The formula for hearing recorded music at its very best is: - Great electronics throughout the chain (no weak links) driving great speakers - Position speakers and listening position with little or no compromise (start at the "thirds") - clean the electricity with a conditioner (lowers noise floor) - install passive room acoustic treatment such as cylinder bass traps (must address early reflections on the side walls and floor and large diameter bass traps) - track down the finest mastering of any given album. easy example, the entire CCR catalog is mastered by Steve Hoffman on the Analogue Productions label (hybrid SACD). - sit back and enjoy the "magic".
Identifying great mastering work is overlooked and I can't explain why. Sure, it's not easy to figure it out, but it's worth the effort. There are dozens and dozens of examples where the earliest digital mastering remains the very best or are at the very least FAR better than loudness era remaster. Additionally, out of print DCC Gold (Hoffman) can be pricey, but many remain the best (McCartney). For those who appreciate music recorded from the 50s to the 80s, then understanding that the mastering is the key is essential. I cringe at the thought that so many audiophiles ignore their digital front end under the impression that CDs can only sound mediocre. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ jh901's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18175 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=96407 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
