AIX Records - DVD-Audio - lack of discussion here?

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filmosound

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2006
Messages
20
Hi, I'm just wondering if the discussion of AIX records has been banned here?

I did a search and don't see any reviews in over 2 years. I feel this is a company that should be getting our top support, as they are actually releasing newly recorded multichannel music in Hi-Rez 96/24 throughout the entire recording process. And they continue to have new releases on a regular basis. I just ordered the newly released "Vantage Point - Resolution" led by Simon Phillips on drums.

My favourite DVD-Audio discs include "Luis Conte, David Garfield, Dave Carpenter - The Latin Jazz Trio", "Laurence Juber - Guitar Noir", "David Garfield - The Retro Jazz Quintet" (all 3 on AIX), as well as "Beck - Sea Change", "Talking Heads - Remain in Light", "Bela Fleck The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol.2", "Neil Young - Greendale", "Frank Zappa - Quaudiophiliac", and "Steve Stevens - Flamenco A Go Go".
 
You can try a search here on "AIX" and you will get a fair number of hits. However, there is probably much less AIX discussion compared to the output of larger labels. I agree that the AIX stuff is top-notch, but their lack of "high profile" artists is probably what hampers enthusiasm for their catalog.
 
Yea I like some of the weird jazz on songlines out of Vancouver BC.
http://www.songlines.com/
they have about 18 SACD titles now
Some great sounding multichannel SACD's
but some of it is really out there
 
I just got my first AIX title, "Dorian Michael - Acoustic Blues with Albert Lee and Laurence Juber". I've only watched the DVD-Video side so far (because I was working out in my home gym). The music is pretty good, but the video is downright boring. The mix on the DVD-Video was okay, but you can barely hear the acoustic bass player, even when he solos. I cranked up the bass on my receiver and subwooofer (for the very first time), and still could hardly hear the bass. I won't comment on the DVD-A mix until I hear it.

I agree with Cai - I think AIX is doing some fine work with multi-channel audio, but their artists are virtually unknown. Furthermore, their prices are on the high side, it's hard to find professional reviews of their discs, and I can't find any sound samples of their discs online to even hear a few snippets before I lay down my hard cash. All of these factors conspire to keep them a small niche label.
http://www.aixrecords.com/catalog/dorian_michael.html
 
I would agree that the AIX catalogue features some talented but relatively obscure performers. I have several of their titles - mainly because I am a fingerstyle guitar enthusiast. As far as the video content - it is what it is - a rather static performance in a studio. I can however attest to the fact that the DVD-A mixes are quite well done. 2 titles I can recommend are "Guitar Noir" by Laurence Juber - former Wings guitarist and an extroadinarily talented fingerstyle player.There are several added features including DVD rom access to guitar tablature and a short video lesson. The other is from Peppino d'Agostino - same goes here - no video pyrotechnics - just some jaw-dropping musicianship. Worth a look.(y)
 
The best idea with AIX is to buy one title and get Sampler #2 for free with it. That way you can see what kind of stuff AIX is offering. I would suggest Vantage Point - Resolution as a good place to start. Great jazz recording with hi-def video. This disc from what I have heard has some of the best sonics that AIX has to offer. If you are into Classical I would suggest the Brandenburg Concertos. It's also a bit lower priced at $18. I have around 10 of their discs now along with the 3 samplers. Last Friday they delivered a couple of big band titles as well as Bad Haggis and The Carl Verheyen Band. These were all $25 except for Carl Verheyen which was $50. A bit pricy I know but it comes with a DualDisc (DVD side is of course the stage mix in DVD-A and of course the other side is a CD) as well as a 2-sided DVD-V disc. One side of the DVD-V has video of acoustic and electric studio work with the audio in stage (DTS) and audience (Dolby 5.1) and the other side has a live concert with the same configuration. There is also some extras where Carl plays around 20 (I think) different guitars to show you what they sound like. You can access each demo separately by guitar name. He also explains why he uses various amps etc and the configuration of his pedal pad. The music which is the important thing is good and the mix and sonics also right up there. The video is also hi-def throughout so it is about the best that it can be on a regular DVD. I was playing the live side of the DVD-V in the DTS Stage mix and then I put on the DVD-A of Remain In Light right afterwards. Talk about a "lo-fi" experience. I thought the Talking Heads DVD-A's were about perfect but when compared to something like this there is quite a difference. Collecting AIX titles reminds me of when I use to buy Sheffield Lab many years ago to get the audiophile experience. AIX to me is pretty much the modern equivalent of Sheffield Lab. Everyone needs at least one in their collection. Just be forewarned that the video quality on the older titles is not the best. Contact Dr. Mark W or his assistant Joplin and order one or two. There, that's all I am going to say on that.
 
I saw on High Fidelity Review.com that AIX has issued some new titles. Nice that at least one outfit is still doing DVD-A's. You can go to their website and see all of their titles, and also buy direct from them, which is probably the easiest way to get their stuff now. I agree, it has always been "state of the art" in sound quality. I've never looked at their DVD-V sides; only the DVD-A. Their Romanian Classical series is quite good.
 
ct said:
I've never looked at their DVD-V sides; only the DVD-A. Their Romanian Classical series is quite good.

That's interesting, because I find myself using the DVD-V side much more than the DVD-A side after the initial listen. I find while there is a slight difference in the DVD-A and DTS (much more slight than usual in comparison to other releases by other labels), it's much better to have the video along with the audio than to just listen to the audio.
 
Though these artists on AIX seem obscure or unheard of to the mainstream audience, many of these musicians are very well-known to the L.A. studio scene and have been on hundreds of recordings..... and have been in many touring bands from more mainstream artists we've all heard of.
 
filmosound said:
Though these artists on AIX seem obscure or unheard of to the mainstream audience, many of these musicians are very well-known to the L.A. studio scene and have been on hundreds of recordings..... and have been in many touring bands from more mainstream artists we've all heard of.

Like Leland Sklar for instance who has played bass on over 2,000 albums including most of James Taylors stuff and other things like "Running on Empty".
 
Hi, I'm just wondering if the discussion of AIX records has been banned here?
There have been some very nice things said about AIX here at QQ recently, and Dr. AIX himself dropped by not too long ago to give his $.02 ;)
 
Interesting to note that when I posted above 2 months ago I had 10 AIX titles. I now have 24. I think I like them a lot.....................
 
I've been buying more and more AIX titles latley and have not been dissapointed. I especially like the new "Brand New Opry" DVD-A. The recording quality and performances are outstanding. Highly recommended!
 
Guy Robinson said:
One of my favourites as well. Do you have Nitty Gritty Surround?
Yep, that's another excellent title, although I like "Brand New Opry" quite a bit better.
 
Cai Campbell said:
Yep, that's another excellent title, although I like "Brand New Opry" quite a bit better.

Both have their merits. I find them quite similar as they pretty much have the same line-up of musicians. Opry is missing those great vocals by Jennifer Warnes though. The miking is such that it sounds like she is standing in the room right in front of you. Hey the beautiful thing about having them both is that you don't have to choose which one is better.
 
Besides fidelity and performance, I like "Brand New Opry" for its song selection and stage mix. It is a very natural sounding yet fully realized surround mix. I'll have to revisit "Nitty Gritty Surround", as it may be just as spectacular in these areas, but it didn't grab me as strongly as "Brand New Opry". Every once in a while a title will just grab me and captivate me from beginning to end. "Brand New Opry" is one of these titles.
 
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