,Yesterday, Octave Records launched its most exciting release in its Art of HiFi Series: Soundstage.
We got quite a number of requests for me to explain what you should expect when playing this new release.
Well, let's start with the obvious. You should expect an extraordinary soundstage.
What's that mean?
For one, your speakers should immediately disappear. The music will be completely detached from the left and right speaker.
Take for example Track 6, a lovely Mozart quartet performed in the studio. When we recorded this performance we made sure we balanced the microphones and mix so that you got a great sense of intimacy while not relying upon the closeness of microphones to achieve it. You hear this as a complete disconnect from the speakers—as if the musicians are in the room—yet not so distantly miked as to be far away.
Intimate yet detached.
Secondly, the spatial aspects of this release are optimized to create a playback room much bigger than your own. The first and last tracks on the album, recorded live, feature a good sized group of musicians seated upon a wooden stage. We have singers, acoustic Flamenco guitars, and foot-pounding dancers that all add up to an extraordinary experience.
In Soundstage we have an absolutely essential disc for everyone's library. A true reference for setting up, testing, and evaluating the soundstage your system is capable of producing.
A trusted reference disc.
Each track was carefully handcrafted on the FR30s (which have perhaps the most extraordinary soundstage and disappearing act of any loudspeaker I know of), and can serve as your reference.
Hope that helps and feel free to reach out with any questions.
*You might also notice all remaining Octave vinyl is 1/2 off (we've run out of quite a bit so not everything's available).
