User Details - mandel

recommendations

Name:
   James
Details:
   Currently unemployed music geek. Play to varying levels Piano, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Viola, generally badly :)

Starting out discovering classical music, fan of a wide range of rock/alternative music. Fairly cheap surround system by some peoples standards, but it's well set up and gives very pleasing results in it's current location :)
Location:
   Sheffield UK
HiFi:
   Main system:
Amp: Yamaha HTR-5640RDS 6.1 channel surround, 80W per channel
Fronts: Gale 3020s
Centre: Gale 3050C
Rear L&R: Gale Silver Monitors
Rear Centre: Gale Centre 10
Sub: Stupid thing died! Gale Sub 6 from other system temporarily...
Direct Drive Turntable: Prosound L64AA fitted with AT-95E cartridge
Phono Preamp: Cambridge Audio Azure 540P
SACD player: Sony SCD-XE680, optical and 6 Cambridge Audio phono interconnects
Computer: Athlon XP 2400+ with Audigy 2 ZS soundcard for 24/96 recording and playback, co-ax digital output
Trust 5.1 Silverline headphones for late night use :)

Living room (not SACD capable):
Yamaha RX-V340 60W per channel 5.1 channel surround amp
Fronts: Gale Mini Monitors
Centre: Gale Centre 10
Rears: Grundig M4S
Sub: Gale Sub 6
28" 4:3 TV
DVD player, Video player, Sky reciever and computer with optical audio out
Email:
   james4u04@yahoo.co.uk
Web:
  
Posts:
   230
 
 
Reviews
Found: 10 show all
Gubaidulina: The Canticle of the Sun - Wispelwey/Reuss          (8 of 8 found this review helpful)
  March 4, 2006

The Canticle of the Sun is an unusual piece, but 'unusual' is a term that could be applied to pretty much any Gubaidulina composition. The ensemble consists of solo cello, choir and percussion, even using the sound of somebody rubbing the rims of wine glasses. The cellist is required to use a fair ... more
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 - Jansons        (5 of 6 found this review helpful)
  September 17, 2005

The RCO play beautifully, note perfect and with passion. As for the recording, you are placed fairly close to the orchestra but still with a good sense of soundstage; there is amazing sonic clarity while still having a warm sound. Turn it up and you can hear *everything*, the downside of this being ... more
Bach: Six Suites for Solo Cello - Janos Starker        (5 of 7 found this review helpful)
  June 28, 2005

I recieved this a few days ago, not sure if I'd really want to sit down through over 2 hours of mostly solo material, short attention span generation and all :) I say mostly solo, as this release contains the six cello suites plus two sonatas for cello and piano. It went in my player, stayed there ... more
Liszt: Organ Works - Hans-Jürgen Kaiser          (3 of 5 found this review helpful)
  May 24, 2005

I have been wondering what to say about this disc for quite some time. Not entirely sure I like it too much, but that doesn't mean it's a bad disc so I shall just say a few general points. I listen in multichannel, this disc is recorded in 5.0 in DSD. The recording date is 1997 which makes it a very ... more
Snow Patrol: Final Straw        (3 of 3 found this review helpful)
  May 24, 2005

I bought this not being sure what I thought about Snow Patrol. Having heard some singles they seemed to be a bit of a Coldplay ripoff; a couple of listens to this album later I discovered they have matured far beyond that. The albums mix of driving rock riffs (driving at cruising speed) and layered ... more
 
 
Latest Posts
Multi channel (classical) Radio in Netherlands
January 29, 2007
Vaguely related to this... You can hear Hadyn's 96th Symphony in 5.0 at http://www.nrk.no/magasin/ulyd/4615208.html Not available for download anymore but you can stream it at 440kb/s in windows media player :) ... more
Best surround sound recording list?
January 17, 2007
http://sa-cd.net/showtitle/1631 This disc has voices spread all around the listener. I keep meaning to pick up a copy myself. The Berlioz Requiem is another good one, most of the instruments and the choir are at the front but there are two brass ensembles placed in the rear corners. The Spano/Atlanta SO recording even has the tenor soloist at the ... more
HAFLER CIRCUIT: passive surround sound
January 15, 2007
Some of us can't afford that much gear unfortunately and have no choice except to compromise. I've only tried DTS:Neo6 and Dolby Prologic 2, PL2 destroys the soundstage for classical music but DTS:Neo6 seems to preserve it very well. On some CDs/vinyl DTS:Neo6 produces a better soundstage than some multichannel SACDs (though you're missing the ... more
HAFLER CIRCUIT: passive surround sound
January 14, 2007
Grr the forum ate my post. I think you may find in time that what you gain in warmth you lose in clarity. The Hafler Matrix sounds pretty good for such a simple 'hack' but a decent decoder like DTS:Neo is way better (and discrete surround is way better again). If you have any QS quadraphonic vinyl or Dolby Prologic encoded CDs you should give them ... more
DVD vs SACD
January 8, 2007
Normal DVDs can and usually do carry discrete 5.1 surround tracks i.e. one channel per speaker just the same as SACDs do (DVD can also do 6.1). The problem is that often on music DVDs the 5.1 surround track is artificially made from a stereo master rather than being properly made from the multi-track master. The other problem with DVD-V is that it ... more