Audiophile Digital

Various Artists
Audiophile Masters Vols IX and X
Octave Records OCT-0050/OCT-0051

There’s plenty here for those who want to learn how PS Audio’s Octave Music division is contributing to the ‘audiophile albums’ canon. Though not as themed as the Art Of HiFi titles on this page, these come across a bit less like label samplers from the Octave catalogue than most general compilations. Vol IX, for example, starts and closes with unplugged ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ and ‘Capricho Arabe’, also acoustic guitar, with jazz, pop vocals and even bluegrass in between. Volume X kicks off with a Lynyrd Skynyrd cover using only piano and acoustic guitar, along with equally atmospheric versions of songs from Lennon, Dylan, Prine, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, and even Harold Arlen. So what unites them? Sublime sound. KK

Sound Quality: 90%

Various Artists
The Art Of HiFi Vols 03 and 04
Octave Records OCT-0043/OCT-0046

I am addicted to this series because PS Audio’s Paul McGowan has recorded tracks which deliver just what’s needed for helping to set up a system. All are minimalist for easier targeting of specific sounds, with Vol 03 for percussion and ’04 for strings. They avoid the ‘unrepeatability’ of similar albums of yore, eg, drum-only CDs which you might never listen to for pleasure. Vol 03’s tracks include a couple with vocals, and feature a wide variety of instruments which vary in percussive impact, the cymbals being particularly revealing. Variety, too, defines the strings SACD, a range of instruments covering a number of genres. Bottom line? These will show off your system. KK

Sound Quality: 90%

Holly Lerski
Sweet Decline
Laundry Label LAUNDRYSD5

Devotees of singer/songwriters ought to be aware of this well-kept secret – a UK exponent but she’s more mid-Atlantic than purely British. Inspired by Jeff Buckley, Lerski’s 30-year-plus career has both group efforts with Angelou and solos of which this is her fifth. It’s a rather intense post-break-up affair, ie, Taylor Swift For Grown-Ups. Because Lerski doesn’t confine herself by geography or genre, the music styles vary such that one track sounds like it was created in Laurel Canyon while another recalls early East Coast folk-rock. This was recorded in Nashville, so the production values are high and the sound crystal-clear, especially the engaging vocals. KK

Sound Quality: 90%

Charlie Mingus
Blues & Roots
Analogue Productions CAPA 001 SA

How to follow 1959’s incredible Mingus Ah Um, with its nods to Mingus’s background and influences? Part of the on-going Atlantic Records 75th Anniversary series, this wonderful title from 1960 might be regarded as a sequel as it deftly addresses the declaration of its title – both blues and roots – even though it was actually recorded before Ah Um. But the blues element dominates slightly, so those who lean more toward blues than jazz will revel in the genre blending of ‘Cryin’ Blues’ and especially Mingus’ ode to Jelly Roll Morton, ‘My Jelly Roll Soul’. Superbly mastered by Kevin Gray, this is as revealing of a system’s bass reproduction as one might desire. KK

Sound Quality: 90%