Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #52)

Indeed they did, as did Speakers Corner. Does anyone have any insight into which is likely to be better? I'm assuming the ORG (mastered by Bernie Grundman) will have more treble detail, but I'm not sure whether this music would benefit from that.

 

I think these special CD's are supposed to sound the best when they are played on an Esoteric CDP, which is also more costly than most CDP's on the market.

 

Now playing Disc 3 from the following SACD box for a first listen ...

 

This SACD has the best sounding Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini among the many versions of this work in my Rachmaninov collection ...

 

You'll be listening to it for a while.

 

Indeed, a few hours of organ music on a single disc ...

 

I think they do. I have a few of them. The Dvorak Kertsez I have blows away the vinyl version I have heard. I got mine for around $50. I don't think I would pay $100 though.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I am going for the Dvorak.

 

I prefer straight reading on my rather old Kindle. But as this e-book has illustrations (and I gather musical notation) I may read it with the Kindle app on my iPad.

 

I have the Speakers Corner and it sounds very nice. I have not done a side by side comparison to the original yet but my impression is that they sound very similar. I think that the Decca vinyl sounds a bit warmer but that's more or less about it.

 

My system is build around my turntable (which costs at least thirty times as much as my SACD player) so it won't be a fair comparison in my case. But I agree that they must sound good, I am tempted to try one or two and see.

 

That's not a bad price, I 've seen them much more expensive on elusive disc and the other audiophile online stores.

 

I have both as well as an original. As soon as I am out of this living hell of a location and I have my system set up in the new house I will do a three way comparison and report back. may be a month or so though.

 

I have yet to get my first tablet computer but will most probably settle on a Windows 8.1 tablet. I like the portability but would also like to be able to track my investments and run productivity software.

 

The one to get is the King Super Analog. I prefer the Speakers Corner over my Decca. When we are talking London/Deccas we really can't speak of "originals." They were remastered many times over the years in house and IMO the late 60s remasters of the early 60s recordings are substantially better than the earlier cuts.

 

You are right, Scott, it is misleading to talk about Decca "originals", they have been remastered a lot. I have a few King Super Analogue LPs and they sound very nice. I 'll keep in mind your recommendation about the Three Cornered Hat If I come across it.

 

This reminded me what The Audiophiles Guide to London Bluebacks says:

 

With a TT that good it probably does sound better than the Esoteric disc.

 

Apologies to everyone for blundering off topic for a moment, but will software originally designed for Windows 95 run on Windows 8.1? I do all my audio work (dubbing and editing LPs and 78s, cutting music down for my daughter's skating programs, etc.) in Cool Edit 96. Leaving aside concerns about cost, I would love to exchange my aging Lenovo laptop with its sometimes balky wi-fi connectivity for a Microsoft Surface Pro II for use on the road--I spend a lot of time at ice rinks and gyms--but only if it would run Cool Edit. I'm assuming more recent Windows software like Personal Knowbase and Click Repair wouldn't be as likely to present issues.

 

Have you worked with Audacity? It's easy, it's free and it's good for needledrops.

 

Yes, I use it to take 24 bit files from streams down to 16 bit, which is what Cool Edit can handle. But otherwise Audacity has a non-zero learning curve, whereas from years of use I'm so fluent in Cool Edit that I can whip through all the functions I use pretty much without thinking, and my philosophy of software is to not to force myself to reinvent wheels without compelling reason (like, say, needing to convert those higher-bitrate files), even if that means sticking with a long-forgotten orphan. Or, to put it another way, I look on computers as tools for doing what I want to do, not a pleasant way to while away the hours in themselves. Sometimes, an old hammer is perfectly adequate to drive a nail even if it's a little bit rusty.

 

I'm from that other end of the stream that drools in a pavlovian fashion at the sounds of technological edges bleeding. In any case, Audacity pretty much has the same editing environment of Pro Tools. And yes, I do in fact find computers in and of themselves fascinating. And have to wonder of the weirdness of my transferring a previously unplayed JFK Memorial LP, from the folks at Fox Movietone News. "Ah. . the times that we have seen . . ."

 

I find this performance to be uninvolving and hyped, but of course, ymmv! For a recent take on the Brandenburgs and Overtures I find the Diego Fasoli performances on ARTS in Hybrid SACD to be very worthwhile.

 

I intend to keep using my XP desktop until it dies. But it will be converted to some kind of music server that does not access internet to minimize the chance of virus infection when XP will no longer be supported by Microsoft after next April. I have used Audacity on my XP and the learning curve is somewhat steep. I have managed to learn only the basics to digitize a few live concerts by Hogwood and Harnoncourt recorded on open-reels from more than twenty years ago.

 

I meant to add that I haven't compared these Zacharias concertos to the other great Mozart players, but when I do, Zacharias may be in the running on one or two concertos.