Post by Iain March 23, 2012 (51 of 85)
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dcramer said:
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Although I'm primarily an LP collector for rock and jazz (my SACD purchases are 90% classical), I've noticed there are still some instances where discs are available for reasonable prices - the Elton John and Bob Dylan recordings immediately come to mind. As a matter of fact, the SACD version of Highway 61 Revisited holds up quite well against my original "6 eye" Columbia LP pressing. I also fully concur with FD's recommendation of Wish You Were Here - it's fabulous. Otherwise, it seems to be pretty slim pickings unless you're willing to pay the piper. May I suggest a nice, < $500 plug 'n play turntable to supplement your system? ;-)
Recently picked up 3 beauties:
1) Elton John - Honky Chateau
2) Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
3) Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman
Whilst all are excellent, the best sound quality and content goes to Number 3, "Tea for the Tillerman". Not sure why I don't see more discussion of it here, but it's now my top reference title. Hopefully it will relinquish that position when "Teaser and the Firecat" is released.
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GAUCHO by Steely Dan arrived; a very fine rendering, a notch below BROTHERS IN ARMS and DARK SIDE OF THE MOON (the benchmarks from my still meager collection). Track 2 "Hey Nineteen" and track 4 "Gaucho" were the highlights.
I also received the Telarc hybrid SACD of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture plus Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris; by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra with Erich Kunzel conducting. I was a bit disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high. I certainly need to give this disc a few more listens before passing final judgment. [I put this disc in first -- before listening to GAUCHO -- and my mild disappointment with this rendering of the 1812 Overture, combined with my eagerness to listen to GAUCHO, led me to change discs before I even got to the Gershwin material.]
...But my initial take on this SACD is that it is not noticeably better than the two Redbook CD versions of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture that I own. This has me wondering whether SACDs of classical music need to be heard in 5.1 surround to be enjoyed to their fullest. I am listening to a 2-channel system. Those of you who have extensive classical SACD libraries, do you listen in 2-channel or multi-channel? Listening in simple stereo, can I get the same "WOW" reaction to SACD versions of classical material that I have been experiencing when listening to SACD versions of rock/pop material? What 10 discs would be a good "starter package" of classical material?
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Post by Nagraboy March 23, 2012 (53 of 85)
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I'm surprised you thought DSOTM sounded better than Gaucho. DSOTM has never been a reference quality recording, just one that is familiar to a great many people. Gaucho is the final statement from the studio perfectionists Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, and is meticulously polished and crafted producing one of the best sounds of the era. Maybe a system dependent conclusion?
I only listen in 2 channel to Classical and it sounds very good. IME surround sound is always the best option if you can accommodate it. Sadly I don't think I have the room to do it justice.
If you want a list of 10 Classical discs as a starter set, I suppose it depends on where your tastes lie. I tend to favour smaller scale works rather than the symphonic stuff which is so well represented on SACD. So from that perspective, here are a few of my current favourites...
Mozart: Quartet & Quintets - Kuijken String Quartet - make sure you buy this disc, it is so good!
Bach: Violin Concertos - Podger, Brecon Baroque
The Mahler Album - Amsterdam Sinfonietta - just getting into Mahler and this is stunning
Pergolesi: Stabat Mater - Florilegium - beautiful music, breathtakingly well-recorded in DSD
Mozart: Piano Concertos Vol. 1 - Brautigam, Willens - Mozart on period instruments and crisp sound
Heavenly Harmonies - Stile Antico - Tudor choral music. An amazing discovery for me!
These are some of my recent favourites that all sound spectacularly good. A key point is that they are all modern recordings, mostly recorded in pure DSD, which make the most of the SACD format. Try any of these and I don't think you'll be disappointed by the music or sound. The first recommendation (the Mozart) is easy to get into and IMO sounds as good as any recording I've ever heard - DSOTM and old '60s DSD-remasteres need not apply! But they're all wonderful so give them a try!
See also the 'Top Recommendations' pages on this site. Here's the link.
/toprecommendations
All the best,
Nagraboy.
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This gives rise to an interesting question-- in which classical genres are the advantages of SACD most evident, orchestral, chamber, vocal, solo instrumental?....
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Post by dcramer March 23, 2012 (55 of 85)
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SteelyTom said:
This gives rise to an interesting question-- in which classical genres are the advantages of SACD most evident, orchestral, chamber, vocal, solo instrumental?....
I'm a two-channel listener and find chamber music ensemble and solo piano recordings on SACD revelatory - with top notch productions, no other format I'm familiar with can touch SACD for these genres IMO.
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Post by Nagraboy March 23, 2012 (56 of 85)
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dcramer said:
I'm a two-channel listener and find chamber music ensemble and solo piano recordings on SACD revelatory - with top notch productions, no other format I'm familiar with can touch SACD for these genres IMO.
Agreed. My system is set up well for small scale works - Classical and Jazz, I wonder if larger speaker should improve the performance of symphonic works. I think the SACD format does a lot of good for these works too, it helps make sense of the greater number of sounds than RBCD can, but the scale of these larger works requires bigger speakers I think.
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dcramer said:
I'm a two-channel listener and find chamber music ensemble and solo piano recordings on SACD revelatory - with top notch productions, no other format I'm familiar with can touch SACD for these genres IMO.
That's pretty much my experience as well, for example with Northstar Recording's work for pianist Yoram Ish-Hurwitz in Liszt, or the Avanti label piano records (Polina Leschenko et al.). The new, DSD-recorded Boston Symphony Chamber Players disc of French music also comes to mind.
I'm tempted to advise a newbie to look for sound/mirror- and Northstar-engineered records as sources of demonstration-quality SACD sonics.
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Nagraboy said:
I think the SACD format does a lot of good for these works too, it helps make sense of the greater number of sounds than RBCD can, but the scale of these larger works requires bigger speakers I think.
At least SACD maximizes sonic bang for your gear's buck (or Euro)....
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Post by Nagraboy March 23, 2012 (59 of 85)
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SteelyTom said:
That's pretty much my experience as well, for example with Northstar Recording's work for pianist Yoram Ish-Hurwitz in Liszt, or the Avanti label piano records (Polina Leschenko et al.). The new, DSD-recorded Boston Symphony Chamber Players disc of French music also comes to mind.
I'm tempted to advise a newbie to look for sound/mirror- and Northstar-engineered records as sources of demonstration-quality SACD sonics.
The Mozart disc I recommended above is a North Star recording. I'd recommend it to everyone here, the sound is unusually solid - it feels like a room in front of you in 2ch and the string tone is nothing like the familair CD sound of recorded strings. The music is of course delightful too.
Sound Mirror did the Living Stereo and Living Presence remasters didn't they? We all know what a great job they did with those. I hadn't heard of the French music disc you mention, but will investigate.
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Post by Nagraboy March 23, 2012 (60 of 85)
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