Blue Note Jazz Recordings

Was in a Borders Book & Music store yesterday March 1,2005.While browsing noticed in their music dept.,they have a great deal right now buy 3 CDs and get the 4th free.Also noticed they had a great selection of the RVG Blue Note editions at 11.99 each. However this offer applies to all CDs in stock regardless of price, buy 3 get the 4th free. One helluva deal. So check the local Borders Book & Music stores in your area, great way to save and get the music you want.

Check out Red Trumpet. This site has a dedicated Blue Note/RVG section.

Islandear - Thanks for the heads up on Red Trumpet. Have bookmarked this for future use. The link is below

http://www.redtrumpet.com/index.php3?sid=1128770810

Will have to give them a try.

Great Blue Note section on this site.

I have purchase several of these RVG editions and think they are fantastic. Music Direct (amusicdirect.com) has recently offerred some nice deals of packages of 5 and 6 of these.

Blue Note LP vs Blue Note CD RVG editions.

Have been able to make this comparison now. And the results are below.

The equipment is Oracle Turntable,Sumiko Premier FT 3 tonearm with Grado Platinum cartridge, with Grado phono preamp. The CD Player used is the Arcam CD 73 24 Bit Dac.

Was able to switch back and forth easily due to the Forte F 44 preamp that has remote capability.

Compared John Coltranes album " Blue Train " on LP and CD. Coltrane on LP is the Direct Metal Master and the CD is the same title as a Rudy Van Gelder edition in 24 Bit format.

Being the vinyl junkie I am, been at this for 48 years now,have to admit that the gap has indeed become very narrow now. First got into CD in 1983 when there was only 25 CD titles listed in the Schwanns Catalog. So I do have some experience in the CD medium. Over that time have had several CD Players and in about the last 5 years or so CD Players have made quantum inroads in their sonic signature and probably won't be much longer until CD is totally on par with vinyl.

Like any comparison it is system dependent on the components used. Too see the complete system for this evaluation click on systems Forte/Alon. Fully aware that most of you have systems that far exceed my Forte/Alon and I tip my hat to you in that regard. However this is my current reference systems as it stands now.

First of all I have to admit this was a tough call and the CD format is a lot closer than I would have previously thought possible or care to admit to, being somewhat prejudice to vinyl.

Neither format was a let down to listen to, as both formats were very easy to listen to. But for overall sonic signature have to give the nod to the LP format, by a slim margin. In my opinion the Arcam with its 24 Bit resolution DAC has brought this much closer to the analog signature.

Brief description of the 24 Bit DAC as folows:

High-bit format for higher resolution and lower distortion from CD The 24-bit DAC re-quantizes the 16-bit digital signal to convert it to the 24-bit format. This process compensates for the conversion error that is created during recording. The result: you get a sound that is closer to the original sound, an analog signal with finer resolution.

Listen for several hours to both of these formats and came away with the conclusion, that if push came to shove I could live quite nicely with the CD version.

Rudy Van Gelder at Blue Note is to be highly commended for these reissues he put to 24 Bit format. No doubt he clealy knows what he is doing. Listed below are the formats themselves.

John Coltrane - Blue Train - BST81577LP-DMM on Teldec Vinyl

John Coltrane - Blue Train - 724349532625 - RVG 24 Bit CD

Both are from the Blue Note Label and on both Rudy Van Gelder is listed as the recording engineer. Nuff said there.

It is clear to me that the digital camp has been listening to the carping of the analog camp and finally beginning to produce software and players that have truly begin to make inroads as a serious alternative to vinyl. If the technology continues at this pace the digital format is not far off from being equal to vinyl.

I fully realize that in posting this that various opinions from the membership will emerge. And that is as it should be. Everyone hears things differently and certainly one's system and it's components will have an effect on what one hears as being the musical truth for them.

In closing I have tried to be fair and as concise as possible with the gear I have and based on some 48 years in this hobby.