Norah Jones - Come Away With Me now in hi-res 24Bit/192kHz

[jdandy]

I have been waiting for the hi-res version of Norah Jones - Come Away With Me to show up at HDTracks. I received an email about it this afternoon, and I am downloading the album right now. This is my favorite Norah Jones recording. It is also available in 24Bit/96kHz hi-res format, but the price difference was only $5.00 so I went for the highest resolution. Once I have this downloaded and moved to the Olive hard drive I will offer my opinion.

[joeinid]

Cool Dan!

Thanks. I am eager to read your take on the Hi-Rez version.

[djwhog]

thanks Dan, was waiting to, love the songs but the Cd always seemed closed in the recording to me.

My 1st impression is WOW I love the HD track I got tonight

[Face]

Since I no longer have a SACD player in any of my rigs, I may have to pick this up. Thanks Dan!

[Rtan]

Great! Let us know your feedback. I have both her CD and SACD, why not HIREZ.

[JJinID]

This recording is being re-released on Hybrid SACD as well. I'm torn on which version (HD Tracks or new SACD) I want to go with....

[jdandy]

Just finished listening to the hi-res (24/192) download of Norah Jones - Come Away With Me, and doing a direct A/B comparison of it with the redbook CD version. The hi-res version has more body to Norah's voice, and presents her piano in a slightly more forward position. I started both recordings at exactly the same moment, so when I switched between the CD in the MCD1100 and the hi-res from the Olive 04HD through the MCD1100 DAC's there was no delay or advance of the music. Each time I switched to the CD the recording sounded slightly thinner and a shallower sound stage. The hi-res recording has a deeper texture to voices and instruments. What surprises me is the hi-res improvement is not revolutionary. I think I was expecting even greater clarity and dynamics. The recording is a joy to hear, but I think the hi-res version shines a bright light on an album that wasn't as well engineered or mastered as it could/should have been, particularly the microphone techniques used to capture Norah's piano. The album won a slew of awards for Norah and her band, so the emphasis was more on the quality of Norah's songs and voice than the overall recording quality. None the less, the hi-res version is a pleasant improvement over the CD.

I also own the SACD version of Norah Jones - Come Away With Me, and rarely play it because it was such a disappointment. When I purchased it I had high hope for something closer to hi-res than the redbook CD, but it was not to be. In fact, the SACD sounded vailed when compared directly to the CD. I felt ripped off. The general consensus is the SACD was simply recorded in DSD from the 16/44.1 digital master, so there was nothing to be gained. The original SACD of this album was/is a total let down, in my opinion, a down and dirty record company money grab while the recording was on top.

I had some apprehension about buying the hi-res version from HDTracks, wondering if it was just a rehash of the SACD. Fortunately it doesn't seem so. I was hoping for a greater improvement over the CD version, but I am pleased to have the evolutionary improvement none the less. I do think I could have saved the extra $5.00, and downloaded the 24/96 version with no loss in quality. Hey, live and learn. It is a good recording.

[adhesiv]

Based on all the chatter about 24/96 vs 24/192 I wonder if the lower resolution version might actually be the better of the two...guess someone will need to download both and let us know......hmmm any takers?

[Still-One]

It I remember correctly There as quite a bit of controversy when the SACD came out. There was discussion that it was derived from a 16/44 master by mistake.

Jim


OOPS, I see Dan mentioned this in his follow up post.

[JJinID]

I agree with you Dan about the original SACD, which I have along with the RBCD version. I'm wondering if the new SACD will be an improvement.

Thanks for your impressions of the HD Tracks release and comparison on your system