FLASH! AIX Records DVD-A's fantastic!

looks interesting-I might have to try out one of those sampler discs. I've been on a little shopping spree with multichannel music lately- and since I took delivery of my new HSU sub today-my little music system is complete- so I will be on the lookout for some more great discs!
thetman

Thanks very much for the very positive review of our titles. It's encouraging to know that there are people out there that can tell the difference...it's why I continue to make the products that we make.

I just returned from the EHX show in Orlando where I was able to demonstrate our HD Audio/Video programs in a large, well-equipped room sponsored by Intel. I played the Laurence Juber award winning "Mosaic" track at 44.1/16 and then 96/24. THe point was to convince listeners that one can hear a difference. Everyone was amazed that they could "hear" the difference.

We also demonstrated the new iTrax.com HD Audio/Video 5.1 download site. It is almost complete...soon, HD SUrround Music fans will be able to download our content [and others] to their media servers. Stay tuned.

Thanks again to all of the supporters. We've got a whole bunch of new products coming in 2007. The Ernest Ranglin is complete and I just received the country duo Hann-McEuen [second generation Nitty Gritty Dirt Band]. Cheers.

Mark

Theiy're been around for years I bought one of their discs about 4 years ago. The sonics are great and the "stage" mix is very nice[it's a classical title] but I had found that particular performance rather dull[Beethoven's 6th] Hardly ever gets played anymore. I'll check out what's new though, I haven't been on their site for years.

Been loving their stuff for years. Here's an interview I did with "Dr. AIX" back in 2003, and another one from a couple months ago.

They've also expanded their mp3 samples (entire songs!) on their website, so you can check 'em out before you buy.

I have a number of AIX dvd-a and highly recommend them. The Laurence Juber Guitar Noir is my favorite. They don't skimp on any of their offerings. The sampler discs are like getting a whole other dvd-a disc thrown in for free, except you're getting more than you'll see from any other label. O.K., enough praises...check them out, I'm glad I did.

Now a question or two for Mark Waldrup, "Dr AIX":
1. I see you're shooting in HD. Any plans to release on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray to take advantage of the HD video?
2. How close can the audio be on the HD formats to DVD-A in sound quality? Is Dolby TrueHD the equivalent to the MLP found on DVD-A?
3. And finally a question about your download service. Will there be video to download as well? As much as I like the DVD-A on the AIX releases, the video with multiple audio trax and the plethora of extras would be missed if they'r not up for download.


Thanks.

David,

Thanks for the positive comments. The Laurence Juber is one of my favorites as well, I used it recently at the EHX show in Florida to demonstrate the difference between CD quality and HD Audio. With a $200,000 playback system, people could definitely tell what they've been missing [Boulder 2060 Amps, Audience Cables AU-24, B&W 800D speakers coming from a media server].

Answers:

I cannot afford to release my HD projects on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray...the costs are very high and I see to a limited audience. I honestly don't think either of the formats are going to survive...I'm planning on using networked delivery to issue my HD content.

The audio on HD-DVD and Blu-Ray has the potential to be everything that MLP has been...lossless at 96 kHz/24-bits...if the producers choose to use it. So far noboby has because the HDMI 1.3 has not been included on any current A/V receivers. Dolby TRUE HD is MLP with some additional features.

iTrax. .com is coming this summer...we showed it in Florida for the first time and people are very interested. There will be some ink on it in the near future. I'll announce it here first and ask for input from this group on during the beta program. The audio and video [even HD video] will be downloadable...but not everything from the albums will be available. The plan is for the downloads to be about 75% of the content and the Collectors Edition physical versions to be for the fans of the artists and old school collectors like me.

If anyone wants to help push the cause of HD Surround music, they should correspond with the standard mags that cover this area. They are pretty traditional in their thinking and could use a push now and then.

Hope this answers the current crop of questions. I don't get here a lot but anyone can drop me an email at mwaldrep@aixrecords.com...I do respond. And as always, please help pass the word. Cheers.

Just wanted to say that I bought the juber disk because of this thread and it came with the free disk... Niice.

I just picked up a couple of disks also and they will include the sampler. I was very impressed with the sample of Zephyr Voice Unbound so got that together with the Ravel/Stravinski title. Let's hope they are worth the international shipping costs of $12!

The Ravel/Stravinsky and Zephyr titles are excellent. You will not be disappointed.

Ravel/Stravinsky review here.

Zephyr review here.

I have about 30 AIX titles and they are all excellent sounding. The HD video is superb. It's not HD-DVD or BD, but it is among the best looking video you will see on a standard DVD.

I have been buying AIX DVD-A disks for about two years -- They are some of the best recordings I have in my entire collection. While you may not have heard of all the artists on this label, they are some of the finest studio musicians in the business and you probaly hear them most everyday and do not realize it. Love the sound quality !!

The discs just arrived. I have listened to the Zephyr disc a bit - pretty amazing with all the voices around you. Haven't listened to the Stravinski yet since I am exploring the two sampler titles that came with the order. While I have not heard of any of the artists, their music and SQ is excellent. Glad I bought these titles. Now might go looking for more. The surfing music sampler sounded quite intriguing :-)


Larry

I received my " Chopin - The Ballades " and the " Stravinsky/Ravel " on Saturday. Along with listening to the samplers and the DVD-A's, I did not get a lot of yard work done !! Absolutely stunning music and mix. I highly recommend adding the good doctors work to your collection.


Bill

Great thread! I just placed an order for Zephyr: Voices Unbound, Laurence Juber: Guitar Noir, and Stavinsky-Firebird/Revel-Bolero. Plus the free sampler disc which looks very comprehensive. Can't wait!

-Ben

I actually received two sampler discs - one in regular packaging, the other in a white disc envelope with no details on it at all. I have been spending time listening to the samplers before I crack open the main titles I actually purchased

Good to see some new people discovering AIX offerings. I've been a customer for years now, and have thoroughly enjoyed many of their offerings. As one of the first purchasers of the Juber Guitar Noir disc way back when, I got an autographed copy. The Juber is still one of my favorite hi-res titles, many purchases later. AIX's samplers will give a good taste of the different kinds of music offered, as well as the beauty of the recordings.

I also love Jubers Guitar Noir but for my more rock oriented moments, I like the Carl Verheyen Band - Rumor Mill --Great extra on this disk is Verheyen's walk-thru with his guitar collection very interesting sounds and vintage guitars. For something a little mellower checkout Lowen and Navarro - Carry On Together--very nice!!

I have six or seven AIX titles and I'm very pleased with the quality. The Guitar Noir DVD-A is one of the best sounding pieces of music I own. Just stunning. I highly recommend them and the service is about the best I've experienced buying music. They care and it shows.

Saving up to buy Rumor Mill some day. Yes, they are expensive but the quality is stunning.

I was lucky enough to win a couple of AIX recordings in a drawing last year. I was so impressed that I have gone on to buy another 6 of their other recordings. I love the sound quality on all of them but the Laurence Juber "Guitar Noir" is by far my favorite. I recomend going to their website and listening to the sample tracks. I use my AIX DVD audio recordings to demo my system for family and friends. You can tell that this company takes pride in their work, how many other bosses post their email address for us consumers to send in their comments and actually get a personal answer? It is nice to be able to write in about a company that is doing something right instead of having to complain about it's product or customer service.

I don't come by very often to check in on the AVS Forum, time is very tight when you run a small company, teach full time at a local university and try to produce new items for our catalog. Next week [and again in late June], I get to travel to London to speak on the area of HD Surround Music at the AES conference. Apparently, some people in the audio engineering community like our work. I was surprised to discover that a lot of people seem to know what we're about.

I love hearing from customers and will always do my best to respond and comment. I feel a part of a community and appreciate the dedication that people on this list [and others have]. I've tried to enter an automotive site dedicated to Acura cars and been told to go away...I'm portrayed as the marketing maven and dismissed by the moderator who "had never heard of DVD-Audio or AIX." Ouch!

I like being a small operation and getting know the likes and dislikes of our customers. I count on people on lists like this one to help spread the word about our stuff but also about the world of HD Audio in surround.

I was shocked yesterday to discover while listening to the Surround Grammy winning Ray Charles "Genius Loves Company" disc that Al Schmidt [one of the truely great engineers working in surround or stereo!], had place the vocals in the center speaker without anything else and without any reverberation. In the overall blend it was nice enough, but I'm not sure Norah Jones, WIllie Nelson or Bonnie Raitt would have approved if they heard themselves sans "warming up". I love the record but wait till you hear John Gorka...one of my true favorite singer/songwriters.

THanks again...please help pass the word.

Hi everybody. Just joined the forum. I thought I'd check out the AIX thread since Mark W. just did the authoring on our new dual-disc album. I've been a sound designer and editor in the cinema for many years and a jazz bass player years before that. Jimmy Haslip and I got the opportunity to listen to our piece on Mark's great equipment and it was a treat. What formats do you think DVD-A will migrate to? We thought seriously about releasing on Blu-Ray, but the costs were just too high.

Blu Ray would be my guess, but having said that I would pay a premium for any high quality lossless surround format.

Curiously...% wise how much more is it to release an album lossless on BD vs CD?

The cost of producing a standard CD release (not including the actual production of the recording, mixing and mastering) is many times the cost of a BD production.

It is possible to create CD for under $.30 per unit including packaging, box and replication. The equivalent cost for a BD disc including authoring (something you don't have to do for CDs), boxes, paper, royalties and replication is over $2.50 per unit.

That said...I have committed to creating BD discs of our HD video titles.

I don't think this is what you meant to write. If it is, you completely lost me.

You're absolutely right...I've been sitting at this computer way too long today!
The cost of producing a CD is many times less than producing a BD disc.

Thanks for letting me know.