I have had all weekend to listen to some new CDs of old music. A JPS 4 disc set of Louis Armstrong Hot Fives and Sevens, Billie Holiday The Complete Commodore Recordings, John Mayall's Wake Up Call was also in the same shipment. In regards to the Armstrong and Holiday CDs I'm wondering if our esteemed host Mr. Hoffman could improve the sound of these old recordings? I'm not really an audiophile but I can appreciate the difference in a DCC gold disc and standard aluminum disc. But with recordings from the 20s and 30s is there room for much improvement? Anyone have any thoughts? I must also recommend these CDs to anyone that has a music collection.
Old 78's sound wonderful. Problem is, the surface noise on the shellac discs gets in the way. When it is removed for CD release, the heart and the soul of the music gets removed with it. The Western Electric recording system (using an electronic microphone instead of an acoustic horn) began in March 1925. I have some records from the late 1920's that sound truly amazing. Of course, the clean copies of this stuff are hard to find these days. Nothing worse than a worn out old 78. Or worse, one played with a steel needle. But find a clean one, and it's awesome!
I have a 78 of Westend Blues and I prefer that version to the CD. It sounds more "real" for a lack of a better word.
A friend of mine collects, and sells only to sustain his habit (that's his record collecting habit), records (including 78s). He has given me CD-Rs of some of his R&B 78s and most of them sound amazing on my moderate system. He hand declicks them, but I don't think that he uses any noise reduction.
If you have the resources, there's no competing with a clean, original 78. Not that CD's are bad or anything. Steve's done some 78 transfers in the past (check out the discography). John R T Davies is famous for his work, too. Robert Parker and Davies's protege, Ted Kendall, have all received great praise for their transfers.