary and Spyro Gyra, In Modern Times, both are Multi channell and both are Hybrids. The Spyro Gyra disc in my opinion is one of the best sounding Hi Rez disc I own. I own 50 DVD-Audio and 40 SACD disc.

 

[Mike Broadman]

3. Miles Davis, Blue something.

Kind of Blue.

Marvin, I have a DVD-A of that album. I didn't even know they made an SACD. The DVD-A is alright, nothing really special, though.

Classical SACDs:
Volodos performing Rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto
Mahler 6th symphony
Mozart Symphonia

Jazz SACDs:
Anything by Miles Davis, especially Kind of Blue, Miles Smiles, and Black Beauty
Charles Mingus Ah Um
Thelonius Monk Straight No Chaser

 

[Jagan Seshadri]

Mike,

You have a DVD-A of "Kind of Blue"?

I must be misreading your post. If you do have that album on DVD-A, which record company issued it?

-JNS

 

[Mike Broadman]

Jagan, I was referring to Marvin's post about the Tchaikovsky 1812 album that he linked. I have a DVD-A of it and Marvin is referring to the SACD. This is the first I've ever heard of it being on SACD, but I'm not surprised since Telarc seems to be the only company doing both formats. I would love to do a side-by-side comparison of them. With all the rivalry between the two formats, it's been impossible to do a fair comparison because there was no album released in both formats. I wonder if anyone has compared the two.

Peter, I didn't even know there was an SACD of the Brandenburgs. Damn, I am really behind on this stuff. I have Tacet's DVD-A, and it's one of my favorites.

NP: John Coltrane, Major Works of John Coltrane, aka, what in the f*** am I listening to?

 

[ReggieW]

Mike,

I believe that audiorevolution.com has done a comparison of the two 1812 overture discs and gave the nod to the SACD by a slim margin. They also noted that this performance is a pure DSD recording so the results weren't a big shock. On the other hand, Chesky also released Bucky Pizzarelli's Swing Live on both formats, and audio revolution gave the nod to the DVD-A by a slight margin. The Pizzarelli album was originally recorded in hi-res PCM. What do these results tell us? Well, it appears that each of these formats sound best when they are recorded in their native DSD and/or hi-rez PCM source. I guess this is why Dr. Aix has no intention of releasing any of his titles to SACD, which would require a conversion from hi-rez PCM to DSD. Makes sense to me. I want to pick up the Tchaikovsky 1812 overture, and since I have both formats, I will definitely be getting the SACD. I already have the Swing Live on DVD-A.


Reg

 

[Peter Luna]

Mike I purchased the Brandenburg Concertos through Allegro Music. If you order over $50, shipping is free.
http://WWW.Allegro-Music.Com

 

[Steven Hen]

1. Jazz at the Pawn shop(2 SACD set)

Joe C, I've heard a lot of recommendations for Jazz at the Pawn Shop. I was looking at Elusive disk and they have it for 59.99! Is this disk worth 60 clams? Is there a cheaper place to pick it up?

 

[Joe Cole]

Steven,
Jazz at the Pawnshop is over priced. It is a two SACD set. I believe I bought it for $58 at http://www.a4audio.com/a4audio/catal...tBy=T&Filter=J
I looked all over for it cheaper to no avail. :frowning:

 

[KeithH]

Peter, I agree that the Spyro Gyra SACD is excellent. I picked it up recently at Best Buy for $15.99, and it is one of the best bargains I've found in awhile.

 

[stephen_z]

Thanks to all!
Based on the initial inputs, I think my first cut will be

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Dave Brubeck - Time Out
Bach Brandenburg Concertos (Somary)
Spyro Gyra - In Modern Times
Pizzarelli - Swing Live
or Beethoven String Quartet (Lindsays)

Any additional suggestions are welcomed to me as well as other members.

 

[Emil Stoica]

Stephen,

Those are all good first choices. I have almost 150 SACDs and in addition, I would say try these (jazz/classical):

Bill Cunliffe Trio - Live at Bernies
Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah-Hum
John Adams - Shifting Landscape
SF Symphony - Mahler 6th
Patricia Barber - All 3 discs are top notch if you like her
Peter White - Glow
Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus

and there are more but that is a good start

NP - Scorpions and the Berlin Philarmonic Orchestra - Moment of Glory

 

[Rachael B]

1. The Very Tall Band by Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown & Milt Jackson Telarc CD-83443-SA