Jean-Luc Ponty - Original Album Series

If you like JLP (and who doesn't?), you can't go wrong with this set. The sound quality is fantastic and sounds essentially indistinguishable from analog, and the price is right. Mine were shipped from England, so it took 2-3 weeks to get them.To get the best sound from CD's, be sure to use a modern player because DAC-chip technology underwent a revolution in about 2010 (the elimination of pre-ringing - pre-ringing caused a subtle but irritating artificiality and sheen known as CD-sound, and eliminating it made CD's sound much more like analog). I have a $100 Nobsound Bluetooth 4.2 Lossless Player, which I gave five stars on Amazon. Years later, I'm even more amazed at it. I've seen similar players selling for $1500, which probably don't sound much if any better. So, they're basically trophies awarded to those with large amounts of disposable incomes and small amounts of technical knowledge.Another important factor in sound quality is audio polarity, which can be "flipped" by flipping the polarity of each speaker connection or by inverting .wav's or FLAC's with an audio editing program. The effect of flipping polarity is subtle and profound at the same time. Some CD's aren't affected much by flipping the polarity (although I thought this about Amazon's Y2K Pat Metheny Group CD for a long time, and believed that it just sounded blah, but in May 2020 finally heard it and realized that its polarity is wrong, and that with its polarity corrected it sounds as transparent as the LP) , but for example the Wilson-remixed Aqualung CD which was mastered by Peter Mews and is sold by itself has the wrong polarity, and you haven't heard it until you've heard it with the right polarity. The same goes for Steely Dan's Alive in America, and I assume many other CD's. Even when a CD is sensitive to polarity, you might have to listen to the CD a few times before you can tell which polarity is correct (if it's wrong, the music just doesn't sound right), which might explain why some people claim that it doesn't matter, but when you've really heard both polarities, you'll know that it's important to use the right one.Polarity controls are essentially nonexistent on consumer audio gear (although I managed to find a couple of Audio Research preamps with polarity controls), and if you want to flip your system's polarity, the only options are to manually flip the polarity of each speaker connection, which can be a real chore, or to put a switch in-line with each speaker cable, as described below.========WARNINGIf you add a polarity switch in line with each speaker cable, as described below, do not flip the polarity at high volume levels, or you might damage your amplifier or speakers.========An example of a simple polarity control is a DPDT light/wall switch with cross-connected throws (throw A+ to throw B-, throw A- to throw B+) in line with each speaker connection - apply the input across the poles and take the output from across the throws, or vice versa. Wall switches and suitable enclosures (plastic outlet/switch boxes) are readily available, and the switches have screw terminals and hefty switch contacts.For solid connections, solder wire terminals on the speaker cables, and on the cross-connecting wires. Actually, one end of the cross-connect should share a terminal with the speaker cable, to ensure the best connection between the speaker cable and the cross-connect. I would avoid using the push-in terminals on the back of the switch because a good connection requires a combination of large surface area and oxygen-free metal-to-metal contact (almost a like a spot-weld), the latter of which requires wiping under high pressure. (This is why I recommend daisy-chaining the cross-connects onto the speaker cable - otherwise, there would be two wire terminals on each screw terminal where a speaker cable and a cross-connect meet, and the bottom terminal wouldn't be subjected to wiping as the screw is tightened, which would compromise its connections to the switch and to the other terminal.) Gold is ideal for audio connections, but a sufficient connection can also be obtained with a screw terminal screwed down on a wire terminal as tightly as possible without stripping the screw.Polarity control for balanced connectionsIf you're lucky enough to have components with balanced connections, you might be able to buy an interconnect with a line-level version of the polarity switch described above. However, it might fry your expensive electronics if you flip the switch at high volume levels. So, it would be advisable to mute the signal before flipping the polarity, and then un-mute afterward.

This collection of five Jean-Luc Ponty albums serves as an excellent introduction to his violin fusion music for the uninitiated listener and is also a staple for the musician's fan base. All five albums offer excellent compositions that are performed by excellent musicians with the music is recorded, mixed, and produced extremely well such that the discerning listener will hear all of the nuances and interplay between the various performers. Every album is a unique offering of jazz fusion carried by JLPs exceptional musicianship in conjunction with tasteful keyboards and lead guitar licks all held together with intricate bass lines and rock solid rhythms. If you were to only buy one JLP album then this collection of five disparate recordings is the one you want in your collection. Absolutely fantastic!

I continue to be amazed at the reviewers who gripe about these Warner Brothers and Sony Legacy 5 disc sets. So there's no liner notes, big friggin' deal, that's why we have Google and Discogs. This is yet another outstanding collection of music! Some of the titles in this Jean-Luc Ponty collection were out of circulation for years and I am very pleased to be able to acquire these. Another complaint I read is that these are not remastered CDs. Do ya really think it makes good business sense to remaster an entire collection only to sell it at a hugely discounted price? I think not. The buyer receive the very latest version of the mastering for each disc included in the set. The sound on the discs I've listened to so far is very good. So about the music in this collection, I am familiar with the first 4 discs, Cosmic Messenger is new to me. Any fusion fan from back in the 70's will love the music on these discs, I am particularly fond of Aurora a and have wanted a copy for years. Now I have it :-) . These sets are excellent value, especially if you are trying to rebuild an old vinyl library from back in the day. I have purchased several sets in addition to this one so far and they are all very pleasing:Billy CobhamLittle FeatRobin TrowerSpiritJohnny WinterDevadip Carlos Santana (3 disc set)

5 of JLP's best studio albums (IMO). Sound quality is good considering the time period ('75-'78). A clean, analog sound, for the most part. To the best of my knowledge, none of these full albums have had a proper remastering...hopefully there are plans for the upcoming 50th anniversaries(?). Until then, these will do nicely. Another great bargain in the 'Original Album Series' box sets!