Maybe this is like asking who your favorite child is. If you have a favorite, what is it? For me it’s “Everlasting Dance”
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I like them all and dont have a particular favorite. I’m a few months without listening to my stereo but winter is coming and with it will be a lot of listening. If one track or album rises above the rest the I will report here.
Great thread!
I just received the Megan Burtt SACD and I love the music and SQ. But I noticed PSA does not include data files with the disk anymore. I guess if you want the files in future you will need to buy the downloads from now on.
I hope that is not the new normal.
(@Paul …?)
Yes, that is correct. We separated them for a few reasons. Chief among them was the cost of the data disc and the extra packaging required nearly doubled the cost of the finished SACD package – and this after they raised their prices to us in the first place. We had to decide if we keep the data disc and move to $39 per SACD or lose the data disc and keep the $29 pricing. We chose the latter.
Also, we wanted the ability to offer more download choices they were specific to what people wanted.
It’s not perfect but in the end I think a good decision.
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That’s perfectly understandable! Thanks for the explanation. I’ll probably still getting the SACD, until I upgrade my streamer (again) so the DSD256 sounds better in my system.
I can easily say the Zuill Bailey Bach Cello Suites is my favorite. I have the SACD set, the vinyl set, and just ordered the DSD 256 download, though I have no means to play it just yet. I have purchased every Octave SACD so far, the most recent one (Megan Burtt) last night so I can’t comment on liking it yet. I find most of the Octave music good to very good, the “good” not being quite to my tastes and the “very good” interesting, but needing a few more listens before I say “great music”. All of the Octave recordings are very well performed and captured in glorious sound. Definitely recommended!
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Thank you!
My wife heard Tierro Band “Everlasting Dance” playing in my music room and demanded her own copy. It’s also my favorite, among Don Grusin, Zuill Bailey and Gabriel Mervine. I’ve always liked bluegrass and folk instrumentation, so Tierro Band appeals to me. Calling it “gipsy grass” is appropriate. It also reminds me of an odd group I really like, Barcelona Gypsy Balkan Orchestra. It’s, uh, about what the name says.
Zuill Bailey Bach Cello Suites, Scabaret Hothouse Flower, and the new Megan Burtt are my favorites so far.
Here are my top choices.
- Zuill Bailey: Bach Suites
- Tie: Carmen Sandim: Mini Brazilian Beasts
Tierro Band: Everlasting Dance - Gabrielle Mervine: Say Somethin’
I’ve listened to all the releases on the website now. Early on I bought them as they were released, but pretty quickly I realized I just wasn’t always a fan of the content and started to listen before I ordered. I don’t mind the price, knowing the support it provides the artists, but if I’m going to pay it, I’m going to make sure I’m going to listen to it many times in the future because I like it that much. These four are such discs and are worth the money spent to me.
I have no interest in paying for a sampler however, particularly at the Octave Record price. I am disappointed that some of the tracks are just that, individual tracks that are not from a full length album. I’d buy more if some were. Probably the best example is the guitar duet of Taylor Sims and Kyle Donovan, with their duet entitled Lowland on Audiophile Masters V. There are several others. Yes I know the Audiophile Masters are not strictly “samplers,” but still.
Surprisingly, Temporary Circumstances and Out of thin Air are the two that I was less than thrilled with early on. They are both fine, but for me not worth the price I paid. I’m a fan of the Grusins, but this one just left me flat for some reason, which is disappointing. A lot of the vocal groups are the same for me. Nothing wrong with any of them, and as are all the Octave Record releases, they are sonically excellent, but they are just not my favorite for one reason or another and just didn’t resonate with me. I might buy the Foxfeather Nature of Things effort at some point because I do like several of the tracks.
Paul, might I suggest that rather than including a data disc, include the digital downloads instead when you purchase the SACD. Like many I imagine, I would like to have the ability to have .dsf files on my server as well as the physical SACD. It costs nothing to provide the files for download (like a digital download when you buy a movie on physical disc) as opposed to providing a physical
data disc as you mention.
Another thought, Paul, would be to offer individual songs to download and purchase, kind of a build your own sampler idea. While I’m more of a play an album from beginning to end kind of guy, I could see myself picking up a song or two here and there from the Octave catalog where I won’t purchase a sampler or entire album.
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FWIW, I would gladly pay $39 for the two discs (and a reasonable bit more) in order to have some higher resolution files as well as the SACD disc.
That said, costs and margins matter; and you have to do what is best for you and your customers overall. (But I do hope you will consider offering SACD and data discs again in the future - even at a higher price point. Maybe when some of the inflationary pressures recede?)
Best regards.
Hi I don’t have any of the sacds. But I have a few of the octave Vinyl releases
1 Gabriel Mervin
2 Both Clandestine Amigo albums
3 Don Grusin
4 Audiophile masters volume 1 and 2
5 Fox feather
6 Augustus
7 Tom Lafond
I enjoy all of these releases but lately have been listening to the latest Clandestine Amigo LP and Audiophile Volume 2.
We will, yes. Thanks for the understanding. It’s hard to know what the perfect model is. We’re learning as we go along and feedback like this is invaluable. With many thanks.
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I’m late to this thread but jumped on the forum to post somewhere how much I’m loving “The Moon Leans In” by Thom Lafond on vinyl. Wow, just amazing!! The music is fantastic, the recording is outstanding and the vinyl is dead quite. The DSD files are also great, played through my DirectStream DAC. This is now my favorite title, especially on vinyl.
Thank you Thom and all involved!
Tony
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Welcome @nsxelent !
Yes, welcome! That album’s music is some of the best I thin k we’ve released. Thanks for noticing.
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I’m a little late to the forum, but dang, I love this one. I have to say, every time we finish a new album, that one becomes my favorite. Spoiler… Tom Amend Octet and Audiophile Masters Volume VII, both releasing in April, haven’t left my system since I got them. Love them.
Easily, Erik Deutsch, Decades.
(DSD 128 download)