A must buy for all modern classical music lovers

I simply must implore all readers to go out and buy Samuel Jones's Roundings and Cello Sonata on Naxos. Come one, it's six bucks.

Why should you buy it? Well, the music is excellent. Roundings is a seven movement, programmatic work (completed in 2000) that is far better than I would have anticipated. And the Cello Sonata is simply excellent.

The reason I bought this disc was actually because of the recording: it is a 24-bit recording. I assume that a number of members of this forum are either audiophiles or otherwise have better than mass-market stereo gear. If that's the case, buy this disc. It is one of the best recorded discs I've heard. As further evidence, I've taken it with me to demo speakers, and at every stereo shop the person helping me had to borrow the disc to write down it's title so that they, too, could buy it to partake in its glories.

Excellent music, great sound, and six bucks. What are you waiting for? (And no, I'm not a salesman, just a person very enthusiastic about this disc.)

Many discs are mastered at 24bits these days but, for the Nth time:

Hey, are you the Stereophile contributor? Wow. That must be the source of your omniscience and condescencion.

Anyway, I am very aware that CDs contain only 16 bits. I am also aware that any recordings made at higher bit rates are then noise shaped down to 16 bits. However, my experience has led me to expect slightly better sound on most of these types of recordings. Why is this? Maybe a better initial recording lends itself to a better sounding final product. Sort of like buying a better CD player yields a better sound than a bad CD player. I don’t know. All I know is that this CD sounds better than most others I have heard, including some that are “audiophile” recordings. Again, I must thank you for your especially welcome didactic post.

Kal, Why are discs mastered at 20 or 24 bits? Does it make a difference when the playback medium is only 16 bits? Is it a marketing device? -Mike

PS: I like your R2D4 choice this year!

Then you are in agreement with what I said. Somehow that was not clear from your original post.

Great. I'll have to give it a listen.

No, it's not (only) a marketing device.

It is important that the processing math be done at a higher precision than the final product. Recording at 24/96 or more and mixing/mastering at higher precision, followed by suitable dithering in the 16bit reduction, ensures that as much information gets into the CD as possible. It is also a common practice these days.

Thanks. I am assuming, from this venue, that you mean the Naxos.

It does?

A number of years ago, a friend of mine bought a pricey, well-reviewed CD player, I forget which brand. While at his place one day, we hooked up my portable CD player to his receiver with a y-adaptor (phones to RCA) so that I could hear a stark difference. Although he asserted he could hear a difference, and I politely agreed, I frankly could hear no difference when he switched from one to the other.

I went home and tried the same thing with my pricey (but not as pricey) player. Again I couldn't tell the difference, except a slight difference in volume (which I had to correct as I switched between the two). I resolved then and there to pay rock bottom price for any future CD player. When it broke down, I replaced my home CD player a couple years ago with a bottom of the line Sony carousel.

John

precision, followed by information gets into the

Thank you for clearing that up, Kal. I suppose that if 24/96 becomes a standard for home playback someday, older CDs recorded as such could be re-released in the new format as '24/96'.

And yes, I like your Naxos R2D4.

Yes. I have a few dozen of such now and the improvement is worthwhile, to me.

IMO this music stinks. Judging from this CD, Composer Jones operates in one gear only. Morose. He could've used a li'l rodeo or hoedown. I'll give it two thumbs down. For this occasion, I wish I had more.

Regards

But they have mechanical parts as well as electronic parts. It might decide to stop spinning some day, or the changer mechanism might give up, or the buttons might detach from the relay contacts