CTI CD comparisons

If someone knows who is mastering this series, please let us know.

 

I'm assuming it's Seiji Kaneko. Other than the 2009 CTI+RVG masterings, Kaneko has remastered nearly every CTI reissue on CD for King Records.
His sound is usually dry, punchy bass, and he doesn't use a lot of noise reduction so theres more detailed highs compared to US and EU reissues. He also doesn't remix tracks from the original LP mixes. King Records doesn't have access to the complete session tapes for CTI albums except for Deodato's Prelude so these releases will only contain the original LP presentations.

 

I love his masterings on the New Jazz Series from the nineties. The CTI timeless collection is very good but there seems to be some noise reduction used at times as well as compression.
I can't wait to hear the new series!

 

I received three of the new releases from the new CTI Supreme Collection. Penny Arcade, Power of Soul and Beck.
If you like Joe Farrell, I highly recommend this replacement to the loud and shrill sounding Wounded Bird release from 2011. This new one is not as loud, it has a DR score of 12, while the WB issue was 8. And it's less treble boosted with warmer a tone and has punchier bass. I have a second grade reading level of Japanese, but the liner notes don't appear to credit who do did the remastering, but it's still in the likeness of Seiji Kaneko.
I'll post my thoughts on the other 2 as soon as I get to them.

 

In case anyone is interested the entire CTI Supreme Collection is available in 192.kHz/24 bit (Wav or Flac) and DSD 2.8 MHz downloads. At e-onkyo
http://www.e-onkyo.com/feature/31/

 

A pity they are so expensive (¥ 2,800; $27.20/each), as I might've otherwise rolled the dice on a few of these LPs I don't already have in my collection. Regardless, thank you for sharing the link!

 

Google translation to English re: high-res downloads:

It should be noted, is delivered by e-onkyo music as "PCM 192kHz/24bit" "DSD 2.8MHz" also has a separate mastering. The mastering of this time, the master - in order to take advantage of the sound of the original with the tape, do not use equipment such as a compressor or equalizer dare, play tape deck made in Germany at (TELEFUNKEN M-15A), it is most suitable for the master tape of each I adopt the method of sending directly to the recorder by a cable that seems.

 

I just pulled the trigger on Sunflower from e-onkyo. I'm so glad I did, the mastering is sublime, very warm and dynamic, i love it!

 

Does e-onkyo have an english store?

 

Sunflower is one of my very-favorite CTI LPs. Have you heard either the original LP, the Epic/Legacy CD reissue, or the most recent 40th CD on Masterworks Jazz? I'm curious how it might compare...

 

Thank you for your impressions of the Wounded Bird CDs.

I purchased Joe Farrell's Canned Funk on Wounded Bird and was surprised to hear the title track sound so harsh. When I compared it to an older CTI compilation, the compilation track sounded much better. It was the first Wounded Bird release I bought to have that shrilly sound...

 

To my ears, the e-onkyo sunflower is the most analog sounding version. IMHO, the Legacy is unlistenable, seems like it was made from a bad source. It's bright and shrill. That's probably why Mark Wilder took another source for the 40th Masterwork edition. I like this one but I prefer the old CBS cd. It's very airy, the sound is wide open and clear but not bright. It lacks a little bottom end and bass but overall, it's a very good mastering. I also like the King Timeless collection version but there's a little compression used on People Make the world go round and it's spoiling the overall quality. My go-to version is now the e-onkyo, followed by the cbs cd.

 

This may be an interest to those who don't believe in 192khz/24bit resolutions.
I e-mailed King Records, and asked about the CD releases of the new masterings, and if they were the same masterings as the downloads which have no EQ or Compression and was told this:

So this means it's not a necessity to get the expensive downloads just to hear the unaltered master tape sound. Remember the CDs are only about $10.

 

A huge thanks Leroy, you made me save a lot of money!

 

These were mastered by Akira Ando at King Records. There is a video interview with him on their website but it is all in Japanese. Good visuals though, and you can see his equipment (Telefunken M-15A) and the tapes.

 

Any other impressions on these new releases?

 

I just listened to the Blu Spec cd's of Power of Soul and Stone Flower. To my ears these versions sounds so "real", so "true", very vinyl like sounding.
I just hope King Records will release another batch of this series. The music of Freddy Hubbard deserves this kind of treatment.

 

The bulk of my order is still being held in customs for a long time, but I did manage to get Penny Arcade, Power of Soul, Beck, Cherry, Concierto, Spanish Blue, Macho, Deodato 2, and Stone Flower. They all sound really good. The over all consensus is that the CD release are as close to the the original vinyl sound as you can get, and the DSD downloads are pretty much the master tapes!

 

Leroy,
What is your opinion on the 2003 mastering of Keep Your Soul Together?
Thanks!

 

Compared to the 1987 issue it has tighter bass and is less veiled. The 1987 issue didn't sound terrible, so the differences are not extreme. But an improvement still that may sound closer to the vinyl. However the 2003 issue is missing a fun 14 min title track as a bonus.

 

That's not what my wallet wanted to hear but eh...

 

Well lately the old 1987 issue and the 2003 Japanese mastering sell for almost the exact some price. I think the Japanese one is more of a collectable however.

 

Correct.

 

No I was wrong, its Akira Ando.

 

OOps My bad.