Post by airegin April 11, 2010 (1 of 8)
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For those who love classical music and play the stereo layer of their SACD's, I have a question - is the Starker Plays Kodaly SACD much of an improvement over the regular Delos RBCD version? IMO the regular CD version is pretty good.
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Post by Beagle April 11, 2010 (2 of 8)
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airegin said: is the Starker Plays Kodaly SACD much of an improvement over the regular Delos RBCD version?
I do not have the CD version so I cannot compare the two discs, but the SACD is certainly very vinyl-like. If you like the redbook disc then you will definitely enjoy having it in superaudio. That having been said, I find the Starker 'cool' in tone and perhaps in interpretation also. I tend to listen to Bach: Cello Suites - Hidemi Suzuki more often than the Starker.
I am sorry to see the Starker become so expensive; I ordered my copy in 2004 for $38 Canadian -- back when the Loonie was worth only 80 cents, so that translates into $30 US. It is now $200 at amazon.com and $364 at amazon.ca!
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Post by onebit April 12, 2010 (3 of 8)
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Beagle said:
I do not have the CD version so I cannot compare the two discs, but the SACD is certainly very vinyl-like. If you like the redbook disc then you will definitely enjoy having it in superaudio. That having been said, I find the Starker 'cool' in tone and perhaps in interpretation also. I tend to listen to Bach: Cello Suites - Hidemi Suzuki more often than the Starker.
I am sorry to see the Starker become so expensive; I ordered my copy in 2004 for $38 Canadian -- back when the Loonie was worth only 80 cents, so that translates into $30 US. It is now $200 at amazon.com and $364 at amazon.ca!
I highly recommend this disc - and copies are available on Ebay for under $ 30.00.
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airegin said:
For those who love classical music and play the stereo layer of their SACD's, I have a question - is the Starker Plays Kodaly SACD much of an improvement over the regular Delos RBCD version?
That's a very good question. An even more appropriate question is:
1. Was this SACD actually produced from the original master analog tapes? Does the box say that? What was it produced from?
I emailed Top Music International, asking them same, ... several times in fact ... but they have um declined to reply.
This is the same company that produced this title:
/showthread/52244/
which is a 1991 Delos DDD CD-resolution recording, placed by them onto SACD. If the latter was recorded at CD resolution, then there is no possible gain or benefit from placing it onto SACD, and so it remains unclear why the Kavakos SACD was produced at all. In this vein, it would be very helpful to know what the Kodaly SACD was produced from. It would be rather disappointing if they have used the DELOS Kodaly CD as a master. I am interested to purchase the Kodaly, but I am going to refrain from doing so until this mystery is resolved.
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Post by Beagle April 12, 2010 (5 of 8)
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canonical said: Was this SACD actually produced from the original master analog tapes? Does the box say that?
[Box: back panel]
These Mercury Living Presence SACDs of Bach's great Cello Suites present, for the first time, Janos Starker's distinguished interpretations in their original 3-channel (left, right & central) versions. In addition to this direct-to-DSD 3-channel stereo, the disc includes a new DSD stereo, plus the original CD transfer.
SACD 3-Channnel Stereo requires multi-channel SACD player & compatible surround sound system. SACD Stereo requires SACD player. CD Audio can be played on standard CD Players. A 3-channel direct-to-DSD transfer from original analogue masters.
[Booklet: inside front]
Recording engineer: Robert Eberenz.
DSD transfer & 2-channel conversion: Andrew Wedman, assisted by Andreas Brüning & Claudia Pohl.
DSD transfer & 2-channel conversion at Emil Berliner Studios.
Original CD transfer: produced, musically supervised & 2-channel conversion by Wilma Cozart Fine....
We would like to thank Wilma Cozart Fine and Bob Eberenz for their advice in the preparation of these SACD transfers.
[Booklet: inside back]
MERCURY LIVING PRESENCE ON SUPER AUDIO CD
As with the CD transfers in the 1990s, only original masters were used for these new SACD Releases. For the transfers themselves, Saki Magnetics three-channel heads (specially built for this series) were mounted on a Studer A80R 1/2" or Studer A820 1" recorder. Both machines were substantially modified to optimise tape reproduction. Playback equalisation was adjusted to provide an NAB characteristic of that used for the original recording, and the analogue-to-digital conversion was done exclusively via DSD, using dCS equipment. This combination of superior head construction, high quality electronics and transport, and direct-to-DSD conversion, results in a very high quality transfer: there is less risk of wow and flutter, a better signal-to-noise ratio, and because the signal path incorporates no transformers, there is less possibility of distortion.
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Beagle said:
[Box: back panel]
These Mercury Living Presence SACDs of Bach's great Cello Suites ...
Sir Beagle ... you have kindly provided above the details of Starker's Bach Suites (an outstanding issue on Mercury Living Presence):
Bach: Six Suites for Solo Cello - Janos Starker
But this thread is about Starker plays Kodaly:
Starker plays Kodaly
which is a completely different SACD whose provenance is, at this time, still unknown, I believe.
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Post by Beagle April 13, 2010 (7 of 8)
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Doh!
What can I say? I'll get out the right jewelbox this evening.
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Post by Beagle April 13, 2010 (8 of 8)
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Okay... I'm through blushing for my days-long brainfreeze. On to Kodály:
I got out the magnifier lens to scrutinise the box and determined that the technology involved (1) Direct Stream Digital, (2) Super Bit-Mapping Direct, (3) High Precision Mastering and (4) Non-distortion Technology. The 'obi' appears to add little if anything, except to repeat Starker Plays Kodály several times, plus 'SACD' and 'DSD Mastering' (in roman type). There is indeed too much information in the liner notes about the speakers and amps used to monitor the production, and too little about the technology. --But the notes do say 'Digital Transfer, Bejun Mehta' and that's the crucial clue:
Born in 1968, Bejun enjoyed a brief career as a boy soprano / countertenor whose 1983 recording with Delos earned him the Stereo Review award for Debut Recording Artist of the Year. But then puberty descended and he went from star-billing to whatever joe-jobs he could get. His contacts with Delos lead him to the other side of the glass wall of the recording studio; his next award was as producer of Starker Plays Kodály (1992), followed by Sony's Masterworks Heritage series (which ended in 1996)....
Ergo: this SACD apparently used the same digital transfer as the CD. Unless that transfer somehow involved intermediate high-definition product prior to RBCD mastering -- unlikely but possible -- then the SACD has been sourced from 48/16 PCM*.
But it sounds good enough to convey Starker's impressive performance.
__________________
*Interestingly, Top Music also issued Starker/Kodály as a pair of vinyl LPs using 'High Precision Mastering ... at Acoustic by Kevin Gray': does that indicate that analog tapes were accessed for the LPs, or were they too sourced from PCM?
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