XRCD - sound quality compared to CD's & Hi-rez?

the only one I have is Masayuki Takayanagi's 'Free Form Suite' and it sounds downright delightful. I thought it was worth every penny.

wish they'd used the album cover, though. (no idea why, but they put the rear cover on the front, and just deleted the front cover. weird.)

 

Duely noted and thanks Bill.

 

I think the Joe Pass Virturoso title I have is xrcd...I'm not impressed.
I have another cd copy of Virturoso back from 1988 that is better.
I get the feeling the best version has not been done yet. Even the record still lacks IMO.

 

I have 14 XRCD Titles on four different labels.

JVC USA
Chet Atkins: In Hollywood
Henry Mancini: Breakfast At Tiffany's
Henry Mancini: Charade
Victor Feldman: Audiophile
Tina Turner: Private Dancer

JVC Japan
Lee Ritenour: In Rio
Lee Ritenour: Gentle Thoughts
Dave Grusin: Mountain Dance
Chet Baker: Sings - It Could Happen to You

LIM (Lasting Impression Music)
Dave Grusin: Discovered Again! Plus
Amanada McBroom & Lincoln Mayorga: Growing Up In The Hollywood Town
The Sheffield Lab Drum & Track Disc (for Audio Component Testing & Evaluation)
James Newton Howard & Friends:

FIM (First Impression Music)
Lind Rosenthal: The Artistry of Linda Rosenthal

Some of the most analog-sounding recordings I have heard are XRCD's
So far there's no bad sounding XRCD's in my collection but like in any other type of medium, the resulting sound depends on the condition of the source tapes that were used and also in the remastering.
In the case of LIM XRCD's, they did an excellent job in the transcription of the Sheffield Lab tapes to the digital domain. They sound so close to the original direct-to-disc recording that Sheffield lab is known for. All the four title that I have sounds excellent.

The Mancini XRCD's and the Chet Atkins sound like vinyl records. I noticed that the Chet Atkins' In Hollywood was taken from a different mix when I compared it to the Classic Records release of the same title.
The Victor Feldman is superb! This one has one of the best sound. It reminds me of the sound of the Nautilus direct-to-disc vinyl, Victor Feldman: Secret of The Andes in terms of sonic quality.
Tina Turner's Private Dancer doesn't sound bad considering the already bright sounding original master tape was used. I always consider Private Dancer bright sounding because the "non-XRCD" version of this recording sounds too bright to my ears.
The XRCD just improved on the mid and high frequency details and also the bass response has increased wallop.

JVC Japan XRCD sound is more dependent on the availability of the source tapes that they can use. Some of the master tapes they used are second generation tapes because sometimes they don't have an access to the first generation tapes that are either own by the artists or the original recording company. For example, Lee Ritenour's Rio sound excellent becuase they own the first generation tapes. As I have stated above, sometimes it all depends on the sonic condition of the source types regardless of whether you have the original source tapes or not.

 

Chet Atkins: In Hollywood on XRCD

 

Damn straight. Cool Jojo is a beautiful sounding XRCD² as well, and you won't find two more diametrically opposed recordings in one artist's output, anywhere. In fact all the XRCD's I own are from the Three Blind Mice label and I love the sonics on each one. The straight CDs I have of some of the same TBM releases(all German-made discs on the Audio Trade label) sound anemic by comparison.

 

AudiophilePhil - thanks for the roundup. I am interested in the Dave grusin Discovered Again Plus - I read somewhere (might have been on Amazon) that the XRCD was inferior to the older CD released by Sheffield Lab. I found such a claim surprising, and would hope that it's not true. Have you heard the older CD? I have it and it's quite nice, although not as nice as the original vinyl.

I was never a huge fan of the "made for audiophile" type of direct-disc production, but Discovered Again is a great album all round.

I haven't heard any of the more recent XRCD-24 titles - are these significantly different from XRCD or XRCD2?

 

Another good XRCD: The Poll Winners.

 

I remember liking the XRCD better than the original OJC CD. Any recommendations for a good sounding version?

 

Nancy Bryan's "Lay Me Down" was a nice XRCD. I wish I still had it.
Fortunately, I located a cheap sealed vinyl copy on ePay.

Superb recording and music.

 

Paul, I have both of the LIM XRCD and the older Sheffield Lab "non-XRCD" versions of Sheffield Lab's Dave Grusin: Discovered Again Plus. Both were mastered from the same original source tape. I kept both of them because they both sound excellent but I slightly prefer the XRCD version. It beats the Sheffield Lab CD in terms of fatigue factor and in terms of details by a very slight margin. When I turned up the volume while listening to each version, the XRCD sounds less fatiguing at even higher volume. This slight improvement in sound could be the result of XRCD processing.

 

Could You tell the frequency of that tone, so I can try to fix the problem on my domestic CD issue?

 

It's been a while, if I recall correctly the detail sounded better to me on the XRCD. I agree the XRCD is on the bright side.

Steve, can you give us any details on the new AP series?

 

I just purchased the new JVC XRCD24 release of the 1981 Dave Brubeck Quartet's "Paper Moon". I don't have the standard Concord CD to compare, but this release sounds very good to me. The same guy who mastered Bill Evans Trio "How My Heart Sings!" XRCD2 did this one.

 

Does anyone have any comments on the Sheffield Lab Drum & Track Disc on XRCD [LIM XR 005]?

Great noise floor and dynamics but, curiously, each track is very slightly clipped. I wonder why?

 

From what I know (and heard myself) XRCD, XRCD2 and XRCD24 all sound different. The usual XRCD (mostly) sound like a very good redbook while the XRCD24 sampler is probably the best sounding disc I ever heard, way better then all the hi rez. INCREDIBLE! The soundstage and tonality are amazing. I strongly suggest hunting down some XRCD24 titles - they are truly worth every penny. A friend of mine owns quite a few and he is convinced that XRCD24 blows away hi rez!

 

I prefer the XRCD2 of Brothers in Arms over any other version, including the hi-rez. It sounds wonderful.

 

RCA XRCD24 vs SACD?

After reading the thread, I browsed through a list of XRCD24 titles. They have some strong RCA Living Stereo titles, but I'd tend to hold out to see if they're released on SACD before plunking down $27 for the XRCD24.

Has anyone compared titles available in both series? I only found one example. However, many of the titles seem to be in Classic Records catalogue. Is there some sort of agreement that the SACD series and XRCD24 series shouldn't (for the most part) overlap?

I'll be on the look out for some of the Fantasy Jazz titles that Steve recommended, although the price tag is off-putting.

-David

 

I've heard it twice at audio shows in the past two years. It's an extraordinary sounding disc and I don't hear clipping. I was fortunate to hear it on a $100,000 MBL system and I'd swear it was live. I need to track it down. It's much better than the original disc I own.

 

I agree, the eq on these are not great. I like the joker. I think that xrcd's were a good idea, using state of the art equipment and meticulous care in the process, but they screwed it up with their eq settings.

 

These are the closest you could get to the audiophile sound of the original "direct-to-disc" vinyl released by Sheffield Lab in the late 70's and early 80's.
Run to the store and buy them before they become out of stock.

 

I have the Drum & Track Disc, which is an XRCD24. That's how the "very slightly clipped" comment came about.

The first two drum tracks sound astonishingly faithful to standing in front of a drum kit to me. What's interesting is that Bill Schnee recorded the drums with (only) 3 mikes for Jim Keltner's track and 4 mikes for Ron Tutt's. A phenomenal example of less is more.

I've never heard the vinyl version of this nor the earlier (1987?) CD issue.

I'll need to check out others in the series!