CD Reviews

[Dinooo]

I managed to buy this (Sammy) from CD-rama today. Agreed. The recording is nice and very clear

Edited July 28, 2007 by Dinooo

[Dinooo]

Just want to share a jewel that I found from China ...

 

Very soothing and extremely good recording that brings out a lot of details and soundstage.

 

It has been in my CD player for months without being changed.

 

I am talking about this CD btw

Edited July 28, 2007 by Dinooo

[Nlatio]

hey, I also just got it at NDV.... at first, put in the stock HU of my company van... nearly throw the whole disc away.... heee.... .... later put into my ride... wow.... .....

[Nlatio]

Errr bro, went down to NDV, Ernest not around, ask the guy at the shop, told me no have.... ask him for the HI FI Rain Forest II also boh.... sigh....

[Sarong1]

Oh, that one is his cousin, standing in for Ernest on most Mondays where Ernest takes off. Therefore, if you intend to seek Ernest's help, go down on some other days...Meantime, you can also check with Sembawang Music Centre, they should have some downtown...

[Nlatio]

okie thank bro.... think will pop by over the weekend and look for him.... or maybe call him first to check whether got stock ... .... else everytime go down there siong tio wallet.... ..... also those tube amp at the various shops are calling out my name.... arrrr.....

[Sarong1]

I have with me this German CD which in essence, is a compilation of some very good tracks made for an audio magazine in Germany. Called "Die STEREO hortest CD IV", this CD has got 15 very well-selected tracks that can be used both for entertainment, evaluation as well as becoming a collectible.

 

This album, produced in 2006, contains a good balance of classical, vocal, jazz, folks, traditional, piano and guitar tracks drawn from reputable recording labels like mainly from Telarc and Chesky plus some nice tracks from Stockfisch Records and Narada.

 

The album starts off with Ben Hur: Parade of the Charioteers (Telarc), delivering good intensity to warm-up your system. While you are still catching up with your breath after the "Parade", feel Friend 'n Fellow's Light My Fire on track two. You good people familiar with the Focal No.3 CD should have heard about Friend 'n Fellow's song called One More Day (Ruf Records GmbH) which had posed some real challenge to our car audio reproduction.

 

John Pizzarelli Trio (Telarc Jazz) on track three promises eight full minutes of joy, laughter and lively feel and also not forgetting to mention the Three Guitars (Chesky Records) on track seven, which can be used to evaluate your speakers' mid ranges and mid bass' ability to recreate the presence of the three well separated guitars on the left, center and right sound stage.

 

Track nine and twelve are nice vocals by Ana Caram (Chesky Records) and David Roth (Stockfisch Records). David Roth's vocal should sound well above the speakers at home, and well above your eye level in the car.

 

Joachim Kuhn's jazz piece is a must-mention track twelve. You should be able to pick up the relative distant percussion in the far centre stage. And what better way to conclude the album by a track from Telarc's Chiller album, especially worth listening during the hungry ghost festival...

 

Details of the album and remember to call, check and reserve a copy from the you-know-where shop.

 

Title: Die STEREO hortest CD IV

Reference: inak7923 CD

2006 In-akustik GmbH & Co. KG

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2007 by Sarong1

[Sarong1]

Just wanna share two pointers here after attending Albert Au's small-time concert at the Recital Studio in Esplanade on 4 Aug night. In the short 2 hours, there are much to gain and nothing to lose.

 

1. In live performance, every instruments are amplified and reproduced through whatever speakers available in the venue. Most of the time, the speakers are placed well above the audience, depending on where you sit, the speakers could be in front/directed at you at some distance, or just above you. But you won't normally care about imaging, because you have visual on all the instruments. I have the chance to be about 6m away (front-most row) from him while he sings and strums the guitar, occasionally, he will talk just right in front of me. In home audio and car audio, we places a lot more emphasis on imaging, this is interesting because we don't have visual clues of the singer(s) and the rest of the musicians. Sound engineers come in to add that special touch to the imaging, so that we can rely our ears to give us a mental picture of the soundstage. So, the next time when you insert a CD into your CD deck, remember, what you are listening, is the effort that of the sound engineer and producer, just like admiring an timeless artpiece in the art gallery. You look and the artefact the way it is intended by the artist and appreciating it the way it was intended to be. Of course, we will not dwell on home theater system.

 

2. To bring this 2-hours of experience back home and try to recreate the feeling will be unrealistic and uncall for. This is because of the difference in the environment. One being in the concert hall and the other being in the studio although theoretically, both environment also uses amplifiers and speakers. So, ambience comparison is out. But that one thing is very distinctive, which is the texture of Albert Au's voice, especially when he sings the "Pian1 Pian1 Xi3 Huan1 Ni3", the sibilance is not as harsh as you might have probably heard in Golden Ear Vol. 1's track 2. He does however, has interesting emphasis over certain words, displayed through a very comical yet unique way of his lips movement.

 

Regardless, I will still continue to listen to Albert's CD in home and in car...the concert did influence and taught me a lot more in my pursuit of audio reproduction. Talk to you folks again in my next CD review.

[Kermit]

so, the next time when you insert a CD into your CD deck, remember, what you are listening, is the effort that of the sound engineer and producer, just like admiring an timeless artpiece in the art gallery. You look and the artefact the way it is intended by the artist and appreciating it the way it was intended to be. Of course, we will not dwell on home theater system.

 

To bring this 2-hours of experience back home and try to recreate the feeling will be unrealistic and uncall for. This is because of the difference in the environment

 

Yeah! I so totally agree with you! This is what I've been thinking about these days too...

[Sarong1]

Geez, some typo which I must correct...my finger was typing too fast then......as corrected below...

 

so, the next time when you insert the CD into your CD deck, remember, what you are listening to, is the effort that of the sound engineer and producer, just like admiring a timeless artpiece in the art gallery. You look at and take in whatever information the artefact tells you, as expressed by the artist. You appreciate the artefact the way it is on the wall, leaving it the way it has been intended by the artist. Of course, we will not dwell on home theater system.

 

To bring this 2 hours of experience back home and attempt to recreate the feeling will be unrealistic and uncall for. This is because of the difference in the environment.

Edited August 7, 2007 by Sarong1

[Slidingturtle]

if i may add... one of the key reasons why i love live performances is that that is what it really is... (provided the sound tech didn't mess up the amps and the mixers) that's how the music and the instruments are supposed to sound like. such events tend to provide a 'reality check' for my tuning...

 

to side track a bit since we are on live performances... Jazz at South Bridge is one of the nicer place in my opinion to listen to some interesting live performances. you will notice that the room is actually acoustically treated, with foam and angles on the ceiling and walls.... interesting huh?

[Kermit]

wah lao, spot the difference contest ah? Dun worry, your point noted.

[Sarong1]

Yes, in fact, I am dropping by one of these days. Jazz@Southbridge is a nice place to cave-in. Check out the link.

[Zambik]

Today I was discussing with froggy over this issue as well. What was created in the cd may not be similarly created in any kind of environment, be it car or home. Thus we should just enjoy the cd as it is... There's so much subjectivity in music listening that we can't exactly pinpoint what kind of experience it gives each of us.

[Sarong1]

Thought I was going to confuse more people than convincing them...great to learn that there are still lots of conscious folks out there afterall.

Edited August 7, 2007 by Sarong1

[Hyun]

Live Concert A versus recording of Live Concert B = different

 

Live Concert A versus recording of Live Concert A = different

 

Headphone output versus Home Hifi output = different

 

Home Hifi output = intended consumer end-product of recording

 

Car Hifi output = Home Hifi output

 

i remember when i first joined this forum, i was asked to buy tickets to live concerts. i was even posed the trick question of whether to buy tickets in the front row, centre, or side of the hall. i was asked to attend live jazz performances. all this for the purpose of determining car hifi output.

 

i remember too that i was asked to buy headphones.

 

heng ah ......

[Sarong1]

Live Concert A versus recording of Live Concert B = different

 

Live Concert A versus recording of Live Concert A = different

 

Headphone output versus Home Hifi output = different

 

Home Hifi output = intended consumer end-product of recording

 

Car Hifi output = Home Hifi output

Hyun, you have some interesting conclusion in your post. Wonder if this is what was told to you or that this is your belief?

[Hyun]

I BELIEVEEEE.... THAT...... it is my belief. :P

 

sorry to singapore sharing of ICE hobbyist information, but what is TOLD to me, or to many people, what is commonly circulated around still, is a whole lot of urban myth. this is because rural people dun play ICE. so WE HAVE TO BELIEVE! I HAVE A DREAM, THAT ..... (to be continued ...)