I certainly enjoy it myself. I think most just expected it to sound like the piano was in front of them as opposed to surrounding them. If I step away to the other room, Don’s piano is transported to my living room. Quite the mind trick.
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It is not how we hear a piano. It is not what one hears when sitting and playing. It is not what we hear when it is played either ten feet away or on stage. As I mentioned a good time ago, it is a bit like standing in the saddle of the piano, facing the player.
It is odd. But it is a nice warm sound.
It depends on what one wants in a recording. Lifelike, impressionistic, etc.
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Yeah, it may be a bit system and listener dependent as well. I play piano a bit myself and it really does feel to me like being behind the ivories. But I’m sure it’s different for all. It took a bit of listening to “acclimate” to it, but once I did, it’s quite entertaining (more varied pieces are needed though…).
yup, a perspective like this is like watching a football match from standing in the middle of the field. Interesting, new, somehow spectacular, but also unrealistic, odd and not what a meaningful camera perspective (or in the other case stereo high fidelity) is really meant for.
But I think 60% of listeners may have a speaker positioning where they don’t even take notice and where this may sound in a strange way much better than the normal stuff.
Offhand I can think of a least 3 offers she could make me that I couldn’t refuse.
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You nailed it. I play the piano (poorly) and have spent some time in recording studios and this is the perspective I hear as well.
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Yes, next release is Clandestine Amigo’s new album, Temporary Circumstances. They are a local band you’ve never heard of https://www.clandestineamigo.com/ but that’s soon to change. They are extraordinary. We’ve been working on this album since January and it’s finally ready for a September release.
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Hmmm… who is that bass player??? Where have I heard that name… he looks familiar… 
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Nice! I like the samples on their website. This could be a really good one, can’t wait.
I see your head speaker designer is moonlighting…
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Yes, no kidding! He might know a thing or two about speakers too!
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I’ve listened to the SACD a couple of times and have been a little hesitant to give my opinion. My first thought is this is tonally an excellent recording, but something is different. I can’t put my finger (ear?) on what’s different, but I don’t feel like it is the “I’m inside the piano” perspective that others have mentioned. To me the piano is just there in the room, no real ambience. I think it’s the close recording perspective that removes the recording space from the sound and makes it sound different. This is not a bad thing, just a different thing …
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I tried the data disc and SACD and really can’t tell any difference in sound between the two. Both played with the DMP without problem. Sounds like two live pianos, one playing the higher registers on the left side and one playing the lower registers on the right side. The pianos sounds live with nice rich resonances and air behind the speakers. Very enjoyable sound and nice music.
Bass on the right, treble on the left and closely mic’d is one of the oddities of the recording. It is the opposite of sitting at the piano and playing.
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I haven’t ordered the Album yet but I find many of the comments here interesting to the point Im going to place an order soon. Hi quality recordings and reproductions are what we are all looking for. Along with that we want to hear exceptional musicianship, and for the music to make us feel. A perfect performance is not necessarily the most musical or emotive performance and the same can be said about the recording or reproduction system. I look forward the hearing many more recordings from this new label. Even if I’ve yet to hear the first album…I find it exciting as the concept of a quality chain looks promising.
Bought a small amount of vinyl today, including I, Jonathan. It is a studio recording that has a live sound and it is on a fabulous pressing by Craft. First off, a great record requires great music. Reminds me a bit of Eels, who is the only other person who could write a song called “I was dancing in the lesbian bar”.
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I just listened to the samples under the Products header. I just wish I could preorder. I’ll probable get both the SACD and the vinyl versions. So glad that you will have this in 45rpm vinyl! Who is pressing the vinyl for you?
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Received my copy of the Don Grusin - Out of Thin Air, and have thoroughly enjoyed the clarity of the recording - especially the fade to silence at the end of each track. I note that while there is a catalog number on the discs [OCT-0001], there is no barcode on the package. Adding a barcode would facilitate indexing with cataloging programs like Music Collector. As it stands there are many recordings out there with catalog number OCT-001, which Music Collector doesn’t distinguish from OCT-0001.
Apologies if this topic has been raised elsewhere already, and yes there are still a few of us left who still like to play music from a disc (as well as from a server or music service).
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Welcome michael900!
A good suggestion.
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Good, historic name. In 1959 Jazz great Erroll Garner and his manager Martha Glaser founded and launched one of the first artist owned labels which they called Octave Records.
Relatedly…
I have purchased all of the Octave releases to date (on discs). Has anyone been able to find recording information out their on the “Interwebs” that can be a source of meta-data.
So far I have had to tag all of the Octave recordings manually when ripping them to my hard drive via dBpoweramp Music Converter.
I would like to see PS Audio make the data available to the usual suspects so that dBpoweramp and other ripping/library software can to out and grab the appropriate data.
At this point, I even have to go out and find, copy and download Album Art for the files.
@Paul …?
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