Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Who Needs Hi-Rez When A CD Can Sound This Good?

I love hi-rez music. However, tonight I played the gold disc version of Faces "A nod is as good as a wink..." released last year by Audio Fidelity and it sounds every bit as good as any of my hi-rez recordings. It is amazing what a properly mastered CD can sound like. I was stunned at the sound that was coming out of the old M60s.

If you haven't heard this CD...give it a chance. Not only does it sound amazing...the music is incredible. Given my love for classic rock...I don't know how I missed this one over the years.

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to look up the track listing for Nod. Stay With Me is the only one I recall.

The special discs I have are SACD and DVD-A. Maybe a total of five. The only one that really impressed me was Dark Side of the Moon. I have Fragile, and unless I'm doing something wrong, it is a mess mix wise. And, I am a huge Yes fan.

Off the track abit...anyway, what are some hi-rez discs that you find worthy of buying?

FYI - I see the Brothers in Arms 20th Anniversary Edition won the Grammy for Surround Sound Album.

I haven't heard Brother In Arms, so I cannot comment on it; however, I have read positive opinions on it.

If you like this sort of stuff, I would recommend the Elton John and The Kinks SACDs (all of them sound nice to me). I'm planning on picking up the CCR SACDs in the coming weeks...as I think the license on those will expire soon and then they will be gone.

Brother In Arms is great in SACD, as well as Dark Side of the Moon, another I found really great in SACD is Alison Krauss + Union Station- New Favorite.

Geez...I could spend a fortune re-buying EJ stuff. As far as The Kinks...what a great, pretty much underated band that was. All Day And All The Night is really hard rockin' for the middle 60's. I have Cosmo's Factory (don't even remember if it's re-mastered) but, no other CCR.

Pardon my ignorance...is hi-rez synonymous with SACD and/or DVD-A? (yet another question for the all knowing and all powerful Internet)

Thanks for the suggestions!

When I refer to hi-rez, I am talking about SACD and DVD-A. Not sure if that is entirely correct; however, I consider it synonymous.

Yes, both of them are high-resolution standards, although the future appears bleak for both, atleast in Asia. I hope they do not go the way DCC did.

I love Dire Straits and was thinking of getting Brothers in Arms on SACD but was scared after reading a really bad review online (sorry but the link escapes me). The reviewer said that the remix butchered the drums, "like they were full of gravel". Anyone know what he was talking about? Thanks!

medic8r

Brothers in Arms on SACD is great, I certainly didn't hear what that reviewer was talking about. Didn't it win best SACD?

... at the Grammys the other day? You know, I think it did. Maybe I will have to try it out.

That is on the list, was thinking of ordering it next week, so I take that you recommend it.

I would recommend it without a doubt, one of the best sounding SACD's I've heard.

I like it very much as well. I have the SACD vs. the Dual Disk. I belive both are available.

Since the technical capabilities of CDs, DVD-As and SACDs all seem to be more than adequate for the requirements of human ears and the program material, the important factors are the quality of the original recording process and the mixing/mastering applied to the result, rather than whether it winds up on a CD, DVD-A or SACD(multi-channel being another factor). That being said, there are of course many excellent SACDs available and I'll suggest the one SACD set that I own, containing the glorious music to Swan Lake .

JohnK, that is one expensive cd! I see they have pretty good prices on RCAs Living Stereo series. I really enjoy Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 Living Stereo cd. I think I'm finally getting hooked on classical music.

Only 26.00 here Link still not cheap

I used "set" because it's two SACDs with the entire music to Swan Lake, running 148:38. Expensive, but worth it.

Well Sean, then I'll suggest some of the classical items that I think are pretty sure-fire and have mentioned in the past. In the RCA Living Presence reissues on SACD, the classic Munch performance if Ravel's erotic music for Daphnis et Chloe is noteworthy. As always, I consider the Mehta performance of The Planets to be a must buy. Brahms Hungarian Dances and Dvorak Slavonic Dances are highly tuneful. Also consider Respighi Roman Festivals and Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances .

Thank you very much for this post. I love that album, but never got around to getting it on CD.

Now what is this about Kinks albums? Big time Kinks fan here.

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I used "set" because it's two SACDs with the entire music to Swan Lake, running 148:38. Expensive, but worth it.

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JohnK, I failed to see the word "set" the first time--my glasses were ALL the way across the room! For two cds worth of fine music, the price isn't so bad.

Thank you for the suggestions. I've reached a point where I think I appreciate classical music more. There are some incredibly moving pieces. Just never took the time to sit back and listen.