[p203557]

Have a listen to:

Inbetween Dreams by Jack Johnson and Johnny Cash's version of U2's One amazes me everytime I hear it.

[Knightshade]

On the Johnny Cash theme: America IV - The man comes around.
Quite an easy one that'll sound really good on most systems. Accoustic Guitar is perfect....

[johndon]

Originally Posted by davidm450

Norah Jones - Come Away With Me ( I really hated this album until I heard it on my own system ~ but it is just about the best cd recording I have ever heard , it's as though she is in the room ! )

David

Don't have the album but I do have a recording of Don't Know Why on another compilation album - sound stunning everytime I hear it. It's always very near the top of my list of demo tracks for the system.

Another album that sounds great on my system is Billy Ocean -The Ultimate Collection - the introduction to There'll Be Sad Songs gives me goose bumps everytime I hear it.

John

[gosties]

My favourite at the moment is Sarah Mclachlan -> Afterglow Live. There are brilliant versions of Angel,Hold On and Sweet Surrender. The last song Dirty Little Secret is sensational. I think she has the best voice of any current female artist. She does not try to do Vocal Gymnastics like some artists. The accompanying Dvd Concert is good buy for any music lover. It is just a pity, that it seems the director may be suffering from some form of hyperactivity.

It is a bit of shame that she is not more widely known in the UK.

[BenW]

Anyone able to comment on the quality of christina aguilera's new album?

Thanks

[unique]

Originally Posted by BenW

Anyone able to comment on the quality of christina aguilera's new album?

Thanks

as far as pop albums go, it's pretty damn good. 1 disc is more rnb styled and the other is slightly jazzy 20s styled, but not "proper" jazz like robbie and westlife did. if you like her stuff in general like the current single, you should like it. she certainly can sing, and she's got some great producers on there. it's pop rnb, moved on a bit from the last album, and away from the pure pop of previous days. she's certainly left britney behind and may end up giving mariah a bit of a run for her money

[BenW]

Heard a few tracks from both disks and like it.

I was actually looking for comments on the recording quality. Her album stripped was pretty good, is this as good?

[Knightshade]

Yes

[BenW]

Thanks Knightshade, i'll be buying it at the start of next month

[yello]

Nitan Sawhey - Beyond Skin
The Egg - Forward
Yello - Pocket Universe
Bently Rhythm Ace - Bently Rhythm Ace
Jam & Spoon - Triptomatic Fairytales 2002
Air - Premiers Symptomes
Just to name a few

Originally Posted by Rod_Bod

Hi, don't mean to hijack, but I've been wondering a while...

why is "Redbook" called as-such???

Thanks.

The Red Book specifies the physical parameters and properties of the CD, the optical "stylus" parameters, deviations and error rate, modulation system and error correction, and sub code channels and graphics.

It also specifies the form of digital audio encoding (2-channel signed 16-bit PCM clocked at 44100 Hz).

Bit rate = 44100 samples/s × 16 bit/sample × 2 channels = 1411.2 kbit/s (more than 10 MB per minute)

Sample values range from -32768 to +32767.

On the disc, the data is stored in sectors of 2352 bytes each, read at 75 sectors/s. Onto this is added the overhead of EFM, CIRC, L2 ECC, and so on, but these are not typically exposed to the application reading the disc.

By comparison, the bit rate of a "1x" data CD is defined as 2048 bytes/sector × 75 sectors/s = exactly 150 KiB/s = about 8.8 MB per minute.

[edit]
Copy-protection (C)
Recently, some major recording publishers have begun to sell Cd's that violate the Red Book standard for the purposes of copy prevention, using systems like Copy Control, or extra features such as Dual Disc, which features a CD-layer and a DVD-layer. The CD-layer is much thinner, 0.9mm, than required by the Red Book, which stipulates 1.2mm. Philips and many other companies have warned them that including the Compact Disc Digital Audio logo on such non-conforming discs may constitute trademark infringement; either in anticipation or in response, the long-familiar logo is no longer to be seen on recent Cd's, as well as stickers and warnings that the CD is not standard and may not play in all CD players.

[edit]
See also

[deanym]

Pearl Jam - Binaural.
REM - Monster.
System of a Down - Steal this Album.
Beth Orton - greatest hits.
Stevie Wonder - greatest hits (esp Superstition & Higher Ground)

[virtualpt]

Tom Waits - Heartattack And Vine
Brian Eno - Another Day On Earth (Has to be one of the best produced albums I've ever heard!)
Gorecki - Symphony No3
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In
Cat Power - Moon Pix (Her voice on Crossbones Style is just amazing)
Rodrigo y Gabriella (stunning acoustic guitars)

[BenW]

A slightly embarassing one, Jeri Haliwell - Scream if you wanna go faster. Really high quality recording, one of the best i've heard.

I've just bought some new stuff that i'm hoping will be good (All Recommended here)

1) Evanescence - Fallen
2) Pink Missundaztood
3) Fatboy slim - You've come a long way baby
4) Lenny Kravitz - Greatest Hits
5) Prodigy - Fat of the Land

[Mart_73]

A really interesting thread, & I've bought a few CD's on the back of some of the recommendations.

For what it's worth, here's a few CD's that work for me...

Hayley Westenra - ODYSSEY - really, really well recorded CD
Annie Lennox - BARE - the first few tracks really stand out.
Sade - LOVE DELUX (remastered 2000) - Absolutely sensational recording !!
10,000 Maniacs - IN MY TRIBE - a quiet recording, but very clean & sharp

Most of my other choices have already been mentioned (Sarah Mclachlan, Sting Eva Cassidy, etc.) so I won't bother repeating them.

[Sonic67]

I think ‘Black’ and the album ‘Wonderful Life’ is one I’ve rediscovered. The first two tracks sound great and he has an incredible voice.

‘Apollo 440’ with ‘Getting High On Your Own Supply’ – I love the tracks Lost in Space’ and ‘Stop The Rock

ACDC Highway to Hell Remastered. The way the sound flips across the speakers on ‘Walk All Over You.’

[johndon]

Originally Posted by Sonic67

I think ‘Black’ and the album ‘Wonderful Life’ is one I’ve rediscovered. The first two tracks sound great and he has an incredible voice.

Agree 100% with that one

John

[BenW]

Got another one, amazing CD IMHO.

Skunk Anansie - Stooch

Haven't played it on my hifi yet but it sounds really good on my PC speakers, sure it will sound fantastic on the hifi

[the_third_man]

In no particular order of preference:

David Byrne & Brian Eno - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
Yes - 90125 (original 1984 pressing) Most Trevor Horn productions sound pretty damn good, but I rate this the best.
Vangelis - Bladerunner soundtrack
Dead Can Dance - Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun
Future Sound Of London - Lifeforms, ISDN and Dead Cities
ORB - U. F. ORB
Propeller Heads - DecksAnDrumsAndRockAndRoll
Depeche Mode - Remixes '81-'04

Originally Posted by davidm450

Norah Jones - Come Away With Me ( I really hated this album until I heard it on my own system ~ but it is just about the best cd recording I have ever heard , it's as though she is in the room ! )

David

Definitely.... ....though as I mainly listen to quieter music on my upstairs system it is a bit hearing her in my bedroom

[ghislain]

I absolutly enjoy (besides some that have already been mentioned):

Aimee Mann (Lost in Space)
Madeleine Peyroux (Dreamland)
Randy Newman (Greatest Hits)
Sara K (Hell or high water)
Hugh Masekela (Liberation)
Flim and the BB's (Tricycle)
Los fabulosos Cadillacs (Chau) for those who like latin/ska

and
AC/DC (Back in black)
Hells bells will surely wake everybody up when played LOUD

[QUOTE=Knightshade;3030422]I've just been listening to Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms and my god, does it sound nice! It set me thinking, we haven't had a thread about this for a while.


i think on every street by

Dire staights is a much better sound than brothers in arms.
why do people forget that album .

Originally Posted by lisa burrell

i think on every street by Dire staights is a much better sound than brothers in arms.
why do people forget that album .

I like that album as well, it really holds together well though my preference would be:

1) On The Night - much better versions of Calling Elvis, Walk Of Live and Heavy Fuel - not so keen on the original versions...also has the best songs from Dire Straits' previous albums IMHO
2) Dire Straits
3) Brothers In Arms
4) On Every Street

[Nash__]

Hi can anyone advise an uptodate link for all HDCD's?
I looked through the forum but the archived links are out of date

Thanks

Nash

[craigizmo2k2]

Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits is a good CD, although I sill prefer my vinyl LP of it.

Hard Fi - Stars Of CCTV - Cash Machine (first track) sounds absolutely sublime on my setup

[j0hn]

This one really makes ya system sing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJokNr26h70

[edworthy13]

Originally Posted by andye2004

I'm really surprised that I havent seen Fun Lovin Criminals in this thread yet. Personal fav by the FLC would be Come Find Yourself.

Originally Posted by bobdixon

An album that has it all

The Prodigy - The Fat of the Land

Originally Posted by sharger

Bjork........Homogenic

Love her or hate her this album gives your speakers a real workout, a mixture of fantastically powerful vocals and instruments that cover the entire sound spectrum

I agree with the above.But the one I turn to time and time again is.
Radiohead's OK Computer is the one I use when I've bought something new.It has everything.

[Nash__]

Christine Aquillera - Stripped is superb the mix of vocals & bass is sublime nice & punchy. Track 2 is one of my favourites.

[CJROSS]

Originally Posted by Nashmon

Hi can anyone advise an uptodate link for all HDCD's?
I looked through the forum but the archived links are out of date

Thanks

Nash

Nash this may help - Since Microsoft gave up on www.hdcd.com the best user resource I have seen on HDCDs is this site :

http://www.hifimusic.se/hdcd/

You need to login and register and if you discover any as you buy them, you simply add them onto the site.

[Nash__]

Hotel Califonia - The Eagles Gold Disc DCC
I think the producer liked percussion - it seems half way through they either switch mics or "move " mics for emphasis on cymbals