Digital - Different Sound from Different Sources....
A fellow Audiogoner wrote me of some disappointment when playing Larry Young’s Blue Note Unity album recording named Zoltan (track #1) on Qobuzz and asked me to give it a try. My digital side is a Cambridge CXNv2 Streamer playing through coax to a Benchmark DAC 3b and a Sony XA 5400 ES used as a transport playing through coax to the same Benchmark DAC.
I first played it via Qobuzz and the Mastering seems to be off some in that they raised the the left and right channel instrumental volumes but not the center organ. Cymbals or high hats were also poorly played back with no sheen on the strike decays. Played the same album/cut on Tidal Hi-Fi and Tidal standard and both were better with some sheen on the decay notes and the center organ much closer to volume matching.
Went back and put my 30 year old Mosaic set of The Complete Blue Note Recordings of Larry Young on the Sony and volume matched to the playback of the Tidal recordings.. or as close as I could get. The Sony is a different input of the Benchmark so I can change from the Cambridge to the Sony remote from my chair. The original was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder on November 10, 1965, Digital transfers from the Original Master Tapes done by Ron McMaster, Mastering done by Joe Brescio, Original Master Tapes from Rudy Van Gelder’s Basement Studio in NJ, recorded November 10, 1965. The 7 disc Mosaic set was released in September 1991, when I purchased mine.
I guess it matters a great deal when you remaster something what your source is: original master tapes, some Utube recording or just some hastily reissued CD. The Mosaic set absolutely smokes the other two sources comparing three issues against the Mosaic. In order; the Mosaic by far, the Tidal HiRes, the Tidal standard, then the Qobuzz at dead last and by far.
I’ve been listening to lots of material lately on Qobuzz and Tidal, as well as internet radio. I listen to lots of Singer/Songwriter, Lounge Music which is a singer with piano and or guitar, and small group jazz, blues and some rock. For example Passenger, Allison Russel, Anakelly, Daniela Andrade, Damien Rice, Delbert McClinton, Buddy Guy, Bobby Bland, Eva Cassidy, Karrin Allyson, Katie Malua, Patricia Barber, Mike Posner... just as a sampling and Classic Rock from U2 to Allman Brothers and AWB... that’s alphabetically speaking.
When I first started streaming I though the stream sounded better than some of my old CDs. but going backwards to 30 years ago or more, when much of my 700 disc collection (pared down from 2200+) was originally cut I’m not so sure anymore.... actually, it seems to have gotten down to who did the mastering and from what. Anyone who got their hands on the master tapes 30 or more years ago has a much better sounding CD than the latest remaster of remasters... or so it seems to me at this time.
All civil comments are welcome.
