OK, I promised this so long ago you have probably forgotten. It took me forever to get this disc, but I finally got it.
I had downloaded this music from nativedsd.com and REALLY love it. But I cannot play the multi channel file, only stereo.
I wanted to compare what it sounded like in surround sound, so I bought the SACD disc and FINALLY got to play it tonight.
Compare DSD 2 channel to DSD surround, in this case, 5.0.
It is the Ivan Fischer conducting the Budapest Festival Orchestra playing Rachmaninoff's Symphony #2 and a rather short piece I love after that, "Vocalise".
When the young Rachmaninoff premiered his first symphony, it was performed in a hostile environment, musically, rival musical cities and all that, AND the conductor was drunk!!!! So it was met with horrible reviews, Rachmaninoff was crushed and in depression for years. (I have not heard it, it is on order, waiting for it to get here, but I have heard it is quite a good first attempt). He finally wrote a few things which were much better rec'd, including his wonderful 2nd Piano Concerto. So he finally wrote this Second symphony and premiered it after lots of agonizing revisions in 1908. It was and still is a big hit. He got his redemption, came back from the dead, career wise.
And you can hear it in the music. The third movement, the Adagio has been widely copied and used in other songs and movies.
It is wonderful music.
This performance emanates from a BLACK background, total silence, and it's WARM and a Bit Dark!!!! And builds to joy!!!! Sweet, luscious joy!!!! Rich, full and round in surround sound, it tops the 2 channel version in every way. All the same sound, but just more of it, more involving, immersive.
My only disappointment is the bass, being only 5.0 I did not get any real improvement in bass with the surround version.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this recording. The Vocalise piece is just beautiful. It is laid back music though, for the most part. Especially the last, Vocalise.
God Bless,
Wayne

This forum saw some discussion on Mahler's #8, Symphony of a Thousand.
Well, SACD is Hi Res music isn't it? Try this one out.
Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony playing not only Mahler's 8th but also the Adagio from Sym #10, all that Mahler really fully finished before his death.
The Adagio is AWESOME, mind boggling!!!!
I am not really a MTT fan, but I have to grudgingly admit that he has the SF Sym Orchestra sounding fantastic here. The Choirs and soloists, too.
It is well worth the listen, IF you like this sort of music and Amazon has the double SACD at under $30.
A new recording is coming out with the Utah Symphony Orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir done by Reference Recordings which could well sound a bit better, you will probably want to check that one out.
Happy Listening,
God Bless,
Wayne

I want to share something of a hoot with you.
I buy some music downloads of really high quality DSD recordings from this website nativedsd.com
Hi Quality and reasonable prices I think, but some will not if they think music should be free.
I am happy to support musicians and great recordings. And think I can hear the difference too.
So they advertised for reviewers. They ran a contest where you could write a review of a recording you had bought from their site,
in dsd. Submit it. And just for submitting a review they rewarded us with a free download of an album!!!!
I just got a free copy of Maya Fridman "Red Velvet" in DXD, that is original studio quality!!!!!
FREE!!!
They will let us know who won an opportunity to be a reviewer for them soon. I am sure I did not win, I don't have the gift of gab. But was still stoked to enter and get this album. I am still downloading it, will let you know how it sounds. But I love Maya F, so I am sure it will be superb.
My Black Friday and Cyber Mon. were spent shopping for high resolution music downloads on sale.
I just downloaded another one of hers, "The Invisible Link" and am still processing it, it is modern and taking me time to get my head around it.
God Bless,
Wayne

Inside Audio has partnered with NativeDSD and are trying to educate people more about Hi Res music.
Here is an interview with Jonas, one of the founders of Nativedsd.com
I thought it was informative and there is a link where you can get some samples of free dsd music to check it out for yourself.
www.insideaudio.net/en/blog/other/a/inte...gh-end-quality-music

For me, I LOVE the sound on SACDs. And I copy the normal, CD quality layer for my music files for on the go music. BUT of course I cannot copy the hi res dsd layer music. And it sounds better. WELL, at this place I can download it!!!! I don't have to bother with making a file copy, but I do have to pay for it.
The quality is between really good and AWESOME!!!!!
I am not affiliated at all with these people, just loving the music I have gotten from them.
So I wanted to share with you.
God Bless,
Wayne

Hi Wayne,

This opportunity to sample Hi Resolution intrigued me. I followed the links in your post and ended up downloading 6 of the 7 tracks available to sample the different versions of the Mendelssohn Midsummer Night's Dream Scherzo. I also have two other recordings of this music in my files. One of them is a ADD reissue of a recording made by The Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell - a recording probably stemming from the late 1960s or 1970s. The other one is a DDD recording on Philips - probably recorded in the 1990s or early 2000s.

I wondered if my music player software (MusicBee) would play these type of files and I wondered if my Cambridge DAC Magic Plus would decode them. Both worked, so I have been able to listen to all six versions of the Scherzo.

Unfortunately, the website did not provide a standard-CD quality version of the same recording for comparison. So, all I can do is compare the 6 different DSD versions to each other and all of them to my two other recordings.

I have listened to the six different DSD versions a couple of times. At this point, I cannot discern any difference in sound between the six DSD versions. When comparing the DSD versions to my two other recordings, I cannot really form any useful opinions because the recordings are different - different orchestras, different recordings, different performance tempi, etc.

Finally, I am unsure about playing these DSD files through MusicBee and my Cambridge DAC versus playing them through some other player/DAC combination designed for these type of files. Maybe it would matter - maybe not.

I sent an email to Jonas Sacks asking if a standard-CD version of the Scherzo was available for download. I am awaiting his response.

Your thoughts?

Best,

Art

Well Bro Art, this hobby is indeed wonderful but challenging!!!!
A lot of the differences are SUBTLE and some are only revealed at higher volumes, some more so in what you can hear in the quiet passages and some are just a better sense of the ambient sounds of the recording venue.
The differences in the sound of the actual music is harder to hear, for me, (number one because my OLD ears are not that great anymore) on music I know. Because my brain already is filling in an "idealized" version of what this song purely sounds like. That is why, for me, I can listen to a song on the car radio or MP3 and still enjoy it, because my brain already knows what it sounds like, so that is what I hear (and the speakers are not really playing ALL THAT!).
BUT I have been recently listening to the two new Maya Fridman albums I mentioned above, this is music I have never heard, nor dreamed of. Some sounds on the cello that I did not know were even possible!! And some awesome, rich, deep, full, creamy, wonderful music that is beyond my description. Words don't do it justice. The hi res files here SURELY must be helping bring all these qualities and music through. I have nothing to compare it to in my hearing life. But it sure does sound RIGHT!!!!
I guess, most of the time I am in the same boat you are Art, and I would never claim to hear night and day, veil lifted differences. Not asking to be taking part in any hearing tests. BUT, I do think that the more time I am spending listening to really high quality music on dsd files, the more I am able to appreciate what is happening, what I am hearing.

OH, and BTW, I am enjoying this Hi Res music through really good quality custom in ear monitors and with a beautiful DAP with Texas Instruments, Burr Brown DAC. In other words, through speakers you have all the room interactions, etc. that I think make it harder to hear EXACTLY what is going on with a recording. In ear or Headphones is probably better for comparisons. IMHO.

I hope you enjoy the music and the journey!!!
God Bless,
Wayne