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Reviews written by NativeDSD Customers (Verified)

Recent Album Reviews

Puccini: Tosca
★★★★★ Tony Dennison
Puccini: Tosca

Fantastic. The sound and performance are top notch. It never lets you down.

La Notte (The Night)
★★★★ Tony Dennison
La Notte (The Night)

Very nice recording;. You sink into the room where it was recorded and wish you could have been a part of the session.

But there is one issue. Sometimes the trumpet position in the soundstage moves because other mics pick it up as its volume increases. This can be quite annoying, but the recording as a whole is too good to ignore.

I highly recommend even with this slight booboo.

Awaken [Pure DSD]
★★★★★ Jon Dennerlein
Awaken [Pure DSD]

This album is excellent.

The very fast interplay between instruments and melodic flow draws me in. I could listen to this all day long.

Of course the Pure DSD brings forth the full sound quality of the instruments. I'm very pleased with my purchase.

Manuscripts Don't Burn
★★★★★ Bill Stein
Manuscripts Don't Burn

Very enjoyable music selection and playing by Inna Faliks. Very nicely recorded by Sono Luminus.

I Got The T-Bone Walker Blues
★★★★★ David M. Davison
I Got The T-Bone Walker Blues

Superb yesteryear blues!

Whilst the guitar is to the fore, other instruments are allowed to shine through and the recording places instruments really well in the sound stage. Listen out for the violin!

The acoustic version of "Stormy Monday" was the ideal track on which to end the album. The recording captured so much detail.

Very highly recommended.

The Muses Restor'd
★★★★★ Alain Chaloux
The Muses Restor'd

This is among the best albums I have purchased.

Besides Handel and Purcell, all of the other composers are new to me. My « coup de coeur « is by far Track 5: Sonata No. 8 Fantazia by Lawes.

This album can serve as background music or be enjoyed as pure audiophile listening. Rachel is not stealing the show by displaying her virtuosity. The complete ensemble serves you an outstanding performance.

Highly recommended!

Poinciana
★★★★★ David M Davison
Poinciana

The tunes and the recording are excellent.

Crossroad
★★★★★ Niels Jespersen
Crossroad

Robert Len plays wonderfully eclectic music that is both a joy to listen to and mind inspiring. He is obviously a very talented musician, but his music goes beyond that.

I started out with Crossroad and quickly decided that I wanted more in my collection. For listeners who want more than the standard fare, this is the good stuff.

The recording quality is, as usual, very high, which adds to the whole experience.

The Sky Is Crying
★★★★ David M Davison
The Sky Is Crying

Anyone who thinks that the harmonica cannot be expressive should listen to this album with an open mind.

I bought the FLAC 96Khz version of the album and was, at times, a little disappointed in the recording: for example, the recording levels seemed inconsistent. Despite this, I recommend the album.

Pure Imagination
★★★★★ Canonico Mic
Pure Imagination

It is a superb album and a great recording.

Stones In My Passway
★★★★★ David M Davison
Stones In My Passway

What an album!

The recording, with its excellent dynamics, is atmospheric yet at the same time the vocals and the instruments are given plenty of space and the sound is fabulous.

I found the music to be almost hypnotic, particularly the grooves. It drew me into the album’s own little world.

The album will repay repeated listens because there is always something new to discover.

Crossroad
★★★★★ Jon Dennerlein
Crossroad

Robert Len is an extremely talented artist. Every one of his albums is not only a masterpiece in composition and listenability, but has exceptional, top-notch recording quality.

These are must have albums. Every one is surprisingly different and yet so immersive and pleasing including this one.

Believin' It
★★★★★ Jon Dennerlein
Believin' It

Great album. Claire Martin has a very clear, easy-listening voice with a great Jazzy background. The quality of this recording is excellent.

I'm very happy with my purchase.

In Suspended Animation
★★★★★ Jon Dennerlein
In Suspended Animation

If you are looking for great ambient music, this album is for you. This music is very immersive both in content and excellent recording quality.

Sweelinck, Mozart & Debussy: Live at the Royal Concertgebouw [DSD EP]
★★★★★ Bill Stein
Sweelinck, Mozart & Debussy: Live at the Royal Concertgebouw [DSD EP]

Owning all three of his previous albums in DSD, I am a fan of Nicholas van Poucke thanks to TRPTK and Native DSD.

In this new album, he plays with lively expression, warmth and sensitivity throughout. His playing of the Sonata K311 reminds me of the widely-acclaimed Mozart interpreter Mitsuko Uchida's recorded in the 1980's.

TRPTK's sound is excellent, as usual. Audience noise is thankfully minimal. Highly recommended.

Extemporize
★★★★★ Bill Stein
Extemporize

Shuann Chai's interpretations are very lively and joyful. Her forte piano is beautifully recorded.

I'm happy to have this album in my DSD collection. Hopefully, there will be more.

Home
★★★★★ Bill Stein
Home

I have enjoyed the earlier albums by the Miro Quartet. This is my first in wonderful DSD.

Vocal intros by Caroline Shaw in Microfictions Vol. 1 are humorous additions to the Miro Quartet's marvelous playing.

Very nicely recorded by Pentatone and improved by NativeDSD.

Haydn Violin Concertos
★★★★★ Bernard Polster
Haydn Violin Concertos

A delightful recording of a delightful performance. Great sounding and a pleasurable listen. Highly recommended.

See also the Locatelli Violin Concertos. Also wonderful!

Cabezón: Complete Keyboard Works, Vol. 1
★★★★★ Israel Abril Fernandez
Cabezón: Complete Keyboard Works, Vol. 1

I think the album is fantastic. Sober as it characterizes the time of its author (A Cabezon) with the adornments typical of his time and without sinning into excess of flourishes that in my opinion "cloud" the nature of the work.

As for his interpreter, well... MAGNIFICENT.

Highly recommended.

Cabezón: Complete Keyboard Works, Vol. 1
★★★★★ Francisco Javier Jiménez
Cabezón: Complete Keyboard Works, Vol. 1

For me, has been a privilege to be able to record such fantastic music with this awesome instrument.

It has been a gift for me and for everyone who wants to listen to it. I am immensely grateful to God and all the people who have made my work easier.

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7
★★★★★ David Legg
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7

As it happened, I had the opportunity to compare the DXD (384kHz PCM in FLAC files) recording of this live performance with the original DSD 256 version in Stereo.

Leaving aside, for the moment, the quality of the performance the quality of the recording is about as good as it gets. But my home-made DAC revealed noticeable differences between the two formats:

On the DXD version, the differences between oboe and cor anglais, piccolo and flute were discernible, but required an increase of the amplifier gain to be sure. On the DSD version, the differences were immediately obvious even at low sound levels. On DXD, the brass sounded a little plastic, but on DSD it opened up into a whole section of different instruments lucidly.

Both the performance and the recording have a massive dynamic range, as they should for this exploration of fascism, Russian or Nazi military might and the corresponding fear. Noseda manages to maintain listener interest throughout all of the 73 minutes of this long symphony. Other performances take much longer and may drag a little in the later movements, but not this one.

The famous military theme with almost inaudible snare drum (at first) starts off so quietly (like Ravel's Bolero) that it is necessary to turn the volume up cautiously, bearing in mind the size of the crescendo that has just been embarked upon.

The second movement has myriad instruments playing the beautiful themes, including three flutes (one of them an alto, I think) and a bass clarinet. Highly enjoyable. The LSO woodwinds are particularly tight, and obviously enjoying themselves.

The later movements are less distinctive, but Noseda brings the whole symphony to a very satisfying conclusion. Not sure who won; was it the Nazis or the Russians.

Modern Cool
★★★★★ Cliff Collipriest
Modern Cool

I bought this album on CD and have always thought this was an excellent sounding recording. The DSD 128 version smokes the CD version! So much more detail. So much more depth to Barbers vocals. The sound stage opened up as well.

I am very pleased with this version and fully recommend it (or even higher rate DSD versions) to all Patricia Barber fans and fans of modern, progressive jazz.

I rate this as 5 stars, excellent!!

Homeland [Pure DSD]
★★★★★ Uwemue
Homeland [Pure DSD]

A really great album in Pure DSD 256.

I have now purchased several downloads from Eudora at NativeDSD. The way they capture the sound of modern concert grand pianos is overwhelming.

Here, the fine orchestral sound and a pianist full of joy in playing are added.