Deb asked:
>I've heard that the latest release of Joni's first album
> on CD has a much better sound than the original release.
> Did they really clear up the "bell jar" quality? Is it
> worth replacing my current copy?
and Jim L'Hommedieu answered:
> Well, I admit that I don't have a 1st generation CD of STAS.
> I bought it on a used LP. Yea, the HDCD has truer sound,
> without hiss. It's a rare occurrence when I recommend a
> CD over LP. Go for it Deb. Pass those non-HDCD copies
> on to nieces or sell them back to the used CD store. That's
> good karma. [...]
I recently picked up a HDCD version of Song to a Seagull, and compared
it to my original CD (purchased a few years ago). I could not tell any
difference.
I will admit that the high-end frequency response of my 58-year-old ears
is not very good, but I'm normally pretty fussy about sound reproduction and
can pick out noise and distortion well. I don't know how anyone abides
MP3's, for example. The few I've downloaded off the 'net sounded horrible.
One other point, besides the remastering issues: to get the benefits of
HDCD playback, you have to have CD player that incorporates a special chip
to decode it. They seem to be quite rare, according to the list on the chip
maker's website. I've never seen (or heard) one.
Bottom line for me is that while replacing Joni vinyl with new HDCD's
may be warranted, replacing your original CD's is not.
YMMV
Paul Pennington
Augusta, Georgia
