J.A.W.

Jim, Have you considered just going digital for overseas sales? I'm certainly no expert on this, but I know of at least two musicians who sell their music directly from a digital source which the customer can download to his/her computer. This, I would think, might eliminate the postage issue altogether. Just my two cents...And what about those who live overseas and might be interested in the music but don't do downloads?

Thanks. Thanks for the link. Did a search, but couldn't find the thread. By the way, I don't see that many posters who left the board.

Does anybody remember/know when EMI released copy-protected CDs?

This coffee table book is worth its price. Recommended.

Just checked and noticed that Mosaic and ImportCDs haven't raised their overseas shipping rates yet - Mosaic's overseas rates have always been pretty high, anyway. I don't think I'll be ordering much from the United States from now on. I always thought Dutch int'l rates were insanely high, but they suddenly seem almost moderate now...

He's not the only one (myself included ). That's the internet for you. As long as it doesn't turn into personal attacks...

Can they be relied upon to use quality packaging materials for the Mosaic sets?I also got the Threadgill Mosaic from them, and the packaging was fine.

Chuck, Any releases on the horizon?

That doesn't work with Marketplace sellers and I'm not sure it's open to non-U.S. residents.

I have it, but have to admit that I haven't listened to it in ages and don't remember it, so I can't comment.

Chuck, I suppose your overseas shipping rates will have to go up as well.

When you check out.

CDJapan: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/search3.html?q=bnlt&media=cd&r=any&step=20&order=score

USPS international rates have gone up by more than 100% recently, reason why U.S. Amazon Marketplace international rates have also gone up by more than 100%. When you're in Europe and order a CD from a U.S. Amazon Marketplace seller, you will be charged $14+ shipping - provided they do ship overseas.

The Ammons/Lewis CD-set occasionally turns up on eBay and usually goes for big bucks.

The Albert Ammons/Meade Lux Lewis Mosaic was also released as a 2CD-set.

Just read your edited post. I'll refrain from responding, as things only seem to get worse. Have a nice day.

That may be so, but these days I'm only giving my opinion on CDs I've heard when someone's asking people what they think of the sound quality. I'm no longer posting unasked opinions. And you're right, I don't have to read your posts, but I do because I find some of them interesting.

I've lost count of the times you've been telling us about the way you've twiddled your system to try and make things sound right to your ears. Don't get me wrong, of course you can do what you like with your gear, but it gets a bit boring to read about the same thing over and over again. I'm just being honest and trying not to be offensive, but that's how those posts come across as far as I'm concerned.

Well, you certainly gave me that impression more than once. Whatever makes you happy.

Yep, exactly what I've been trying to say. You can't restore what's been removed by twiddling your system, it simply isn't there anymore.

I'm glad you enjoy your current system, but it can't undo any compression that was added during remastering to make CDs louder and the resulting loss of dynamics, as for example on the Experience Hendrix CDs Kevin mentioned. I had some of those CDs and have to agree with him. Even some classical CDs suffer from this kind of manipulation, like for instance the Beethoven symphonies cycle by Emmanuel Krivine/la Chambre Philharmonique on the niche Naïve label. Mastering artefacts like that can't be undone by simply turning the volume down, what's lost (dynamics) is lost.I've heard all this before, and I didn't just give up. There are things that can be done. I can make the most of what dynamics are there, and there are more there than most think. And I can adjust the tonality to be more comfortable. And I can enjoy the recordings. (Maybe others can't, but I find I can). I can adjust gain on DAC/preamp, preamp and amp, I can roll tubes, and my power conditioning does an awful lot to lower noise floor and thus make what dynamics are there more noticeable. Power cords help the dynamics as well, and my cabling is neutral and revealing. I have treble reduction on both my speaker tweeters and my amp speaker output (outside the signal path) and can adjust the bias of the tubes for "relaxed" or more heft and dynamics. All this allows more productive flexibility than the purist approach I tried (and believed in) before. In short I found this sort of flexibility to be key to enjoying digital releases. I think if I didn't have the power conditioning, the ability to "ride the gain" and the ability to adjust tone I'd be as unhappy as others, but with this flexibility I truly can enjoy these releases. If others can't, I guess I understand, I just feel fortunate. Sorry, but I don't believe for a second that the dynamic range of a CD that's been reduced or even squashed can be restored. And if I'd have to do with my system some or all of what you describe to enjoy CDs, my listening pleasure would have been long gone. To each their own.

I'm glad you enjoy your current system, but it can't undo any compression that was added during remastering to make CDs louder and the resulting loss of dynamics, as for example on the Experience Hendrix CDs Kevin mentioned. I had some of those CDs and have to agree with him. Even some classical CDs suffer from this kind of manipulation, like for instance the Beethoven symphonies cycle by Emmanuel Krivine/la Chambre Philharmonique on the niche Naïve label. Mastering artefacts like that can't be undone by simply turning the volume down, what's lost (dynamics) is lost.

Take Grant Green's Nigeria, recently reissued in the BNLT 999 series and compare it to its portion of the Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark (SBM, 1997). Guitar on the left, Blakey's drums on the right. It now sounds like angels continuously kissing your ears left and right vying for your attention with its beautifully detailed airy sound. The music was always compelling to say the least, but now I just want to listen to that album over and over again on repeat. And it costs just ten bucks.I have the Mosaic Green/Clark set that came out in 1990 and it sounds good to me. I don't need the Japanese disc. Like many Ron McMaster Blue Note CD reissues from the 1980s and early 1990s the Mosaic CD sets he did in those years sound good to me. Don't like his Mosaics from the late 1990s onwards very much, though, which is why I'm thinking of getting the 2 Stanley Turrentine CDs in the Japanese LT series.

I'll probably get flamed for this here , but many Ron McMaster Blue Note CD reissues from the 1980s and early 1990s sound pretty good to me. His later work not so much, though; I avoid his remasters from the late 1990s onwards as much as possible.