Yes, assuredly. But what I noticed was that some turntables/arms that sounded quite good playing a 33rpm LP simply collapsed when playing a 45, leading the owner to believe (erroneously) that 45s were not a good thing sonically. So, I’m happy to find someone who apparently enjoys the 45s as much as I did.
Ah ok, got that wrong. I have no idea how that could be except that this gear didn’t show differences. But worse with 45 RPM, equal mastering makes no sense except if the 45 speed was wrong or the motor damaged or with more rumble at 45…strange.
I am guessing you got an early release copy that didn’t suffer from the problems of the first released copy. I am hoping anyway…
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I just listened to the corrected version. Hmmmm. Pretty dark mix. Cymbals barely audible. My DSD64 version is inspirational in comparison.
Round 3?
I wait with my final judgement until I heard DSD256, but so far a recessed top end is a main problem for me with all of them, not only compared to LP releases. They have analog mids and flow and part of the 3D, but mostly little openness, transients and top end energy compared to other releases. Anyway they often beat other digital releases for what they do in the mids. But as I said…maybe not my final judgement, I’ll wait. But in all cases I compared, the high quality audiophile LP releases were way, way better sounding, in a different kind than a differing HW level would does.
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Yes, I’d agree that the HDTT is somewhat dark by comparison and that the cymbals in Blue Rondo a la Turk sound recessed in the mix. My belief is that is how the original sounded without further post-processing. The DSD64, to me, sounds very much massaged in post: bright and hard. But, the cymbals are certainly not recessed in that mix. I’ll stand by my original comments. I’d rather listen to the HDTT given my listening priorities - which I fully appreciate will not be shared by all! 
And, for @jazznut’s benefit, I still have a needle drop of the 45rpm CR vinyl. My listening partner and I both agree that it remains the best sounding of all. But, since it’s not commercially available as a digital release I’ve not referenced in my other comments.
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Did you compare a needledrop of a magic sounding LP with the vinyl playback at the time you still had it?
I’d be interested in your experience. I personally just heard clearly worse needledrops compared to the vinyl so far, although some characteristics made it to the file or from it to the speakers.
Must be very dependent on the whole process and gear used. But even an official Acoustic Sounds one didn’t convince me at all. However I think it should be possible to make it quite true to the source.
Needle drops are just for capturing the music. They rarely rise to the level of the vinyl. Just no point in investing any angst over it. But, yes, they can be quite good if proper attention is paid.
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I’m reassured that you confirm this. There’s a lot of misinformation and theorization about this around of people who seemingly often never had practical experience on a certain level.
Ordered the 24K CD. Will check out 24/96 file as well…
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My feelings about this Time Out release are mixed. I have the single sided CR 45 RPM vinyl, an original Columbia CS-8192, the original CD release, the K2 release, the Super Audio SACD release, an ISO DSD that I got from some online retailer I can’t remember, and the 176/24 release whose source I also can’t recall. All the hard digital copies are ripped to my NAS, so I have all digital copies available at once.
This DSD256 is definitely less bright in comparison even to the other DSD copies I have, but interestingly, at 8 seconds into “Take Five” I can hear (what I can only take as Brubeck) quickly calling out the moment before he starts on the keyboard. On this version it is the clearest I’ve ever heard (on digital). This would suggest a really low noise floor, but ironically, at least on this track as it continues I get more and more of a sense of a muffled top end that remains even without comparison to the other digital versions. It flows very nicely, but some of the background details - the strings of Eugene Wright’s double bass snapping against the fretboard, for example, are pretty much non-existant on this 256 version. Musically the whole release does flow in a very nice “don’t worry about the details, just enjoy the music” way - with occasional surprises like at the beginning of Take Five. I listened to it a third time with the volume raised just a bit, which was better. It’s not going to beat the CS 45’s, and if you like a snappier, more pulsingly rhythmic version the K2 is the one to get (IMO). The Super Audio SACD or the ISO is a good compromise between retaining some light in the high end and bringing that liquid quality that seems the province of DSD. This one? It has its moments; if you don’t have any other DSD versions it’s a good one, although it should be played a bit louder (like maybe 1dB). If you’ve already got every copy under the sun 
, then I’d say get it only for completeness. The CS 45 will be your benchmark. The others are alternatives of convenience.
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I’d be interested how a good Decca Opera recording sounds from HDTT. This could be a good match as their major appeal is the 3D mids, they don’t necessarily need the best transients and top end extension although their realism certainly benefits from it. The originals are fantastic but often have trackability problems at the end of the records, the Superanalogue releases are from copies, too, and probably not much better sounding than a HDTT would, if at all.
Not many complete operas in HDTT’s catalog. They tend to have more “highlights” albums. But if you want to give one a try, you might try Puccini’s Tosca with Herbert von Karajan and Leontyne Price – one of the classic recordings of this work. It’s a DXD edit master so you could play it at full resolution if that’s what you download. HDTT does not specify the provenance, but probably from a 4-track commercial tape.
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Thanks, that may be interesting, I just have this release of it so far, but many other interpretations of Tosca certainly…such a great opera…will see how my version sounds and if it makes sense to have it maybe better.
It is a great opera, music-wise. I’ve seen it a couple of times this year. The music really does drive the action on stage, which is fairly minimal. Scarpia is an all-time baddie to the point of getting booed at the curtain call, however good his performance. The louder the boos, the better he probably was. There are a couple of knock-out arias, but the visual highlight is at the end of Act 1, where Scarpia has his big number. Here’s Bryn Terfel in our local production.
In a bizarre way, Tosca’s leap to her death at the very end can override the rest of the show. I saw a Tosca at the Antwerp Opera where after a fine performance she completely blew it, I doubt she would even have bruised herself on landing, and it rather spoilt it.
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Yes, such a great opera. Of the many great versions, I mainly listen to this one. The 3-D atmosphere is simply breathtaking. I also have the first pressing, but as so often that’s not the best sounding one, one has to know the right stampers or has to be aware of the other visual options of identification. The Superanalogue LP set is also a nice alternative with own strengths and weaknesses, but the openness and 3D of the original is so stunning that you’ll never want to listen to opera by a DAC anymore. But it needs a very good vinyl rig to fully reveal this. For a long time in my audio life I was not sure why people listen to those old originals.
I had that one from a vinyl batch I bought before I sold the whole lot. The Castel Sant’Angelo doesn’t actually feature in the opera, as Angelotti escapes at the very start, but a nice try.
There seems to be agreement that Callas and Tebaldi rule the recorded Tosca roost.
I hate to be the naysayer in the crowd, but to me the Analogue Productions DSD64 of Time Out sounds much better to me then the corrected HDTT DSD256. The HDTT seems a little flat, there’s a lack of swing that I associate with this recording. I am considering asking for a refund. I don’t know how that works with digital downloads, I haven’t considered this before.
I really like what HDTT is doing for our community, but this one is a miss for me.
@vkennedy61, it’s good to share experiences with these different recordings. We each have our listening priorities, and differences in our systems can result in different experiences with the same LP, tape or digital file. Both you and @tony22 (whose post I was glad to see because he’d truly been thoughtful in his comparative listening) seem to hear this HDTT DSD256 reissue of Brubeck’s Time Out differently that I do, and that’s very okay. Again, good to share differences in experience.
I wasn’t going to speak of this again. I’ve posted my thoughts both here and in my PF review, so others should have a say. But, your disappointment, so nicely presented, caused me to want to meet you where you’re coming from and acknowledge that we can agree to have different assessments. This would happen regularly with my local audio group when we’d gather to spin some vinyl together.
When I wrote my initial assessment of this HDTT reissue, I went through the same digital files comparative listening evaluation as @tony22 described doing, and that you have done with the AP DSD64 (also here in my library). But I don’t hear what he or you are hearing. I can no longer play my CR single-sided 45rpm vinyl, which is now long gone, but I suspect I would agree it sounds the best. The needle drop I kept of it is luscious. And, to my ears now, what the needle drop reflects sounds closer to the sound of the HDTT reissue than to the other digital files.
In listening again this morning, and doing a spot check or two, I came to the same assessment of this HDTT DSD256 reissue as I did originally. I doubt I’ll ever listen to the AP DSD64 or the 24-176.4 or the CD rip again.
As a friend of mine wrote in an email exchange about this reissue,
“Bob seems to have captured a wonderful sense of ease and harmonic flow. I don’t remember Time Out ever feeling quite this mellow and musical; an excellent balance of detail and smoothness that is quite appealing. Great groove.”
And this is where I am. For my music listening priorities, the HDTT simply sounds so much better for me. Yes, it’s a bit dark; yes, the cymbals in Blue Rondo sound recessed in the mix; yes, it doesn’t have a “reach out and grab you” vibe. But, it has the natural timbre, the air around instruments, the delicacy of high frequency extension, the overall analog naturalness that I value.
The other digital files, to me, continue to sound manipulated in post processing with boosted midrange and highs, a hard sound, and a flat perspective in that there is no three-dimensional instrument playing – the instruments just don’t sound fully “real” and fleshed out.
But, hey, this is my take on this release given my listening priorities. We can have different listening priorities that lead us to prefer different files, different releases.
I encourage you to contact HDTT about your disappoint with this release. They may or may not be able to offer a refund, but I think they will try to find a way to meet you with some solution.
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To be honest the refund isn’t really important. I understand they have the best of intentions and I dig that.
I’m sure I will revisit this in the next few weeks. Our daughter is home from Grad School and I will do a blind test with her young ears. She has a great sense of pace and pitch. I think singing Acapella for years has really benefitted her.
Thanks for the thoughtful response. I do enjoy your writing style.
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