Octave Music Don Grusin High Resolution Music Analysis (Video)

[amirm]

PS Audio has a private music label called "Octave Music." I got a request yesterday to look into their high-resolution offering and see what they are doing in that regard. So I downloaded the Don Grusin "Out of thin air" album ($29) and performed analysis both on the DSD version and PCM. There is also some technical explanation of the formats and explanation for what we see:

 

[gerG]

Amazon HD has that album available for streaming. It would be interesting to see if they are streaming the noise bands.
Ironically, Don Grusin used to record some very dynamic music. Somewhere he transitioned to this contemplative genre. Personally I am a fan of the old stuff.
I kind of like that musicscope software. Do they have a sequel?

 

[JaMaSt]

Paul be like.....

 

[amirm]

I kind of like that musicscope software. Do they have a sequel?

Last I read they stopped development and that is that. Nicely they removed the license key restriction so you can still install it but you have to be an existing customer.

 

[gerG]

Last I read they stopped development and that is that. Nicely they removed the license key restriction so you can still install it but you have to be an existing customer.

Darn and blast, I hate when that happens.
btw, is the music label perhaps "Higher Octave Music", or is that a different one?

 

[vkhong]

I am a fan of Don and Dave Grusin. I particularly like the live-tracked "Mountain Dance". It was my introduction to contemporary jazz.

 

[jackenhack]

You can still download MusicScope and use it without a license. The company has folded, so it's not like you steal from them.

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[AndyBeckett]

Hey Amir, great work as always, couple of questions.

1) I suppose Octave would make the point that not having filters involved would improve the audio quality, any logic to that?
2) We always talk of the extra over 22KHz but isn't the real point of high res to give finer gradations in the audio band?

 

[gerG]

You can still download MusicScope and use it without a license. The company has folded, so it's not like you steal from them.

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Nice, thanks!

I answered my own confusion. Octave Records is the one owned/operated by PS Audio. It seems like a great concept. I hope it works out.

Octave Audiophile Masters

Octave Audiophile Masters bring new music and fresh talent through the highest-quality recordings in high-resolution formats including pure DSD on SACD, DSDDirect Mastered virgin vinyl single-pressings, as well as PCM. Octave Audiophile Master series utilizes the world’s finest studio equipment...

www.psaudio.com

Higher Octave Music is an older label with a lot of fusion and contemporary jazz.

Higher Octave Music - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Andysu]

aimr , excellent breakdown thou i hear shots being fired , (duck)! whew, that one was close, but Amir speaks the truth Fact! it is a science Fact! the motive for that music was guilty, Fact! the music device and price should each get a headless panther Fact!
i have no interest in buying music online for garbage music on digital files i hardly buy cd anymore and even thou brought new technics turntable i haven't even brought any new or old lp records . i must be getting more cynical than i thought

Paul be like.....

View attachment 191767

 

[jam]

Thanks for showing us the spectrum of the hi-res PCM download from PS Audio Amir. I couldn't believe they didn't filter out the noise. DSD64 files sould be larger than PCM 96kHz/24bit, I guess not when you're doing it wrong a la PSA.

 

[Endibol]

Recently I called PS Audio a well-respected company. But this is it.. First it turns out that much of their hardware is pure snakeoil, and now that their software is crap too. PS Audio should be dubbed “Paul’s Shitty Audio” from now on.

 

[jam]

PS Audio should be dubbed “Paul’s Shitty” Audio from now on.

I like imaginative new acronyms. LOL

 

[juliangst]

Does Octave Records have interfaces/ ADCs that are specifically made for DSD or do they just record PCM and convert it to DSD?

 

[BDWoody]

We always talk of the extra over 22KHz but isn't the real point of high res to give finer gradations in the audio band?

It is often marketed to suggest that, and kind of intuitively makes sense in a stairstep/connect the dots kind of way (which is part of the problem imho for many as sampling theory isn't exactly intuitive), but no. A higher sample rate gives you the ability to record higher frequency, up to half of the sampling rate.

Given our host's new video and new thread, we may want a proactive dose of Monty for those who could use a well done primer on sampling theory.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Recently I called PS Audio a well-respected company. But this is it.. First it turns out that much of their hardware is pure snakeoil, and now that their software is crap too. PS Audio should be dubbed “Paul’s Shitty Audio” from now on.

He's earned a certain cred here on ASR. If Paul explains something it probably is BS. If his company makes something it probably is a poor, overpriced performer with designs of snake oil inherent. In fact I only rarely click on threads about Paul or PS audio anymore because it is the same lame story every time.

 

[Blumlein 88]

It is often marketed to suggest that, and kind of intuitively makes sense in a stairstep/connect the dots kind of way (which is part of the problem imho for many as sampling theory isn't exactly intuitive), but no. A higher sample rate gives you the ability to record higher frequency, up to half of the sampling rate.

Given our host's new video and new thread, we may want a proactive dose of Monty for those who could use a well done primer on sampling theory.

+1

High rez audio isn't higher resolution, it should be called high bandwidth audio. But marketing of the idea has such a history that will never happen.

 

[beagleman]

Hey Amir, great work as always, couple of questions.

1) I suppose Octave would make the point that not having filters involved would improve the audio quality, any logic to that?
2) We always talk of the extra over 22KHz but isn't the real point of high res to give finer gradations in the audio band?

That is a myth started by those that claimed "CD" quality sound was sub par.

Noise floor level and the high frequency limit are really the 2 key things that change with Higher resolutions.
The term High resolution does not truly mean it "resolves" more deeply into the sound either.

 

[Geert]

After Paul lifted hifi to new highs he's now acting like he's reinventing the recording industry. The facts is that's he's totally clueless.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

I've downloaded a couple of the Octave Records albums and to me they sound like music which would be playing while you're waiting for your latte at Starbucks. Typical audiophile record label stuff which is well recorded but not what you would want to listen to more than once.