Bluray is generally the best sounding digital medium.
Remastered CDs, HDCDs, SACDs
CD is my only source. My album collection is somewhere around 800 discs. I have found significant differences in SQ (sound quality) comparing original releases to remastered releases. To my ear, Bob Ludwig was the best engineer for that.
I was speaking with a local recording engineer and mentioned how much I liked Bob's work. He replied Bob boosted 2 dB at 150 Hz.
In order of SQ (worst to best) my rankings are original CD, original HDCD, remastered CD, remastered HDCD, original SACD, remastered SACD.
Those rankings are usually the case, though occasionally they may vary.
Happy listening to all. Enjoy the music!
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- 29 posts total
Bluray can sound excellent but so can any of the other formats. It really depends on the mastering. It's frustrating that often times a vinyl release has different master than a CD release. Major difference in dynamic range. Streaming is also frustrating in that you often don't know which master is used. I personally like the old JVC XRCD discs. Not that I necessarily believe all their marketing about their K2 dithering process being superior (maybe it is, I don't know). But mainly because the majority of material released on XRCD had amazing mastering. So buying an XRCD almost always guarantees great sound. |
I used to rank SQ as many have stated starting with Redbook CD, then HDCD, remastered CD, remastered HDCD, original SACD, and the highest being remastered SACD. This ranking system falls apart when you listen to the Redbook CD track called 'All About You' on the album 'Soul' by Sophie Zelmani. Give it a listen. You'll be amazed at how good Redbook CDs can sound. |
@cycles2 I love it when a standard CD sounds exceptionally good! Thanks for letting us know about "Soul". |
- 29 posts total