[reynman]

I 've been listening to Miles Davis' Kind of Blue and every time the man himself plays there is distortion. At first, I thought my Senns were on the fritz so I tried my Beyer 250-80 and the distortion was there. My headphone rig is revealing - NAD 541 and MG Head, so the distortion is obvious. I'm listening to the Senns through my PC and the distortion is there.

Anyway, I'm going return the CD, to see if it was just the one I purchased, but I'm thinking the recording level was set too high and that another CD would do the same thing.

Anyway, are there any good sites/recording companies where I can purhcase some well recorded jazz (Davis, Monk, Coltrane, Peterson, Evans) cds? I've tried Chesky and Stereophile, no luck.

Thank you!

Regards - reynman

 

[jaghouse]

I have the 20 bit SBM version of Kind of Blue and its sounds spectacular.

My jazz selection is weak. But I have been thinking about ordering from these 2 companies.
Acoustic Sounds
they have alot of JVC XRCDs that supposedly sound pretty good.

Mapleshade Records

 

[coolvij]

Is that CD the new remaster? Cuz the new one does cite that all older editions (except for the mastersound edition) are off-key on three tracks.......

I dunno - is it an SACD?

That is really surprisin, since most ppl acknowledge that Kind Of Blue was both recorded AND remastered well......

 

[reynman]

jaghouse,

Thanks for the links!

coolvij - The CD I have is not re-mastered nor is it SACD. I'm going to return it and see if the distortion was just on the one I bought.

Regards - reynman

 

[monk]

Where exactly do you hear the distortion ? (around 8:40 of the first track for example ? Is this gurgle-raspy sound what you mean ?)

The recording has tape his and there is a raspy-hashy sound to be heard from time to time. I believe this is the sound of the reeds on the saxophone's and Miles mouth on the trumpet and the way he uses the mute .

.., I remember a somewhat related thread on the Hi-Rez pages of Audio Asylum. Someone had just bought the SACD version ans complained about some similar kind of artifacts. I'll see if I can find it (is this the one ?) :

http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/hi...ages/8104.html

One user thought he'd experienced distortion ...and he later id'd it as a brush technique on the cymbal ?

The idea that only Miles trumpet could be distorted,...and that the problem is the CD, doesn't strike me as likely ? (but I'm not listening to what you are ...)

Let me know the points at which you hear the distortion and I'll give it a listen as well. I have 2 x LP's , old CD, re-master and the SACD ($$$ for 1 recording ! the record execs really clowned me on this one, but they were bought over 20 years).

Martin.

 

[reynman]

Martin,

Sorry I have not replied. I am listening to Kind of Blue right now. The first 90 seconds is where I hear the distortion. When I demoed the 225/325/Senn 600 over the weekend I heard the distortion on all three phones in the same place. I'm 4 minutes into the CD and there is no other distortion from any other instruments.

I asked the Albert (manager at Holm Audio) about the distortion, he said may be the tapes they used in the transfer. He agreed with me that the recording level was set too high. He also mentioned that the Sony re-master was a piece of garbage, the bass has been pretty much edited out of the whole CD. If really wanted to listen a well recorded version of Kind of Blue, I should buy vinyl. Great, now I've got another itch to scratch!

Distortion while Miles is playing 7:12 into track #1. Intro to track 2 distortion while Miles is playing.

Kind of Blue indeed. Thanks Martin.

Regards - reynman

 

[monk]

Hello reynman,

I put on the Columbia 20 bit remaster and listened at 7:10 (+ and -) and the intro to track 2.

In both cases, I can hear a kind of hushed-raspy sound that I'm guessing is the sound you're hearing . At the start of track 2, it's primarily in the Left side ..., I think this is the reed on one of the sax's ,...Miles's trumpet is more center and smoother/cleaner sounding. It really does sound a lot like the distortion you'd get on an LP that was once new, but now is almost too worn out ..., But I think it might just be real sounds (like the spittle/reed interface on the sax, etc. ).

Something else ...you're right as well about the noise floor, the tape is obvious to hear (right from the begining of track 1). I think this might be a little like cooking a lobster. When they put a lobster in the pot, the water is cold and they don't noticed the heat getting hotter ...until the next thing they know they're dinner. If they put a live lobster in boiling water, he'd react and try to climb out. Many have listened to KOB for years, on all kinds of systems for a number of years, and perhaps they are more forgiving of the water temperature . You're take on the recording quality is probably clearer.., . It's not a reference for recording quality (though good considering the age and circumstances).

...just listened to the start of track 4 and I hear the crackle sound again ; again, this sounds like the reeds ? (Cannonball Adderley on the alto sax, John Coltrane on the tenor)

http://www.epinions.com/musc-review-...tk_~CB001.1.13

The above link is just a fans review of the CD, ...but he kind of talks you through each track, who's doing what etc. . You might be interested to read his comments and follow along ; this might help to follow the moods and melodys and the different personalities and to take some of the light off the recording quality itself. I find that it's all the different voices that grow on you as they become more familiar ; and the more familiar, the more forever nuanced they become.

It's striking me as well that this isn't the ideal CD for headphone listening, at least without a good cross-feed circuit. For a start, good headphones put you closer to the recording (so analog tape hiss is more of an issue) . Further, many of the solo's are recorded pretty hard left or right ...

The LP's would no doubt be a great way to experience KOB,...but I'd suggest SACD as an alternate, perhaps equally good route. The KOB SACD is at once lessy glossy, there's a kind of sheen gone (quick A /B makes the CD sound more instantly exciting ...I think because of this sheen) ; but the SACD has a more organic, quality ..and even though it loses the sheen, it's also clearer and more detailed. Sounds have more body to them. I've posted before on Headwize about SACD, so I don't want to over-do the point ...but it is an alternative. For reference, you can get a 333es for $500 to $550 (J&R Music World in NY and Oade Brothers in GA),....this machine is discounted heavily because Sony have started to roll out the multi-channel models (not needed for headphones ...) . Some of the multi-channel SACD/CD players are $400 or under, ...but I'd guess the 333es would be better ...

For anyone that has an SACD/CD player, I'd highly recommend the new Miles 'Round Midnight SACD (anyone tried it ?) ,...Bye Bye Blackbird is hard to get out of your head after listening ...

Back to the main point,...on the 20 bit and the SACD,...their are *anomolies* present, and they are around where you've id'd them ; is it distortion ? or were these the sounds of sax reeds rattling with spittle ? Any sax players out there that can say how likely this might be ?

One more quick thing on the SACD ..., the versions of classics, *will* be limited to the quality of the master ; it'll be better, perhaps far more enjoyable. But, if you want to hear what SACD can do, you'll need to listen to direct DSD recordings (made purely in the SACD Direct Stream Digital format ,...though I don't know that hi-rez PCM isn't used somewhere in the chain),...For example , try the DMP does DSD sampler SACD,...or many of the Telarc SACD's, they do things I've never heard the likes of from CD.

Agggh ! I'm changing the topic, sorry. Martin.