Soundstage CD Recommendations,

[DaveK]

Hi everyone,:)
Hope you haven't missed me too much;),
Now back from enjoyable holiday in the beautiful island of Zakynthos and refreshed and ready to pursue the achievement of hifi excellence (or as near as my limited budget and hearing will permit).
Following on from my Eureka moment, which seems to have amused others as much as it surprised me :lolsign:, I now wish to get some sense of soundstage, (width, depth and seperation, in brief, as I understand it). I gather from comments on this forum that some CDs are better examples of the digital art than others so I would like to pursue this aspect with CDs that offer good soundstages. I invite suggestions of members' best CDs that provide me with an excellent soundstage to 'search' for. (no point in looking for something that isn't present on the CD :doh:).
Other advice on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
If I get some good recommendations and advice I will post some of my holiday snaps for you all to envy :),

[Marco]

Hi Dave,

Welcome back! Hope you had a really nice time :)

Now, go and play those records I cleaned for you and tell me what you think :eyebrows: ;)

Marco.

[DaveK]

Hi Marco,:)
Thanks for the welcome. Unfortunately my next few days are mapped out for me, (Doctor's appointments and getting our cats back from our daughter's in Wolverhampton where they have been on holiday, so it may be some time before I can give you a definitive opinion. Meanwhile, what CDs would you recommend that provide a great soundstage..........? ;)

[Marco]

LOL! No worries - let me know when you get a chance :)

I'll need to have a think about the soundstage thing... It's not something I particularly look out for or concentrate on. I'm more of an 'emotional connection' kinda guy when listening to music, and so tend not to get too hung up on the hi-fi aspects of things, unless of course I'm on 'analytical mode' when comparing equipment :smoking:

Marco.

P.S This belongs more in 'Musical Compositions', so I'll move it there.

[Sand Dancin Donkey Walker]

Hi Dave&Sue

Try and find a copy of 'The Ultimate Demonstration Disc' on Chesky records.

Ignor the title, there is some fantastic music on the disc, but does show remarkable soound quality and shows you what your system is capable of.

The Johnny Frigo - I love Paris

This is a fantastic track, I bought the vinyl version on the strength of this and was not disappointed.

All the remaining track are great, as I noted above forget about the CD title just enjoy the music.

Andy - SDDW

P.S. You ave PM shortly.

[Ali Tait]

Pretty much anything recorded by the Opus3 label.Eric Bibb is good if you like simple acoustic blues.Superb recordings made on all valve kit,and the recording is not fiddled with in any way,no compression etc.

[Spectral Morn]

Holly Cole....Temptation. Canadian Jazz singer song writer...this is IMHO a fabulous album and very well recorded.

Dead Can Dance.....Into the Labrinth. A strange mix of ethnic, ancient and contemporary..unique.

Ian Shaw...Drawn to all things. A Jazz take on the songs of Joni Mitchell...what an amazing voice.

Nitin Sawhney.....Beyond Skin. British born Indian with a music that can't really be placed in a genre. This is IMHO is his best album. An amazing recording that mixes elements of Jazz, Dance music, Electronica, Flamenco and Indian music WOW.

Regards D S D L

[The Grand Wazoo]

Dave,

I've come up with a few that may be approaching your taste (from what I've gathered from your posts).

Try some of these:
Dexter Gordon – Go!
Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
Dave Brubeck – Take Five

Eric Clapton – Unplugged
Muddy Waters – Folk Singer

Ricky Lee Jones - Ricky Lee Jones
Buena Vista Social Club - The Buena Vista Social Club

Martha Argerich and Gidon Kremer - The Berlin Recital: Bartók Sonata for Violin and Piano No 1,Sz75. Sonata for Solo Violin,Sz117. Kreisler Liebesleid. Schön Rosmarin.

Steven Osbourne - Rachmaninov - 24 Preludes (Label: Hyperion Cat no: CDA67700)

Of course I may be completely wrong & you might be the secretary of the 'Cradle of Filth' fanclub, but I doubt it!

........Have fun!!

[Sand Dancin Donkey Walker]

Neil

Holly Cole, now there is someone I havn't played in a while.

Will have to get her out, and onto the play pile.

Andy - SDDW

[Bodger]

I would echo DSDL re Nitin Sawhney,s Beyond Skin. I still use it as a reference in any change of equipment as well as a favourite listen. You get everything frequency wise as well as sounds appearing behind your head. I bought Annie Lennox,s 'Bare' only recently and it's one of the best recorded cds I've heard as well as great songs and singing. Track 3 has great soundstage too. If other artists/engineers paid as much attention we would all be enjoying more music....er.....more.

[Ali Tait]

Yep me too.Great album and amazing production.Very good as a system test disc.

[The Grand Wazoo]

OK Dave,

We're all sitting here with bated breath.
You've been recommended 15 recordings (by my count).

Spill the beans - which one are you going to try out first?

[DaveK]

Attn. Grand Wazoo,

Hi Chris,
Thanks for your response. Now cue violins and tissues :lolsign:
Due to my severely restricted financial situation (pensioner on fixed income, low interest on limited savings, a bill for excess baggage on an unexpectedly expensive holiday in Euroland and a car in need of Road Fund licence and MOT, :) ), I am limited to what I can buy (do I hear ANY violins ?). However, due to the generosity of new friends, one here, one elsewhere, I will have Holly Cole, The Ultimate Demonstration Disc and The Buena Vista Social Club to listen to. I have in fact already listened once to the latter disc and have to say that I was not paticularly impressed. That is more likely to be due to the basic nature of my set up as it was then and I didn't know what I was supposed to hear (any given CD produced more or less the same sound no matter what kit it was played on, according to me a few weeks ago - :sorry:), than it was to the quality of the recording. I will dig it out again and experiment a little longer.
I think that the above three discs are enough for me at present to enable me to get the best out of my system so, when finances are back in better shape, my next expenditure will probably be a STanDAC 7520 as I now find that my main source is FLACs on my MM PC, often listened to through headset.
:cool: