We Get Requests [Import]

Amazon is usually better about keeping reviews for different versions of the same recording separate since these different versions really are separate products. That is not the case here and it really does a disservice to customers since there are five different versions of the recording listed here ranging in price from $14.99 to $78.99.

Let me say up front that the music making on this recording is second to none. Simply put, this recording is a classic and I can't add anything meaningful to the eloquent comments already posted here as they relate to the music and performances. But chances are you already know this if you are thinking of shelling out the big bucks for the one of the high resolution formats on sale here. My comments instead shall be focused on the sound reproduction. Since I own two of the versions here (the SHM-SACD version and the XRCD version from LIM records), I can give you some guidance.

I have a strong interest in high resolution sound formats. You are probably aware of some of them: DVD-Audio, Super-Audio Compact Disc and XRCD in the physical playback media and 24 bit 96KHz .flac files which can be stored on devices such as hard drives, USB memory sticks etc.

A standard CD recording has a sampling rate of 44KHz with a bitrate of 16 bits per sample. DVD-Audio offers sound at 96Khz and 24 bits. DVD-Audio needs a playback device that can play this format; it will not play on a standard CD player. Super-Audio Compact Disc has a sampling rate of 3MHz but a bitrate of only one bit per cycle. Most SACDs on the market appear in a hybrid format, i.e. they can be played on a standard CD player as well as an SACD player (hybrid discs have two distinct layers of digital information: one layer can be read by an SACD player and another can be read by a standard CD player). XRCD is JVC's high resolution playback format. JVC's claim to the success of their medium is the care and superior materials used in the manufacture and mastering and superior algorithms for encoding more sound information into the standard CD format (and thus XRCDs are meant for playback on a standard CD player). Techniques such as using silver instead of aluminum for the reflective layer of the CD are supposed to allow a standard CD player to capture more information on the disc with fewer read errors.

I am not going to debate the merits of any particular sound format here. I will say that SACD appears to be winning the battle of physical playback media formats because of its lower cost and because of the hybrid format.

With these high resolution formats, listeners will hear greater detail and clarity in the instrumental texture and greater warmth of sound due to the greater harmonic range available through the increased amount of musical information (or more accurately increased amount of digital information to reproduce the electric current pressure differentials that in turn activate speakers to generate sound waves).

One of the felicitous benefits of this latest round of recording and playback technologies is the remastering of classic analogue recordings for playback in high resolution digital sound formats. These techniques offer a far superior listening experience than standard CD reproductions of classic recordings in the past.

Which brings us to We Get Requests. There are two high resolution versions of this classic that I know of (and which I own) and both are available here. A third version is on the way.

A major caveat here: The version of WGR in SHM-SACD (Super High Material Super Audio Compact Disc) is NOT a hybrid and is NOT playable on a standard CD player. The theory behind SHM-SACD is that the extra digital information alone is not enough to guarantee the highest listening standard. The materials used in the manufacture of the disc and the care taken in the manufacture are important, too.

So this version of WGR should kick some serious ass in terms of playback. Compared to a standard CD, it will. However, you have got to hear WGR in the XRCD version released by LIM records.

It's important to remember that there is not more digital information on an XRCD than a standard CD. XRCD is still a 44KHz 16 bit sound format. Theoretically, 96KHz 24 bit sound (DVD Audio and flac) or SACD's 3MHz sampling rate should sound better because there is more digital information. I have to admit that I was skeptical about the quality of playback of XRCD compared to the other formats. I am a big fan of the SACD format and I have arguments with the guys at the sound shop I got my stereo from over the superiority of SACD over XRCD. I had a rooting interest in the SHM-SACD version. However, the LIM remastering in XRCD is dazzling, no question about it. It is certainly brighter than the SHM-SACD version ' the cymbals and piano ring with a lively presence missing from the SHM-SACD version. However, there is also depth to the bass that is uncanny so it was not simply a case of the sound engineers jacking up the treble end of the sound spectrum: One feels the vibration of the bowed bass in You Look Good To Me as much as one hears it.

Which brings up another crucial factor. The sound reproduction of a recording will only be as good as the mastering or remastering, no matter what the sampling rate is. For my ear, the LIM recording is the superior remastering.

I got both versions for the express purpose of comparing the two formats. The jury is still out for me as to whether one format is better than the other but in this case, for me, the XRCD version from LIM wins hands down.

I found it annoying that the liner notes in the SHM-SACD were not translated from the Japanese. I guess that is the risk inherent in buying an import recording. Still, I really would have liked to read these particular liner notes.

The LIM recording isn't cheap but it is cheaper than the SHM-SACD. And it is worth the price! If however you still want the SHM-SACD version, you should troll the internet for a cheaper price. It's out there.

le meilleur du meilleur, meme mon papa l'ecoute encore au paradis..

We get request from Oscar Petterson is one of favorite Jazz record . I had it in vinyl and I was looking to get it in cd in Audiophile pressing. I found this Verve 24 bits remastered and I can tell you that the sound is gorgeous . For the music The Oscar Peterson trio plays at their best . Beleive me you can buy it it's genial.

Dany