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151 albums reviewed with 844 editions tested, the complete list …

Jean.Francois

Active Member
Joined
May 31, 2022
Messages
140
Likes
496
Hello,

I’d like to start by thanking you all for your encouragement and messages since the creation of MagicVinylDigital just over 3 years ago.
151 Albums 844 editions.jpg

The milestone of 151 reviews, 151 albums tested (including 4 singles) has just been reached, representing 844 versions analyzed across a diversity of media ranging from 8-track cartridges, cassette, vinyl, digital CD, DVD, Bluray, Blu-ray UHD 4K, SACD, DAT, MKV, Tape R2R and streaming media (Qobuz, Tidal, Apple, Amazon).

Some statistics: 198 vinyl records, 128 CDs, 30 blu-rays (81 tracks tested), 81 Dolby Atmos albums (110 versions), 22 SACDs (42 tracks tested) , 12 cassettes, 320 streaming versions (all formats) …

With a diversity of audio formats from mono to spatial audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio.

And in many styles of music: Jazz, Classical, Pop, Rock…

Below you’ll find a list of all the tests, with direct links to each album:
Adele - 30 (5 versions)
Alan Parsons - From the New World (6 versions)
Alicia Keys - Alicia (6 versions)
Alicia Keys - Keys (2 versions)
Alphaville - Forever Young (8 versions)
Amy Winehouse - At The BBC (4 versions)
Amy Winehouse - Live at Glastonbury 2007 (2 versions)
Anna Lapwood - Luna (2 versions)
Anne Bisson - Tiles from the treetops (3 versions)
Anne Bisson - Be my lover (2 versions)
Beethoven - Symphonie N°7 (7 versions)
Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard And Soft (4 versions)
Bob Marley & The Wailers - One Love (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2 versions)
Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A. (4 versions)
Coldplay - Music Of The Spheres (4 versions)
Coldplay - Moon Music (4 versions)
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (11 versions)
Daft Punk - Homework (7 versions)
Daft Punk - Alive 1997 (6 versions)
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (Drumless Edition) (4 versions)
David Gilmour - Luck and Strange (5 versions)
Def Leppard - Pyromania (9 versions)
Depeche Mode - Memento Mori (2 versions)
Dianne Reeves - I remember (5 versions)
Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms (9 versions)
Dire Straits - Money For Nothing (5 versions)
Dire Straits - Encores (3 versions)
Dire Straits - On Every Street (8 versions)
Dua Lipa - Radical Optimism (2 versions)
Duo Cirla Trolonge - Piuma (4 versions)
Duran Duran - DANSE MACABRE (3 versions)
Ed Sheeran - + (4 versions)
Ed Sheeran - = (3 versions)
Ed Sheeran - – (Subtract) (3 versions)
Ed Sheeran - X (3 versions)
Eric Clapton - Unplugged (10 versions)
Eric Clapton - The Lady In The Balcony: Lockdown Sessions (9 versions)
Eric Clapton - To Save a Child (6 versions)
Francis Cabrel - Trobador Tour (Live) (2 versions)
Green Day - Saviors (3 versions)
Hélène Grimaud - For Clara – Works by Schumann and Brahms (2 versions)
Imagine Dragons - LOOM (2 versions)
Indochine - L’ Aventurier (8 versions)
Indochine - Central Tour (9 versions)
Irène Drésel - KINKY DOGMA (2 versions)
Jean-Michel Jarre - Amazonia (5 versions)
Jean-Michel Jarre - Welcome To The Other Side - Live in Notre Dame VR (7 versions)
Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene (15 versions)
Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxymore (7 versions)
Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxymoreworks (3 versions)
Jean-Michel Jarre - VERSAILLES 400 LIVE (3 versions)
Jennifer Lopez - This Is Me...Now (3 versions)
Jerome Sabbagh - Vintage (3 versions)
Jerome Sabbagh - Heart (3 versions)
John Williams - John Williams in Tokyo (8 versions)
Johnny Cash - Songwriter (2 versions)
Joshua Redman - Where Are We (3 versions)
Joy Crookes - Skin (4 versions)
Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love (11 versions)
Katie Melua - Acoustic Album No. 8 (4 versions)
Katie Melua - Golden Record (4 versions)
Kirsten Edkins - Shapes and Sound (3 versions)
Kylie Minogue - Tension (2 versions)
Lana Del Rey - Chemtrails Over the Country Club (7 versions)
Lana Del Rey - Blue Banisters (3 versions)
Lana Del Rey - Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (4 versions)
Lang Lang - Saint-Saëns (3 versions)
Lenny Kravitz - Blue Electric Light (2 versions)
Les restos du Cœur - 2023 Enfoirés Un Jour, Toujours (7 versions)
Liszt / Sviatoslav Richter - Concertos For Piano And Orchestra Nos. 1 & 2 (4 versions)
Ludwig Göransson - Oppenheimer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2 versions)
Madeleine Peyroux - Let's Walk (2 versions)
Madonna - Finally Enough Love (2 versions)
Mari Kodama, Momo Kodama, Karin Kei Nagano, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande & Kent Nagano - Mozart & Poulenc - Double & Triple Piano Concertos (4 versions)
Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas (8 versions)
Mark Knopfler - One Deep River (7 versions)
Melody Gardot - Sunset In The Blue (4 versions)
Michael Jackson - Dangerous (13 versions)
Michael Jackson - Thriller (21 versions)
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (14 versions)
Miles Davis - Kind of blue (33 versions)
Muse - Will Of The People (4 versions)
Muse - Absolution XX Anniversary (4 versions)
Mylène Farmer - Histoires de (3 versions)
Mylène Farmer - À tout jamais (2 versions)
Mylène Farmer - A tout Jamais (Remixes) (5 versions)
Mylène Farmer - L'Emprise (6 versions)
Mylene Farmer - Nevermore (Live) (8 versions)
Nirvana - Nevermind (9 versions)
Norah Jones - ‘Til We Meet Again (3 versions)
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me (14 versions)
Oscar Peterson - A Time For Love (2 versions)
Patricia Barber - Clique! (9 versions)
Pet Shop Boys - Nonetheless (5 versions)
Peter Gabriel - i/o (8 versions)
Pink Floyd - Live at Knebworth 1990 (6 versions)
Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse Of Reason (12 versions)
Pink Floyd - PULSE (10 versions)
Pink Floyd - Hey Hey Rise Up (4 versions)
Pink Floyd - Animals (17 versions)
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (31 versions)
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon (Live at Wembley) 1974 (3 versions)
PLACEBO - Never Let Me Go (5 versions)
Prince - Prince and the Revolution Live (8 versions)
Prince - Purple Rain (1 versions)
Rag'n'Bone Man - Life By Misadventure (6 versions)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Unlimited Love (5 versions)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Return Of The Dream Canteen (3 versions)
Renaud Capuçon - Gabriel Fauré (2 versions)
Roger Waters - The Dark Side of the Moon Redux (3 versions)
Saint-Saëns - Symphony No. 3 with Organ : Kansas City Symphony (5 versions)
Saint-Saëns - Symphony No. 3 with Organ : Charles Munch and Boston Symphony 1959 (6 versions)
Serge Gainsbourg - L'Homme a Tete De Chou (8 versions)
Shania Twain - Queen Of Me (4 versions)
Shania Twain - Come On Over (6 versions)
Sia - Reasonable Woman (2 versions)
Sinéad O’Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (6 versions)
Steven Wilson - The Harmony Codex (9 versions)
Sting - The Bridge (4 versions)
Stray Kids - 5 Star (3 versions)
Taylor Swift - RED (4 versions)
Taylor Swift - Midnights (5 versions)
Taylor Swift - Speak Now (Taylor's Version) (3 versions)
Taylor Swift - 1989 (Taylor's Version) (3 versions)
Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department – The Anthology (3 versions)
TEARS FOR FEARS - SONGS FOR A NERVOUS PLANET (8 versions)
Tears For Fears - Live At Massey Hall Toronto, Canada 1985 (4 versions)
Tears For Fears - The Tipping Point (11 versions)
Tears For Tears - The Hurting (10 versions)
The Art Of Noise - In The City Live In Tokyo 1986 (5 versions)
The Beatles - Now and Then (5 versions)
The Beatles - The Beatles : the 1962-1966 (The Red Album) (4 versions)
The Beatles - The Beatles: 1967-1970 (The Blue Album) (4 versions)
The Cure - Songs Of A Lost World (6 versions)
The Dave Brubeck Quartet - TIME OUT (8 versions)
The Police - Greatest Hits (5 versions)
The Police - Around The World (4 versions)
The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds (7 versions)
Thomas Bangalter - Mythologies (3 versions)
Thomas Schirmann - After The Rain (4 versions)
Trio Mediaeval - YULE (6 versions)
Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio - Misty for Direct Cutting (5 versions)
Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio - A Shade Of Blue (8 versions)
Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio - Sweet For k (3 versions)
Various - Ghostbusters (4 versions)
Various - Back to the Future (2 versions)
Various - Top Gun (8 versions)
Various - TOP GUN Maverick (3 versions)
Various - Barbie: The Album (3 versions)
Yes - Mirror To The Sky (7 versions)
Yuja Wang - The Vienna Recital (2 versions)

Enjoy listening
Jean-François
 
Awesome! I've checked a couple of your latest comparisons: Holy loudness wars, Batman! :oops: I always knew that this was a thing, but I never bothered to make this direct comparison. Thank you so much!
 
Sheesh - lots of data. Understand little. but why would Atmos tracks have so much more dynamic range than the stereo on the same platform? Like here. And what does any of this really mean to normal, average ears?
 
Hello,

I’d like to start by thanking you all for your encouragement and messages since the creation of MagicVinylDigital just over 3 years ago.
View attachment 420522
The milestone of 151 reviews, 151 albums tested (including 4 singles) has just been reached, representing 844 versions analyzed across a diversity of media ranging from 8-track cartridges, cassette, vinyl, digital CD, DVD, Bluray, Blu-ray UHD 4K, SACD, DAT, MKV, Tape R2R and streaming media (Qobuz, Tidal, Apple, Amazon).

Some statistics: 198 vinyl records, 128 CDs, 30 blu-rays (81 tracks tested), 81 Dolby Atmos albums (110 versions), 22 SACDs (42 tracks tested) , 12 cassettes, 320 streaming versions (all formats) …

With a diversity of audio formats from mono to spatial audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio.

And in many styles of music: Jazz, Classical, Pop, Rock…

Below you’ll find a list of all the tests, with direct links to each album:
Adele - 30 (5 versions)
Alan Parsons - From the New World (6 versions)
Alicia Keys - Alicia (6 versions)
Alicia Keys - Keys (2 versions)
Alphaville - Forever Young (8 versions)
Amy Winehouse - At The BBC (4 versions)
Amy Winehouse - Live at Glastonbury 2007 (2 versions)
Anna Lapwood - Luna (2 versions)
Anne Bisson - Tiles from the treetops (3 versions)
Anne Bisson - Be my lover (2 versions)
Beethoven - Symphonie N°7 (7 versions)
Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard And Soft (4 versions)
Bob Marley & The Wailers - One Love (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2 versions)
Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A. (4 versions)
Coldplay - Music Of The Spheres (4 versions)
Coldplay - Moon Music (4 versions)
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (11 versions)
Daft Punk - Homework (7 versions)
Daft Punk - Alive 1997 (6 versions)
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (Drumless Edition) (4 versions)
David Gilmour - Luck and Strange (5 versions)
Def Leppard - Pyromania (9 versions)
Depeche Mode - Memento Mori (2 versions)
Dianne Reeves - I remember (5 versions)
Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms (9 versions)
Dire Straits - Money For Nothing (5 versions)
Dire Straits - Encores (3 versions)
Dire Straits - On Every Street (8 versions)
Dua Lipa - Radical Optimism (2 versions)
Duo Cirla Trolonge - Piuma (4 versions)
Duran Duran - DANSE MACABRE (3 versions)
Ed Sheeran - + (4 versions)
Ed Sheeran - = (3 versions)
Ed Sheeran - – (Subtract) (3 versions)
Ed Sheeran - X (3 versions)
Eric Clapton - Unplugged (10 versions)
Eric Clapton - The Lady In The Balcony: Lockdown Sessions (9 versions)
Eric Clapton - To Save a Child (6 versions)
Francis Cabrel - Trobador Tour (Live) (2 versions)
Green Day - Saviors (3 versions)
Hélène Grimaud - For Clara – Works by Schumann and Brahms (2 versions)
Imagine Dragons - LOOM (2 versions)
Indochine - L’ Aventurier (8 versions)
Indochine - Central Tour (9 versions)
Irène Drésel - KINKY DOGMA (2 versions)
Jean-Michel Jarre - Amazonia (5 versions)
Jean-Michel Jarre - Welcome To The Other Side - Live in Notre Dame VR (7 versions)
Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene (15 versions)
Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxymore (7 versions)
Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxymoreworks (3 versions)
Jean-Michel Jarre - VERSAILLES 400 LIVE (3 versions)
Jennifer Lopez - This Is Me...Now (3 versions)
Jerome Sabbagh - Vintage (3 versions)
Jerome Sabbagh - Heart (3 versions)
John Williams - John Williams in Tokyo (8 versions)
Johnny Cash - Songwriter (2 versions)
Joshua Redman - Where Are We (3 versions)
Joy Crookes - Skin (4 versions)
Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love (11 versions)
Katie Melua - Acoustic Album No. 8 (4 versions)
Katie Melua - Golden Record (4 versions)
Kirsten Edkins - Shapes and Sound (3 versions)
Kylie Minogue - Tension (2 versions)
Lana Del Rey - Chemtrails Over the Country Club (7 versions)
Lana Del Rey - Blue Banisters (3 versions)
Lana Del Rey - Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (4 versions)
Lang Lang - Saint-Saëns (3 versions)
Lenny Kravitz - Blue Electric Light (2 versions)
Les restos du Cœur - 2023 Enfoirés Un Jour, Toujours (7 versions)
Liszt / Sviatoslav Richter - Concertos For Piano And Orchestra Nos. 1 & 2 (4 versions)
Ludwig Göransson - Oppenheimer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2 versions)
Madeleine Peyroux - Let's Walk (2 versions)
Madonna - Finally Enough Love (2 versions)
Mari Kodama, Momo Kodama, Karin Kei Nagano, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande & Kent Nagano - Mozart & Poulenc - Double & Triple Piano Concertos (4 versions)
Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas (8 versions)
Mark Knopfler - One Deep River (7 versions)
Melody Gardot - Sunset In The Blue (4 versions)
Michael Jackson - Dangerous (13 versions)
Michael Jackson - Thriller (21 versions)
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (14 versions)
Miles Davis - Kind of blue (33 versions)
Muse - Will Of The People (4 versions)
Muse - Absolution XX Anniversary (4 versions)
Mylène Farmer - Histoires de (3 versions)
Mylène Farmer - À tout jamais (2 versions)
Mylène Farmer - A tout Jamais (Remixes) (5 versions)
Mylène Farmer - L'Emprise (6 versions)
Mylene Farmer - Nevermore (Live) (8 versions)
Nirvana - Nevermind (9 versions)
Norah Jones - ‘Til We Meet Again (3 versions)
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me (14 versions)
Oscar Peterson - A Time For Love (2 versions)
Patricia Barber - Clique! (9 versions)
Pet Shop Boys - Nonetheless (5 versions)
Peter Gabriel - i/o (8 versions)
Pink Floyd - Live at Knebworth 1990 (6 versions)
Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse Of Reason (12 versions)
Pink Floyd - PULSE (10 versions)
Pink Floyd - Hey Hey Rise Up (4 versions)
Pink Floyd - Animals (17 versions)
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (31 versions)
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon (Live at Wembley) 1974 (3 versions)
PLACEBO - Never Let Me Go (5 versions)
Prince - Prince and the Revolution Live (8 versions)
Prince - Purple Rain (1 versions)
Rag'n'Bone Man - Life By Misadventure (6 versions)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Unlimited Love (5 versions)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Return Of The Dream Canteen (3 versions)
Renaud Capuçon - Gabriel Fauré (2 versions)
Roger Waters - The Dark Side of the Moon Redux (3 versions)
Saint-Saëns - Symphony No. 3 with Organ : Kansas City Symphony (5 versions)
Saint-Saëns - Symphony No. 3 with Organ : Charles Munch and Boston Symphony 1959 (6 versions)
Serge Gainsbourg - L'Homme a Tete De Chou (8 versions)
Shania Twain - Queen Of Me (4 versions)
Shania Twain - Come On Over (6 versions)
Sia - Reasonable Woman (2 versions)
Sinéad O’Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (6 versions)
Steven Wilson - The Harmony Codex (9 versions)
Sting - The Bridge (4 versions)
Stray Kids - 5 Star (3 versions)
Taylor Swift - RED (4 versions)
Taylor Swift - Midnights (5 versions)
Taylor Swift - Speak Now (Taylor's Version) (3 versions)
Taylor Swift - 1989 (Taylor's Version) (3 versions)
Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department – The Anthology (3 versions)
TEARS FOR FEARS - SONGS FOR A NERVOUS PLANET (8 versions)
Tears For Fears - Live At Massey Hall Toronto, Canada 1985 (4 versions)
Tears For Fears - The Tipping Point (11 versions)
Tears For Tears - The Hurting (10 versions)
The Art Of Noise - In The City Live In Tokyo 1986 (5 versions)
The Beatles - Now and Then (5 versions)
The Beatles - The Beatles : the 1962-1966 (The Red Album) (4 versions)
The Beatles - The Beatles: 1967-1970 (The Blue Album) (4 versions)
The Cure - Songs Of A Lost World (6 versions)
The Dave Brubeck Quartet - TIME OUT (8 versions)
The Police - Greatest Hits (5 versions)
The Police - Around The World (4 versions)
The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds (7 versions)
Thomas Bangalter - Mythologies (3 versions)
Thomas Schirmann - After The Rain (4 versions)
Trio Mediaeval - YULE (6 versions)
Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio - Misty for Direct Cutting (5 versions)
Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio - A Shade Of Blue (8 versions)
Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio - Sweet For k (3 versions)
Various - Ghostbusters (4 versions)
Various - Back to the Future (2 versions)
Various - Top Gun (8 versions)
Various - TOP GUN Maverick (3 versions)
Various - Barbie: The Album (3 versions)
Yes - Mirror To The Sky (7 versions)
Yuja Wang - The Vienna Recital (2 versions)

Enjoy listening
Jean-François
Jean-François I have been reading your site for about 2-years and have bought different versions of albums based entirely upon your reports. I must say, it has been a good call for each and worth the money. Thank you, you work is amazing.
 
Sheesh - lots of data. Understand little. but why would Atmos tracks have so much more dynamic range than the stereo on the same platform? Like here. And what does any of this really mean to normal, average ears?
I decided to buy replacement albums and there is a difference to be heard. This is for albums that you know very well and can listen to either on headphones or speakers without distraction. Yes, the Atmos recording somehow sounds better than standard stereo versions on a stereo system. That may possibly depend upon your DAC. I have both the relatively budget Topping E50 for headphones / small room and D90SE for speakers setup in larger room. I cannot however rule out expectation bias here though, as we are all human and I have no easy way to A-B test.
 
I decided to buy replacement albums and there is a difference to be heard. This is for albums that you know very well and can listen to either on headphones or speakers without distraction. Yes, the Atmos recording somehow sounds better than standard stereo versions on a stereo system. That may possibly depend upon your DAC. I have both the relatively budget Topping E50 for headphones / small room and D90SE for speakers setup in larger room. I cannot however rule out expectation bias here though, as we are all human and I have no easy way to A-B test.
I think for a number of examples, it would be hard for me to tell apart the dynamic compressed version from the "superior" mix with high DR. Especially without direct a A-B- comparison. But there are also examples, where there is a stark difference. I think before my post from a month ago I was listening to the samples in the Alphaville review. If you compare the 1984 CD to the Tidal MAX SDE from 2024, the second is just so clearly worse that it really surprised me.

I'll certainly be looking for older pressings for my next album purchases.
 
Jean-François I have been reading your site for about 2-years and have bought different versions of albums based entirely upon your reports. I must say, it has been a good call for each and worth the money. Thank you, you work is amazing.
Thanks a lot!
 
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