[taoster]

You don't need a "golden ear" to hear the improvement in an xrcd. The improvement in sound quality of xrcd over a conventional CD is not subtle. Obvious gains in clarity, transparency, dynamics and warmth of xrcd can be heard by all. xrcd allows the listener to hear what the producer and artist intended to hear the sound of the original master tape. And, unlike some other recent attempts to improve CD sound quality, no additional equipment or add on converter is necessary to fully realize the sonic benefits of the xrcd process.


xrcd is the optimization of CD mastering and manufacturing. The care and time put into the creation of an xrcd far exceeds that of any other compact disc. Sophisticated analysis by both test instrument and ear are used to evaluate every step of signal transfer, from the inception of the mastering process through the final manufacture of the disc. The degree of specialization of the process is such that only one production line at one manufacturing facility in YOKOHAMA, Japan is of sufficient quality to produce the xrcd.

Find out why virtually every audio publication in the US has given xrcd a glowing "thumbs up." LISTEN AND COMPARE.

http://www.xrcd.net/

Has anyone heard it??

 

[taoster]

 

[taoster]

guess no one have any experience with this..

I'll order a CD and hope for the best.
I'm still undecided on the SACD/DVDA format war.

 

[usc goose]

wild, i'd never even heard of xrcd. if you get one let us know what you think.

 

[Onix]

Quote:

Originally posted by taoster guess no one have any experience with this.. I'll order a CD and hope for the best. I'm still undecided on the SACD/DVDA format war.

There's been some discussion about this before. I haven't heard it myself, but it seems to be well regarded, albeit not known for the general public, much like HDCD, with the advantage of being able to play on all cd players. I wonder how it compares with 24bit cd's, which I fell sound very nice.

 

[gpalmer]

I've heard four of these discs a friend owned, both on his system and mine and they do sound great, I would recommend them without the slightest hesitation!

 

[taoster]

Quote:

Originally posted by gpalmer I've heard four of these discs a friend owned, both on his system and mine and they do sound great, I would recommend them without the slightest hesitation!

thks! excellent!
Looking forward to hearing it for myself.

frankly, I dont think its so much the format as the care taken in the remastering.

Onix,
strange enough, all asian CDs seems to be HDCD if not better.
not that i have a HDCD player either

 

[fractus2]

Looks very interesting. The xrcd catalog Complete Listing: XRCD Catalog Numbers has a pretty good variety of music styles so far. Thanks for the info Taoster.

 

[AC1]

Having both the XRCD version and the the regular CD version (German pressing from the 80s) of some Three Blind Mice (long time audiophile label, Japanese jazz) tracks, there is quite a bit of difference between the two. The regular cd sounds more muffled, blurry almost. The XRCD version gives more body, definition, and overall detail... There is also better extension at both ends, however some people have considered XRCDs to be mastered on the "bright" side. Of course how much difference you notice will also depend on gear involved.

 

[Magic77]

I have 2 Miles Davis XRCD's and they DO sound excellent!!

What's even better is that these CD's can be played on any Redbook player.

Personally, I would rather see this technology take off instead of SACD or DVD-Audio.

 

[GWN]

XRCD's have been around for a while. I own about a dozen. The earliest one I own was mastered in 1996. The catalog mostly covers classic Jazz and Classical music. They sound great. The process has evolved over the years from XRCD to XRCD2 to XRCD24. I have not heard the new XRCD24's yet Excellent CD's but expensive.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Magic77 I have 2 Miles Davis XRCD's and they DO sound excellent!! What's even better is that these CD's can be played on any Redbook player. Personally, I would rather see this technology take off instead of SACD or DVD-Audio.

IMO, it's less of a technology than simple care and talent applied to digital mastering. That said, I'd sure like to see this kind of thing take off myself, as many (most?) recordings are pretty bad. SACD or DVD-Audio won't help that, either... if it goes mass market, what we'll have are the same sort of poorly recorded and mastered pieces of crap in 24/96 DSD and DVD-A rather than 16/44.1 PCM.

 

[Andrew Pielet]

XRCDs are the best CDs I have ever heard. I have Miles Davis Bags Groove and Ella Fitzgerald. The dynamics are truly unreal. The highs are much higher and the lows seems to go really deep. They are about $30 a piece, but I have found a few in used stores (you really have to explain what they look like, otherwise they think you are asking for a different format like SACD). The cases are really sturdy and informational as well.

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally posted by fewtch IMO, it's less of a technology than simple care and talent applied to digital mastering. That said, I'd sure like to see this kind of thing take off myself, as many (most?) recordings are pretty bad. SACD or DVD-Audio won't help that, either... if it goes mass market, what we'll have are the same sort of poorly recorded and mastered pieces of crap in 24/96 DSD and DVD-A rather than 16/44.1 PCM.

Well said fewtch. It's amazing how good redbook CD can sound when its done right!

I have some Miles Davis and John Coltrane on XRCD and the recordings are really good.

 

[Magic77]

Quote:

Originally posted by Canman Well said fewtch. It's amazing how good redbook CD can sound when its done right! I have some Miles Davis and John Coltrane on XRCD and the recordings are really good.

Absolutely. There are many remastered redbook CD's that sound incredible!! That's why the XRCD's are great. You don't have to worry about different formats.