SugarMedia
Well-known member
A good friend of mine sent me this link and said the whole catalog is excellent. Feel free to share your comments if you buy anything.
http://mapleshaderecords.com/index.php
http://mapleshaderecords.com/index.php
Audiophile recordings
- Thread starter SugarMedia
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Gordon Gray
Well-known member
One of the best labels available
Let me state my bias up front. I think Maple Shade is one of the best kept secrets, not only for their recordings, but also for their accessories. I have numerous Maple Shade (MS) recordings. They are all suberb sonically. Pierre Sprey, founder of MS, uses minimal miking with the least amount of "electronics" between the mikes and the tape to minimize any corruption to the recording. The quality is right up there with Reference Recordings, Groove Note (Jacintha), JVC XRCD, and DCC CD reissues.
I would recommend the following as a start:
1) Clifford Jordan / Live at Ethell's.
2) Art of the Ballad / Best of Mapleshade -Volume 1
3) Afterglow / Kendra Shank (think Holly Cole)
4) The mellow side of Clifford Jordan
5) Douglas Allenbrook / Sym. Nos. 2 and 3 (classical)
6) Midnite / Ras Mek Peace (reggae)
The first four listing are "jazz" material with the third offering a female vocalist backed by a jazz quartet.
One warning. Be prepared to get very spoiled and asking yourself why other people can't record music the way Pierre does. As an aside, if you buy more than 4 or 5, you get each disc for $11 each. A simply stupid price for what you get.
One caveat that exists with this and other specialty labels. The sound is incredible. You may not like the music. However, MS offers a return / money back guarantee to cover this scenario.
As an aside, I have treated about 400 of my CD's and DVD's with Pierre's three step CD treatment process. Very audible and well worthwile.
GG:rocker:
Let me state my bias up front. I think Maple Shade is one of the best kept secrets, not only for their recordings, but also for their accessories. I have numerous Maple Shade (MS) recordings. They are all suberb sonically. Pierre Sprey, founder of MS, uses minimal miking with the least amount of "electronics" between the mikes and the tape to minimize any corruption to the recording. The quality is right up there with Reference Recordings, Groove Note (Jacintha), JVC XRCD, and DCC CD reissues.
I would recommend the following as a start:
1) Clifford Jordan / Live at Ethell's.
2) Art of the Ballad / Best of Mapleshade -Volume 1
3) Afterglow / Kendra Shank (think Holly Cole)
4) The mellow side of Clifford Jordan
5) Douglas Allenbrook / Sym. Nos. 2 and 3 (classical)
6) Midnite / Ras Mek Peace (reggae)
The first four listing are "jazz" material with the third offering a female vocalist backed by a jazz quartet.
One warning. Be prepared to get very spoiled and asking yourself why other people can't record music the way Pierre does. As an aside, if you buy more than 4 or 5, you get each disc for $11 each. A simply stupid price for what you get.
One caveat that exists with this and other specialty labels. The sound is incredible. You may not like the music. However, MS offers a return / money back guarantee to cover this scenario.
As an aside, I have treated about 400 of my CD's and DVD's with Pierre's three step CD treatment process. Very audible and well worthwile.
GG:rocker:
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I wholeheartedly agree with the recommendation of Mapleshade recordings. The offer almost 100 different cds and they are less than $10 each if you buy four or more at once. The recordings are superb. As per Gordon's post, you may or may not like all the music. In addition to Gordon's recs, I would add:
13 Shades of Blue (Best of Mapleshade, Vol 2)
The Blue Rider Trio -- Harp, Steel, and Guts
Drink Small -- Electric Blues Doctor, Live
Big Joe Maher & Jeff Sarli w/ Big Blues -- Mojo
Sweetman with his South Side Groove Kings -- Austin Backalley Blue
Bad Influence -- Live at the Bad Habits Cafe
These are all blues cds and feature some great harmonica, sax, guitar, and vocals. Mapleshade has lots of genres, with an emphasis on Jazz and Blues.
Unlike Gordon, I have always been a little skeptical of Mapleshade's audio accessories. They seem to use a lot of what I would call audiophile mumbo-jumbo in their descriptions of their products and they make a lot of high-handed claims about their product's abilities, none of which seems to be supported by anything other than that they say it is so. I'm not saying that their products don't work. I haven't ever tried them. Just saying that I am skeptical of the price/performance of Mapleshade accessories. YMMV.
13 Shades of Blue (Best of Mapleshade, Vol 2)
The Blue Rider Trio -- Harp, Steel, and Guts
Drink Small -- Electric Blues Doctor, Live
Big Joe Maher & Jeff Sarli w/ Big Blues -- Mojo
Sweetman with his South Side Groove Kings -- Austin Backalley Blue
Bad Influence -- Live at the Bad Habits Cafe
These are all blues cds and feature some great harmonica, sax, guitar, and vocals. Mapleshade has lots of genres, with an emphasis on Jazz and Blues.
Unlike Gordon, I have always been a little skeptical of Mapleshade's audio accessories. They seem to use a lot of what I would call audiophile mumbo-jumbo in their descriptions of their products and they make a lot of high-handed claims about their product's abilities, none of which seems to be supported by anything other than that they say it is so. I'm not saying that their products don't work. I haven't ever tried them. Just saying that I am skeptical of the price/performance of Mapleshade accessories. YMMV.
Gordon Gray
Well-known member
Techno bable or reality, that is the question
Hi Rich,
Thanks for the validation on the Mapleshade CD's and the sonic virtues thereof. Regarding the MS accessories and the "technical" material supporting Pierre's claim in his catalog, I totally agree. However, for a non techno type like me, most material contained in hi end ads / literature don't make much sense to me. Latest example for me being the explanation contained in the owners manual as to why Pass Labs amps sound, or don't sound, the way they do. I always try to buy with a 30 day / money back guarantee with my ears being the final "decider" to qoute a certain elected, sage politician.
I think we are all wise to take anyone's claim regarding technical superiority with the preverbial grain of salt. What I did last year was to try one of the MS CD treatments. Liked what I heard and went for the other two. Each was audible and, IMHO, had a positive effect on the sound. From there, I bought one interconnect. Same impression. From there, I bought one set of brass cones. Same story. Over the ensuing six months, I eventually switched out all my interconnects, speaker wire, power cords, and power strip again auditioning each accessory individually to determine if it did make a worthwile difference. I also have MS's brass cones under all of my electronics. To cite one "cone" example, the improvement the brass cones made to the sound once I placed them under the the amplifier was so obvious I had a hard time believing it. Changes in the sound of the system were validated by a non audiophile type with the typical comment being "that was just a powercord" or whatever.
After the journey was complete, I am very happy. I personally believe, from a price / performance perspective, the MS accessories are a great bargain. Only potential issue for some may be the "fragility" of the interconnects and the lack of shielding on the interconnects and the speaker wire. The nice thing about auditioning these products is that MS offers a 30 day money back guarantee, except for any "custom" orders.
In closing, I do understand and certainly respect your skepticism. However, it's pretty easy to determine if Pierre's claims are snake oil or reality. And oh, many thanks for the other MS CD recommends, I'll definitely check them out.
Respectfully,
GG
Hi Rich,
Thanks for the validation on the Mapleshade CD's and the sonic virtues thereof. Regarding the MS accessories and the "technical" material supporting Pierre's claim in his catalog, I totally agree. However, for a non techno type like me, most material contained in hi end ads / literature don't make much sense to me. Latest example for me being the explanation contained in the owners manual as to why Pass Labs amps sound, or don't sound, the way they do. I always try to buy with a 30 day / money back guarantee with my ears being the final "decider" to qoute a certain elected, sage politician.
I think we are all wise to take anyone's claim regarding technical superiority with the preverbial grain of salt. What I did last year was to try one of the MS CD treatments. Liked what I heard and went for the other two. Each was audible and, IMHO, had a positive effect on the sound. From there, I bought one interconnect. Same impression. From there, I bought one set of brass cones. Same story. Over the ensuing six months, I eventually switched out all my interconnects, speaker wire, power cords, and power strip again auditioning each accessory individually to determine if it did make a worthwile difference. I also have MS's brass cones under all of my electronics. To cite one "cone" example, the improvement the brass cones made to the sound once I placed them under the the amplifier was so obvious I had a hard time believing it. Changes in the sound of the system were validated by a non audiophile type with the typical comment being "that was just a powercord" or whatever.
After the journey was complete, I am very happy. I personally believe, from a price / performance perspective, the MS accessories are a great bargain. Only potential issue for some may be the "fragility" of the interconnects and the lack of shielding on the interconnects and the speaker wire. The nice thing about auditioning these products is that MS offers a 30 day money back guarantee, except for any "custom" orders.
In closing, I do understand and certainly respect your skepticism. However, it's pretty easy to determine if Pierre's claims are snake oil or reality. And oh, many thanks for the other MS CD recommends, I'll definitely check them out.
Respectfully,
GG
Hi Gordon,
Thanks for the reply. I was actually hoping you would reply with a little more in-depth discussion of your experiences with their accessories, and I appreciate the insight.
Judging by your experiences, now I know for sure that I don't want to try any of their products. After listening to one of their accessories, I would end up six months later with all new interconnects, power cords, speaker wire, amp stands, vibration-reducing brass footers, cd treatments, and who knows what else.
Seriously, though . . . I may have to try their brass footers under my amp and preamp. Thanks again for your input.
Thanks for the reply. I was actually hoping you would reply with a little more in-depth discussion of your experiences with their accessories, and I appreciate the insight.
Judging by your experiences, now I know for sure that I don't want to try any of their products. After listening to one of their accessories, I would end up six months later with all new interconnects, power cords, speaker wire, amp stands, vibration-reducing brass footers, cd treatments, and who knows what else.
Seriously, though . . . I may have to try their brass footers under my amp and preamp. Thanks again for your input.
