I love this classic jazz album from 1957, and so over the years I purchased three different editions of it, in the never-ending search for the "holy grail", as it were.
In particular, I have:
- a basic CD version issued by Contemporary Records (Universal)
- a Japanese single-layer SACD version by Universal Japan
- the latest Japanese Blu-Ray audio version (24bit/192kHz mono)
I am also interested in trying the out-of-print Xrcd24 version, but I'm still on the look-out for a second-hand copy.
To try and keep the comparison fair, I played all three discs on the same Denon universal disc player, outputting the digital stream via HDMI through an SPDIF de-embedder and into the same TEAC UD-301 digital-to-analog converter.
Operating this way:
- the CD played at 16/44.1kHz (of course),
- the SACD was trans-coded to 24/88.2kHz,
- the Blu-Ray played at 24/192kHz.
To futher remove any spurious factors, all discs were played in "mono" by engaging the "mono" function of my pre-amplifier.
Here are my listening impressions so far:
DYNAMICS: 1) Blu-Ray, 2) CD, 3) SACD
Subjective tonal equilibrium: see attached pictures.
Overall, I must say that the humble CD version is VERY enjoyable.
The Blu-Ray is a bit more dynamic and probably more "natural", albeit slightly darker.
The SACD was a let down, honestly. By itself, it still plays nicely, but when compared to the other two, it was the least engaging.
I'll update this thread when (if) I manage to get my hands on the Xrcd24 version!
Cheers,
Marco
In particular, I have:
- a basic CD version issued by Contemporary Records (Universal)
- a Japanese single-layer SACD version by Universal Japan
- the latest Japanese Blu-Ray audio version (24bit/192kHz mono)
I am also interested in trying the out-of-print Xrcd24 version, but I'm still on the look-out for a second-hand copy.
To try and keep the comparison fair, I played all three discs on the same Denon universal disc player, outputting the digital stream via HDMI through an SPDIF de-embedder and into the same TEAC UD-301 digital-to-analog converter.
Operating this way:
- the CD played at 16/44.1kHz (of course),
- the SACD was trans-coded to 24/88.2kHz,
- the Blu-Ray played at 24/192kHz.
To futher remove any spurious factors, all discs were played in "mono" by engaging the "mono" function of my pre-amplifier.
Here are my listening impressions so far:
DYNAMICS: 1) Blu-Ray, 2) CD, 3) SACD
Subjective tonal equilibrium: see attached pictures.
Overall, I must say that the humble CD version is VERY enjoyable.
The Blu-Ray is a bit more dynamic and probably more "natural", albeit slightly darker.
The SACD was a let down, honestly. By itself, it still plays nicely, but when compared to the other two, it was the least engaging.
I'll update this thread when (if) I manage to get my hands on the Xrcd24 version!
Cheers,
Marco