Groove Note Records has announced the availability of a new Stereo and Multichannel SACD Sampler. The new SACD Sampler is a joint project with Sony-Asia Pacific and the SACD is now being made bundled in some of the “newest generation SACD players and Home Theater Systems” being sold in this market.

In addition, Groove Note will be making a limited quantity of the new SACD Sampler discs available to a small number of distributors in the Asia-Pacific market. This market area is defined as Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and Korea. The SACD will be available from the distributors in these markets in January.

Groove Note’s 2nd Stereo and Multichannel SACD Sampler
The new SACD is Groove Note’s second Stereo and Multichannel SACD Sampler disc. The first SACD in this series, the Sony/Groove Note SACD Two-Channel & Multichannel Demonstration Disc (Groove Note GRV-1013-3), was primarily available in Asian markets with some copies being made available in the U.S. through audiophile record specialist Elusive Disc (see our earlier story on this SACD, linked below). It featured 11 tracks which were primarily available in SACD Stereo and CD Stereo with a few tracks being made available in SACD Surround Sound as well.

Ultimate Collection: Groove Note SACD Stereo & Multichannel Demo Disc Volume 2 (Groove Note GRV-1023-3) follows this recipe. It features 9 tracks, all of which appear in SACD Stereo and CD Stereo and 7 of which also appear in SACD Surround Sound editions. Performances on the SACD have been licensed from a variety of record labels including major (EMI), independent (Concord, Hot and Triloka) and audiophile (Telarc and Groove Note) labels.

Of particular note are tracks 5 and 7 by Hugh Masakela and Eva Cassidy which make their debut in SACD Stereo on this disc. The track lineup on the album is as follows:

Album Selections

1. Jerry Goldsmith – Theme From Star Trek (from the Telarc SACD “Film Music Of Jerry Goldsmith”) – Stereo and Surround
2. Bryan Ferry – Nobody Loves Me (from the Virgin SACD “Frantic”) – Stereo and Surround
3. Eden Atwood – The Girl From Ipanema (from the Groove Note SACD “Waves”) – Stereo and Surround
4. Tania Maria – Come With Me (from the Concord SACD “Come With Me”) – Stereo and Surround
5. Hugh Masekela – Stimela (from the Triloka album “Hope”) – Stereo
6. Roxy Music – Avalon (from the Virgin SACD “Avalon”) – Stereo and Surround
7. Eva Cassidy – Fields Of Gold (from the Hot Records album “Songbird”) – Stereo
8. Jerry Goldsmith – Theme From Russia House (from the Telarc SACD “Film Music Of Jerry Goldsmith”) – Stereo and Surround
9. Jacintha – Light My Fire (from the Groove Note SACD “Jacintha Is Her Name”) – Stereo and Surround

In a departure from the last Groove Note SACD Sampler, this one uses the colors and monikor (“Ultimate Collection”) from Sony’s earlier 2 disc SACD Sampler in the European market. As for the disc itself, Groove Note tells us that the SACD was mastered and authored by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering in Boulder, Colorado “using the latest DSD processors”.

With a mix of musical genres on the SACD (world, jazz, pop, film music and bossa nova) this will be one to watch for if you’re an SACD fan in the Asia-Pacific market where the disc will be made available.