maxg Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 You know how I keep going on about how many shops in Athens sell vinyl. Well here is a surprise (for me at least). 4 shops selling SACD within 100 yards of each other and less than 500 yards from my office. Admittedly the title selection is limited in 2 of them. But the other 2 had what I would regard as a very decent selection of classical titles. Bugger all Jazz though (sorry Allan). Picked up a few: 1. Leontyne Price - Selected arias from Verdi and Puccini - Living Stereo. 2. Holst Planets / Britten Four Sea interludes - Leonard Bernstein - Sony Multichanel. 3. JS Bach Christmas Oratorio - The Netherlands Bach Society - Channel Classics (double album - as in 2 disks - does album apply to SACD?) I got talked into the Bach - actually played into it - sounded lovely in the shop - will see when I get home. These things are pricey though - 80 Euros for 4 disks - that is audiophile vinyl pricing! Will be interesting to hear the Living Stereo too. I may be biased towards vinyl but I am determined to give SACD a real go. Putting my money where my mouth is!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Max, you should like this/those Living Stereo SACD(s)....just in case you get more of them. Granted, I have never listened to them on first class vinyl, but I can certainly live with those digital reincarnations....and I am already looking forward to the next batch in January . Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 max, are you listening to the SACD's in multichannel or just in stereo? IMHO... one of the huge advantages of SACD is the multichannel sound..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted December 2, 2004 Author Share Posted December 2, 2004 Wolfram, I have what I regard as some of the best Living Stereo vinyl ever made - it will be interesting to see where in the heirarchy this one comes. Not that it will mean much - but it is a start. MM, Just 2 channel for now. We will see what develops on the multichannel setup at some later date - after I have replaced my TT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 http://www.livingstereo-sacd.com/news/index.jsp This page gives the next ten RCA Living Stereo titles to be released, in January. Also an interesting Q&A about the quality of the tapes and transfer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted December 2, 2004 Author Share Posted December 2, 2004 A small part of me wants to buy some of these titles that I already have on vinyl to do a comparison. But a bigger part wants to concentrate on getting music I dont already have. Decisions decisions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Well, I'll tell you Max, the Arthur Rubinstein SACD release of Chopin is much better than the record, which is kinda thin sounding. Reading about it today, it turns out that, as is more often than not the case with vinyl, the bass was deliberately rolled off AND mixed to mono so that the garden variety record player of the day wouldn't mistrack. And it turns out that those rolled-off tapes were also used when making the CDs. This SACD release is the first time that the bass has the proper weight. I've played this particular title more than all the other RCAs combined, but then I have a thing for Chopin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted December 2, 2004 Author Share Posted December 2, 2004 Paul, Dont know - dont have that recording. Interestly though one of the new releases coming out, I think, is the Gershwin I mentioned last week that I bought at the high end show here in Athens. If it is the same one that will be irresistable. You see the thing is this. that Gershwin recording on 180 gram vinyl is the best anything I ever heard anywhere!! It is the recording that got my wife out of bed at 1 in the morning to come and listen instead of saying "turn that bloody thing down". Listen is quite right - dance would be more appropriate! I simply cannot being to imagine anything coming close to that sound. I play it almost nightly just to check I havent flipped out completely. It is so good it makes all the hairs on my arm stand up on end. As a plus, when you are talking about this level of recording, the music is fabulous too. Just to be totally clear the recording I am talking about is: Gershwin Concerto in F / Cuban Overture / I got rhythm variations Earl Wild Boston Pops Arthur Fiedler RCA Victor Red Seal LSC 2586 Stereo US It certainly appears to be the same as: Arthur Fiedler: Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue; Concerto in F; An American in Paris; Variations on "I Got Rhythm" Although the SACD has an added "Offenbach: Gaite Parisienne" Also I have the Fritz Reiner: Dvorak: New World Symphony Rimsky-Korsakov: Scherazade Both of them. The Dvorak is, IMHO, crap. Dreadful in fact. The Rimsky is fabulous. I wonder if there will be a huge difference in quality on this single SACD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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.