does anyone have this CD box? I cannot understand if the albums have been remastered or not, but they sound loud, compressed for my taste. Recordings are mostly from late 60s to mid/end 70s, and I very much doubt that LPs, back then, sounded so ‘forward’. The only good listen is Mingus, possibly still AAD.
Can anyone having this boxset share their impressions? Thanks.
(Just to make clear what I mean with loud, I play the albums with a NAP90 into Linn Kan IIs in a 35m2 room, and have to keep the volume pot of the NAC62 at about 7.30 to have full volume).
I have just played three versions. Amazon original version, Amazon version from that boxed set, and my own ripped CD version. I find the original ripped CD a little flat compared to the Amazon versions. Not a lot in it but still a slight loss. The two Amazon versions sound identical to me and I prefer them. Slightly more airy and detailed. I use their UltraHD service. Kit for this room is Node2i, Qutest, Hicap DR/62/250 All CB in to Kans.
I have two copies of this on Vinyl. My very old original is a little unbalanced, one channel plays louder than the other. My more recent purchase plays just fine but is a remix issue.
Reissue of Joni Michell’s 3rd album, released in April 1970, on 180gr vinyl. Includes the hit Big Yellow Taxi.Tracklisting:Side A:1.Morning Morgantown (2021 Remaster)2.For Free (2021 Remaster)3.Conversation (2021 Remaster)4.Ladies Of The Canyon (2021 Remaster)5.Willy (2021 Remaster)6.The Arrangement (2021 Remaster)Side B:1.Rainy Night House (2021 Remaster)2.The Priest (2021 Remaster)3.Blue Boy (2021 Remaster)4.Big Yellow Taxi (2021 Remaster)5.Woodstock (2021 Remaster)6.The Circle Game (2021 Remaster)
I haven’t got any Joni Mitchell, but from a Quick Look on the DR Database, it looks like her albums have quite a variety of DRs. You might want to check the details there.
There’s also a fairly good thread on this exact boxset on the Hoffman forum, including comments about SQ.
Some have mentioned HDCD and I read somewhere that this box set includes various versions of the CD issues of her catalogue, so some will be HDCD and others will be mastering from different times. I have the set, which I have ripped and I have noticed occasions when Mitchell’s voice is somewhat piercing. I also have some of the remastered LPs (I don’t think any are remixed) but I haven’t sat down and compared across media. On the whole the LPs are preferable to me, but sometimes streaming the CDs is a convenience.
Looking at the DR database for Blue, the box set release seems to be amongst the most compressed and loudest. Not outrageously so, but I guess enough to be disappointing on a revealing system.
Actually it looks like Blue was a bit of an outlier as most of the other albums in the box set seem to measure fine, excepting Don Juan & Song to a Seagull.
An excellent system in any room! I have tried everything, and I mean everything, and now I’m at 62/90/Kan IIs, with occasional help form a recapped and dual-railed SNAPs. To me, CB are the perfect embodiment of ‘good enough’.
