HI-REZ DVD-Audio and SACD Reference-Quality Recommendations

[polkatese]

Polkies,

I like to start a thread that hopefully can become a sticky, for us to exchange Information on Audition/Demo Reference quality for Hi-Rez DVD-Audio and SACD. Whether they are Stereo or Multi-Channels is not a factor, as long as you feel that they produce the best sound it can be. Ideally, your recommendation(s) would be something that you have first-hand experience.

Criteria of evaluation: With no added processing (i.e. Source Direct, Pure-Direct modes)
- Recording Quality
- Low: tight, deep, controlled
- Mid: Vocal, instrument separation, decay
- High: clean top end

Please feel free to add any other qualities that you deem appropriate to be considered as Reference Quality.

Let me start off with:

Steely Dan - Gaucho

http://www.amazon.com/Gaucho-DVD-Aud.../dp/B0001JXQDI

[Keiko]

http://www.amazon.com/Celtic-Spectac...2757510&sr=1-1

[Fongolio]

Morph The Cat DVD-Audio
Brothers In Arms SACD
Dark Side Of The Moon SACD
Blue Man Group The Complex DVD-Audio
Any Porcupine Tree DVD-A

[punk-roc]

+1 to any Porcupine Tree, except maybe Deadwing

Jason

[cfrizz]

The Eagles, Hotel California, DVD-A
The Eagles, Hell Freezes Over, DVD-A
Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, SACD
The Carpenters, Greatest Hits, SACD
Queen, Night At The Opera, DVD-A
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, DVD-A
Olivia Newton-John, One Womans Live Journey, DVD-A
Deep Purple, Machine Head, DVD-A
The Police, Every Breath You Take, SACD
Eric Clapton, 461 Ocean Blvd, SACD
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture, DVD-A
Blue Man Group, Audio, DVD-A
Billy Joel, The Stranger, SACD

[headrott]

Beck - Sea Change

Very good audio from the SACD. Don't recommend the DVD-A version as much.

Greg

[gfong]

Elton John's "Honky Chateau" and "Madman across the Water" SACD's

[reeltrouble1]

Jonatha Brooke--Steady Pull, DVD-A is one of my favorites, great sound and enjoyable extras on this one.

David Elias--The Window, SACD, great music just for the sake of music, some of the tracks are haunting in their sound and lyric.

RT1

[zingo]

Anything I've heard from Chesky Records on SACD.

[polkatese]

Big Phat Band - XXL - DVD-Audio

This is definitely a Top-Notch surround 5.1 demo disc. Bass, vocal, brass horns going around, and mastering quality are incredible.

[polkatese]

http://www.buenavistasocialclub.com/

Buena Vista Social Club - DVD-Audio

A little story: Back in the heydey of DVD-A (2000-2003) I read about the rave reviews of this album. But it never intrigue me to purchase it. So a few years past by and sometimes in 2006 I ran into a sale (DVD-As and SACD) over at Borders, and I saw this album again. I thought maybe I should just buy it and decided later whether I like it or not. More so for the fact that DVD-A format is dying. Fast forward to this week, as I am doing burn-in of Modwright and plop it in. Well, I am very impressed with the recording quality, and it's a very prominence influence of latin rhytm musicality. I don't speak the language, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the music.

Since this DVD-A is OOP, price is upward $40s for used, and $60s for new.