Today my ormandy box arrived in perfect condition. Double packaging and no dents. This is the first time that I have seen a package supplied by the manufacturer which is itself made up of two parts. The inner part is extracted from the rest of the casing by two handles. Really very well done. I still have to open it ....
Just got a shipping notice for Ormandy from Import CDs (ordered for $198 on April 10 when it was listed as backordered). It's still listed as backordered on the site (and the price is up to $208), so they must be filling back orders as they get new stock. Now just waiting with fingers crossed that it's decently packed and survives the trip.
I have ordered before with FNAC and not had a problem. Just last week I had an order from them arrive in the UK two days after dispatch.
I received my email also. I'm hoping the same for shipping. Oddly, my email says it's being shipped via DHL but the tracking link goes to the USPS website. Does anyone know where ImportCDs ships from?
Couldn't resist and ordered the Muti box. FNAC deducts VAT from orders shipped to the US, so price was EUR 52.49 plus 12.67 shipping. That's a total all-in of $78 at current rates of exchange. FNAC has sent an email confirming the order. Definitely in the too-good-to-be-true category and I expect the order to be cancelled, but we'll see what happens... Thanks to Pigalle for flagging this!
I added it to The Age of Revolutions after all - you know, one can always give the gift of music to friends for Christmas and birthdays, right?
$0.86 per CD shipped to the US - you, Sir, are a legend! Thanks much! Or, how they say in France: "Merci et félicitations pour ce (très bon) choix!" Edit: I did read some of the complaints on Trustpilot (which were hilarious, people buying a TV and getting sunglasses). Yet it seems there are ONLY complaints on the Trustpilot site. Amazon.com gets 2/5, Amazon.fr 2.2/5, UPS.com 1.2/5 and FedEx 1.6/5. So for now it's as much adventure as I'm going to get today.
Thanks much! What a historical neighborhood your message finds itself in. I especially like the last sentence.
I fully admit I could be under-estimating the set, especially when considered with its companion set. If both total 32 CDs and cover the same territory but have complete works, it could be considered better than my 10x2 set. I especially like the ancient music. The notes indicate much of it is conjecture, but it's a good "what could have been" listen.
A charge of $78.28 is pending on my card, so they do charge at checkout. Popmarket and JPC are doing the same if I, and while I'm at it, the Grumiaux box from the latter arrived today double boxed and in spotless condition. Well, minus a certain CD.
jpc.de is 2.8/5 ImportCDs is 1.8/5 Not sure about these dodgy sounding sites... I also have a pending charge, and paypal mentions it will be charged when FNAC DIRECT completes the order. I would guess the card won't get charged fully until mid June.
These eloquence boxes sound too expensive to my purse! From what I have often heard the quality of the remaster is not exceptional, compared to what sony can do with recordings of the same period ...
I have about five the eloquence sets and I think they’re outstanding. If it’s music that I want, and I can’t get it anywhere else, I purchase it. Even if it may not be the ultimate in remastering, I don’t let that stop me unless I hear somebody say it’s absolutely horrid. Which is nothing I’ve ever heard before.
Eloquence Australia's remasters are usually excellent. The ones released by German Eloquence not so much, with the AMSI (Ambient Surround Imaging) processing they're using.
It's not a question of who wins, but if you see it that way, fine, I've nothing more to say about it. Anyway, thanks for posting the YouTube video, it probably gives some additional info - haven't played it yet. I'm especially interested in the Kubelík Mercury set, and I hope it will be available in Europe soon.