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Chris Isaak - Baja Sessions CD. Sounds better than it should.

I'm always in search of well recorded CDs and someone here on Audiogon recommended Chris Isaak's Baja Sessions. I'm an Isaak fan so I found one on eBay for about $5.

It arrived today and I popped it into the Oppo and it sounds really good. "Loudness" levels sound on par with other well recorded and mastered CDs that I have. (Hi res streaming version also sounds fantastic.) I'm very sensitive to DR that is over compressed and can usually tell immediately if a piece is highly DR compressed. Out of curiosity I checked this CD on the DR Database and while it is not way over compressed it is in that 9-10 range that usually gives only marginal SQ.

All I can say is that it sounds great and DR isn't the only measure of SQ.
n80
n80 OP
2,125 posts
 
My Oppo is the BDP-105D and I’m assuming it decodes HDCD because it flashed “HDCD” on its screen before the CD  started. 

@cd318, in terms of DR my ears are pretty happy at anything above 12. If you sort the DR database from highest DR you can find lots of CDs in the 16+ range. Some of the artists and titles with high DR are surprising. 
cd318
2,636 posts
 
@n80,

'@cd318, in terms of DR my ears are pretty happy at anything above 12. If you sort the DR database from highest DR you can find lots of CDs in the 16+ range. Some of the artists and titles with high DR are surprising.'


Yes it's a question of looking. I did see a CD listed at avg DR +18 that might be of interest as I used to have the vinyl copy -OMDs Architecture and Morality.

However that score only applies to the 1984 CD. Other iterations can be as low as only +9 average DR!

Certainly worth bearing in mind.
n80 OP
2,125 posts
 
I've been streaming Beck's Morning Phase. Never heard it before. Really like it. SQ of streaming is okay but bass gets muddy and boomy.


On DR database average DR on CD is 6. You have to try to screw something up that bad.
milpai's avatar
milpai
2,410 posts
 
Ridiculously good album. Thank You for bringing it up. Very musical and sounded fantastic on Spotify 
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
8,035 posts
 
Beck, (one of my favorites) is another artist who makes good sounding recordings. No, they don’t sound "natural" because there are a lot of effects, but his voice usually sounds close up and intimate, and the stage is large and wide.
Morning Phase is great, so is Sea Change and Mutations.
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