Their version of “I Fall in Love Too Easily” is a masterclass in minimalist recording done right. One carefully placed Josephson C700S microphone, straight to DSD256, absolute clarity and presence.
The double bass sound is superb, deep, warm, and completely natural. You can hear the wood resonate, the strings breathe.
And then there’s “Lover Man”, Spaargaren’s tenor saxophone sound on that track brings Ben Webster to mind. It’s got that breathy warmth and emotional weight that’s so rare in modern recordings. No sharp edges, just velvet tone and pure expression.
But more than anything, the musicians feel almost physically present. Not just close, they are here in my listening room. The stereo image, the depth, it all locks into place in a way that very few recordings manage.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in pure, honest sound. This is essential listening.
If anyone can recommend recordings that come close to this level of realism and presence, I’d love to hear them.
Thank you for your post! I am delighted to see that Sound Liaison has now released this Pure DSD album. I’d heard it was coming, so with your post I now know to go get it.
For some other very transparent Pure DSD256 jazz recordings, you might try any of these:
And thanks again for the heads up on the release of In Essence. I was able to get a copy and then get with Peter and Frans for a further “enhancement:” a free sample track download to make available for a limited time:
Given this thread’s title of Pure DSD, I thought I should post this here… I just posted to Positive Feedback a list of the Pure DSD256 albums that I consider my “top of the pile” for sound quality. Separate categories for 1) Classical and 2) Jazz, Popular, and World. And the music and performances are great! I guarantee there are no recorded train noises here.
And today I have posted an article about why Pure DSD256 files are so important to me in my listening. This article contains links to download some free sample files, including comparison to files mixed in PCM versus files mixed entirely in the DSD domain.
You are welcome. I have a thing about Pure DSD256 – it’s just the ultimate in sound quality! And, while there are some things that can only be accomplished in PCM (e.g., the recent Jane Ira Bloom album, In Space), my heart is with acoustic music heard as the audience would hear it. And this is where Pure DSD256 shines.
