2025 Positive Feedback Writers’ Choice Awards

This is a reposted article originally written for Positive Feedback by Rush Paul. The great team at Positive Feedback, as well as Rush himself, have kindly given us permission to repost this and you can find the original article at the link below.
Thanks to Rush and the PF team!

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Recordings of Significance, New and Reissued

I am reluctant to suggest recordings of special merit. So many recordings I get to hear are excellent, both musically and sonically. So, my goal here is not to suggest any sort of “best of” but instead to highlight recordings of significance that are moving the art forward in some way. This year that significance is the emergence of more and more Pure DSD256 recordings from a variety of interesting directions. As to why I am so committed to Pure DSD256 recordings and continue to share with you information about recordings applying this technology, see “Get the Master Tape Listening Experience with Pure DSD256, Free Sample Downloads Included” (HERE).

That these are musically excellent and sonically superb is a given. Consider this a celebration of the recording and mastering engineers who are breaking new ground.

New Recordings

Eudora Records, Gonzalo Noqué

Recording engineer and founder Gonzalo Noqué has been releasing albums in Pure DSD256 over the past six years. His approach is consistently without compromise: excellence in music selection, artists, microphones, and microphone placement. His choice of storage medium and resolution has been consistently DSD256 without any PCM processing. And, almost uniquely, his mastering is done entirely in the DSD domain in collaboration with Tom Caulfield at NativeDSD. Why do it? Answers Gonzalo: “To my ears, it delivers what in my opinion is the best digital sound achievable today when recording Classical music recorded in real acoustics. So, in my mind, I can only think: Why wouldn’t I do it? Whether the difference is large or small, noticeable by many or few, doesn’t really matter.” See my 2023 article “Mixing in Pure DSD—No PCM Allowed” (HERE).

Then, in 2024, Gonzalo released what was perhaps the first large complex orchestral performance recorded and mastered entirely in the DSD domain: Homeland – Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor and Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain (HERE). Not easy. But workable. And then demonstrated once again that same year with the release of Mysterium – Noelia Rodiles and Oviedo Filarmonia (HERE).

And in 2025, Gonzalo released a solo guitar recording that deserves recognition as one of the best solo instrument recordings of the year: Preludes and Dances from Brazil, Ricardo Gallén (HERE).

What makes the releases from Eudora significant is that these are recorded, mixed, and equalized entirely in the DSD domain: Pure DSD256-Direct Mixed. No PCM editing. No analog mixing. All entirely in the DSD domain. And the resulting sound quality is the most utterly transparent recorded sound we ever get to hear. 

Recent Eudora Records releases in Pure DSD256-Direct Mixed:

APSoon Records, Aular Soon

The APSoon Recordings company founders, Aular Soon and Priit Kuulberg, have been releasing some really stunning Pure DSD256 recordings of large orchestral organs over the past several years. Their most recent release this year is perhaps their best yet.

Aare-Paul Lattik, Live at Riga Cathedral. APSoon Records

In this album, organist Aare-Paul Lattik delivers a powerful, aurally stunning, live recital on the massive Riga Cathedral organ. His choice of registration engages the full resources of this immense instrument, with massively deep and impactful use of the 16′ and 32′ foot pipes with which this organ is endowed. If you are seeking a demonstration recording for your subwoofers, here it is. This is now the third album by organist Aare-Paul Lattik, and musically, artistically, I think it is his best yet. And it is perhaps APSoon Recordings finest organ recording yet, and that places it among the divinity of organ recordings.

For more organ recordings from APSoon, see: “APSoon Recordings – Organ Recordings” (HERE).

Sound Liaison, Frans de Rond

Frans de Rond has long recorded and mastered in DXD, and his “single mic” recordings have been long recognized for their outstanding sound quality. But this year, Frans has recognized with enthusiasm his rediscovery of mixing in analog and releasing in Pure DSD256-Analog Mixed. I wrote about Frans’ shift to Pure DSD recording, and my enthusiasm for the sound quality he has achieved, in my recent article: “Bodacious! A Great New Release From Sound Liaison in Pure DSD256” (HERE).

Carmen Gomes Inc, Bluesy May

Bluesy May is a great introduction to what I’m viewing as a new era in audio reproduction. Pure DSD has now moved beyond classical recordings and into the more general popular music culture.

Reissues

Each of the reissue albums, or series of albums, listed below are recognized for leveraging the sonic benefits of Pure DSD256. I’ve written about each of them this past year.

Cobra Records, Tom Peeters

This year is Cobra Records 25th Anniversary, and founder/recording engineer Tom Peeters celebrated with a Producer’s Choice release of sample tracks. I wrote about it in “Cobra Records 25th Anniversary Producer’s Choice Album, an Audio Education” (HERE).

Tom Peeters, founder and recording engineer of Cobra Records, has gone into his archives to find his original DSD64 tracking channels from albums released between 2007-2014 and has remastered 17 selected tracks in Pure DSD256-Direct Mixed for this Producer’s Choice 25th Anniversary release. The improvement in transparency is remarkable, evidencing the huge advantage in sonic purity of Pure DSD recording and mastering versus PCM mastering. 

I wrote about the recordings and the process in “Cobra Records 25th Anniversary Producer’s Choice Album, an Audio Education” (HERE). This release is significant for two reasons: 1) it demonstrates just how much better Pure DSD256 mastering sounds than the same tracks mastered in DXD as in their original release, and 2) it illustrates the opportunity that exists for future significantly improved sound quality reissues from the archives that many other recording engineers may be holding.

Cobra Records 25th Anniversary Producer’s Choice

Yarlung Records, Bob Attiyeh

Bob Attiyeh has celebrated Yarlung Records 20th Anniversary by reissuing in Pure DSD256 some of the 15ips 2-track tape recordings made in earlier years. The results are supremely excellent. This far we have received David Fung’s Evening Conversations (HERE) and Orion Weiss’ Orion (HERE). Planned for release in December is Ciaramella’s Music in the Court of Burgundy. 

Yarlung Records 20th Anniversary Reissues in Pure DSD256

Analog Tone Factory, Jerome Sabbagh 

Jerome Sabbagh, founder of Analog Tone Factory, has released in Pure DSD256 four of his all analog jazz recordings, all recorded on 30ips reel-to-reel tape and mastered using vintage analog gear. It is a pursuit of a particular sound quality that is reminiscent of the early Blue Note recordings. Myles Astor recognized Sabbagh’s album Heart as released on LP and reel-to-reel tape in last year’s Writers’ Choice Awards, HERE. This year, I think the reissue of all Analog Tone Factory recordings in Pure DSD256 to be worthy of a repeat award. They are a delicious combination of analog sound as heard with vintage audio gear and the absolute transparency of Pure DSD256 as transferred by the excellent Playback Designs A/D converter. If you love analog reel-to-reel tape, but listen to digital, this will be the closest you will be able to get to that listening experience.

I wrote about Jerome’s recording process and his DSD256 transfers earlier this year: “Voluptuous Sounds from Analog Tone Factory in Pure DSD256, with free sample download” (HERE).

Analog Tone Factory Reissues in Pure DSD256