Post by robstl December 27, 2011 (101 of 115)
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ar80 said:
Watch out for news from EMI Classics in the next few weeks...
BUMPing the thread, hoping for news soon, though I'm not trying to rush anyone's holiday, either!
-Rob
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robstl said:
BUMPing the thread, hoping for news soon, though I'm not trying to rush anyone's holiday, either!
-Rob
BUMP2.
I'd be keen to hear the sensational news that all of EMI Klemperers,* Richters, and Schwartzkopfs are busy being remastered for this project and coming out in due time...
I wrote Santa about this.
TIA! :-)
PT
P.S. Giulini's Verdi Requiem and Michelangeli's Ravel concerto would be a big +.
*Especially his Bach (St. Matthew but also B minor Mass and the Suites), Zauberflöte, Beethoven (all), Fliegende Holländer, Brahms symphonies, Bruckner (4, 5, 6 & 8), and Mahler (where are his 2nd and 9th from this first batch?!?! A scandal!), but why not even his Tchaikovsky 4 & 5 (which are quite special). All of it is worth a permanent status in one's record library, however.
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Post by DWalcutt December 31, 2011 (103 of 115)
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ar80 said:
Watch out for news from EMI Classics in the next few weeks...
Hi,
I am very interested in the role of the CEDAR processing these remasterings. On the one hand, the technique has clearly evolved from what it was 25 years ago. On the other hand, the same photos are shown within the Japanese-language booklet of each of these releases, and it seems apparent that not all would require the same degree of processing. Would you be able to comment?
Thanks,
David Walcutt
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Post by Claude January 2, 2012 (104 of 115)
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So far, it's only been confirmed that CEDAR was used for the Furtwängler reissues (as explained by Simon Gibson in the Youtube video), which were made from 1940's tapes that have more distracting noises than just tape hiss.
The review of the Delius SACD, mentioning an unusually high level of tape hiss, rather suggests that no noise-reduction process was applied.
/showreviews/7621#8510
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Post by Jonalogic January 2, 2012 (105 of 115)
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Claude said:
So far, it's only been confirmed that CEDAR was used for the Furtwängler reissues (as explained by Simon Gibson in the Youtube video), which were made from 1940's tapes that have more distracting noises than just tape hiss.
The review of the Delius SACD, mentioning an unusually high level of tape hiss, rather suggests that no noise-reduction process was applied.
/showreviews/7621#8510
The four EMI/J recordings I have heard thus far all have a noticeably 'dead' top end (the Klemperer/Mendelssohn/Midsummer; Previn/Tchaikovsky/Nutcracker; Szell/Strauss/Four last songs; Barbirolli/Du Pre/Elgar) when compared to vinyl.
Even putting aside any vinyl comparisons - as many folk may not have these - they still sound just plain wrong and unnatural to me.
I don't know whether this is CEDAR, but it sure sounds like they've done something unpleasant to suck ambience, extension and sparkle from the top end of these recordings. CEDAR may have evolved, but ANY single-ended adaptive and frequency-selective hiss-removal system will have highly undesirable sonic consequences on a medium as transparent as SACD.
Give me the tape hiss, hall sound and natural top end of the originals any day, at least for anything later than the 60s.
I think most of us would now accept that straight to DSD from the analog masters would have been the optimal way of handling these musical gems.
A great shame and missed opportunity; I was looking forward to retiring some of my vinyls, but this won't be happening now.
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Post by canonical January 2, 2012 (106 of 115)
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Jonalogic said:
Give me the tape hiss, hall sound and natural top end of the originals any day, at least for anything later than the 60s.
I would agree. I find that master tape Hiss is usually only a problem when listening with headphones ... I don't tend to notice it much when listening with speakers.
> I think most of us would now accept that straight to DSD from the analog masters would have been the optimal way of handling these musical gems.
Yes - I'd be happy just to get the source: unedited/unfiltered thanks.
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Post by RWetmore January 28, 2012 (107 of 115)
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I just got my first batch of these and finished listening to the Klemperer Schumann 4th and Mendelssohn 4th. I have to be honest and say I'm a bit disappointed with the sound quality, though it isn't bad. There is a slightly congested and artificially soft quality to the sound that just doesn't seem quite right to me. The sound lacks a firm tightness and immediacy.
Simon,
I did watch the video. Is there a particular reason these were first digitized to 96khz/24bit and not directly to DSD, as I would think the tapes would be in good enough condition not to need much if any tweeking. Also, were these put through an equalizer when quantized to DSD? What DSD converter was used?
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Post by SteelyTom January 28, 2012 (108 of 115)
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Any further wild rumors or groundless speculation about Western-distributed SACDs?
Simon's video was terrific, though one would love to hear (or read!) his views on DSD/SACD generally, the value added, if any, of transferring analogue material like the Furtwangler recordings to that format... And, above all, what EMI is thinking in limiting these releases to Japan. Why involve Abbey Road in a project that will result in such limited distribution? Especially as, e.g. in the case of Sony Japan projects, there are plenty of highly-skilled remastering engineers who can do the work in Japan?
If EMI did an Analogue Productions-style, 'greatest hits' reissue program in Europe/North America, they'd make a bundle. And they need the dough.
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Post by ar80 January 30, 2012 (109 of 115)
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Unless things change, there is scheduled to be a release in April, with ten titles released, each containing either 2 or 3 discs.
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Post by canonical January 30, 2012 (110 of 115)
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Feb .. March ... April
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