Jump to content

Classical recordings


VDS

Recommended Posts

7 hours ago, Fast996 said:

Have you listened to some RCA Living Stereo Recordings?

Try this one....

81oCbvgJg4L._SL1500_.jpg

 

 

Yes, I own many RCA Living Stereo (and Mercury Living Presence) recordings of classical music that were performed and recorded during the late 1950s and early 1960s.   I own numerous such recordings that have been remastered from the original analog tapes (or 35mm film), and delivered on SACD.   (In some cases, involving 3 channels.)  

 

And, I own numerous 1950s and early 1960s era LP pressings of such performances. 

 

IME, vintage recordings (whether delivered via LP,  CD, or SACD) can sound surprising good - for 60+-year-old recordings.    However, they pale in comparison to modern hi-res recordings.

 

Have you listened to top-quality modern performances/recordings that were:

  • Captured and mastered in hi-res, multi-channel.   Meaning 24bit/192kHz multi-channel PCM, or DSD multi-channel.    (This means performances/recordings from the last dozen years or so.)   And,
  • Made available to the consumer as a Blu-ray featuring DTS-HD MA 5.0 or 5.1, and/or SACD featuring multi-channel.   And,
  • Played by the consumer in the format that the recording was originally recorded/mastered in (e.g., 24bit/192kHz) - i.e., not down-sampled to the 40-year-old Redbook CD format (or other relatively-speaking compressed digital format)?   And,
  • Played on a top-quality multi-channel (e.g., 5.1) hi-fi system.

Classical music lovers sometimes must decide which is more important:  performance quality, or audio quality of a recording.  I’m not a music scholar, and I’m not hyper-critical of a performance.  Very often I enjoy modern performances of classical music.   However, I have no tolerance for poor audio quality.  I therefore choose modern performances (i.e., last dozen years or so) of classical music that were recorded in hi-res (e.g., 24bit/192kHz PCM), and delivered in a hi-res format.  

 

IME/IMO, vintage CDs pale in comparison to the sound quality of top-quality modern Blu-ray (and SACD) recordings.

 

As a classical music lover, the good news is that there are MANY modern hi-res multi-channel recordings of classical music compositions.   (And, there are many vintage recordings available on the 40-year-old-Redbook-CD, and the older-still LP format.)   

 

My point is that the classical music lover isn’t stuck with one recording technology, i.e., vintage vs. modern. 

 

The good news is that the classical music lover has a wide breadth of choices in recordings of the music that they love.  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/16/2021 at 6:01 AM, VDS said:

I’ve searched the forum and didn’t find a specific thread on this topic so I decided to start one.

I’m wondering if people have found good, dynamic, orchestral recordings.  I’m listening to more classical music and finding a lot of good recordings of solo piano, string quartets, small ensembles, but when I try to find large orchestral works the sound changes drastically.

I feel like the close mic positioning when recording 1-4 musicians brings the sound closer to you, duh, but so many orchestra’s sound like 1 mic in the middle of the venue, distant and less dynamic, as if the mic was under a blanket.


The “dynamic range” Is the quality I love, the immediacy, the physicality.  I’m looking to find some recordings that capture that “close mic” feel. Some opera achieves this, probably by recording the vocalist with her own mic and leaving it loud in the mix.


Anybody have similar experiences and found recordings that really sound alive and dynamic?

thanks, Ted

 

I was addressing your first post....not talking about vintage vs modern. It sounds like you have everything in good order....enjoy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...