How important is it for you to attain a holographic image?

A holographic image is part of the joy of audiophile-ism, no doubt. But ... it's not everything. The main thing to me is tonal accuracy. The instruments have to sound right first. That entails listening to enough live music in order to be able to identify the natural sound of instruments. With good electronics, speakers and proper tweaking, one can attain a very transparent, holographic, seamless, and tonally accurate system. On the best recordings, master tapes, for example, the musicians can seem to be live in the room.  Again ... tonal accuracy first.

Frank

Okay, when it comes to "sound staging," what can we expect from mono recordings? 

I have collected hundreds of mono jazz records from the early 50s. I can honestly say that when listening to the best of them, I could care less about a stereo effect. With the best mono's, the sound is expansive and fills the space between the speakers completely. Granted, there's nothing outside the speakers, but there's a certain "rightness" or "correctness" garnered from mono recordings that's really hard to get from stereo records. Personally, I like both. 

Frank

Ha! Nice to know that there are some other Clifford Brown fans posting here. Even though he was killed in a car accident in 1956, at the young age of 25, Clifford has influenced many other players, including modern ones. We are fortunate that he left us with many of his performances on recordings. Every time I play one of my Clifford Brown albums, the same thought occurs to me ... " Wynton Marsalis eat your heart out." :-)

Here’s a beautiful Clifford Brown album and a must have:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Clifford-Brown-All-Stars-Clifford-Brown-CD-1991-XCLNT-Japan-for-U-S/2538258...

The second cut, "Autumn in New York" takes up a whole side of the album. It is a beautiful ballad that really shows the soulfulness of Clifford Brown. I have it both on vinyl and CD. Both are excellent. And yes, its mono, but you won’t care. That trumpet is suspended right between the speakers in all of its joyful splendor. The other cut is hard-bop and shows Clifford’s blazing technique.

Also, another great mono record is Dave Brubeck’s "Jazz Impressions of The USA." Here’s a promo LP:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dave-Brubeck-Jazz-Impressions-Of-The-USA-Columbia-984-PAUL-DESMOND-WLP-PROM...

Yes, again it is mono ... but Desmond’s alto sax just floats on air with excellent presence and tonal quality. I have a promo vinyl copy only, so I can’t vouch for the CD if it even exists. There’s a drum solo on side two by Joe Morello that is demo quality. Like ... dare I say it? .... In the room! :-)

Frank

orpheus10 & gdnrbob ...

I remember when Clifford was killed too. My older cousin, who introduced me to jazz, broke the news to me. He was actually crying.

I remember back in the early 70s as I was looking through the used records at Aaron’s Records in West Hollywood, across from Fairfax high school, as a man standing next to me was looking through the Clifford Brown section. I asked him if he knew Clifford’s music. He said ... "Oh sure, I play classical trombone with the Los Angeles Phil. All of us brass players know about Clifford - he was the best."

And indeed he was. :-)

Frank

^^^ Ten foot saxophones don't exist in real life. :-)

Frank

I have that Opus "depth of Image" recording both on vinyl and on CD. It does portray a nice holographic image for sure. However, "normal" recordings can do the same thing on a system that allows it to be done.

This morning I had a hankering for some genuine flamenco guitar music. I broke out my three-record box set of the Connoisseur Society Recordings of Manitas de Plata (hands of silver) playing flamenco guitar with various voices. So natural sounding. It was recorded in a small chapel which is said to have perfect acoustics, in Arles, France, in 1961.

Manitas de Plata (His real name was Ricardo Ballardo) was a Spanish gypsy who picked up the guitar as a child. He never learned to read music. However, in spite of that, he became the guitar and the guitar became him. He was a true master of the flamenco guitar. None better in my opinion. Oh, there may be players who are more technically correct, but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, Manitas de Plata is the way to go.

The recording has an abundance of exactly what we are talking about in this thread. The holographic imagery is amazing as is the tonal quality. If you love soulful flamenco guitar and singing I highly recommend this box set.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Manitas-De-Plata-Flamenco-Guitar-SRL-8643/352555244276?hash=item5215ee1af4:...

Someone should jump on this one. At ten bucks, its a bargain.

Frank

PS: I’ve found that most of the early tube miked stereo recordings from the late 50s through the middle 60s have plenty of depth and holographic imagery.

Thanks for the link, orpheus10 ...

For anyone interested, go to 10:05 on the Youtube video that orpheus10 provided for us. Simply amazing guitar work.

It was for good reason that John Steinbeck called Manitas de Plata "A great and savage artist."

Frank

orpheus10  ...

I couldn't agree with you more. The whole point of this hobby as far as I'm concerned is to get us closer to the actual event as played by the musicians. 

Frank

It seems that the lower the noise floor, the better the 3-D imaging becomes. With proper room treatments and specific tweaks, that noise floor can be reduced way, way, way .... way beyond what we could ever have imagined.

Frank