What the hell is an audiophile recording?

[nicoff]

Originally Posted by jzzmusician

I've never downloaded a song before.

There I said it.

If I hear something I have to have, I purchase the CD. It appears that downloading is the only way to get this music. I listened to a sample and I NEED this music!

I have an i Mac I use for streaming. Do I just download to the desktop? I don't have any sort of nifty software.

Can I burn the music to a disc? My transport will only play Redbook.

Thanks in advance,

- Bob

Looking at the website, you can buy that recording in several formats. They have high resolution PCM and also several flavors of DSD.

In order for you to be able to burn a CD (16/44 resolution) you must first buy and download your preferred higher resolution version and then use software to down-convert it to the CD resolution (PCM 16/44).

Not sure what software you are using for streaming.

Since you are using an iMac keep in mind that iTunes by default only plays at CD resolution. However, you can change that. This article shows you how to do it.

https://www.pooraudiophile.com/2016/...tunes.html/amp

Ideally, to listen to high resolution files, you want a DAC that can play them. I believe that most of today's DACs can do at least PCM 24/96.

Good luck!

[Cincy2]

I've never heard of this label. Thanks for the tip. I'll download the album this weekend. The downside of having state of the art audio gear is that great music or great performances badly recorded become unlistenable. I am guilty of passing over flat, compressed great music on my way to the Chesky, Mapleshade, Decca, Dorian, Telarc albums I have that deliver the goods. I can't help it.

Cincy

[Still-One]

I'll take a crappy recording over boring crappy music every time.

[Beet Farmer]

The classic... Audiophile recordings are usually great sound with really boring performances. And on the other hand, plenty of really spectacular performances have terrible (or at least just not very good) sound quality.

This past year as I was adjusting my many new bits of gear in my system, and listening to the sound, True I wanted good sounding music playing. Now, after nearly a whole year of that, I am settled.. the system is settled, and I can again just enjoy any music, great sonics, average sonics, poor sonics.. What matters is the quality of the music, the performance... Not the sonic spectacle.
Kind of 'The Ten Ox Herding Pictures" ... but for stereo gear, instead of enlightenment.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by Beet Farmer

The classic... Audiophile recordings are usually great sound with really boring performances. And on the other hand, plenty of really spectacular performances have terrible (or at least just not very good) sound quality.

This past year as I was adjusting my many new bits of gear in my system, and listening to the sound, True I wanted good sounding music playing. Now, after nearly a whole year of that, I am settled.. the system is settled, and I can again just enjoy any music, great sonics, average sonics, poor sonics.. What matters is the quality of the music, the performance... Not the sonic spectacle.
Kind of 'The Ten Ox Herding Pictures" ... but for stereo gear, instead of enlightenment.

+1

[GaryProtein]

Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson

Audiophile recordings are those you listen to because of the quality of the sound despite the quality of the music. The better the music, the less one attends to the recording.

That's similar to my hearing that musicians use their equipment to listen to music while audiophiles use music to listen to their equipment.

[GaryProtein]

Originally Posted by jzzmusician

I've never downloaded a song before.

There I said it.

If I hear something I have to have, I purchase the CD. It appears that downloading is the only way to get this music. I listened to a sample and I NEED this music!

I have an i Mac I use for streaming. Do I just download to the desktop? I don't have any sort of nifty software.

Can I burn the music to a disc? My transport will only play Redbook.

Thanks in advance,

- Bob

I have downloaded ONE song in my life. That is Anne and Nancy Wilson and Jason Bonham, full orchestra and chorus performing Stairway to Heaven at the Kennedy Center Honors Led Zeppelin 2012.

The sound quality of the Apple iTunes download sucks. There's just no other way to put it. I am still looking for a CD/DVD or BluRay quality recording of this performance.

The original video on Youtube has been removed but this link remains after several years. The performance of Stairway starts at 10:00 and is the best ever all time performance of Stairway to Heaven.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3hvvqzna6E

[Pau]

Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson

Audiophile recordings are those you listen to because of the quality of the sound despite the quality of the music. The better the music, the less one attends to the recording.

and sometimes you get both


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DypP5GnMakQ
http://www.chesky.com/album/jazz-key-blue-sacd344

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by Pau

and sometimes you get both

Rarely.

[ps7256]

Originally Posted by Pau

Steve Guttenberg, the Audiophiliac, claims that only recordings done with one microphone are truly audiophile. ( watch video, link is below)
While I do not think I agree with this point of view, I must admit that as I am writing this while listening to the new one point stereo, one microphone recording of Carmen Gomes, there is something to be said in favor of Steve Guttenbergs opinion.

Of all my recordings this is the one that truly places the musicians between my speakers. If I hadn't known better I'd believe Carmen Gomes and her band had secretly sneaked in to my house with their instruments. It is a stunning recording, very very special.
https://www.soundliaison.com/
I have few of the Chesky binaural+ recordings, nice realistic but in terms of sound stage and sq the Carmen Gomes recording is way better.

Please comment or recommend audiophile recordings, preferably one point stereo, or multi microphone recordings that proves Steve Guttenberg wrong
video;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txboy72v7y0

Quality of Recordings are all over the ‘Map’. Above and beyond Microphone placement, number of microphones quality of Recording equipment, medium used, the mastering and editing and production are also in question.

Bottom line you can have Red book recordings at 16bit 44.1 be garbage, but also other 16bit 44.1 be spectacular. Additionally, there are 24bit 96 that are also less than desirable, but also incredible. This phenomenon is all the way up to 32bit 192, 32bit 384 and on and on.

The underlying factors are the skill sets of the folks along the entire line of creating processing great musical reproductions and above all Time to render the best music.