Universal Music Details First 36 Blu-ray Audio Titles

Next week, beginning on May 13th, Universal Music will release its first 36 Blu-ray Audio titles under the High Fidelity Pure Audio banner. Each title will feature PCM, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio 96kHz/24bit audio tracks. Artists and composers available include John Coltrane, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Eddy Mitchell, Nina Simone, Jacques Brel, Serge Gainsboro, Johnny Halladay, The Velvet Underground, Miles Davis, Beethoven, Mahler and many more.

Each title also comes with a coupon to download MP3 or FLAC versions of the tracks for play on portable media devices. The downloads are being made available via mShuttle, a feature developed by Pure Audio Blu-ray and utilized by 2L.

The first High Fidelity Pure Audio titles are as follows:

● John Coltrane: A Love Supreme
● Stevie Wonder: Song in the Key of Life
● Supertramp: Breakfast in America
● Bob Marley: Legend
● Zazie: Zizanie
● Eddy Mitchell: Grand écran
● Alain Bashung: Fantaisie militaire
● Alain Bashung: Osez Joséphine
● Nina Simone: I Put a Spell on You
● Jacques Brel: Ne me quitte pas
● Jacques Brel: Les Marquises
● Pierre Henry: Messe pour le temps présent
● Oscar Peterson Trio: Night Train
● Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong: Ella & Louis Again
● Barbara: L'aigle Noir
● Derek and the Dominos: Layla
● Noir Désir: Tostaky
● Serge Gainsbourg: Aux armes et caetera
● Serge Gainsbourg: Melody Nelson
● Diana Krall: The Look of Love
● Quincy Jones: Big Band Bossa Nova
● Hélène Grimaud: Credo
● Miles Davis: Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
● The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground & Nico
● Johnny Hallyday: Sang Pour Sang
● Johnny Hallyday: Rock'n Roll Attitude
● Mylène Farmer: Monkey Me
● Verdi
● Stan Getz & João Gilberto: Getz/Gilberto
● Wagner
● Ludwig van Beethoven: Violinkonzert-Violinromanzen
● Mahler: Symphonie n°5
● Beethoven: Symphonie n°9
● Beethoven: Symphonies 5 & 7
● Antonin Dvorak: Symphonie n°9 - Moldau - Préludes
● Anna Netrebko: Sempre libera

Second Wave of HFPA Blu-ray Audio Titles Announced

Universal Music has announced the second wave of Blu-ray Audio titles under their High Fidelity Pure Audio (HFPA) banner will be released world-wide on October 8th. Titles include legendary albums from Nirvana, Queen, Beck, Amy Winehouse and Supertramp. Additionally, the first wave of HFPA titles – previously exclusive to French retailer FNAC - will also be available on that date.

● Nirvana: Nevermind
● Nirvana: In Utero
● The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street
● Supertramp: Crime of the Century
● Beck: Sea Change
● Amy Winehouse: Back to Black
● Nick Drake: Five Leaves Left
● Queen: Night of the Opera

(Except from bluray.com)

Hi. Am curious if there is anyone here who would consider investing in bluray audio disc?

Personally I only have 2L Audiophile Reference Recordings: The Nordic Sound, which blows me away but had not been able to find additional disc.

I do have some DVD Audio disc, but the bluray disc is much much higher sound resolution!!

Please share

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Oct 20 2013, 09:24 AM

Only have normal 5.1 amp.
What's the damn point getting it?
My dad bought bluray player for playing the free Avatar 3D and that's about it.
The dumber thing he did is having a Smart TV and Smart BluRay player.
not really saying he is dumb, but it is a waste of money.
he also played some pirated DVDs. HAHAH.

Only 96/24? What's the point?

Those Nordic Sounds discs are even better when 192/24 audio.

**Update**

Surprisingly Universal Malaysia is bring these in.

Each is suppose to be RM69.90

I'm getting these

● Diana Krall: The Look of Love
● Quincy Jones: Big Band Bossa Nova

Will keep you guys posted.

That's surprising news, and that's a pretty decent price point considering a CD costs between RM42.90 - RM49.90 these days.

Hi, mind to share where can buy this at KL/PJ area? Thanks..

I'm actually based in Melaka!!

I'm getting it from Inverno (They are in Mahkota Parada, a shopping complex in Melaka)

I do believe if you goto Victoria Music (Amcorp Mall & Sungai Wang), they can bring them in for you as well (they are sister company to Inverno).

Because it is being distributed by Universal Malaysia, I'll be very surprise if most music shop cannot do that.

But bare in mind, the boss in Inverno said that Universal Malaysia get one shipment of these Bluray Audio as they are being release oversea. Meaning, they will not do additional order once they have sold out stock in hand. Goes figure, if something is selling don't order some more. Order only things that does not sell...

Not sure how this business model works...

The first batch consist of

● Diana Krall: The Look of Love
● Quincy Jones: Big Band Bossa Nova
● Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong: Ella & Louis Again
● The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground & Nico
● Miles Davis: Ascenseur pour l'échafaud

I've ordered

● Diana Krall: The Look of Love
● Quincy Jones: Big Band Bossa Nova

The stock has arrived. I can only get them this weekend (busy)

Will keep you guys posted on quality.

If good, I might get more...

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Oct 2 2013, 03:02 PM

Thanks for the information..

cheap, i wonder how good would it sound

You are welcome

Yes it is...

Will keep you guys posted

have to compare it wiht analog to see how it sounds

That's correct.

I have this on original CD as well.

● Diana Krall: The Look of Love

So that will be my baseline!!

if u have it on normal CD, im pretty sure the hfpa would be better
if u have it on vinyl, then maybe can make a comparison

I've never got into Vinyl.

I understand about the "warmth" of the LP sound, and have to add, the "hassle" of maintaining the LP is what that is keeping me away.

Don't get me wrong, I've used LP before, when I was a wee lad (... ah our old Sansui setup...)

Now, I mostly pump everything I have through my AV amp. If the source is stereo, then I pump that to my D/A C which is connected to my AV amp.

It is "NOT" 100% vinyl, and have to add it is close minus the hassle of maintaining the LP (Storage, Cleaning etc).

For the review, I'll be playing the CD through my D/A C and then the bluray audio (with or without the D/A C) and come up with my comparison. The reason why I said, with or without the D/A C is because so little is publish about the HFPA disc, I'm not even sure if it is stereo/5.1 (like The Beatles' The Love album, lovingly restored and remaster by the maestro of sound engineer himself, Mr George Martin [with a little help from his... son... no pun intended ]).

My reviews of the topics I have posted so far were never meant to be the "end all" for the topics. They are just my singular opinion of the said topics...

sure, looking forward to ur reviews
me also curious

i remember i tried this 5.1 audio before once, santana, its like hearing the dvd concert without the image, tats all

*Sigh*

Okay, I was suppose to do this next week.

But curiosity (I know, I know, did in the cat!! But I'm no cat... ) got the better of me.

Got both the

Diana Krall: The Look of Love
Quincy Jones: Bossa Nova

Because I've got Diana Krall: The Look of Love on CD as well, that is what I've attacked! (So to speak )

Okay, I'm trying to channel Audiophile (The Star?) here...

Bluray Player: Panasonic DMP BD60 (Old School, I know)
D/A C: Brik D/A Converter
Amplifier: Yamaha RX-V1900 (Yes, another Old School)
Front Speakers: Monitor Audio Silver Floorstanders
Center Speaker: Monitor Audio Silver Center

1st Test:

Diana Krall: The Look of Love (CD, Local press, [forgive me, I was young and foolish, once])

CD was place in my Bluray player, which is connected to my D/A C (via optical) which is in turn connected to my amp (RCA Audioquest, Turquoise).

I must confess, I have not listened to this CD for... EONS.... and I was staggered by how POOR the sound is... Diana Krall sounded like she had a sore throat and the instrumentation sounded muffled... I kid you not... I usually run flac files on my media player through my D/A C and have always been happy with the sound... I was really REALLY disappointed. But the test must go on...

Tracks I listened to

1) S'Wonderful
5) Besame Mucho
9) The Look of Love

I cannot emphasis how disappointed I was with the sound...

2nd Test

Ripped open the plastic wrapper on Diana Krall: The Look of Love Bluray Audio.

Unlike the bluray movies, these comes in a semi transparent white boxes. Same size as their movie counterpart.

I tried this bluray audio disc exactly like the above.

The sonic difference is DAY and NIGHT

Okay wait, before I go further there is a feature I want to emphasis here

When you put this disc into your bluray player a main screen comes up, and it automatically starts the music. On the left hand side, the cover of the album appears, on the right hand side, the track number appears on top and at the bottom, there are three options for you to choose, namely,

2.0 PCM 24-bit/96Khz
2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio 24-bit/96Khz
2.0 Dolby TrueHD 24-bit/96Khz

(Not sure if this applies to all Universal's Bluray Audio)

When the first song start, it auto selects 2.0 PCM 24-bit/96Khz.

As I had stated above, the sound is much MUCH better.

The sound scape wider. There is weight behind the sounds. When the ivories are tinkled on the piano, there is a crispness to the notes.

Miraculously, Diana Krall is cured of her sore throat...

(Sorry, I do not know all the technical jargon to describe the above)

3rd Test

Now I played the bluray audio disc without the D/A C (Bluray Ray player connected to amp using QED Profile HDMI) and the sound is cleaner, minus a little bit of warmth. (Still in 2.0 PCM 24-bit/96Khz)

Now here is an unexpected surprise:

2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio 24-bit/96Khz
2.0 Dolby TrueHD 24-bit/96Khz

will not work with D/A C (I'm assuming because they are digital format). I however suspect, in the bluray setup, under the sound option, if I switch the HDMI setup to PCM, no matter what I select, I would be able to pump the any sound option through my D/A C. Something to investigate on a later day.

Another surprising thing is, when I choose these two options (when HDMI setup is bitstream), my center speaker, kicks in....

It is my believe that audiophiles might just stick to the 2.0 PCM 24-bit/96Khz option.

So what is my conclusion?

I believe this is actually a good medium for music and I'm loving my new Diana Krall bluray audio disc!! (My CD copy is now the "bad" example)

I do however see several pit falls for this said format

1) After so many "failed" audio format, many an audiophile will be reluctant to adopt "another" white elephant format (this I believe is the MAIN huddle)

2) As good as Diana Krall: The Look of Love album, it is already 13 years old (it was first launch in 2001). So in terms of marketing, I don't think the music industry is even trying to target the "hip" and "young" market, but instead focusing on the the very "cynical" (excuse my french) and jaded audiophiles segment, which bring me back to the above...

3) To add to point two, during the 70s, we have Mike Oldfield and Jean Michel Jarre experimenting the heck out of music. Michael Oldfield literally built Virgin Music with his Tubular Bells. We need something like this to reinvigorate the music industry, probably using this media so people can see/hear, oh, so THAT'S what this can do... I really do not see that at this point in time...

4) I also have a suspicion that the sound quality has alot to do with how much care was put into transferring the master to this new digital format (just like movies) so NOT all Bluray Audio disc would sound as good as this.

Frankly, I've seen them all, A Tracks, DAT, Mini Disc, SACD, DVD Audio (I know I miss some, it is 9:27pm, and I have been listening to the Look Of Love since 7pm, it is beginning to get to me, so cut me some slack). All promising to BE the future... but not quite.

Personally, I see alot of potential in this format. I just feel that instead of "recycling" material that had been in ALL the format I had stated above, push out new and fresh stuff on this format, so EVERYONE know what it is and that is it new.

So, STAND UP Bluray Audio and ... simply matter!!

I don't think I will be able to review Quincy Jones Bossa Nova tonite.

I have been sitting here for some time now, my butt need some reprieve....

Will be outstation most of the weekend as well, not the best timing, I admit...

Next weekend perhaps?

My Two Sen



This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Oct 5 2013, 12:30 PM

Finally blu ray audio disk

Nordic sound had had it for some time, but they specialise for really really AUDIOPHILES only, not the general market...

Hi Guys

I promised to post my review of Quincy Jones's Bossa Nova and have to add, because of some issues, I might have to return both Quincy Jones and Diana Krall.

Having said that I have made several more purchase, namely:

● Bob Marley: Legend
● Stevie Wonder: Song in the Key of Life
● Supertramp: Breakfast in America
● Derek and the Dominos: Layla
● Stan Getz & João Gilberto: Getz/Gilberto
● Kaufmann Wagner
● Queen: Night of the Opera
● Antonin Dvorak: Symphonie n°9 - Moldau - Préludes

Am now listening to Antonin Dvorak

Will post my reviews soon

Cheers

Okay. Unlike the Diana Krall scenario, I do not have the CD equivalent to this Bluray Audio.

Having said that, I do have RCA Victor Living Stereo series, Dvorak New World Symphony with conductor Fritz Reiner & Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

It is NOT a good comparison, because there are both different conductors and Orchestra....

To top it off, I've got the Living Stereo CD version since 1993, so very likely to be bias...

Okay, for the Classical Music lovers, I'm am NOT familiar with conductor Ferenc Frisay. From what I can piece together from the Bluray Audio cover, he is a German conductor (goes figures, since it is a Deutsche Grammophon disc).

The sound from the CD sounds a little more subdued...

There is more "fire" in Ferenc Frisay, and because of the format, but over all I still prefer Fritz Reiner version, even with the subdue sound.

Performance is more "polish" and "expensive".

I would go as far as to say that if they publish Fritz Reiner's version on Bluray Audio, I would buy that in a heart beat!!

Even though it is on a compressed format, the sound is more "expensive"

So the bluray audio format like all other formats are very dependent on the quality of the masters and the care in which the master are transferred to the digital format.

As I say, this is not really a fair comparison.

I do wish other producers (other then Universal) would release stuff on this format...

Next stop Getz/Gilberto. That I have the CD for...

My Two Sen

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: May 14 2014, 03:52 PM