Posted on Thursday, 22nd July 2010 by Auw Jimmy

Actually, this is an old recording. I listened the first few years ago in XRCD format. I lost the CD, and suddenly I saw a SACD one on an audio shop in Singapore. Surely I wouldn’t miss it. This record also available in JVC K2 HD format, at almost double the cost. I picked the SACD one then, since I didn’t really know the K2 HD style. This SACD has Proprius label, which also well know with the “Jazz at the Pawnshop”.

The SACD format used on this album is Hybrid Multichannel. It means that you can play in on your ordinary 20-years old CD Player or your new sophisticated US$ 5000 SACD multichannel player. All can do. The surround effect on this – I believe – was created on purpose for the SACD label. The original master shouldn’t have surround track. I don’t really care about it since my main focus is stereo only.

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Tags: Choirs, SACD
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Posted on Saturday, 17th July 2010 by Auw Jimmy

Due to my busy time, I haven’t written much on this blog. But in next few weeks, some hot entries will come -  as I have purchased some new toys. Wait and see…

Let’s fill the entry with some “light-weight” topic. I bought some CD during my business trip last week. Let’s enjoy some.

Standard CD, although considered as an obsolete formats for many years, but still become a most used audio format until now. We have seen DVD-Audio and SACD were the strongest candidates to terminte Red Book CD Audio. But still, CD Audio maintains its superiority as widely used audio format, until present time. Perhaps we can see the digital storage format like WAV or loseless stored in your giant HDD, someday will terminate the life of the CD Player. But before that time comes, we still enjoy the CD as the main audio source.

I knew JVC recording long time ago. It was XRCD (eXtended Resolution Compact Disc), continued with XRCD2 and XRCD24. About one or two years ago, they release K2 HD format, which claimed to provide better sound at standard Red Book CD Audio, without additional decoder. Could it be?

This is one recommended collection from FIM, contains various artist. All remastered with K2 HD technique.

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Tags: HDCD, JVC, K2 HD, SACD, XRCD
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Posted on Monday, 12th October 2009 by Auw Jimmy

Some singers have their own unique “tone”, which reflects their “style” when singing. This uniqueness will  make us remember his/her specialty.

This old vintage CD Audio, produced around 2001, shows the wonderful soprano named Cui Yan Guang. She comes from Dalian, China and getting famous on the USA, HK, and Japan for Opera and Orchestra singer. You will understand when you hear her voice on this album.

She sang “vintage” (or I should say, “oldies”) songs. Perhaps at the age of Teresa Teng (邓丽君). But it’s a little bit different sensation to hear Teresa’s songs sung in an “Orchestral” way.

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Tags: CD Audio, chinese, female, soprano
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Posted on Sunday, 30th August 2009 by Auw Jimmy

Still curious about the different between Jensen Copper Foil Paper Tube and Duelund CAST PIO, I held another session to benchmark both capacitors. You can read previous articles here and here.

This time I visit another friend. His systems as shown below. Briefly speaking, we can see a Fostex full range speaker with extra Visaton Super Tweeter. The source are Cayin CDT-17A (fully modified on its analog stage and additional reclock module) and a turntable (VPI Scout with Super Platter and Van den Hul Grasshopper IV GLA cartridge). The preamp is Tube #26 with RGN Rectifier. The power amplifier is RS241-12E1-6J5 with RGN Rectifier also.

We compare the Jensen Copper Foil Paper Tube and Duelund CAST PIO on the position between 12E1 and RS241.

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Tags: Duelund, jensen
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Posted on Tuesday, 5th August 2008 by Auw Jimmy

Artist: Waldjinah
Album: Sings Gesang
Publisher: Rice Record OSR-702
Recording Technology: -

About this album:
After this album, I think this album also worth to be considered as an audiophile-grade Kroncong. This time, Waldjinah solo album with title “Sings Gesang”. This album called “Sings Gesang” because Waldjinah sings Gesang’s songs on this album.

Waldjinah is well known as famous female Kroncong singer in Indonesia. With strong and angelic voice, Waldjinah really spread her magic on Krocong world. This album is quite unique since Waldjinah sings Gesang’s songs. She doesn’t sing her own song like the famous Walang Kekek. You can find her popular song, “Walang Kekek” on other album here.

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Tags: audiophile, bengawan solo, CD Audio, gesang, waldjinah
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Posted on Friday, 1st August 2008 by Auw Jimmy

Artist: Gesang, Nuning, Waldjinah
Album: Bengawan Solo
Publisher: JVC Record
Recording Technology: -

About this album:
According to Wikipedia, Kroncong is the name of a ukulele-type instrument and an Indonesian musical style that typically makes use of the Kroncong, a flute, and a female singer. And this album is an audiophile-grade Kroncong!

All the singers (Gesang, Nuning, and Waldjinah) are famous Kroncong singer in Indonesia. Gesang, though quite old, still has enough breathe to give emotional touch on this album. I think this is his last “best” Kroncong album recorded. Nuning (and especially) Waldjinah are well known as two famous female Kroncong singer. We could find a lot of their albums in local, but none in audiophile-grade like this album.

This album was recorded on JVC Victor Studio, Tokyo on April 1994 and remastered on April 2000, also on the same place. Again, I would like to highlight (again!) the quality of this album. This is one of the rarely superb recorded Kroncong album.

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Tags: audiophile, bengawan solo, CD Audio, gesang, kroncong, nuning, waldjinah
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Posted on Sunday, 20th January 2008 by Auw Jimmy

Artist: SKRUK and Rim Banna
Album: Krybberom
Publisher: Kirkelig Kulturverksted
Recording Technology: -

About this album:
Rim Banna is a popular Palestine singer. One of her famous album is “Mirror of My Soul” used as reference by many audiophile, due to excellent quality recording and excellent Rim Banna “emotional transfer” of pain and loneliness inside. We might not understand what she is saying (Arabic lyrics), but her voice could “translate” the lyrics into enjoyable song. That’s the magic!

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Posted on Sunday, 13th January 2008 by Auw Jimmy

Artist: Tsai Chin/Cai Qin (蔡琴) and Chris Babida
Album: To Encounter
Publisher: Better Music Corp
Recording Technology: 24bit Super Analog

About this album:
Chris Babida is a famous music arranger with over 2000 music arrangement since 1970. Of course his collaboration with Cai Qin is expected to produce something spectacular, as we will find in this CD.

Maybe you will hear some songs on this album which you already familiar. But Chris arranges it a little bit differently with what you have heard before. I think, Chris tries to give some emotional touch to Cai Qin songs.

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Posted on Saturday, 12th January 2008 by Auw Jimmy

Artist: Tsai Chin/Cai Qin (蔡琴)
Album: Lao Ge (老歌)
Publisher: UFO Group/Warner Music Singapore
Recording Technology: -

About this album:
As the title speaks itself, this CD contains old songs. Some words on the title say “Yesterday’s melody and today’s memory”. According to my friend who lives at Taipei, it’s a very beautiful sentence.

Cai Qin herself has a deep, low, and “magnetic” voice to captivate anyone who hear her voice. Even some people say that listening Cai Qin is just like drinking a glass of good wine. It gives you special pleasure. Not just listen the song, but also some emotional relationship with how the singer sings the song for you.

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Posted on Monday, 31st December 2007 by Auw Jimmy

Artist: Carmen Gomez Inc.
Album: Carmen Meets Kharma Live
Publisher: STS Digital
Recording Technology: SACD Hybrid Multichannel

About this album:
What will happen if you see Siltech, Marantz, dCS, Pyramix, SECC, WBT, Soundcraft, Schoeps, Philips, Kharma, and STS Digital join together? Well, the result is this Hybrid SACD Multi-Channel: Carmen Meets Kharma Live (Limited Edition).

According to what I read at the booklet inside this SACD, this album was recorded live in a small theatre in Almere. The audience were 100% audiophile and specially invited for this event (they were all the subscribers of high end magazine HVT in Holland). The audience were very quiet, according to Fritz de With (the recording engineer/producer).

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Posted on Monday, 31st December 2007 by Auw Jimmy

Artist: Various Artists/Compilation
Album: Burmester Vorfuhrungs CD III
Publisher: Burmester
Recording Technology: -

About this album:
Burmester is well know as high end and expensive audio equipment manufacturer, from Power Conditioner to Amplifier. This is their third Reference CD Audio (Burmester Vorfuhrungs CD III). A compilation from some best track to measure up your audio system performance.

As their audio equipment product, this CD also quite expensive considering this is just a CD, not a SACD, HDCD, or even a Gold CD. This is just a plain silver CD and may cost you over US$ 20 (I don’t remember precisely, feel free to check from your local Burmester dealer). Just remember, this CD is quite expensive.

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Posted on Monday, 31st December 2007 by Auw Jimmy

Artist: Anne Karin Kaasa
Album: Svalande Vind
Publisher: Kirkelig Kulturverksted
Recording Technology: -

About this album:
This is a very old album. The first release was 1991. Well at that time, I was still playing with cassette deck

Not much information about Anne Karin Kaasa (or just because I don’t know). Just like other Norway singer, she sang local language songs. Although this album name is “Svalande Vind” (Track #3), but for me, the best song in this album is the “Gje Meg Handa Di” (Track #1).

Anne’s pronunciation in this album was excellent. She sang with emotion and surprisingly, the recording quality was very impressive (consider this was recorded in 1990-1991). Surely it’s above average current most “audiophile labeled” CD. Other strong point from this CD was the instruments. The instruments played could bring and create powerful ambiance. Anne will sang right on the center with instruments filling the ambiance. On some parts, some of the instruments would play themselves without Anne.

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