Gregorio Paniagua - La Folia De La Spagna (2003) [SACD]

This recording ranks among the most natural sounding in my collection regardless of format: LP, CD and now SACD. The LP and CD were, in some ways, indistinguishable from each other — a great testimonial the excellent 16/44.1 digital transfer it was given almost 20 years ago. The new SACD differs very slightly from the previous two, mostly in very positive ways. The sound is a trifle more ambient at times, and always a bit more focused than either of its predecessors. In most cases I hear a clear distinction favoring the SACD over the previous two with regard to reverberant sounds, such as guitar strings or percussion instruments. There is one instance, however (track 4 at 1:20) in which the sharp transient attack is both fuller and more dynamic on the original CD than on either the LP or new SACD.

If you already own either one of the previous releases of this famous work, I think you might find sufficient differences in the sound to warrant spending the money on this item again. It is, after all, one of the truest tests of your audio system's ability to recreate natural acoustic sound.