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Herbie Hancock, River: The Joni Letters

Having read favorable comments on this disc in the likes of Hi Fi+, I purchased this cd over the weekend. What a huge disappointment! This recording is compressed to a significant degree and even worse is a spitty/crackly sound to the vocals and some of the spot miked instruments. It sounds like a poor cable connection or bad pot in the mixing/monitor console. I have not tried to play it on my truck cd/stereo to find if it is any more listenable.

I would be interested to hear if anyone else is similarily disappointed with the sonics of this disc. BTW, it sounds really bad on both of my home systems.
rhljazz
rhljazz OP
1,255 posts
 
I played the disc this weekend on the stock audio system in my Tundra truck and it was less objectionable than on any of my home systems. The vocal and sax on Edith and the Kingpin is still noticeably riding on a scratchy mix. If it is audible on my truck system, it should be apparent on any home system. Whether you hear it and it bothers you, I'll leave to each individual.
philefreak
423 posts
 
I'm going to stand on my own now! I've been listening to this some more since all the talk. This disc ain't bad! If your getting a lot of spitting then you might want to look into another DAC. I'm using a B. Canto Dac 3 w/computer driving via USB. Yea, it's different per tracks but the midrange (vocal,sax) does sound a little forward on some tracks but overall I've heard a lot worse!
jymc
98 posts
 

rhljazz

nothing at all wrong with this recording. The mic placement on piano and sax is definitely ’close’ and there is the feeling that a ’clip’ could be coming. You can almost hear the piano hammers striking the strings; the initial breath that begins to vibrate the reed of the sax. On a great system, this is one of my favorite recordings for showing subtle performance details/characteristics of the piano and sax, that go entirely un-noticed on lesser systems. Furthermore, the most premium 2 channel store in the USA (in Scottsdale, AZ) and many other shops that follow suit, have often used Tracks #1 and #6 for demos to sell half million dollar 2 channel systems. Yep, if there are problems, they are related to YOUR system my friend.

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