Stanley Turrentine - That's Where It's At

Blue Note has never sounded this good on CD before - these are the first digital Blue Notes that come close to the sound of vinyl. And the packaging is outstanding. I love the high quality glossy covers, and the insert booklets are the first effort I've seen to fit high quality photography into such a small package. Keep up the good work!

Astute listeners know that the very first Blue Note CD issues are sonically superior to the more recent RVG remasters. Well, these XRCD24s absolutely crush them both, displaying high-frequency air, midrange presence, and bottom-end definition and weight missing on earlier CDs and many LPs as well.

Compared to the 45 r.p.m. vinyl, the LPs still have a slight edge in smoothness and liquidity, but thanks to the XRCD process and the care that was taken transferring these albums directly from the original analog masters, these CD's have to be approaching the limit of what the compact disc is capable of resolving. Instrument timbre is stunningly real, and the amount of air and decay present on these recordings will make the uninitiated swear that there is a record playing on a turntable somewhere. I've never heard this music sound this good in any digital format.

The quality is next to none and as far the sound goes they are absolutely beautifully recorded, the timing is perfect and the clarity of the instruments is spot on, I will treasure these CDs. I am eagerly awaiting the rest of the collection.

The sound is absolutely stunning and natural and represents digital at its best. The space around instruments and decay times are reminiscent of live acoustic performances. The mini-hardcover book format packaging is exceptional with great photography and legible liner notes. Truly well done and keep them coming.

a well done XRCD... It's a sound that comes about as close to analog excellence as we've heard from any digital format... These discs are open, dynamically free, tonally natural... the bass is textured, melodic, and explosive when a drummer lets loose... they may not quite equal the breathtaking sonics of the vinyl discs in transparency, immediacy, and ultimate dynamic pop, [but] they come very close. So close, in fact... I was prepared to get up and flip the LP to Side Two - except I wasn't listening to an LP but to a Yoshida-mastered XRCD.

The sound of these XRCD24s is outstanding. I will actually go as far as stacking it up against that of the Blue Note SACDs I've heard. Unfortunately, there are no direct comparisons in my collection, but the clarity, tonal accuracy, and sense of space are top-notch. As is usual with Rudy Van Gelder productions, the sound is a bit binary — left or right — but the music still shines through. Listen, for instance, to the clarity and precision of Hancock's piano emanating from the left speaker, or Gordon's tenor blowing out of the right. The tonal accuracy is outstanding... And while we are limited to the 25 titles in this series, most have not yet been issued on higher-resolution physical discs, and that makes these XRCD24's the best way to listen to this glorious music. Producer Joe Harley, mastering engineer Alan Yoshida, and executive producer Bob Bantz deserve a world of credit for using the XRCD24 process to give us these titles in superb sound and deluxe packaging. While I'll cherish the 25 titles in this series, a part of me will always wish for more.