erwbol

Considering the human ear isn't capable of discerning between 44.1kHZ and 192kHZ, I'm somewhat befuddled as to why you're storing such absurdly large files. Why not resample them to 24/44.1 and save yourself a TON of space while losing absolutely no discernable resolution? You bought one such file, Eric Dolphy's Out To Lunch, yourself at HD Tracks last year, remember? I just keep the stuff I obtain through bittorrent in storage on an external drive. I haven't run out of space yet. I only use them for background music while on the internet. But you're probably right these files are too large/contain too much information for the human ear to benefit.

To see why that 1 TB is a joke, consider the following. Hank Mobley's No Room For Squares is 1.8 GB in it's 24bit/192kHz FLAC incarnation. That's a six tracks 40 minutes album with no bonus material.

Only 1 TB for $2,000? That remote has fewer buttons than my Marantz's, but I fear this machine might make things too complicated for me. I prefer playing an album to be on the level of turning on a water boiler. If that LCD screen fails, this machine will become useless. The same goes for that 1 TB hard disk drive. Connecting my setup to a computer or television screen would cause me even more unrest. I no longer even own a television and hell will freeze over before I buy one again. I love the 24bit/192kHz Blue Note FLACs that reside on my iMac, but I can't see them making their way into my living room any time soon.

Not what you were asking for, Hans, but I prefer the 1994 Nichols (Bethlehem 20-30112) to the new Japanese release (CDSOL-6008). Besides the bit loud mastering the bass seems somewhat boosted. Otherwise there is no real gain for that title imo. I have to agree with Lon that East Coasting is sonically very enjoyable and dynamic. I have however nothing earlier to compare it against. I was wondering where these Bethlehem sessions were recorded. Probably not a case of all the same studio and engineer like Van Gelder for Blue Note?

No, they are mastered by Toshiyuki Abe, but are licensed from Verse, so presumably use the same analogue to digital transfers.

Better than anything Miles did during the 8-bit gaming era.

Which SHM-CD could not be supplied? Was it a Blue Note title? Japanese CDs always seem to print the release date on the back insert artwork. These SHM BNs (also the ) print a second date next to the first that is six months into the future. Could this indicate these will be available only for a very limited time? Neither the BNLT999 nor BNLA999 series printed a second date next to the first, and the earliest titles are still available through CDJapan eighteen months on.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. Some of the OOP Japanese discs are still available on ebay. I have good experiences with seller ftfym65 from Japan. Amazon.co.jp still has the Nichols, but their shipping to the EU is more expensive (though fast).

That's why I've been sticking ordering from Mosaic. Legendary customer service including replacing a defective disc in one set many years after purchase. I have no problems with buying direct from Mosaic. In fact over the years I have bought over 40 sets from them. However I do object to getting stuffed with a significent additional charge for VAT and "Collection?". In the past the collection of these charges has been a bit "hit and miss" but I find that nowadays anything I buy from outside the EEC invariably gets caught in Customs and incurs both a charge and a delay. Why not buy from within the EEC and get rid of the hassle? Only when ordering another Select I might go the Jazzmessengers way, because those slipcases are so fragile.

I'm in the middle of a Justified season 4 marathon. Last season was excellent and I hadn't had the time yet to watch it a second time at my own pace. Then it's on to season 5 which premiered last night on US television. (Internet-is-my-friend style with a morning cup of tea is how I've been watching US shows for years now.)

Bethlehem has been low on my radar until now. I only had the Herbie Nichols album (1994 CD). The Mingus albums I'd ignored so far. Recently I got myself the Japanese remasters of Mal Waldron's Left Alone, Mingus' East Coasting, and Nichols' Love, Gloom, Cash, Love. Now I'm wondering if there are any other worthwhile albums or even minor classics being reissued I'm not aware of. Any recommendations?

I bought the Fresh Sound discs on release. There was a review in Jazzwise magazine (in 2003 ?) that stated this was the best these albums ever sounded (in digital at least, though they probably never sounded marvellous on vinyl as well). I later downloaded some other releases and compared. I can't remember which ones.

The Fresh Sound releases do sound better than any other (Conversations a bit better than Iron Man). They reproduce the original artwork, label logos & liner notes. They are enjoyable sonically imo (and in stereo). Certainly better than the MP3 sample of the Iron Man alternate take from this new Muses release which according to eastwindimport.com is in mono.

The two Fresh Sound releases, Iron Man (FSR1628) and Conversations (FSRCD1627), claim to have been remastered from the original tapes. What's the story on that?

MP3 samples for the first three tracks can be found here.

Their price just shot up to $28 plus change... [sigh] I hope it'll come down again. They're all $21.50 again.

Yes, along with about 50 other titles from this series. I hope they remain in print long enough, especially if there is more to come later this year.

No 2x.

I agree. Which Blue Note titles were released by Mobile Fidelity on gold CD?

SHM (Super High Material), like Blue Spec 2 (Sony), is a scam, imo. It won't make a CD sound better, although member ArtSalt disagrees. What makes this series worth your while is the remastering. Michael Cuscuna is involved (he writes new introductory notes for all SHM releases) and superior analogue to digital transfers are being used. For a relatively cheap reissue series by a major label these discs offer exceptional value. They have a uniform, natural, non-manipulated sound. Some discs offer a more significant upgrade over McMaster, RVG, or BN Works than others, but all I've heard so far are superior to what came before on physical digital media, except for Audio Wave Music's XRCD24s.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - A Night In Tunisia (TYCJ-81010) Very very good! This series needs more sixties Art Blakey. (BTW, this album will also be released on ) An amazing upgrade over the McMaster which was preferable to the RVG. I can only imagine what the XRCD24 will sound like.

No kidding. This isn't discussing The Onion any more, it's just bypassing the rules. Except you can't cheat a ban.

The series is not dead! Release date 21 Januari 2014 according to importcds.com. Elusivedisc.com already has it in stock and ready to ship. Audio Wave Music's website's front is updated with four new titles.

About pricing, these eighties and nineties Blue Notes that were the first to be released on SHM-CD last summer are a few Yen more expensive than the classic BN SHMs now being released to celebrate 75 years of Blue Note, ¥1,800 to Y1,575. Still, CDJapan is currently offering 10% extra bonus points on these first SHMs, with every point being a Yen discount on a subsequent order. Open a new account and you get 300 bonus points free to be used immediately. After the BNLT999 and BNLA999 series, the series of 80s and 90s SHMs is called somethin' in BLUE, since 1985 in 90s. The classic BN SHM series is called Blue Note, the masterworks. (According to be OBIs.)