I had this album when it first came out, 1979 or 1980? At the time I had a Sony PS-X5 and an Audio Technica 4-channel cartrige. It played the record just fine.
Never had the LP, but I have a DIDX version of the CD, purchased some time before buying our first CD player. Once I had a CD player I dubbed a cassette copy of it and took it to music history class. Our prof, an ex-Army artillery officer, had (as you might imagine ) quite the soft spot for the 1812. We'd gotten to Tchaikovsky in our class, so he played the piece. Unfortunately, the system in the choir room in the Music Building at UF was not up to it, and the cannon fire shredded the speakers. I still feel kinda bad about that. Hopefully the University sprang for a better pair of speakers!
I've got the LP. 1979 Made in Germany, gatefold, blurb about digital recordings inside. The vinyl looks Mint. Honestly, I don't think I've ever played it. I don't think my earlier TT/carts could have handled it. My current Rega 3-24/Shelter 501? We'll see.
This has been an interesting thread indeed. I have two of the 1812 SACDs and I noticed someone else showed my second SACD in an earlier post, however, no one really made any comments. Anyone have any feedback on these three CD/ SACDs, I have the first two, but see the third one is still out there, and Winston Ma could make some very nice CDs indeed! Telarc SACD #60541 Original recording Music Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio, September 13th, 1999, remastered on SACD ( Did not see anyone talk about this newer one) Telarc SACD #60646 Originally recorded Music Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio, September 6-8th, 1978, remastered on SACD (This one showed up in an earlier post) FIM (First Impression Music) LIM Ultra HD CD 32 bit remaster of 1978 recording (Don't have this one, but it can still be found)
Tracks perfect with a Philips GP412 mark 2. Enthousiastic a forgot volume control now my living room windows are cracked. Loudspeaker still oke.
Digital cannons, on an analog LP. That's pretty amusing. I used to own the CD. I loved testing out my stereo with it (and pissing off the neighbors). Unfortunately, it got lost somewhere among my many military moves. I'd love to have it back.
I remember this well. I loved to play it on my system back when I was in High School. I think that this was the first LP that I ever purchased specifically for the quality of its recording rather than for the music itself. It seems like only TOTL sure cartridges could ever track it without breakup of some kind.
aarrgghh! too mny acrnms in th 21st ctry, tks 2 sec to tp but 2 hr to rd th dmn thg! What more effort does it take to type real words? WTF does "TOTL" mean? (I know, I know) haha!
As Veterans Day is near and one Veteran to another thank you for your service. PM your address, I'll send you my spare copy. -Rick
That would be awesome! Thank you! What branch of the service were you in? I was in the Navy from 1987 to my retirement in 2007.
I have had 3 cartridges that would track this . All the others 12 or13 including Linns,17d2, 10x5, failed. The first was the DenonDL304, 2nd OC9, and the best of them all the Benz Glyder SL. Lovely recording .
To answer your question, No, , your set up is fine. In regard to the three that tracked it fine, the srm was set up in the basic sense, with tracking force chosen by listening for best setting, corresponding Bias set and adjusted by ear for channel balance, Arm levelled. That's it. The 2M has a range of 1.5 - 1.7 So there is little leeway to err. You obviously level. Your platter.
The Stravinsky Firebird was the first CD I ever heard. It was a life-changing experience. Compact Disc was so new the audio high end journalists hadn't figured their position out yet. My best friend brought his copy over and we played it on my system, using my first CD player. I thought it was a fine recording. I still do. Like 1812, it's a conductor-proof piece. Jack Renner is among the most consistent recording engineers. If you like his style he nails it every time.
Yknow, I'd be more worried about the ability of your house to withstand the 1812 than I would about your system.
Sorry to interrupt a three year rest but... I have an early Japanese CBS/Sony CD of the Telarc 1812 (mentioned, but not actually discussed, here: Keith Hirsch's CD Resource » Blog Archive » Two early Japanese Matsushita pressings of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture on Telarc ) where the front and back inserts list "CD-80041" and "DIDZ-10015" under that with matrix on the disc "DIDZ-10015 11B4" in the mirror band and "CSR..." 3x in molded in hub. (And the earliest INSERTS shown in the Keith Hirsch link.) However: I did an EAC rip (levels: 99.9 / 66.1 / 59.1) and opened the track 01 wav in Audacity and do NOT see clipping at the second cannon as shown in the hifi-writer link. Is the CBS/Sony matrix DIDZ-10015 the one with the clipping?
Your post prompted me to go have a look at my EAC rips of both discs. Interestingly enough, both the DIDZ/DIDX discs have identical peak levels of 99.9/66.6/58.6 although the waveforms are visibly different. I guess in this case it’s not the most reliable thing to go by to differentiate between which version you have and have not. And in your case, considering your peak levels are totally different, I have no clue what you’ve got! Looks like there may be a third version. I can confirm the DIDZ disc is the one with the clipped canon fire but I no longer have the actual disc so I can’t really say for sure what was or wasn’t in the matrix, sorry. If you can see the waveform and the peaks don’t look like they’ve been given a buzzcut then I’m guessing you’re fine.
I sold a Telarc 1812, not sure which one it was.. a clipped cannon is not such a bad thing, (or is it?) as the attack and rise time will be rapid and intense... and sound like you've blown your speakers! Oh! and do have a Telarc Grand Canyon Suite with a digital thunderstorm.. going to check that out on audacity ... when I find the disc.
It does sound noticeably worse imo. If it was bad enough for Telarc to reissue the disc in 1985 it’s probably a problem worth avoiding if anyone’s looking out for a copy
Clipping is a bad word in audiophile circles, however it is prevalent in a lot of recordings, ie: "Chest Fever" by Three Dog Night, a more extreme example. (Also see "Stormy Monday" by Lee Michaels .. have a 7.5 reel to reel that sounds incredible, highly dynamic but organ and vocals are clipped... it's both dynamic and clipped) I think clipping in certain genres and select songs actually enhance the song. As for 1812, I have not heard the two versions, so I defer to your experience. What does the clipped cannon sound like? Does it add to the attack and power of the cannon or detract from it? Did Telarc address this "defect" because it was unintentional, or "non-audiophile" or that people complained? (just curious and "thinking out loud")
Hmmm... I myself was a few years away from initial conception at the time, so I can’t say how either of the discs were initially recieved by the general public or original customers. But in my opinion it does detract from the overall authority of the canon - it’s not just one or two digital overs but several thousand clipped samples each time, they really look like they’ve been given a buzzcut and the breakup is audible. Whereas when it’s reproduced cleanly and more realistically I can say it at the very least doesn’t distract or pull you out of the moment. I’m no stranger to compressed canons though. I vastly prefer the 1812 done by Mercury in the 50’s and with the dynamic range on that recording, it’s a battle between ancient Scotch 111 tape hiss (compounded if you’re listening to the contemporary 7.5IPS 2 track release) and what still amounts to a badly overloaded/limited recording of cannonfire. At least with the Telarc, this overload seems to be the result of a production error during the downsampling process and is entirely avoidable.
I've got that one in my collection. No issues at all with this hybrid multichannel disc. Love the "Caution: DSD Cannons" warning label!