Well mastered Compact Disks

Carmen Gomes' albums may be nicely recorded, but she is not much of a singer IMO.

I just ordered the Bill Evans CD's.

Great review of

https://carmengomes.bandcamp.com/album/up-jumped-the-devil-discovering-the-music-of-robert-johnson-part-1-a-sound-liaison-one-mic-audiophile-recording

in Hifi News and Record magazine

Just when you thought you’d heard every possible take on the songbook of Robert Johnson, from true acoustic versions to Clapton’s electric tracks, up jumps singer Carmen Gomes with her own rendition. The legendary bluesman died aged just 27 in 1938, amidst all those ’sold his soul to the devil’ legends, and left a catalogue of just 29 songs, so you could argue there’s nothing new to hear. However, Gomes gives her selected tracks an atmospheric, mystical spin, with minimal backing, a simple mic set-up, in Sound Liaison style, and a ’straight to DXD’ as-live recording approach. Her sultry voice has immediacy and intimacy, the instruments captured with real vitality, and the whole recording drips with presence and a sense of performance. I can imagine this one proving popular on the demo circuit if we ever get back to them – and that would be no bad thing. AE https://www.hifinews.com/content/hi-res-downloads-february-2021

OP,

 

”CD’s are coming back. And rightly so. If one has a good dedicated red book CD player then the SQ is still better than any streaming, if the CD has been mastered well.”

 

I certainly appreciate your enthusiasm, However your statement is no longer true as a generality.. The breath and depth of available streamed material more and more contains well mastered content. Streaming as a source has been catching up and now can equal Red Book CDs and surpass the quality where higher quality files are available. Streaming surpassing CDs is available at different price points… depending on the quality level of your other components. The availability of higher quality recordings on Qobuz and Tidal are becoming very substantial.

I no longer listen to my 2,000 CDs. My streamer now equals my very good analog rig. You can see my systems under my user ID.

 

For example, I just pulled up the Carmen Gomes album. You are very correct, it is a good sounding album. 

That album  has gotten several very good reviews. Here is one more;

....."This is some of the best sounding drum sound I have ever heard on a recording. Very dynamic and not reserved. The sound of the double bass is full, rich and powerful where needed but with no hint of bloat. And the guitar.....It is clear and reverberant. Naturally, not with added reverb. Of course, the vocals are captured beautifully. Carmen is right there in front of you. This recording doesn’t take you to the recording studio. Even better, it brings the recording studio to your listening room. Very few studio recordings do this. The drums to the left, Carmen in the middle in front of the instruments and the bass just to the right of her and the guitar to the right side of the soundstage. The sound is totally three dimensional. You almost feel like you can reach out and touch everyone. The sound is totally open with natural decay and depth. It is stunning. It really is. No hyperbole."....REVIEW CARMEN GOMES - UP JUMPED THE DEVIL BY JOE WHIP FOR AUDIOPHILE STYLE