Vote

MDG is an audiophile label which is about music, not just pure sound.

Classic Records—not only is the sound quality of their re-issues fantastic they have the knack of picking great music.

Impulse Special Editions. I have bought some of my favorite Coltrane recordings and others. They sound GREAT!

My "Don't have one" vote says it all!

Chesky, the sonics are superb. Also, "Professor Johnson's" Reference Recording label is also excellent. However, their catalogs are something I wish were more comprehensive. Although, with high end audio, I find that my musical tastes have been expanded.

I don't care who releases an album. My priorities are: 1) Is the music any good? 2) Can I find it in my local record shop? 3) Is it well recorded? Question 3 is irrelevant if the music is great anyway. It would be nice if all records were well recorded/mastered, etc, but I'd rather have a cruddy-sounding record of great music than a pristine reproduction of vapid noodling.

I'm sitting on a pile of Classic reissues, so I guess my vote is for the old RCA and Mercury.

Most of my purchases in the last two years have LP Reissues. This from a consumer who budgets $300.00 a month for software. Do the major labels esp classical labels hear me?

John Marks Records. Interesting music by talented artists. I'd like to hear what JM could do if he ever takes on/or is allowed the challenge of recording a major orchestra/conductor. Then again, he may not want the hassle! Every disc I have from him is a 9 or better for sound and quality and performance.

Waterlilly Acoustics. Interesting music, not audiophile "wallpaper," with phenominal recordings.

Musicmaker.org [good cause, too], Telarc, Vital, Waterlily, Chesky.

Naim. I like their recordings better than their equipment—not that their equipment is not good stuff, it's just that their recordings are exceptional. I really like 180g Telarc and Chesky has had good stuff but they're too wishy-washy.

Gothic. Probably because they do a lot of pipe organ recordings

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab and Sundazed Records because they encourage audiophiles to listen to ROCK music, not just solo blues artists and jazz trios.

ECM, hands down. Some (many?) would argue that it is not really an "audiophile" label, but therein lies its beauty. Manfred Eicher and his engineers never strive to appeal to a specific group of buyers. They simply release consistently (well, almost) great music, and the fact that the sound is always first-rate is a given, rather than a conscious part of their marketing strategy.

Classic Records, because they release excellent vinyl and 96/24 DVDs that I've been enjoying for the past couple years. Thank you Classic!

TELARC. Nobody does digital better.

Classic Records. Speakers Corner gets a really close second. I didn't have a favorite until Classic started turning out the Genesis and Led Zeppelin remasters. If you were familiar with the sound of the early Genesis releases, especially the American ones (dire!), what Classic has done is remarkable. And the just released Townshend/Lane Rough Mix is also superb. There are a number of good companies providing terrific reissues (some of the Sundazed and Absolute Analogue catalog comes to mind, also Analogue Productions.) But I have to give the nod to Classic Records. On the other hand, Simply Vinyl has a terrific catalog but the quality of the sound is so widely variable I wonder where the "masters" come from. I don't really wonder about that anymore though. Oh, and that EMI Millenium Series was very good also (esp. Music from Big Pink and Thick As A Brick). And while we're on the topic, could somebody please do a remaster of Muswell Hillbillies? It cries for it (and so do I!) Is my age showing sufficiently now?

Audioquest.

Vanguard Classics. All their recordings are marvelous. Next are Opus3, FIM, and Telarc. Mobile Fidelity would have won this hands down.

Telarc. In addition to using cutting edge digital recording technolgy (for example Direct Stream Digital), Telarc also uses audiophile quality equipment to assure clean and accurate capture and transmission of digital data. However, the most important aspect of the art of Telarc is it records great musicians (eg

Mapleshade Records.

We need better music more than better recordings thereof. I've never paid attention to labels and won't start now.

I am very excited about the audiophile vinyl coming out. The sound is fantasic and the packaging is a treat. My two favorites are Simply Vinyl and Classic Records. Check out the two Pete Townshend releases on Classic Vinyl.

Any label that supports SACD. It depends where your priorities lie. Maybe if we quit smoking and cleaned out our ears, we could finally enjoy what music is all about.

Groove Note Is the best in all formats.

It's not just one, but I have found quality in the following: Mobile Fidelity (hopefully the tradition will continue), Simply Vinyl, and Classic Records. But I am still looking er..a... listening

Just learning about this recording stuff....but I know for a fact that they are different from one another.....and you say duh...well ok..I'm a litle slow..

Reference Recordings

Telarc. In addition to using cutting edge digital recording technolgy (for example Direct Stream Digital), Telarc also uses audiophile quality equipment to assure clean and accurate capture and transmission of digital data. However, the most important aspect of the art of Telarc is it records great musicians (e.g. Ray Brown, Jim Hall, Benny Green, Oscar Peterson, McCoy Tyner, Junior Wells and James Cotton; to name only a few) and music people want to hear! Because of these factors, I have a large library of Telarc CDs. Thank you, Telarc!