SACD recommendations?

[Woochifer]

I would put the SF Symphony's Mahler series right at the top of the list. These were originally recorded in DSD with excellent multichannel mixes. They capture the acoustics of Davies Symphony Hall very well, and the performances (especially the 1st and the 6th symphonies) are great.

That Art Blakey recording is another really good one. You can pretty much go with any of the other Concord Jazz SACDs. That label has always had high standards for recording quality, and the 5.1 remixes generally unveil a brand new level of sound quality because all of the original multitrack masters have been remixed in the DSD format. Some of the older two-channel mixes had obvious signal loss and processing applied. The new 5.1 remixes in these cases reveal just how much processing went into the original mix, and by spacing the instruments out the overall sound is much cleaner and lifelike.

I just got the Maynard Ferguson big band recording on the Concord label, and it's sonic tour de force. The horns are absolutely spine tingling in their clarity on the multichannel track.

[bobsticks]

Hey papaWooch,

Good to hear form you. Of course the SFS/MTT series deserves inclusion on any list of superior sounding SACDs. I didn't throw it in on the first go around because I don't think Jayra is into classical. Boston Baroque made the cut, if only in an absent-minded way, because J.S.Bach:The Complete Orchestral Suites was spinning at the time. Great disc, if you get the chance give it a spin.
How's morning sickness/potential fatherhood going?

Cheers

[Woochifer]

Hey papaWooch,

Good to hear form you. Of course the SFS/MTT series deserves inclusion on any list of superior sounding SACDs. I didn't throw it in on the first go around because I don't think Jayra is into classical. Boston Baroque made the cut, if only in an absent-minded way, because J.S.Bach:The Complete Orchestral Suites was spinning at the time. Great disc, if you get the chance give it a spin.
How's morning sickness/potential fatherhood going?

Cheers

It's all going fine. My wife got through the first trimester, and is mostly over the morning sickness. It's just heartburn and general issues from getting bigger in the midsection!

I just re-read some of the responses, and if jazz is the focus I would recommend trying the two Concord Jazz SACD samplers. Because they're hybrid discs, they should be fairly easy to find (I got mine at Borders). It will provide a very good overview of Concord's artists, as well as how they do their surround mixing.

Another great one for sound quality is Swing Live from Bucky Pizzarelli. It from Chesky Records, and it literally takes you into a small jazz club. The overall imaging effect is excellent, and the music is good if you're into small ensemble swing standards (instruments consist of clarinet, vibraphone, guitar, bass, and drums).

Another good one to try is the Heads Up Jazzin' Surround sampler. Heads Up is Telarc's contemporary jazz label and they issue several of their albums in both CD and CD/SACD hybrid formats. The Yellowjackets, Hiroshima, and Spyro Gyra are among the artists that have recorded for that label. Heads Up tends to go with a very aggressive approach to multichannel mixing with very active use of the surrounds. Even if you don't like that surround approach, the sound quality of the two-channel mixes are top notch, especially on those albums originally recorded in DSD.

[jrhymeammo]

I went out and got alot of music today, but I only picked up one SACD.

Marvin Gaye - Let's Get it On

I've never owned this album so I can't really compare it, but who cares.
This album doesnt really need the dynamic range SACD can offer. But the fact it is in much higher rez and was well mastered, I think people would enjoy this album tremendously.But I guess there is only so much engineers can do from old tapes.

Anyone here gotta SACD by John Legend? I already bought 20CDs, 1 LP and a SACD today, but I think I'm gonna go find a copy of that and Allyson Klauss tonight. I'm glad that I've been extremely busy, cuz I havent had time to spend any.

Great thread,

JRA