[johnation33]

Hey Headfiers,

So in my other audiophile classical music thread, I discovered the existence of Audiophile labels thanks to a great post by a fellow headfier and the music quality just blows my mind. He suggested Linn Records (Linn Records - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), but I was wondering if any other audiophile labels/studios exist, not just limited to classical music but jazz,vocal,pop,classical,acoustic/rock (so basically anything)?

 

[gordolindsay]

Sure,

Mobile Fidelity (MFSL) has been putting out a bunch of great titles the last few years and look like they have a bunch coming still.

Analouge Productions (APO) has put out a ton of mostly jazz recordings and they are absolutely fantastic.

Audio Fidelity put out a handful of gold discs and sacd hybrids of some descent titles then they seemed to shut the doors. But just got word they are opening back up and have some sweet titles coming mastered by the best mastering engineer in the business (Steve Hoffman).

Telarc has long had a reputation of having superb sound quality, but I think they are mostly classical.

There are more I'm sure, but that's what I can come up with right now.

 

[MilkyWay]

I've got a quite a lot of audiophile mastered albums which are mostly MFSL but I think chesky is the best probably because they record their own stuff.

MoFi is ok but I feel their stuff has a lot of EQ and not very clear, in some cases I prefer the original issue but their vinyl is fantastic

DCC is similar but more 3D and clearer

Telarc I only have one album but I can't say I'm impressed, just sounds like a normal cd to me

There's also sheffield lab but I haven't heard their stuff

 

[SiriuslyCold]

AIX Records - Audio Fidelity Beyond Reality and their download store iTrax

HDtracks high resolution audiophile music downloads

MusicGiants VideoGiants - High Definition Entertainment

are all offering high resolution FLAC downloads

 

[BradJudy]

Chesky Welcome to Chesky Records: The Premiere Audiophile Record Label is one of the notable names in audiophile labels (tends to be classical and jazz)

Mapleshade Mapleshade Records is another good one (a variety of genres)

 

[johnation33]

ah thanks for all the recs!!

 

[golgi]

Reference Recordings

 

[gordolindsay]

Oh yeah, forgot about Sheffield and Chesky. I've not heard anything on Chesky but the one Sheffield disc I still have is one of the most real sounding cd's I own.

Yeah, MFSl can be a hit or miss on just how audiophile their stuff is. It always sounds better than a recent remaster but like MilkyWay said, some of the first pressings sound steller.

 

[crzystng]

JM Labs, better known as Focal, has some 6 cd's I believe.

 

[lara veronin]

I prefer Telarc, Reference Recordings, and Pentatone myself.

 

[Henmyr]

Opus3: Opus3 Records, an independent Swedish Record company.
Some folk, classical, jazz, blues, not much rock though.

 

[Kraps]

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnation33 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey Headfiers, So in my other audiophile classical music thread, I discovered the existence of Audiophile labels thanks to a great post by a fellow headfier and the music quality just blows my mind. He suggested Linn Records (Linn Records - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), but I was wondering if any other audiophile labels/studios exist, not just limited to classical music but jazz,vocal,pop,classical,acoustic/rock (so basically anything)?

Well, it is a very tricky question and depends very much on what kind of "audiophile" sensation you are looking for. My personal preference is for Chesky, but as well ECM and Enja. The latter might not be popularly qualified as audiophile but I find them to have some much more realistic recordings than for instance MFSL or some of the other "remasterers" delivering a lot of "shine and sparkle".

 

[BradJudy]

I forgot about FIM, which is always present at audio shows and touting their K2 releases. First Impression Music Inc - Home Page

There is also Elusive Disc, which isn't a label, but a online store that sells high quality and hard to get CDs and LPs - Elusive Disc - Hardware, Accessories, SACDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD-As and MORE! Call us (800)-782-3472

On a similar note, you can also look for XRCDs which are regular CDs that have a high production standard. They are fairly common in Asia, but tend to be more expensive in the US.

 

[milkpowder]

The FIM K2HDs are OK. I have a few. Very pricey as far as CDs go and not all of them are that great. In fact, some of them just sound over processed and/or just pretty plain jane. The extra "shine and sparkle" just doesn't work all the time.

Telarc have some wonderful recordings, as do Pentatone, BIS, Reference Recordings, Linn, MFSL, Sony/BMG/RCA Living Stereo, etc... The standard isn't very consistent so don't go out and buy every recording with the expectation that they'll all 'wow' you. Sometimes, it's the performance that's weak and at other times, the acoustics.

Good (both in terms of performance and SQ) recordings need not come from audiophile labels though. There are some real gems on Deutsche Grammophon and Harmonia Mundi.

 

[Kraps]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif The FIM K2HDs are OK. I have a few. Very pricey as far as CDs go and not all of them are that great. In fact, some of them just sound over processed and/or just pretty plain jane. The extra "shine and sparkle" just doesn't work all the time.

Seconded. I have some of these and they are sometimes even tiresome.