What are songs where people or instruments sound closer to you?

Cassandra Wilson

"Blue Light 'til Dawn" 1993

What a well recorded album!

Thanks for the suggestion.

Roger Waters - Amused to Death  It's recorded in Q Sound. It will blow your mind. On a great system you will hear sounds practically all over the room on a 2 channel system. 

Hitting the Jug. Saxophone in the room with you.

Try a lot of Chris Isaak songs.

You're talking about soundstage depth. Late 50s and 60s jazz analog originals would be a good place to start.

Cheeky recordings are particularly good at delivering a natural sound stage.  For example, listen to Rebecca Pidgeon singing “Spanish Harlem.”  Another outstanding example of soundstaging is Natalie Merchant singing “Peppery Man” with backing vocals by the Fairfield Four.”

@sbank 

I have the CD. I’ll listen to it and stream it as well.

Thanks

@noromance 

I have a bunch of jazz CD’s from that era and most of them are mono. I’m trying to understand how I can get depth without stereo imaging?

Thanks.

@larryi 

I have a copy of that Chesky test album (cd) and that recording of Spanish Harlem is spectacular, but I’m barely hearing the depth. I’ll look for that recording of “Peppery Man today.  Maybe I need to play with my speakers again.

Thanks.

@roxy54 

Chris Isaak, other than the tune they played over and over again, I really don’t know his stuff much. Can you narrow my search down a little?🙃

Thanks

@carlsbad 

Thanks, I’ll check out “Hitting The Jug” today.

@sgordon1 

I listened to the whole album last night  and I’m beginning to think my setup needs more work.

Thanks

I should have been more specific. there may be multiple recordings out there. the one I like is Hitting the Jug, Gene Ammons, on Boss Tenor, Rudy Van Gelder remaster.

@carlsbad 

LOL,  I was just trying to edit my response asking you which version. The Gene Ammons/ Rudy Van was the first one on the list and is wonderful!  I seem to like everything Van Gelder studios name is on.

Thanks.

@curiousjim 

Try songs from Speak of the Devil and Heart Shaped World. There are some close-up vocals on both of them, and very well recorded too.

@curiousjim I’m trying to understand how I can get depth without stereo imaging?

Back in the mono days you can easily hear a lot of depth in a good recording. Distance to the microphone is one way they did that, also using reverberated sound. Not sure what other tricks they used back then. 

Lyle Lovett - Church on Joshua Judges Ruth is another great one. Lyle and 'the preacher front right and left. A wide layered band, Francine Reed's vocals behind Lyle on the right, four or more other background vocalists far back. 

Also a great tune with a hilarious lyric! Cheers,

Spencer

Mono cartridge on a vintage idler is how I get it. 😉

I have a bunch of jazz CD’s from that era and most of them are mono. 

@noromance 

I haven’t had a mono cartridge since the sixties.😊 
Do they still sell new ones?

Erin Bode Singing "These Days"

Cello is in the right rear, behind the right speaker.  Erin is up front, in front of the speakers a bit off center, classical guitar comes in from someone sitting on a stool, just to the right and behind Erin, Upright bass is behind the guitarist. 

Grover Washington Jr’s "Winelight" album:

1. Winelight

2. Let it Flow

Both of those tracks have percussion and subtle acoustic guitar all over the place...great imaging. I have the original release and the Nautilus Super Disk versions on vinyl.

Sade "Best of Sade" has several great tracks... among them "Your love is King", "Hang on to Your Love", "No Ordinary Love".

James Taylor "Dad Loves His Work"

A silly track, barely over 2 minutes long, called Summer’s Here. About a third of the way in, a brief solo on a Hammond Organ sound like the damn thing got rolled almost to your listening chair. When I had Maggie 1.7’s it was almost startling. Fun tune!

Steely Dan "Kid Charlemagne" has a lot going on in it's soundstage. But then so do MANY of Steely Dan's and Donald Fagan's work.

Sarah Vaughan “Ain’t No Use”. Depending on speaker positioning in various systems, I’ve heard her sound huge and front center stage or hear her very far back way beyond the speakers. Placement of other instruments are very well separated with good depth as well. 

@timlub 

Erin Bode’s voice has such a pure clean sound and with Mostly  simple recordings, not overly mastered and remastered make for some wonderful listening. I’m listening to  Yoursong Volume 1 and thoroughly enjoying it.

Thanks.

@mwinkc 

The only Grover I have on vinyl is in sad shape so I turned to the streamer and I’d forgotten how much I liked his stuff.

I have a TON of JT, but of course I don’t have that album, so again back to the streamer!

 I do have Sade and most all the Steely Dan/Donald Fagan albums and they are all good and well recorded.

Thanks for the suggestions.

@blisshifi 

There are a few different versions  of Ain’t No Use. Any one in particular I should try? I’m listening to the one from “The Divine One”.

Thanks

@CuriousJim That’s where streaming comes in so handy...being able to sample an album before buying physical media.

My copy of "Dad Loves His Work" is a MoFi Superdisk CD. Sadly, I’m not that wild about most of the tracks on it, except "Her Town too" and "Summer’s Here". If I had streamed it first, probably would have passed on buying it.

I guess it works both ways though. I bought Boz Scaggs’ double album, "Dig" after hearing one track. Upon 1st listening, I only liked 2 tracks on the whole 2 disk set...disappointing! But, due to the nature of listening to vinyl, 1 side at a time, I got a real appreciation for 7-8 more tracks after "having" to listen to them because they were on the side where my early favorites were. If I had been streaming, it’s quite likely that I would have put the 2 early favorite tracks on a Playlist and never returned to revisit the rest. That whole album is one of my frequent players.

Ya never know

@curiousjim That's the one!

Also to weigh in on the mono recording posts above, the Analog Productions masters of Ella and Louis does an exceptional job of portraying depth.

@mwinkc 

I just stuck my toe into streaming 6-8 weeks ago thinking I have 2500+ CD’s and and if I listen to 4-5 a day, I won’t repeat a disk for years, blah blah blah and now after just a few weeks I’m listening 80% streaming and am already thinking about changing the power supply on the N130 or getting a better streamer. It doesn’t help that I lost an 18 month old drive in my NAS. WD sent me a lower refurbished drive and I had to send it back and wait for them to send me the correct one.

Take a listen to Stadium Arcadium by the RHCP

SQ is great and instrument placement is spectacular

Drums are front and center and slightly elevated

Vocals are right where they should be, bass is off center to the left, guitar off center to the right

The entire band sounds like they're in the room and firing on all cylinders 

A couple of sleepers that build and impress

Wet Sand

Hey

Snow (Hey Oh)

Hard To Concentrate

@sbank, thanks for the Waters suggestion.  I'll let you know how it sounds on Walsh omnis.... ;)

@stevewharton 

I have about ten RHCP albums, but not that one. Will stream it later.

Thanks.

BTW, I’ve seen them live and they put on a great show!

JD

@curiousjim I've got Stadium Arcadium on vinyl but mostly stream it

A slight degradation in SQ but not enough to make me get up off my butt and spin the album

I've got tickets for the show in Sep

Really looking forward to seeing them with Frusciante

Would appreciate another audiophile opinion, so please let me know what you think after listening to it 

All The Best

Beach Boys "Sunflower"

Walk on the Wild Side, by Lou Reed. Listen on vinyl. Voice and upright bass almost leave the turntable and occupy the room! 

Kenny Rankin - Because of You Chesky cd. 

Berimbau - YouTube

@jrosemd 

It’s funny, like probably everyone else, I have Pet Sounds, but I must admit, I’ve never heard Sunflower. Thanks, I’ll check it out.

JD

@secret-vinyl

I do have a very old very worn, copy of Transformer. I’m probably going to have to listen to the CD or stream instead.

Thanks.

That Lou Reed track is indeed interesting as far as vocal placement is concerned.  The backing female singers start way back in the soundstage (low in volume with a lot of reverb) and then, while they are singing, the volume increases and the amount of reverb decreases, so that it sounds like they are moving forward rapidly until they are right in your face.  Fascinating effect.  

@robert53

What a fun recording to listen to. I have never been disappointed with a Chesky.

JD

@larryi 

I just listened to it twice and when the ladies start their Do Do’s, on the right and then on the left and louder then back to the right and louder still, really does give the impression of them coming toward you.

curiousjim

Yeah, I agree. Chesky has done a lot of good stuff. The John Pizzarelli Collection on Chesky is also great sounding and very entertaining. There are many others as we know.