Post by Chris March 29, 2014 (11 of 19)
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chenzl said:
There is a brand new recording of Dvorak 6th on Naxos, Classic Today gave a 9/9 rating, great stuff. Also another new recording of Mozart/Spohr clarinet concertos on Harmonia Mundi.
But my prize collection is the Mozart piano conc 21 & 24 by Eugene Istomin on Reference Recordings, prof Keith Johnson's HDCD sound is absolutely stunning.
Yes, Seattle/Schwarz is still around.
I would definitely agree regarding the Reference Recordings Mozart release. It was one of few quite good sounding rbcds in my admittedly small rbcd collection in the mid nineties before SACD entered the scene.And it is now also available as a 24/176.4 download. Well worth hearing both for its excellent performance and SQ for those who prefer or also like Mozart's piano Concertos with a grand piano and full modern orchestra in excellently balanced very good SQ.
The new Seattle in house label sounds promising too.
As tailspn hints maybe it is time that both the BSO? and the Seattle Orchestra too starts releasing original masterfiles and not only pcm converted ones.
Perhaps it might be worth waiting a bit before downloading the initial 24/96 files from Seattle.
Not neccessarily in monetary terms,but possibly in SQ terms.
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Post by Rico613 March 30, 2014 (12 of 19)
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Hi all. I'm new here and I'm looking for a thread for ratings or reviews of CD labels so this looked like a good place to ask. Is there such a thing on SA-CD.net?
I think I've had good experiences with Naxos. I can think of a few labels I would not recommend. Bad engineering of wonderful performances has become my latest vexation.
thanks,
Rich
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Post by chenzl March 30, 2014 (13 of 19)
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Chris said:
I would definitely agree regarding the Reference Recordings Mozart release. It was one of few quite good sounding rbcds in my admittedly small rbcd collection in the mid nineties before SACD entered the scene.And it is now also available as a 24/176.4 download........
The sound recordings achieved by Seattle/Schwarz were and are consistently good irregardless of whether they was done by Delos, RR or more recently Naxos.
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Post by steviev March 30, 2014 (14 of 19)
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Rico613 said:
Hi all. I'm new here and I'm looking for a thread for ratings or reviews of CD labels so this looked like a good place to ask. Is there such a thing on SA-CD.net?
There is now!
2L: A
Aeolus: A
Alba: B
Albany: B+
Ars: C-
Arts: B+
Audite: A-
Avie: A
BIS: A
Carus: A
Chandos: A
Channel Classics: A
cpo: B
dacapo: A-
Harmonia Mundi: A
Hyperion: B+
Linn: B-
LSO Live: B+
MDG: A-
Melba: A
Naxos: B+
Neos: B-
Nonprofit: A-
Ondine: A-
Pentatone (new releases): A
Pentatone (analog quad reissues): C-
RCO: A-
SFSO: A
Sono Luminus: A
Sony: B+
Tacet: A
Telarc (defunct): A-
This list is obviously incomplete, yet it is definitive, not debatable, and not subject to change, ever.
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Steviev, you're like a school marm with a red marking pen.
Pentatone Quad reissues C- and Linn a B- (?) : A bit harsh, wouldn't you say?
Just for making those Philips Quad reissues available on SACD would, IMHO, garner Pentatone a solid A....FILE under extra cirricular activity!
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steviev said:
There is now!
Ars: C-
Steve, shouldn't you put a smiley face on your post to signal that its a joke ? How else to account for Ars and Pentatone getting a C ?
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nucaleena said:
Steve, shouldn't you put a smiley face on your post to signal that its a joke ? How else to account for Ars and Pentatone getting a C ?
As steviev asserts, his list is both definitive and non debatable, I just what to know what he's been smoking (is 'recreational' weed available in Oregonia, yet, my friend)?
SONY gets a B+............funny how a lot of their early Classical (Living Stereo) and pop, rock and jazz SACDs have been bettered by independent companies like MoFi and AP!
Steviev, switch to Coffee.....at least the caffeine will render you more alert.....and rational.
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Post by krisjan April 11, 2014 (18 of 19)
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I received a reply to my email inquiring about the possibility of hybrid SACD releases from Simon Woods, Executive Director of the Seattle Symphony. Here is his response in full (with his permission to share):
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Mark, thanks for this. Your email found its way to me and I’m happy to reply.
Here’s the problem: most SACDs, as you point our, are hybrid dual-layer CD/SACD. We did think hard about making these, but in the end we decided against it for now, for two main reasons:
1. SACD sales are incredibly low - way below any real market impact.
2. By making all the product dual-layer, we increase the unit production cost for ALL our CDs. For CDs that may never break even, let alone make money, every penny counts, so increasing the unit cost for almost no benefit just doesn’t make financial sense.
That’s why we’re focusing on downloads. Personally, I listen to 96k 24bit recordings at home through my network, and the results are great. Some people might argue that DSD processing inherent in SACD is better still, but frankly it’s pretty marginal. So 96k 24bit downloads really are the way to go for us, especially as they gather more and more uptake commercially through sites like www.hdtracks.com.
We haven’t totally ruled out doing SACD in the future, but it doesn’t look likely. We ARE however, looking into releasing the occasional recording on vinyl, which is certainly enjoying a comeback!
Thanks for your interest and comments.
Best wishes
Simon
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I am not surprised by this response. Makes me all the more grateful for labels like BIS, Channel, Pentatone, etc who choose to serve the SACD market.
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Post by steviev April 11, 2014 (19 of 19)
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krisjan said:
I received a reply to my email inquiring about the possibility of hybrid SACD releases from Simon Woods, Executive Director of the Seattle Symphony. Here is his response in full (with his permission to share)....
In other words, for the foreseeable future the only way to hear the SSO in all its glory is to show up in person at Benaroya. Big thanks to Pentatone for recording the equally glorious Oregon Symphony -- can't wait for their Copland 3.
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