Are there any box bargains currently available?

[bogdan101]

Evans box arrived in my mailbox today. Listening right now to disc 1 and it sounds just fine.

[jazzbo]

Are you talking a simple reversal of absolute phase, or is it one channel out of phase to the other?

Not one channel out of phase with the other.

I'm not sure reversing the phase makes it perfect, but it sounds better that way to me on my system.

Edited April 15, 2014 by jazzbo

[Bigshot]

Absolute phase reversal should be inaudible. It's probably some sort of slight reverb filter applied to the music. It could be easily solved by simply ripping the music to true mono instead of stereo. I've found a lot of CDs, particularly on budget labels that have fake stereo phase tricks. Strapping both channels to mono fixes it right up.

[jazzbo]

Um. . . sorry, I beg to differ. Reversing the phase is audible, always has been for me in any system I've tried it on, and I've had two other listening partners with me evaluating music with phase inverted and restored and we three hear audible differences.

[Bigshot]

Not inverted phase... *absolute* inverted phase. Both channels inverted the same way.

[jazzbo]

Well, I have a phase button, and when I push it I assume both channels are inverted the same way and there is a distinct sonic difference every time.

Here is what it says in the manual for the DAC in question (PS Audio PerfectWave DAC Mark II):

Phase (Polarity)

Touching this control on the front panel touch screen (or the remote) will invert the absolute phase (polarity) of the audio signal. This is the same thing as reversing the loudspeaker inputs, placing + to – and – to +. Phase reversal happens on many recordings, sometimes even within the same CD or DVD. If the track sounds a little “off” try reversing the phase with this control

Edited April 16, 2014 by jazzbo

[crisp]

Meanwhile, back with the bargains, I've spotted a couple more Perfect Jazz boxes from French Columbia:

Perfect Vocal Jazz: Male Singers: £26.07 at Amazon UK (15 discs)

Perfect Vocal Jazz: Female Singers £34.92 at Amazon UK (16 discs)

Hard to tell what's on the male one (there are a few cover shots on the edge) but Amazon Germany says the female one has:

Sarah Vaughan After Hours 1961

Ella Fitzgerald Live at Carnegie Hall (2 CDs) 1973

Billie Holiday Lady In Satin 1958,

Rosemary Clooney Blue Rose 1956,
Lena Horne Give The Lady What She Wants 1958,

Helen Merrill Parole e Musica 1960,

Carmen McRae Sings Lover Man and other Billie Holiday Classics 1961,

Jeanne Lee and Ran Blake The Newest Sound Around 1961,

Doris Day & André Previn Duet 1962,

Aretha Franklin Yeah!!! 1965,

Betty Carter Social Call 1955,

Etta James Time After Time 1995,
Rose Murphy The Chee-Chee Girl 1948,
Lisa Ekdahl When Did You Leave Heaven 1998,

Eliane Elias Dreamer 2004

[GA Russell]

crisp, a close-up of the male box shows...

Louis Armstrong

Cab Calloway

Johnny Mathis

Bing Crosby

Harry Belafonte

Jimmy Rushing

Buddy Greco

Oscar Brown

Joe Williams

Mel Torme

Mose Allison

Jon Hendricks

Ben Sidran

Gil Scott-Heron

John Pizzarelli

[crisp]

Good one -- thanks GAR. As usual, a mix of some you will already have, some you won't.

The side of the box fills in some of the titles:

Louis Armstrong: Satch Plays Fats

Cab Calloway: The Hi De Ho Man

Johnny Mathis: eponymous first album

Bing Crosby: Bing With a Beat

Harry Belafonte: Sings the Blues

Jimmy Rushing: Rushing Lullabies

Buddy Greco: Songs for Swinging Losers

Oscar Brown: Sin & Soul ...and Then Some

Edited April 17, 2014 by crisp

[GA Russell]

Anita Baker - OAS - 3.68 GBP

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Album-Series-Anita-Baker/dp/B0052034ME?SubscriptionId=AKIAJ7T5BOVUVRD2EFYQ&tag=camelalerts-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0052034ME

[Bigshot]

Well, I have a phase button, and when I push it I assume both channels are inverted the same way and there is a distinct sonic difference every time.

I wonder if it's adding cross feed. Have you tried it on a mono recording?

[jazzbo]

It's not adding crossfeed. It's reversing phase. Look up absolute phase--reversing phase is not inaudible.

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/absolutephase.html

Let's let the thread return to it's bargain basis.

Edited April 18, 2014 by jazzbo

[felser]

Anita Baker - OAS - 3.68 GBP

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Album-Series-Anita-Baker/dp/B0052034ME?SubscriptionId=AKIAJ7T5BOVUVRD2EFYQ&tag=camelalerts-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0052034ME

Those are really good albums.

[Bigshot]

ahem! snakeoil ahem!

[jazzbo]

Not true bigshot, sorry. There's lots of snakeoil out there, polarity/phase sonic differences aren't among them. I mean, the woofer's direction of travel is actually reversed, that changes the sound.

This is not the thread for this discussion.

Edited April 19, 2014 by jazzbo

[GA Russell]

Herman's Hermits - four albums - 10.30 GBP

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IKXVMLK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=15OXMQC9Z0YS9&coliid=I1VID8S2IGTOGD

*****

Dionne Warwick - four albums - 9.45 GBP

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00H3WQUKM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=15OXMQC9Z0YS9&coliid=I1Q98NXMYORM4F

*****

Dionne Warwick - second group of four albums - 8.96 GBP

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Never-Fall-Dionne-Being-Myself/dp/B00H3WQUL6/ref=pd_bxgy_m_h__text_y

*****

Dionne Warwick - third group of four albums - 9.01 GBP

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paris-Where-There-Stage-Movies/dp/B00H3WQSOK/ref=pd_bxgy_m_h__text_z

*****

Dionne Warwick - fourth group of four albums - 8.96 GBP

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Presenting-Dionne-Warwick-Anyone-Sensitive/dp/B00H3WQSOU/ref=pd_bxgy_m_h__text_z

*****

Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas - four albums - 10.25 GBP

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IKXVOW2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=15OXMQC9Z0YS9&coliid=I1QK6Y20XHBFDT

*****

Gerry & the Pacemakers - four albums - 9.77 GBP

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Catch-Crying-Second-Album-There/dp/B00FBTYX6C/ref=pd_sim_m_h__8?ie=UTF8&refRID=050EC4VMW2H8XKWDTCB1

*****

The Hollies - OAS - 8.76 GBP

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Album-Series-The-Hollies/dp/B00G040NE8/ref=pd_sim_m_h__9?ie=UTF8&refRID=01JVQJ5AVE30T2VTQR3H

*****

Aretha Franklin - OAS, vol. 2 - 9.41 GBP

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Album-Series-Vol-2/dp/B00DDVPXOQ/ref=pd_sim_m_h__36?ie=UTF8&refRID=1H273JWQ02C5H8MAWY8D

*****

Otis Redding - OAS - 9.25 GBP

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Album-Series-5-Pack/dp/B003097A9W/ref=pd_bxgy_m_h__text_z

[ornette]

Haven't see this RvG box set previously noted here.

[Head Man]

Haven't see this RvG box set previously noted here.

Looks interesting at £5 a pop. I wonder what's included?

EDIT:

Ah, all the usual suspects unfortunately.........

http://shop.thejazzlabels.com/*/CD/Rudy-Van-Gelder-Remasters-20-Disc-Box-Set/375P03QX000

Edited April 20, 2014 by Head Man

[jazzbo]

Good titles. I actually think the Prestige RVG series is a good one. I have them all.

[BeBop]

Minor Ellington sale at Mosaic:

The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia, and Master Recordings of Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (#248) 11 CD Limited Edition Box Set Now On Sale Thru April 29 - Regularly $179; Sale Priced $159

"Sophisticated Lady." "Stormy Weather." "Solitude." "In a Sentimental Mood." "Echoes of Harlem." "Caravan." All of them and many more are a part of "The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia, and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra," an unprecedented 11-CD set that compiles these recordings for the first, and quite possibly the last, time. There would be many more exceptional compositions in the years following, including his highly regarded suites and longer works, but the scope of our latest, lavish Mosaic collection is the period when Ellington would establish himself as the most important composer ever in jazz.

Click for Reviews, Info and Audio Clips

Ella & Duke at the Cote D'Azur (#3002) 3 LP Limited Edition Box Set Now On Sale Thru April 29 - Regularly $90; Sale Priced $79

You really never know how music festival special events will turn out. For the audience, there can be an electric charge in the moment, hearing favorites in unfamiliar pairings. In retrospect rarely do you experience anything explosive. That was not the case in 1966 when Ella Fitzgerald met Duke Ellington, for the final time in their careers.
Recording live to two-track stereo is no easy feat.

The engineer has captured each instrument or voice with just the right microphone and equalization from the get-go. Even more challenging is capture the right balance among the many musicians to get the essence and clarity of the music. So it's a real pity that the engineer who did such a great job of recording Ella Fitzgerald

and Duke Ellington at the Antibes Jazz Festival in Juan-les-Pins, France has gone uncredited. From the original source tapes, the sound on these 180-gram LPs mastered by Kevin Gray and pressed at RTI in Camarillo is warm and brilliant.

Click for Reviews, Info and Audio Clips

[sidewinder]

Minor Ellington sale at Mosaic:

The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia, and Master Recordings of Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (#248) 11 CD Limited Edition Box Set Now On Sale Thru April 29 - Regularly $179; Sale Priced $159

"Sophisticated Lady." "Stormy Weather." "Solitude." "In a Sentimental Mood." "Echoes of Harlem." "Caravan." All of them and many more are a part of "The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia, and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra," an unprecedented 11-CD set that compiles these recordings for the first, and quite possibly the last, time. There would be many more exceptional compositions in the years following, including his highly regarded suites and longer works, but the scope of our latest, lavish Mosaic collection is the period when Ellington would establish himself as the most important composer ever in jazz.

Click for Reviews, Info and Audio Clips

Hmmmm - tempting !

[T.D.]

Berkshire Record Outlet just e-mailed out details on 4 UA boxes, two Ellington and two classical.

I bought the 2 classical (Budapest SQ '51-52 complete Beethoven and Chapuis complete Bach organ works).

http://www.broinc.com/search.php?row=0&submit=Find+Item&backinstock=1

Edited April 23, 2014 by T.D.

[Stefan Wood]

The Budapest set is excellent. Hopefully Sony will do a mega box of their recordings. And Julliard, etc.

[Head Man]

A couple of very cheap Quincy Jones boxsets that have attracted decent reviews:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Recordings-1955-59-Quincy-Jones/dp/B00GTSVNAI/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1398320308&sr=1-1&keywords=quincy+jones+complete

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Recordings-1960-62-Quincy-Jones/dp/B00GTSVPTM/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1398320308&sr=1-2&keywords=quincy+jones+complete

[Fer Urbina]

Amazon UK carries both 8-CD Art Tatum Complete Masterpieces sets (2010 reprints, European, possibly Italian) for just over £18 each.

Solo / Groups

F