Press release | Woodwinds are among the most beautiful and expressive musical instruments, and The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 05: Woodwinds from PS Audio’s Octave Records features a variety of woodwinds and musical styles, all recorded in startling clarity. From the deep, sonorous authority of a baritone sax and bassoon to the sweetness of a flute or piccolo, The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 05: Woodwinds offers an entertaining variety of jazz, classical and pop music, played by world-class artists and captured in fantastic-sounding high-resolution Pure DSD audio.
Paul McGowan, Octave Records CEO noted: “There’s nothing quite like hearing the rich, full-bodied sound of an alto or tenor saxophone or the purity and vocal-like quality of an oboe on a high-resolution audio system. On a good recording and system, the body and presence of these instruments can sound amazingly realistic. We worked hard to capture all the instrumental textures of the woodwinds on this album, to make it feel as if you’re in the studio with the players – and having as much fun with the music as they are.”
Recording woodwinds is among the most difficult challenges for producers and engineers, because of the great variety of timbres and tonal ranges of the various instruments in the woodwind family, and because they’re acoustic instruments that move air and excite the listening room in complex ways. The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 05: Woodwinds was recorded using Octave’s Pyramix-based Pure DSD 256 recording system, and great care was taken in the use and placement of the Gefell M930 condenser mics used as the primary microphones, which were used in conjunction with Manley vacuum-tube preamplifiers. The album was recorded, mixed and produced by Paul McGowan, with Terri McGowan and Jessica Carson assisting in the recording and production duties, and mastered by Gus Skinas.
The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 05: Woodwinds features Octave’s premium gold disc formulation, and the disc is playable on any SACD, CD, DVD, or Blu-ray player. It also has a high-resolution DSD layer that is accessible by using any SACD player or a PS Audio SACD transport. In addition, the master DSD and PCM files are available for purchase and download, including DSD 256, DSD 128, DSD 64, and DSDDirect Mastered 352.8 kHz/24-bit, 176.2 kHz/24-bit, 88.2 kHz/24-bit, and 44.1 kHz/24-bit PCM. SRP 19 – 39 USD, depending on format.
About Octave Records
Octave Records was founded in 2019 to offer the finest-quality high-resolution recordings and compensate musicians fairly for their work using a business model where all production costs are paid for up front, allowing the musicians to directly share in sales revenues and retain ownership of their music. Chief engineer Gus Skinas has hundreds of recording credits and helped develop the state-of-the-art Sonoma pure-DSD recording system used exclusively by Octave Records.
About PS Audio
Founded in 1973, PS Audio has earned a worldwide reputation for excellence in manufacturing innovative, high-value, leading-edge audio products. Located in Boulder, Colorado at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, PS Audio’s staff of talented designers, engineers, production and support people build each product to deliver extraordinary performance and musical satisfaction. The company’s wide range of award-winning products include the all-in-one Sprout100 integrated amplifier, audio components, power regenerators and power conditioners.
For further info:
to the Octave Records website
to the PS Audio website
