XRCDs coming in June - Blue Notes!

Ok!
I will try some of these. I think they will be great sounding, Joe Harley says so

 

Hi Paul,

I believe the intention is for them to be available at all of the usual online retailers: Elusive Disc, Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct.

The titles released will, for the most part, mirror what has been released or what is planned to be released by Music Matters.

I've been very pleased with the sonic results of what I have heard so far. I'm hearing the full bloom and "meat on the bone" sense of real that is usually the exclusive province of LPs or master tape. Keep in mind I've worked on upwards of 50+ different SACDs. I know the format like the back of my hand.

XRCDs are a bit more expensive to master but I'm quite pleased with the decision to go this route so far.

cheers,

Joe

 

What type of player is required to resolve?

 

I had a TEAC transport with their VRDS mechanism that really showed the detail in those XRCD discs. More so than my current XA9000ES albeit the ES is easy on the ear.

I would imagine a good extraction program like EAC with a good DAC might produce even better results- if you are computer oriented.

 

Hi Monk,

XRCD does not require anything other than a normal CD player for playback.

XRCD represents the absolute maximization of the standard CD format. It's kind of astonishing how good it can be actually.

The CD replication business for at least the last 7 years or so has been a race for faster/cheaper. The inherent jitter passed along as a result is shocking. XRCD is simply CDs as they SHOULD sound.

When these come out I would encourage interested folks to make comparisons to any format.

cheers,

Joe

 

I'm in.

 

the best option would be if the series was released on Hybrid SACD (with XRCD on CD layer) just like in case of Decca SACD reissues made recently by Esoteric and JVC, that way everybody could listen to music in resolution he or she prefers (16bit/44,1kHz or 24bit96kHz/SACD).

 

wow - do you have a list of these, or any titles to look for?

 

There is no such a thing as 24 bit 96 khz SACD, all SACD's are 1 bit 2.8 Mhz. The original master tape might be 24 bit, but it is converted to DSD for SACD.

 

currently there are only 3 titles...
http://www.esoteric.jp/products/esoteric/sacd/indexe.html

but I contacted Esoteric Japan and they confirmed that more SACDs are on the way although the schedule or titles can not be revealed at the moment.

 

good observation about DSD - the idea of SACD/XRCD hybrid is fantastic. How much would such a disc cost I wonder??

 

Ah well another visit to the Bank Manager beckons. At this rate between, Mofi, AF and these XRCD's I will be wearing out the knees on my trousers.

 

I referred to 24/96 as to "24/96 quality" not the actual system of recording used for SACD.

Hiro

 

thanks for the link - looks like a great project of DECCA greats. I do not mean to hijack the thread but are you sure JVC is using XRCD (no mention of it by Esoteric)

 

Joe since you are releasing titles for this XRCD project from the MM 45 rpm series here are some I would like to see remastered in XRCD --well actually I would prefere SACD, but ...


1. Dolphy: Out to lunch
2.Morgan: Search fo a new land
Cooker (not on MM list)
3. Sonny Clark:- Leapin and Lopin
4.Jackie McLean: Bluesnik
One step beyond --not on MM
Destination out--not on MM
5.Freddie Hubbard: Open Sesame, Breaking Point--not on MM
6.Grant Green: Talkin' About

Would like to see some Bobby Hutcherson titles:
Patterns, Oblique, Dialogue, Stick up.

So many BNs I would like to hear remastered on XRCD.

Good luck on your project!
Michael

 

"The CD layer used XRCD encoding"
http://www.teac.com/esoteric/Software.html

 

Then I'll pass them...
I wouldn't have the financial resources to buy these and the Analogue Productions SACDs, so my choice is already made.

 

I will give them a shot - There are some titles in both series that I gots to get

I have about about 10 XRCD2s. They are okay but I hope that the convertors that are being used here are of better quality than a few years back.

 

In my opinion it's more important that Alan Yoshida is supposed to be the one doing the mastering for the Blue Notes than it is that the XRCD process is being used. The XRCDs I have that Yoshida did are simply awesome sounding - tremendous high and low end extension and detail without sounding oddly EQ'd or compressed or futzed with, very natural sound - while the non-Yoshidas in the series I've picked up were very disappointing - overly bright and thin (e.g. Blue Mitchell BLUE MOODS - yecch, sold that one). This tells me that (as usual) it's mostly about the mastering, not the medium.

Very excellent news for BN fans, this impending series!

 

Are there any examples of non-XRCD, easy-to-find, and inexpensive discs that Alan Yoshida has mastered? I would like to check out some of his work before I get too excited about this series.

Though even if such discs don't exist, I probably will buy at least one of these XRCDs to try it out, considering the rest of the team that's involved in these upcoming Blue Note XRCDs, and how widely-praised their work on the Music Matters 45RPM releases has been so far.

I've never owned or heard an XRCD disc before. The higher cost compared to regular CD has always deterred me.

Craig(VC).

 

Pie in the sky thinking: Would be cool if there was a "loss leader" sampler XRCD produced, selling for perhaps $15-20, shipped, that could be an introduction to the series and a way for some of us to get an idea of what these XRCD discs will sound like. If the sampler really sounds amazing, you could get a lot more people hooked and willing to buy a lot of these discs. . . .

Craig(VC).

 

Well the price deters me too...I have bought all my XRCDs used. They do pop up in the used bins every once in a while around here, usually around $12-15 in excellent condition. Some of those in my collection mastered by Alan Yoshida I can remember off the top of my head:

THE POLL WINNERS (Kessel, Manne, Brown - simply outstanding sound)

Joe Pass - VIRTUOSO (just blows away the standard OJC CD)

Wynton Kelly - KELLY BLUE (ditto)

Ernie Watts - CLASSIC MOODS (not a classic jazz reissue, this is a "newer" recording from 1998 and it is stunning sonically and musically, with Mulgrew Miller on piano, George Mraz on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums, with original recording by Jim Anderson. Incredible)

I know I have more than this but these come immediately to mind, and any would be good to demo. I think you'd be hooked if you compared some of these with standard Fantasy/OJC issues.

 

I tend to agree . I would also add that the source tapes are a big factor. I am not sure that Alan Yoshida always had the original masters.

A case that come's to mind is Sarah Vaughan's voice on 'Crazy and Mixed Up' -that did not come off too well IMO , loud and dry compared to Joe Tarantino's job on the OJC. That is not my general take on XRCD2 (mostly I have Yoshidas). I would only use 'amazing' when comparing detail rather than naturalness in this case and spare that for the original Pablo LP which I heard long ago.

 

....for both the extraordinary sound and the packaging. No concern on my part re: the former, but I hope that the "bound book" packaging that Joe mentioned is a serious step up from that of the 'older' black bound Victor XRCDs. I don't know about others here, but I found that the front cover had a tendency to warp over time -- this happened to just about every one of mine from 'Green Dolphin Street' on down the line. The JVC XRCDs were a better design in that respect, though the pocket/flap on the earlier ones was an abomination, as everyone here who owns/owned 'Bags Groove' can attest -- and hold up their scratched cd to prove it. The XRCD model that is the one to follow imo is the first one pictured below ('Stan Getz with Cal Tjader').

The Good:



The Bad:




The so-Ugly-it-should-be-taken-out-and-shot: