New Label for me--question

[slwiser]

Has anyone got any CDs from here and if so are they worth getting due to compression issues?

http://www.mosaiccontemporary.com/recommend.asp

They have some great artist so this may be a good source for some music for me it they do a good job. I have purchased to many CDs lately that are poor sounding.

[Dusty Chalk]

Actually, it doesn't look like they're all from any one label. I recognize a lot of them from Columbia, for example (Al Di Meola, Return to Forever, etc.). Romantic Warrior, specifically, I know has had multiple remasters, as I have at least two of them (within reach, I might add).

They might be one of those labels that also has an online store to sell stuff that they "believe" in.

[slwiser]

I sent Mosaic a question from their web site contact info here is their fast response:

These are newly remastered CDs generally in 24 bit; the highest audio quality.

[grawk]

Their label releases 24 bit cds? The masters are the highest quality, or being 24 bit makes them the highest quality?

[laxx]

That statement makes me think being 24 bit makes them the highest quality.

[grawk]

That statement makes me think being 24 bit makes them the highest quality.

Yes, I was waiting for confirmation of that before pointing out how laughable that statement is.

[JBLoudG20]

Yes, I was waiting for confirmation of that before pointing out how laughable that statement is.

[slwiser]

I decided to go over to the Steve Hoffman web site and search for Mosaic mastering and see what I get.

I found a thread titled:

How Good Is The Sound Of Mosaic CD/LP sets

A usernamed Mike V? says this:

First post:

I love these sets myself. I have the Miles/Coltrane set, and the sound is very good. I haven't listened in a while, but I much prefer the mastering of the tracks from Kind Of Blue to the most recent reissue from Classic (those are the only 2 I have for comparisons). Expect quiet, but not silent pressings. They are pressed at RTI, but for whatever reason, I find these to be the most problematic RTI pressings I've had. In particular, there were tiny (barely visible) blisters that were very audible (pops, ticks) that radiated generally in one direction from the center of the disc, usually about an 2 inches beyond the label. Half the discs had this problem, but Mosaic is super duper cool about replacing problem discs.

Second post:

Oh, one more note. On the Miles Quintet box (with Wayne Shorter, Herbie H & crew), the "Circle In The Round" track has been slightly compressed and some bass was sucked out. It's in the liner notes. Apparently, at around 30 minutes, they had to do this to keep the track on 1 side. Even still, it's a great sounding transfer and an awesome track (IMO). Just not well suited to LP for time reasons alone. Thought you'd like to know!

Another guy says this;

I've gotta say that I really enjoy Mosaic's handiwork. I have the T-Bone Walker, Django Reinhardt & Otis Spann box sets and love the quality work they put into them. I put them right along side of Bear Family.

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So they are sensitive enough to note when compression is going on. Which I good I think.

Who is the "Bear Family?"

There were several other threads that suggests that this label may be doing things right.

[slwiser]

One more post on Steve Hoffman's web site:

Thread named: Great Article on the Disaster of Digital Music

from a guy DrJ:

I'm not anti-CD...in fact as a vintage jazz fan, the CD jazz reissue boom of the 90s was an unbelievable treasure trove. Tons of great boxed sets, alternative takes and unreleased tracks that were really, really worth hearing, very obscure records finally seeing light of day again after 40 or more years of out of print status...it was a high time, in the sense of being able to hear the stuff. We had access to more of the jazz canon than had ever been available up to that point, 1920s on. The deluge has slowed in the 2000s for sure but we're still getting some heretofore amazingly rare stuff. It's very, very nice to live in this time.

But still, as I've returned to vinyl, and this time high end playback through quality tube systems, I can't help but feel cheated as well. I feel I could have had all that great music I talked about above PLUS phenomenal sound, but in the vast majority of cases I feel I got all that music with fair to downright poor sound. There are obviously a few remastering engineers - Steve, Malcolm Addey (who does some phenomenal work now for Blue Note and Mosaic), Doug Sax, a couple more - who do CD right. Those I listen to all the time. Anyone who listens to, say, the DCC RAM and ISN'T drawn in just can't be listening!

But most CD releases are frankly embarrassing, sonically, stemming from all kinds of bad decisions in the production chain...Xth generation source tapes, noise reduction, EQ twiddling, compression, etc etc. I'm preaching to the choir, I know, but THAT comedy of errors is the real problem with CD that increases the distance between listener and music...it's NOT an inherent media problem. Yes I know redbook isn't perfect, but neither is SACD, neither is vinyl, neither is any format. They all have their flaws. But at least back in the glory era of vinyl, the "well done to poorly done" ratio for records was quite high. The same ratio for CD I would say is dismally low.

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