What album(s) was a musical epiphany for you?

[Auricauricle]

Massive Attck's Mezzanine is certainly a favorite of mine. Very dark, visceral recording with enough guts I would even hazard to call it organic. Teardrop juts sets a mood....Am listening to thet Bjork as I write this. Human Nature and Venus as a Boy. Wow. Just wow.

[audio amateur]

Massive Attck's Mezzanine is certainly a favorite of mine. Very dark, visceral recording with enough guts I would even hazard to call it organic. Teardrop juts sets a mood....Am listening to thet Bjork as I write this. Human Nature and Venus as a Boy. Wow. Just wow.

Cool! We share similar tastes then
I totally agree with Mezzanine, and Venus as a Boy is one of my favourites from the album, I love the violin in it.

[Auricauricle]

Then you would probably dig this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q7Dr...eature=related

[emailists]

This is one well-crafted recording. These may be fighting words, but I actually think it would be impossible to archive this level of quality on analog recording equipment. So many tracks, no cruft.

Yes I totally agree we met and have an all out audiophile fight - bring your Krells.

On the matter of Sufjan Steven's Illiniose,

I think you are correct in the sense that at the modest budget level they had and the variety of venues they recorded in, analog would not have worked. Analog is more expensive today to do well.

But I don't think there were so many tracks used analog would have degraded it.

Now looking at Springsteen's 2 latest releases (Magic and Working on a Dream), we have examples of digital recording at it's absolute WORST. Musically I like the releases alot, but these are perhaps 2 of the worst sounding recordings in my collection.

Now those are some fighting words (actually many Boss fans have complained about the sound Quality of Magic)

[Mr MidFi]

Now those are some fighting words (actually many Boss fans have complained about the sound Quality of Magic)

No, actually that was pretty much the consensus around here too. I suspect the Magic tracks, in particular, sound better in a live setting & context. Maybe I'll get the live DVD release, if such a thing happens.

[Davey]

Silly subject to revisit, I know, but it is Friday, and it is tax day in the US, and I do have the day off, and there has been more than one Mirror Pond Pale Ale opened ...

So right now, my best ever musical epiphany is Spirit of Eden. Talk Talk. Man, I do love this record. Just everything about it. The hope and despair, the light and dark, the church, the sound, the rattle, I just can't get it out of my brain. It may be the best record ever. I have the CD, I have the remaster, the vinyl rip, the SACD rip, it just doesn't end. I've had other epiphanies, I am a music geek afterall, but this is definitely one of them. Total class.

If anyone has access to that Russian torrent with the SACD->DVD-A conversion, let me know (they won't accept me as a member in those Russian sites). I missed out on the SACD, just a bonehead. Now I need it. I do have the SACD->analog->24/96 rip, but that's a lot of processing. Still, even the CD sounds great, so no big worry here, high res might not even sound right now. Beautiful record, maybe even essential to my well being, definitely epiphanic. I don't even know why anymore, but I kinda feel that I did in the past. I remember that it was one of the first records I reviewed here, a long time ago... http://archive.audioreview.com/10/0EF628C5.php ... might be something in my song of the day.


http://forum.hdtracker.ru/showthread.php?t=3170

[Davey]

Silly subject to revisit, I know, ... So right now, my best ever musical epiphany is Spirit of Eden. Talk Talk. Man, I do love this record. Just everything about it. The hope and despair, the light and dark, the church, the sound, the rattle, I just can't get it out of my brain. It may be the best record ever. I have the CD, I have the remaster, the vinyl rip, the SACD rip, it just doesn't end. I've had other epiphanies, I am a music geek afterall, but this is definitely one of them. Total class.

Friday again, but I have to work this one, so no Pale Ales

Anyway, still feeling big for Spirit of Eden. But this time it's fueled by the real SACD, not the analog rip but the DSD digital rip, and it does sound good. I have the ISO on my computer now thanks to those who perfected the PS3->DSD ripping process, and can play it back in foobar at whatever PCM sample rate I want. Currently set to 176400. The CD layer on this 2003 SACD is just the inferior 1997 remaster (I'd recommend the original UK EMI-Parlophone for CD), but the DSD layer was a brand new remaster, and done very nicely. It's faithful to the original CD (and likely the vinyl too, though I haven't heard it), but with some extra airiness the CD doesn't have. Of course, some will claim it's just the extra high frequency noise inherent in DSD that gives it the air, and I won't argue since I too think that is part of it since the sound does change when you try to filter it too much. But there is still a certain naturalness and ease to the sound which can be very appealing, especially with wide range music like this. Amazing album, and some fun audiophile stuff as a bonus

[Slosh]

Friday again, but I have to work this one, so no Pale Ales

Anyway, still feeling big for Spirit of Eden. But this time it's fueled by the real SACD, not the analog rip but the DSD digital rip, and it does sound good. I have the ISO on my computer now thanks to those who perfected the PS3->DSD ripping process, and can play it back in foobar at whatever PCM sample rate I want. Currently set to 176400. The CD layer on this 2003 SACD is just the inferior 1997 remaster (I'd recommend the original UK EMI-Parlophone for CD), but the DSD layer was a brand new remaster, and done very nicely. It's faithful to the original CD (and likely the vinyl too, though I haven't heard it), but with some extra airiness the CD doesn't have. Of course, some will claim it's just the extra high frequency noise inherent in DSD that gives it the air, and I won't argue since I too think that is part of it since the sound does change when you try to filter it too much. But there is still a certain naturalness and ease to the sound which can be very appealing, especially with wide range music like this. Amazing album, and some fun audiophile stuff as a bonus

If I burn the ISO to DVD-R will it play on my SACD player?

My soundcard won't play or pass anything beyond 96kHz at full resolution so I have to make DVD-Audio discs for higher sampling rates. I found a PS3 rip that also includes stereo 192kHz FLAC that I can use to create a DVD-Audio disc using DVDAudiofile (freeware) but I'd love to keep it pure DSD if possible.

[Davey]

If I burn the ISO to DVD-R will it play on my SACD player?

My soundcard won't play or pass anything beyond 96kHz at full resolution so I have to make DVD-Audio discs for higher sampling rates. I found a PS3 rip that also includes stereo 192kHz FLAC that I can use to create a DVD-Audio disc using DVDAudiofile (freeware) but I'd love to keep it pure DSD if possible.

Yes, some SACD players willl play the DVD-R burned with the ISO. Check at avax for the user bambasm, I think he has a list in the SACD posts.

[Davey]

Yes, some SACD players willl play the DVD-R burned with the ISO. Check at avax for the user bambasm, I think he has a list in the SACD posts.

Here's a list of both confirmed yes and no... is yours on there? Mine's not on the list, but I know it won't since it's an early Sony. BTW, 24-88.2 DSD-PCM transfer of "Desire" from Spirit of Eden at Song of the Day now. I've read that foobar isn't the best sounding software for dsd-pcm conversion, but it is easy, and I haven't tried any of the others yet

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes - Fragile. 2011 SACD (Sony PS3 Rip)

Raw ISO images (SACD-R) that are burned to DVD-R can be played on several SACD players. If your SACD player is not in this list please write an ISO to disc and give it a try.

Confirmed to play
Cambridge Audio Azur 650BD
Cambridge Audio Azur 751BD
Denon DBP-1611UD
Denon DBP-2012UD
Denon DVD-2910
Denon DVD-3910
Denon DVD-5910
Denon DVD-A11
Marantz DV7600
Marantz UD5005
NAD M5
NAD M55
NAD T585
OPPO BDP-80
OPPO BDP-83
OPPO BDP-83SE
OPPO BDP-93
OPPO BDP-95
Sony BDP-S180
Sony BDP-S370
Sony BDP-S370/BX37
Sony BDP-S380
Sony BDP-S470
Sony BDP-S570
Sony BDP-S580
Sony BDP-S780
Sony BDP-S870
Sony BDP-S970
Sony BDV-E870
Yamaha BD-S1067

Confirmed to play after (custom) firmware update
Pioneer DV-600AV
Pioneer DV-610AV
Samsung HD745/945/950
Samsung HD841/941
Yamaha DVD-S1800
Yamaha DVD-S2700

NOT Working
Accuphase DP-100
Arcam DV137
BBK DV727S
Cambridge Audio DVD89
Cambridge Audio DVD99
Cary DVD8
Denon DVD-1930
Denon DVD-1940
Denon DVD-2900
Denon DVD-2930
Denon DVD-3930
EMM Labs CDSD
Esoteric SZ-1s
Harman/Kardon DVD 47
Integra DPS-6.9
Marantz DV-6001
Marantz DV-6500
Marantz DV-7001
Marantz DV-9500
Marantz DV-9600
Marantz SA-15S1
Marantz SA-7001
Marantz SA-7003
NAD T535
Onkyo C-S5VL
Onkyo DV-506
Onkyo DV-SP504
Onkyo DV-SP506
Oppo DV-980H
Oppo DV-983H
Parasound D3
Philips DVP-9000S
Pioneer DV-563A
Pioneer DV-565A
Pioneer DV-575A
Pioneer DV-585A
Pioneer DV-600AV
Pioneer DV-610AV
Pioneer DV-656A
Pioneer DV-696AV
Pioneer DV-733A
Pioneer DV-757Ai
Pioneer DV-868AVi
Pioneer DV-989AVi
Pioneer DV-LX50
Pioneer PD-D6-J
Sherwood Newcastle SD-871
Sony DVP-NS700V
Sony DVP-NS900V
Sony DVP-NS955V
Sony DVP-S9000ES
Sony PlayStation3
Sony SCD XB940 QS
Sony SCD-555ES
Sony SCD-CE595
Sony SCD-XA5400ES
Sony SCD-XB790
Yamaha CD-S1000
Yamaha CD-S2000
Yamaha DVD-S1500
Yamaha DVD-S1500
Yamaha DVD-S1800
Yamaha DVD-S2700

[Slosh]

Hmmm, well, both of my DVD-A/SACD players are Pioneer Elites, and neither of them are on any of those lists. I'll have to poke around and see if anything listed there is an Asian or European equivalent to what I have. In any case, I'm sure the 24-bit/192kHz rip sounds great.

edit: so the SACD ISO didn't work on either of my SACD players, but no matter since the 192kHz DVD-A disc I made sounds great.

[Davey]

edit: so the SACD ISO didn't work on either of my SACD players, but no matter since the 192kHz DVD-A disc I made sounds great.

Most of the SACD players convert the DSD stream to some form of PCM anyway since most of the D/A convertors are a multi-bit hybrid design, though it would normally be an integer division of the 2.8224MHz DSD sample rate, such as 176.4KHz. Some of the external software convertors are pretty good, so no doubt your 192K conversion sounds great.

[Slosh]

Most of the SACD players convert the DSD stream to some form of PCM anyway since most of the D/A convertors are a multi-bit hybrid design, though it would normally be an integer division of the 2.8224MHz DSD sample rate, such as 176.4KHz. Some of the external software convertors are pretty good, so no doubt your 192K conversion sounds great.

My receiver in my main system decodes DSD natively (via HDMI) if I don't use any bass management/room compensation and such and has top of the line (circa 2007) Burr Brown DACs. Stereo SACDs I hear unmolested, but not multi-channel. Honestly though, even if I apply bass management to stereo SACDs (to use the sub) it sounds the same to me (with deeper bass, of course). If I let the player do the conversion it resamples to 88.2kHz. The player in my bedroom is part of a stereo-only system so I don't believe there is any PCM conversion there either (it has a Sony DSD processor and Burr Brown DACs).

There's no lineage info to how this 192kHz rip was created, beyond using the SACD ISO as the source. Nevertheless it sounds a lot better than my remastered CD.

[jonnyhambone]

well, I feel pretty Amish. I have a decent vinyl copy and I put the needle on it, put on my headphones and sit down. It sounds good. I turn on my tube amp and it sounds better. I turn it up. I crack a Surly Darkness Imperial Stout and it sounds a bit righteous.

[Davey]

...and it sounds a bit righteous.

Well, I think most of us that love Spirit of Eden wind up at that same place, that's why we listen. As I said recently in the What's Spinning thread, if only the original CD was available, I'd still be plenty happy. If it wasn't so righteous to begin with, I wouldn't bother, but the other stuff does make for some extra audiophile fun on the side.

Been listening to Bowie's Ziggy Stardust SACD quite a bit lately too, including right now on headphones before the 49ers play. His catalog has had so many mastering ups and downs over the years, both vinyl and CD, but this one sounds really good. Kind of reminds me of the nice sounding MFSL vinyl, but without the unnecessary smiley face EQ. Still a touch bright, but it always was. Fun record, and this just may be the best version available. Got a Mirror Pond Pale Ale in my system, and another on the way, and this one sounds pretty righteous too... Freak out in a moonage daydream, oh yeah

[3LB]

I guess if I could add to my list, it would be albums of different genres that were not on my radar up until that point in time.

Donald Fagen's The Nightfly was my gateway into jazz, really expanding my horizon. Yeah, Steely Dan was steeped in jazz, but this was a real labor of love on Fagen's part, capturing the vibe of a bygone era. One of the best sounding CDs ever.

Garth Brooks made me reconsider my dismissal of country-western music with his release of No Fences, actually rekindling a short-lived interest in country music in the '90s.

As much as I still chuckle at the old joke that owning a modern stereo rig and being into new age jazz was like owning a thousand-dollar windchime, I am still surprised how much Andreas Vollenweider's White Winds still has a grip on me. I even tried to delve into other artists within the genre as well as other Vollenweider releases, but I never found anything that stuck like that one album. Everything else is coma inducing.

Opeth - Ghost Reveries - I knew I was delving into an album that included cookie monster/death metal growls, but I was so enamored with their "all normal vocal" album Damnation that I had to check this out and as bracing as those CMVs are, this is such a work of dark beauty. Its the only album of this type I can listen to from start to finish, from this or any other band. Lord knows I tried.

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach - I admit this one of those albums that I would otherwise have never paid any attention to if I didn't have kids. A few of Gorillaz tracks made their way to my ear prior to this album, but when I initially bought this album as a gift to my strepson I had no idea how much I'd like it. I wound up buying my own copy of it after he left home (finally).

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories - yep, yet another influence from one of my kids, this time my daughter. She actually has quite the admiration for a lot of my collection, but upon hearing the jiggy mix I was making for the wife and I, she remarked that I might like the new Daft Punk, something I dismissed until months later. I abhore auto-tune, but she said it reminded her of some ELO and explained they're pretending to be robots exploring human emotions, so I venture a listen. I'm sure some would say this isn't a real good example of Daft Punk or the genre, but I find I'm enjoying quite a bit. More like something Air or Stereolab might have put out at one time.

[noddin0ff]

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories - yep, yet another influence from one of my kids, this time my daughter. She actually has quite the admiration for a lot of my collection, but upon hearing the jiggy mix I was making for the wife and I, she remarked that I might like the new Daft Punk, something I dismissed until months later. I abhore auto-tune, but she said it reminded her of some ELO and explained they're pretending to be robots exploring human emotions, so I venture a listen. I'm sure some would say this isn't a real good example of Daft Punk or the genre, but I find I'm enjoying quite a bit. More like something Air or Stereolab might have put out at one time.

Thread revival!
Hmmmm. There's so much good press on RAM and I've tried to listen to it several times but just can't maintain interest. I keep wondering if it's one of the many albums that I'll find I like about 5 years after the fact. I'll have to spin it again and try again.

[3LB]

Thread revival!
Hmmmm. There's so much good press on RAM and I've tried to listen to it several times but just can't maintain interest. I keep wondering if it's one of the many albums that I'll find I like about 5 years after the fact. I'll have to spin it again and try again.

Might just be the right piece of music at the right time, who knows, 5 years ago I may have hated it. I'm not a huge fan of the mechanized vox and it helps that there's guest vocalists on it. Those mechanized vox are sure to wear thin in the long run. Besides that, there's nothing terribly innovative here or experimental sounding that distinguishes them from others, except for a really keen ear for late '70s adult contemporary and disco sounding music. I've read where a lot of fans were dissapointed with it. I only go as far back as the Tron soundtrack so I didn't have any reference point.

[Bolle]

Kind of Blue, Milles Davis
That album changed everything.

[Worf101]

Doing a search and found my old thread and realized I'd have to add at least one more....

James Brown's "Live at the Apollo"/"Sex Machine" - Oh this is what they're talking about.

Tower of Power's "Tower of Power" - Horns so sharp they could cut steel!

Lauryn Hill's "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" - Amazing album I still listen to 4 or 5 times a year.

Worf