Recommendations for a jazz record which demonstrates vinyl superiority over digital

@cundare2 Thanks for your thoughtful and explicit reply! I hit on Kind of Blue as a likely candidate after doing a bit of research. But when I first played it, I had the same reaction as most people have when they are confronted with their first classical piece. I like it more (loathe it less) each time I play it, and even find myself humming bits in my head.

My partner, who has much wider tastes in music, is still in the loathe it camp.

You mention Quad ESL speakers, without specifying the model. Usually Quad ESL on its own means the first model, which is sideways on three legs. Now known as the ESL 57 for the year it was introduced. I have a pair of Quad ESL 2905 which use completely different principles, and are a development of the ESL 63.

The UHQR recording of Kind of Blue is in-stock in Sydney for A$300. Deep breath! But only a bit more than twice the price of the Original Master Recording I mentioned. I am tempted ...

@richardbrand

D:\Gr - Vid\QUADRichard: As I’m sure you know, "KoB" is one of the most highly respected releases in that particular genre, and it’s a good entry point if you’re not already a fan. But I can understand your reaction. I remember many years ago, as a callow youth, I had the same response. After many playings, however, I grew to appreciate and love the album. But everybody’s mileage varies, and I wanted to at least point out the terrific job that AP did on this release. Not even other UHQRs in my collection compare.

You’re in Australia? If you were truly interested in this album, maybe it’s worth lurking on eBay for a while and in case a cheaper copy will pop up. But really, $300 AUD is not totally outrageous, at least IMHO, and at least for this particular release. That’s about $200 US, and the record was $125 new, I think. And who knows, maybe somebody reading this message might be willing to part with a copy at a reasonable price.

You guessed correctly re: my Quads. My understanding is that "ESL-57" was never the correct, "official" model name and that the 1957 model is still referred to at IAG as the original "ESL." Sorry for any confusion. I restored my copper-grill model to factory spec, even installing NOS panels, and powered it with factory-restored 1950s Quad 2 Class A monoblocks. I was forced to sell my units when downsizing in retirement (it still churns my stomach to think about it), but my relatively small, easier-to-manage Harbeths may be as close as you can get to Quad electrostatic sound from dynamic drivers, at least in the sub-$40,000 price range!

Re: your original question, you might want to seek out J. Gordon Holt's famous organ LP

@herman 

When I re-started down the vinyl path, I took a few records I know very well to my favourite dealer to play on a deck I had previously heard, when it was used as the source for a speaker demonstration evening.  That experience has not put me off.  In simpler words, I liked what I heard.  The dealer now wants a copy of one of my records, so it was a win-win.

Yes, it is hard to do a tangential arm properly, but that just means money has to be spent on precision engineering.  The Holbo happens to be something of a bargain although it is certainly not cheap, at least in my book.

Regardless of what you think of my current (deliberately undisclosed) set-up, I will be taking my new records to play on quite high-end systems. Some for example with the A$300,000 speakers which I listened to a couple of days ago.

I hope this concept has not gone over your head ...

@cundare2 

Thanks for the clarification on the ESL!  As it happens I was looking for a pair of substitute speakers while repairing my Quad 2905 ones.  First thought was KEF LS50 but I saw a video (cannot remember whether it was TAS or Stereophile) where an ESL-2905 owner was impressed by the stand-mount KEF Reference 1, which is almost ten times the price of the LS50.  I bought a pair, and in many ways prefer them to the big Quads.

Harbeth and KEF both came out of BBC engineering (thanks, taxpayers) but KEF concentrates on apparent point-source coincident drivers.

Yep, I now live down-under in Oz, having once been a ten-pound pom!

Ultimately, I want to be able to judge whether it is worth spending any more on my vinyl hardware, or stick with digital.

You can play leapfrog with you vinyl and digital front ends for the rest of your life.  Upgrade your vinyl system and it will outperform your digital.  Then upgrade your digital front end and it will outperform your vinyl rig that you just upgraded, etc., etc.  You get the idea. 

Just figure out what you want to listen to and dump most of the money into one of the two or achieve lesser performance and have both.  If you have unlimited funds, build two state of the art front ends.

If you like records that aren't available in digital formats or if you listen to a lot of albums where the vinyl mastering is much better than the digital versions, then you kind of need a good analog front end.  If neither of those cases apply to you, then it probably doesn't make sense to mess with vinyl unless you just like to learn about and play with TTs, carts., and phonostages (which is a totally valid reason to have a TT in my opinion).