The best sounding (produced/mastered) tracks/albums

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S600BSB said:

I am just about to drive from Normandy to Marseille (via Vichy) and was seeking inspiration for music for the long journey. Eagles it is! Thank you.

Do people who like the Eagles also like Steely Dan, Supertramp, Fleetwood Mac, America....? I know I do.

Enjoy the drive.

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StescoG66 said:

The Man I The Long Black Coat - Bob Dylan. Not ordinarily a fan but brilliant track steeped in atmosphere. What a recording!

I am a fan and was pleased to learn recently that the 1978 Street Legal album was remastered in 1999 by Don DeVito and released in 2003. I bought it recently and it's like night and day compared to the original recording.

It doesn't belong in this thread as it's not as good as many mentioned here, but thought I'd mention it if there are Dylan fans amongst us!

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Flight of the Cosmic Hippo (title track) by Béla Fleck will get subs wobbling!

Quite an interesting album overall - a mix of jazz and bluegrass.

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rugbyleague said:

I find this thread fascinating, thank you all for contributing.

Has anyone put the tracks into a shareable Spotify playlist?

I'm about to do it but I thought I would check first.......

I know Spotify might not be the best but its what I have so please don't judge!

Thank you again

I know there are such lists on the high resolution sites such as Qobuz and Tidal, not sure about Spotify.

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Harry Flashman said:

NDA said:

I know there are such lists on the high resolution sites such as Qobuz and Tidal, not sure about Spotify.

Mind pointing me to a Tidal one please chum?

I don't have a Tidal account - but an example on Qobuz might be:

https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/13470221

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Harry Flashman said:

Thanks!

There's an iPhone (only) app called Songshift that I use quite a bit to transfer Spotify playlists onto Qobuz. Qobuz always swaps out to the high res versions on a playlist too. I imagine Tidal would do the same.

Songshift works with Apple Music, Amazon, Deezer, Discogs, Napster, Tidal etc etc. I've used it as I gradually transition from Spotify to Qobuz.

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Aja is now available in 192/24.

I can’t hear much of a difference if I’m honest- cymbals emerge with a little more clarity and perhaps rhythm guitars sound snappier.

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Funk said:

NDA said:

Aja is now available in 192/24.

I can’t hear much of a difference if I’m honest- cymbals emerge with a little more clarity and perhaps rhythm guitars sound snappier.

I gave up bothering with anything over 44.1/16 - for 99.5% of the population it's irrelevant anyway and even for those with 'golden ears' production will play more of a role than adding frequencies only bats can hear...

I run my DAC at 32bit but only because it means it doesn't truncate bits when controlling the volume in Windows.

Mastering undoubtedly makes the most difference - but there’s noticeably more weight and dynamic range when comparing the most albums at 44/16 Vs 192/24.

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MC Bodge said:

"In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins sounds much better than I remembered it

Yes, I thought the same recently too.

I have some fairly sizeable new speakers - which, with a sub, means I have 14 drive units belting out 1400 watts. A bit excessive!

I was listening to some Phil Collins recently on the new system and was very impressed - immaculately recorded and a huge sound.

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MC Bodge said:

Phil Collins was 80s Dad pop, so it hadn't really made a good impression on me. I can now re-evaluate it more objectively...

How far away from your speakers do you stand?! (Or can you only turn it up to 0.11?)

I sit about 12 feet away.... it's a punchy sound when turned up.

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S600BSB said:

Recommend Peter Gabriel’s stunning new album i/o. Really good.

I have been listening to this... I suspect it's a bit of a grower. Nice production.

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thebraketester said:

It really is very well produced. I really need to take some time and listen to it on my atcs. Sound great on my air pods pro.

I've been looking at ATC speakers recently - whilst I have a serious pair of KEF's, I'm always looking! Which ones do you have?

The SCM40A actives are the ones I've been tempted by. https://atc.audio/hi-fi/loudspeakers/entry-series/...

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thebraketester said:

SCM40 v1 passive. They are epic.

I have yet to hear them, but hear really great things about them.... I am very tempted by the active version, but would need to take a bath on my moderately new LS60's. Ho hum, such is the price of chasing audio nirvana.


For those into jazz, do try Manu Katche and his album Third Round. An ECM production and superbly done. Stellar musicians playing with restraint, combined with perfect production.

ETA - The Boom Boom Bap, a track by Scritti Politti (White Bread, Black Beer album) is worth a listen. Not in high res, but there are some very subtle sounds along with a boomy bass.

Edited by NDA on Saturday 23 December 03:01

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rugbyleague said:

On the look out for vinyl to play on it.

One of the nicest vinyl recordings that I used to enjoy was Sheffield Steel by Joe Cocker.... I used to have a Linn turntable and this was one of recordings where you could show off the capability of vinyl. I assume the pressings are still as good.

Supertramp, Steely Dan, Pink Floyd - all are worth revisiting on vinyl. Enjoy!

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Just listening to the 'Toto IV' album in 192/24.... some startlingly wide soundstage, particularly on Africa, the final track.

Kalya Scintilla's album Illusions has an interesting track 'Zulu Voodoo'. It's electronic (not my thing), but an interesting production and lots of interesting sounds coming in from all over.

Anyone into Jazz (like me) should check out Joey Alexander's album Continuance. Apart from great playing, the production is superb.

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loughran said:

Blue Man Group featuring Venus Hum, 'I Feel Love', the number made famous by Donna Summer.

Gave the audio version a spin....

New contributions always welcome.

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S600BSB said:

Hiromi’s latest album - Sonicwonderland - is pretty fabulous from a music/production perspective.

Oooh!

New to me, many thanks - just listening now. My kind of groove and an immaculate production.

Cheers.

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dickymint said:

As a huge fan of Gong it was a no brainer that I'd get into the Ozrics especially when Steve Hillage was involved.

I was 16 when Motivation Radio came out, it was weird and lovely. I must have played 'Radio' off that album a million times, still love it.

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Colour off the album Colour by Pete Josef... not high def, but nicely done all the same.

An interesting artist, 'Many Signs' off the same album is good too. An R&B/Jazz vibe.

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MightyBadger said:

These are great

https://youtu.be/XCyPBSgLD2Y?si=3Plj4eaAXvAIXSaP

Interesting - thanks for the intro. I'd not heard of Akalé Wubé before now and also not really familiar with this particular style.

Closest I got was Ernest Ranglin

https://youtu.be/PcMx7o2_L7I?si=hS_7O8qu0cViA0cf

https://youtu.be/NuyrY--vs3U?si=C9LVfiTXPR5bm5fM

Worth checking out on a decent streaming service as YouTube kills it.