Thread: Paul Beaudry & Pathways

I received the 24/192 version last Saturday. I have been under the weather all week with a head cold but this album still sounds amazing! If anyone wants to hear the merits of a true hi Rez recording check out Barry's Soundkeeper site. The sound and dynamics are spectacular! Pure Music showed dynamic range in the mid 20's every time i checked. Cannot wait for my head to clear up to truly enjoy this album.

Seems a bit arcane not to offer a download service for these files, I'm long past the stage of buying physical media and having to wait for it to arrive. In addition I'd have to use another computer just to retrieve the data off the disk as more and more computers are omitting optical drives all together.

It's a shame that in this world of instant gratification that one would limit their purchases to downloads. I guess I'm different in that music stores in my area do not offer a wide selection - if it's not top 40 they don't stock it. I have been turned on to some great music from fellow CA users that I check out on Mog then order online at Amazon or where ever I can find it. There is a lot to be said for the anticipation of something you ordered to arrive

Anyway, I ordered mine late Thursday afternoon from Soundkeeper and had it Saturday. It came in a case with with quality art work and liner notes (plus on the disc in digital format). My copy was even signed by Paul Beaudry. In addition, Campbell at Soundkeeper emailed me a personal note when my order was shipped - not a auto generated message. Something to be said for great customer service!

I guess all good things come to though's who wait.

Originally Posted by ckpiv

There is a lot to be said for the anticipation of something you ordered to arrive

Every piece of audio gear I own has required me to order it and wait for it to be delivered, this is not for lack willingness to support local merchants it's due to very limited options beyond "Best Buy" level of equipment available locally. I have no issue waiting to receive something if that's my only option. My statement was more to do with not being able to purchase the product, i.e. the digital music file in a format consistent with how I purchase all of my music. I no longer own or use optical drives, I do however purchase a good deal of hi resolution audio via the various download sites. I too would have purchased the album recommended here as well, but I'm not going to buy another piece of hardware to do it ;-)

I too would have purchased the album recommended here as well, but I'm not going to buy another piece of hardware to do it ;-)

Understood I can't imagine being into computer audio or computers without a DVD/CD drive at hand for emergencies With the cost of external drives $20 - $40 seems like a small price to pay compared to the other hardware and accessories we purchase in this hobby

Enjoy the music

bottlerocket, thank you for the graphs. As I do not know how to read them, a simple reference to your findings (sentence, or two?) would always be appreciated as it's always interesting to know what the numbers read, but I rely solely on what it sounds like and what it sounds like makes me feel. Still grateful for any information you might offer.

I posted my assessment of Americas over a week ago at Album of the Evening. And while agreement is highly overrated, I agree with the findings of how well engineered and produced Barry's discography is in general and Americas in specific.

Little confused about the objection from Bob63, not about the obvious, i.e., the benefits to consumers to procure a download from the internet versus having to order pay for shipping, and holy-moly the waiting period before it arrives. Not arguing with Bob63. It's the unnecessary equipment that confuses me. Specifically, this is a computer audio file (pun intended) medium and the same equipment one uses to archive CDs etc., allows for inserting the DVD-R, and letting iTunes create a folder for Barry's files which I ordered in AIFF format/192/24. Simple as pie.

Again, Bob63, not finding fault with you or the suggestion to Barry re: download service. Although I have no idea what that means for Barry financially to implement or what criteria might persuade Barry in favor or against or for the future.

The plays the thing (resort to puns often, forgive me).

Best,
Richard

Originally Posted by REShaman

As I do not know how to read them, a simple reference to your findings (sentence, or two?) would always be appreciated

The amplitude/wave pic shows there is no clipping and a decent dynamic range, the spectrum diagram shows smooth HF decay up to the limit frequency. I do prefer a frequency analysis diagram over the whole track - that would illustrate the spectrum range very clearly.

Julf, as always, thank you for the education. I appreciate the correlations between what I "think" I hear and what an analysis (objective) demonstrates. If one does not correlate to the other, I favor what I hear and feel, unless something wrong is organic/functional.

For some reason, when I look at graphs I go blank. Like attending my College Statistics course: The only way I got through Statistics was to drop the course. But I have other well-developed cognitive skills. Or so I am I think. ;>}.

Best,
Richard

Originally Posted by REShaman

Julf, as always, thank you for the education. I appreciate the correlations between what I "think" I hear and what an analysis (objective) demonstrates. If one does not correlate to the other, I favor what I hear and feel, unless something wrong is organic/functional.

Sure, and fair enough - if you like what you hear, you like what you hear. The graphs are useful for those of us who won't be able to listen to the tracks before making a decision to buy, and want to be sure we aren't sold something with too much water mixed in...

For some reason, when I look at graphs I go blank. Like attending my College Statistics course: The only way I got through Statistics was to drop the course.

Give me a graph, and I am OK. Give me a spreadsheet with numbers, and I fall asleep. Ask me to draw a picture, and I will try to run away...

Originally Posted by Julf

Sure, and fair enough - if you like what you hear, you like what you hear. The graphs are useful for those of us who won't be able to listen to the tracks before making a decision to buy, and want to be sure we aren't sold something with too much water mixed in...



Give me a graph, and I am OK. Give me a spreadsheet with numbers, and I fall asleep. Ask me to draw a picture, and I will try to run away...

Appreciate the humor. Sometimes I'd rather draw the picture than speak the words.

Please understand, I don't dismiss the graphs especially with the perspective you view graphs with. I am just not conversant in graphs as you are. Draw me a picture, tell me in text what the numbers mean, and I am grateful. The criteria expressed make good sense to me. So in the words of the Talking Heads Start Making Sense! ;>}. I just expressed my feelings about our exchange.
Best,
Richard

Hi Barry - I see your point, but a typical 5GB download around here is about 10-20 minutes.

-Paul

Originally Posted by bdiament

Hi BobP63,



While I can understand how you feel, there is nothing arcane about Soundkeeper not doing downloads. There are several reasons we don't.



First and foremost, I started Soundkeeper to offer nothing but the very best recordings I know how to make, with no compromise. As things stand today, I see downloads as a compromise.

A full album at 24/192 can be 4 Gigabytes in size. ("Confluence" is over 5 G.) Even on today's fastest systems, downloading that much data takes what I deem to be a long, long time. Others seem to deal with this by offering so-called "lossless" formats instead of raw PCM (such as the .aif or .wav Soundkeeper offers). To my ears, the "lossless" formats are not *audibly* lossless, hence we rule them out.

Another approach taken today is to break an album into "singles". Our artists conceive and create their Soundkeeper projects as whole albums, so we will keep them as whole albums.

We might consider downloads at some point in the future, when bandwidth and download speeds are sufficient for bringing in this much data in a short time. For now, it isn't something I want for Soundkeeper.

Besides, the files-on-disc DVD-R provides a built-in backup for the copies that reside on the computer. (And the first 25 copies of each of our burned formats comes autographed by the artist.)

I also like the fact that we do things slowly, one-at-a-time, with personal attention to each order. Further, we don't use third party distributors because I want the artist to get what would otherwise go to that third party. (Once our production costs are recouped, Soundkeeper artists get a *much* larger piece of every sale than even the biggest acts get from the major labels; this is something I'm very proud of and would not dilute by using third parties for distribution.)

Best regards,
Barry
Soundkeeper Recordings
Barry Diament Audio

I never argue with perception. But I will agree with perception. Barry, your criteria matches my own and if you read my posts re Americas and in particular some of the perceptions in this thread, the time it takes to copy your DVD-R files (in my case AIF) and having the backup is minimal and a great advantage including the very nice touch of having my copy autographed. Where is your autograph?
Wonderful performance that only gets better with each listening session,
Richard

Originally Posted by bdiament

Hi Richard,



I'm honored and humbled.
Only one person so far (an old buddy from my college days) has asked me to sign a disc. My feeling is it is the artist's album, I just work here. ;-}

Best regards,
Barry
Soundkeeper Recordings
Barry Diament Audio

I absolutely respect your perception that the album is the artist's and it might not be appropriate (in your case it is not appropriate). In asking about your autograph, I was truly suggesting how enjoyable it would be for me to have a signed and produced copy by a producer/engineer with your record (there I go again with the puns). I have a Branford Marsalis CD he signed. And it's a nice touch for me. I am not talking about insulting your clients, I am focusing in on having something personal from a renowned producer engineer for sentimental sake (not Ebay) and certainly not if breaking rapport with your artists is at stake. If you can think of a way to personalize a purchase at some point, I am open to saying as I slip the DVD-R out off the shelf, "Do I know who produced this wonderful album, yes, he signed this one (just for me ;>].
Some time,
Richard

That's a lovely gesture. I am guessing you get it's not out of ego but respect and appreciation. I don't know Rudy van Gelder nor would I run after him. (Is he still on the planet?). I know Barry, and his work, and I am proud to be on a forum with someone who walks the walk and produces music I am not compromised about when I play his production.
So I am accepting your invitation in the spirit behind my request and in the spirit you extend to me.

Now back to the music,
Richard

Originally Posted by REShaman

I don't know Rudy van Gelder nor would I run after him. (Is he still on the planet?)

Still alive, I believe. He'll be 88 in November, so you wouldn't have to run too fast. I think he was helping out with remasters of some of his classic albums for Blue Note (the Rudy Van Gelder Series) as recently as 2008. Truly one of the great ones. Recordings he engineered in the late 50s and early 60s still sound amazingly good. Wish I could have been around for those sessions.

--David