My thoughts on live music, hi-fi, CD/LP & streaming

There is nothing to beat the sound, look, ambience and feel of a live performance. I don’t get out anything like as much as I would like and, even if I did, the availability of good music where I live is severely limited.

A lot of music is, of course, created in a studio over a period of days, months and even years. If my life had taken a different path I often believe I might have been a producer or sound engineer. I can’t help but hear the detail in the music, so getting as close as possible to the live performance or studio session is very important to me.

A good high fidelity system and a good quality source are essential. I can’t afford the kind of hi-fi system I would really like, but what I have at the moment is perfectly acceptable.

CD or LP?

The problem for me, and many others like me, is the poor quality of the sound source. I grew up with vinyl records and know the sound of albums recorded before about 1984 pretty well. Which is why I cringe when I hear songs I know and love in CD quality, which is, of course, inferior to LPs. I was very pleased when the replacement for CD came along, albeit in two competing formats: DVD-A and SACD. I have a number of discs of both flavours and they sound very good indeed.

I have recently come full circle and purchased a Rega P6 record deck. It sounds fantastic. I can hear every instrument, every hum of guitar strings; every subtle stroke of the brush on cymbals. It is as if I am hearing old sounds for the first time.

Tidal & Apple Music – and now Qobuz

After being dependent upon Tidal for a long time I am pleased to say that at long last Apple offer hi-res music, so in 2022 I finally caved in and subscribed to Apple Music. I must say that some of the Dolby Atmos recordings sound very good on Apple TV linked up to my 6.1 cinema sound system. Not as good as multi-channel SACD but pretty good all the same.

In October 2023 I switched from Tidal to Qobuz, mainly for reasons of price. Qobuz is cheaper and I am enjoying it immensely.

Music on the Move

Since Covid I do not get a chance to listen to music on the move, but when I have done I have always been impressed with the quality that is possible when listening on my Bowers & Wilkins headphones and iPhone; the sound quality is surprisingly good. Apple and Tidal both sound good in the car, thanks to Apple CarPlay but, of course, you are dependent upon what you download to your phone. I do not have a car any more, so CarPlay is not an option!

In September 2023 I purchased a Chord Mojo 2, highly rated by the HiFi press and I can confirm it is an astonishing device – a DAC or Digital Analog Converter – with amazing sound quality. Mine is connected via USB-C to either my iPhone 15 ProMax or my iPad Pro and I am stunned at how good it sounds.

Soul & Blues backbone

Soul (especially anything on Stax and Atlantic) and blues have been in the background throughout my listening years. The great soul and blues acts are many – you know who they are! But just in case… Aretha Franklin, Same & Dave, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett, Buddy Guy…. need I go on?

Incidentally, my trips to London are not complete without a visit to Soul Jazz Records in Soho – my favourite record shop. Well, I still call it that (and I’m sure a lot of other folks do too!) but actually they changed their name some years ago to Sounds of the Universe – pretty forgettable eh? I just had to run upstairs to find an old bag to remind me of the name. An old plastic bag I hasten to add.