Finally decided to upgrade my
Dire Straits collection after much abuse to the CDs. Last night I got my order in, so now I have the remastered version of every Dire Straits CD. Started with Alchemy last night, and as always with DS, was very impressed with the quality of the live recording. I'm still struck by the quality that is possible on CD (even from very old tracks - wait
[does some quick math and comparison to DOB], just old
). Why are so many modern CDs so damn bad when a poor band in '78 could lay tracks that sound pure today? I've heard that even the old tape tracks exceed CD quality, so how come Velvet Revolver used an MP3 player to record their tin can sounding albums????
As this is a "Stunning Recordings" thread, I will also mention something I expressed in another area. I compared
Dave Mathew at Radio City on
Blu-Ray (via PS3 optical) versus the
CD version (via cheap Sony DVD via coax) both into my Denon AVR 3300. I worked out the timing and volume [but did not calibrate] and compared the Blu-Ray in both stereo and Dolby Digital to the CD in stereo. In short, I was blown away. I had difficulty finding the differences as my daughter switched sources without my knowledge. I would have bet my system that the two would be easily distinguishable, but not so. In 5.1 the crowd was a give away, but the front image was only slightly wider than the CD. In stereo mode, only the slightest sound stage expansion was detectable -
and I was working hard to find differences.
This one A/B test did more to destroy my faith in many of the myths I
hold held so dear, than any number of threads or articles on the subject. Really surprising, and must put the Dave Mathews CD in the list of best recorded CDs given that the Blu-Ray is often considered reference material. Give it a try if you have both disks, and report back. I'd love to hear if some systems can easily discern the source, or if certain CD players and BluRay players are just getting more out of the source material than I am.
Let's call it homework. 
