Whats your BEST Sounding CD
nikolas812
Posts: 2,915
I know these threads have been beat to death. But....... I am getting ready to receive my first ever dedicated CD player and I am hoping to acquire some new material before it gets here. It doesn't handle SACD so those are out of the question. I have been reading literally for hours in this forum for references to CD's. But what I am interested in is what you think is your best sounding(recorded) CD. For example my Micheal Jackson CD's SACD or standard are almost magical. I can take the volume to insane levels without a hint of distortion. If all CD's were like this I would be one happy guy. If you have any recommendations please let me know.
Post edited by nikolas812 on
Comments
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Michael Jackson? Ugh - you just lost three cool points, fella.
Just look for audiophile quality CDs from companies like Mapleshade, Concord, Chesky, Sheffield Lab, Mobile Fidelity (MFSL), DCC, and a few others.HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50 LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub
"God grooves with tubes." -
I love to listen to Donald Fagen "Night Fly" and "Morph the Cat." There just aren't very many CD's that can compete with the quality of those recordings, and I have a bunch of Mapleshade's mastered CD's.Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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I love to listen to Donald Fagen "Night Fly" and "Morph the Cat." There just aren't very many CD's that can compete with the quality of those recordings, and I have a bunch of Mapleshade's mastered CD's.
I already have Morph the Cat on the way. Maybe I will give Night Fly a look also.
As for Micheal Jackson. What can I say..... He has some super clean recordings that are very enjoyable to listen to.
These are in the Shopping cart at Amazon. I am going to do some more looking before I buy them.
Haircut 100 - - Pelican West/
Cars Greatest Hits
The Best of The Talking Heads
Steely Dan Two Against Nature
Steely Dan Aja
Fleetwood Mac Greatest Hits -
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A friendly word of advice. Never ever criticize another's music preference.SDA 2.3/RDO's... xovers by Ben
SDA 2.3TL/Stock..
SDA 1C/Solens/RDO's [gave to my Uncle]
SDA 2B RDO's
Snell Type CV
SDA 1.2TL's
GFA7700 Adcom
GFP750 Adcom
TFM55X Carver
M90 Pioneer/C90 Pre
M91 x 2 Pioneers/C91 Pre
Yaqin MC10l
DCD-1520/1560/2560 Denon
Marantz DVD-8400
Carver m1.5T
DV-79avi Pioneer
TFM35X x 2 -
Beaches movie soundtrack...:)
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Nickel Creek - Nickel Creek on SACD. Absolutely exquisite.Lovin that music year after year.
Main 2 Channel System
Polk SDA-1B,
Promitheus Audio TVC SE,
Rotel RB-980BX,
OPPO DV-970HD,
Lite Audio DAC AH,
IXOS XHA305 Interconnects
Computer Rig
Polk SDA CRS+,
Creek Audio 5350 SE,
Morrow Audio MA1 Interconnect,
HRT Music Streamer II -
These are NOT neccesarily my fav's, but they have amazing sound:
Blue Man Group - Audio, The Complex (studio version)
Any Steely Dan or Donald Fagen (Love Morph in 5.1)
Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat 20th Anniversary edition
The Eagles - Hotel California
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
Madonna - American Life
An eclectic mix to be sure but they are all superbly recorded and sound fantastic on a good system.SDA-1C (full mods)
Carver TFM-55
NAD 1130 Pre-amp
Rega Planar 3 TT/Shelter 501 MkII
The Clamp
Revox A77 Mk IV Dolby reel to reel
Thorens TD160/Mission 774 arm/Stanton 881S Shibata
Nakamichi CR7 Cassette Deck
Rotel RCD-855 with modified tube output stage
Cambridge Audio DACmagic Plus
ADC Soundshaper 3 EQ
Ben's IC's
Nitty Gritty 1.5FI RCM -
These are NOT neccesarily my fav's, but they have amazing sound:
Blue Man Group - Audio, The Complex (studio version)
Any Steely Dan or Donald Fagen (Love Morph in 5.1)
Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat 20th Anniversary edition
The Eagles - Hotel California
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
Madonna - American Life
An eclectic mix to be sure but they are all superbly recorded and sound fantastic on a good system.
+1 to the Blue Man Group on HDCD!Lovin that music year after year.
Main 2 Channel System
Polk SDA-1B,
Promitheus Audio TVC SE,
Rotel RB-980BX,
OPPO DV-970HD,
Lite Audio DAC AH,
IXOS XHA305 Interconnects
Computer Rig
Polk SDA CRS+,
Creek Audio 5350 SE,
Morrow Audio MA1 Interconnect,
HRT Music Streamer II -
Godsmack The OtherSide SACDMonitor 7b's front
Monitor 4's surround
Frankinpolk Center (2 mw6503's with peerless tweeter)
M10's back surround
Hafler-200 driving patio Daytons
Tempest-X 15" DIY sub w/ Rythmik 350A plate amp
Dayton 12" DVC w/ Rythmik 350a plate amp
Harman/Kardon AVR-635
Oppo 981hd
Denon upconvert DVD player
Jennings Research (vintage and rare)
Mit RPTV WS-55513
Tosh HD-XA1
B&K AV5000
Dont BAN me Bro!!!!:eek: -
Anything by Eden's Bridge (Celtic & amazing)
Robert Cray - Shame + A Sin
A lot of Alison Krauss (Sorry, don't have the albums handy to check the names!)
Celtic Woman"Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." Bob Seger -
Tool-10,000 Days
Alice in Chains-MTV Unplugged."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche -
Norah Jones and Dianna Krahl.Onkyo TX NR 5008 modified by The Upgrade Company
Oppo BDP 93 modified by The Upgrade Company
Arcam CD37
Monitor Audio Gold GS 60
Revolver Audio Music 5 towers.(surround)
Vandersteen V2W -
I love to listen to Donald Fagen "Night Fly" and "Morph the Cat." There just aren't very many CD's that can compete with the quality of those recordings, and I have a bunch of Mapleshade's mastered CD's.
I'll vote for Donald Fagan Kamikiriad. Have it in DVD-A, gold promo CD, and redbook. Wish all of the older Steely Dan albms would come out on SACD.[ -
Supertramp - Crime of the Century
Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity SessionSystem:
H/K AVR430 Receiver
Samsung DVDHD841 Dvd player
Yamaha CDC506 5 Disc changer
Jamo E855 Tower speakers
Wharfdale Pacific P-10 Bookshelf speakers
Acoustic Research Master Series Interconnects -
Hootie and the Blowfish-Cracked Rear View
Pink Floyd- EchosOutlaw 990 Processor
Outlaw 755 Amp
Denon 2900 dvd-sacd
Dishnetwork HD-Dvr
55" Sony LCD RPTV
Lsi 9-fronts
Lsic-center
Rt55i- surrounds
Velodyne cht-10 sub
2007 Dodge Quad cab
Kenwood Excelon KDC-X891
JL Audio 300/V2
Polk Audio SR 6500 - Fronts
Polk Audio DB651 - Rear
2 -10" Treo Subs
Interfire IB 2600C sub amp
Sirius Sat radio
Ipod connection -
Lately its,
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Street Survivors
This is a really great sounding CD.2 channel - Willsenton R8 tube integrated, Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE DAC, audio optimized NUC7i5, Windows 10 Pro/JRiver MC29/Fidelizer Plus 8.7 w/LPS and external SSD drive, PS Audio PerfectWave P3 regenerator, KEF R3 speakers, Rythmik F12SE subwoofer, Audioquest Diamond USB cable, Gabriel Gold IC's, Morrow Audio SP5 speaker cables. Computer - Windows 10/JRiver, Schiit Magni 3+/Modi 3+, Fostex PMO.4n monitors, Sennheiser HD600 headphones -
DSOTM-SACD
Queen-A day at the Races
Kansas-P.O.N.R. & LeftovertureI refuse to argue with idiots, because people can't tell the DIFFERENCE! -
Gladys Knight, Before Me. A great recording of jazz standards.
cubdogShuguang Classic S8MK
Emotiva XDA-2
Bel Canto M300 mono blocks
Bel Canto DAC 1.5
Squeezebox Touch
Sony SS-M7
A/D/S L710 -
Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Because of You
The Police - Every Breathe You Take (SACD)
Mapleshade Music Festival (Compilation disc)Never kick a fresh **** on a hot day.
Home Setup: Sony VPL-VW85 Projo, 92" Stewart Firehawk, Pioneer Elite SC-65, PS3, RTi12 fronts, CSi5, FXi6 rears, RTi6 surround backs, RTi4 height, MFW-15 Subwoofer.
Car Setup: OEM Radio, RF 360.2v2, Polk SR6500 quad amped off 4 Xtant 1.1 100w mono amps, Xtant 6.1 to run an eD 13av.2, all Stinger wiring and Raammat deadener. -
A good thread - I'll have to check out a few of these. Sadly, until now I didn't even realize Donald Fagen went out on his own and produced a couple records so those are definitely on the list.
Radiohead - OK Computer - is good for some vocals and electronic instrumental work.
Pink Floyd - Momentary Lapse of Reason - just a great cd that also happens to be recorded well. -
Nelly Furtado--Whao Nelly is one of the few cds where I was very impressed with the wide range of frequencies and just the sounds in general. Lots of bass and highs. The imaging was cool too.
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Another great one,
Jethro Tull - Crest of a Knave2 channel - Willsenton R8 tube integrated, Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE DAC, audio optimized NUC7i5, Windows 10 Pro/JRiver MC29/Fidelizer Plus 8.7 w/LPS and external SSD drive, PS Audio PerfectWave P3 regenerator, KEF R3 speakers, Rythmik F12SE subwoofer, Audioquest Diamond USB cable, Gabriel Gold IC's, Morrow Audio SP5 speaker cables. Computer - Windows 10/JRiver, Schiit Magni 3+/Modi 3+, Fostex PMO.4n monitors, Sennheiser HD600 headphones -
nikolas812 wrote: »I know these threads have been beat to death. But....... I am getting ready to receive my first ever dedicated CD player and I am hoping to acquire some new material before it gets here. It doesn't handle SACD so those are out of the question. I have been reading literally for hours in this forum for references to CD's. But what I am interested in is what you think is your best sounding(recorded) CD. For example my Micheal Jackson CD's SACD or standard are almost magical. I can take the volume to insane levels without a hint of distortion. If all CD's were like this I would be one happy guy. If you have any recommendations please let me know.
Beatles LOVE- The dvd audio in 5.1 is incredible but the cd is awesome too.
King Crimson-In the Court of the Krimson King-OME edition
Pink Floyd-Dark side of the Moon SACD
Steely Dan Gaucho SACD
Steely Dan AJA-remaster
Beck-Sea change SACD-amazing in 5.1
Dire Straits-Brothers in Arms SACD
Alan Parsons-HDAD of I Robot and Turn of a friendly card(not a cd but amazing, a definite demo disc)
Pink Floyd-Wish you were here remaster
There are tons of great sounding dvd audios out there if you can play them.
MikeFronts: SDA1C's
Rears: SDA2's
Center:CS400i
Sub: PSW505 -
When Cds were relatively new, I would take a chance and buy them only because they were recorded digitally because I thought they sounded better. Three of those have remained some of my favorite and best sounding over the years.
1. Dire Straits - BIA
2. Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
3. Andreas Vollenweider - White Winds
4. Although I haven't played it recently and don't regularly: Culture Club - Waking up with the house on fire -
Eagles, Long Road Out Of Eden
Billy Joel, The Stranger (Remastered)
The Carpenters, Singles 69-81 SACD
Charro, Charro & GuitarMarantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2 -
My best sounding cd's are: (non SACD)
Fleetwood Mac- Rumors (original issue, no remaster)
Eric Johnson- Ah Via Musicom
Tesla- Mechanical Resonance & Great Radio Controversy
Allman Brothers- Live at Fillmore East -
Eagles, Long Road Out Of Eden
Billy Joel, The Stranger (Remastered)
The Carpenters, Singles 69-81 SACD
Charro, Charro & Guitar
Girlfriend......you need to get some new tunes in da house.:DHT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
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DibsPlease. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
Thanks
Ben