1. A tube amp 2. Not a hybrid tube amp 3. An OTL 4. One that's on the warmer side—noticeably warmer than the DNA house sound—but not gross (warmed over, loss of detail) Otherwise the drivers will sound separated instead of integrated. (The Dharma D1000 has the same issue, but I don't know if...

Please PM me if you have a pair that you don't use enough to hold on to. Or if you know someone who might have a pair. (Or if you come across a listing elsewhere.) Thank you for reading.

Last April, I decided that I wanted to buy another complete set of the Beethoven sonatas. I decided from amongst four pianists: Arrau, Fischer, Goode, and Schiff. Fischer was on the list because you had recommended her. (Thank you.) I compared their performances of Opp. 27 no. 1, 31 no. 1, 53...

That was probably the first Bruckner recording I'd ever heard. You're right, of course: it's a fine interpretation. I remember listening to the cassette on one of these as a teenager. Back then, I used to listen to a Mahler or a Bruckner symphony every night (when I was supposed to be...

This is a wonderful place to start. And to end, unless you're more interested in the performer than the composer. In which case, it's worth hearing this The young Horowitz was as lush and impulsive as ever, but also sweet and unmannered.

Recently, I've been really enjoying I'm also—finally—starting in on but it will take me some time to digest it. Van Immerseel has never let me down (except for his Schubert trios: the fortepiano cannot be made to play that part). My grandmother saw the Prince of Wales in Toronto...

One, so far. This is the finale of Evgeny Kissin's playing Brahms' 2d Piano Concerto at a Proms concert on August 5th, 2002. Pretty amazing. It's available on youtube in five parts. I'm assuming it's a bootleg, as it was never released commercially. Incidentally, it got panned in The Guardian...

Dunno about its isolation, but its soundstage is too shallow for orchestral music. Also, the earpads are way smaller than the average American male's ear. I would stick with IEMs. Best luck!

My Meier amp has two pairs of RCA inputs. If you want to connect your Gumby to one of them, it's no trouble. I can bring along another RCA cable.

I plan to attend. I'm not sure what I'll bring; probably Denon CDP, Meier amp, and HD600. Big thanks to Keith for setting this up. Looking forward to seeing you guys!

It's not the complete Sony recordings. One can see that some are missing from the list. Also, it doesn't include Szell's main European recordings. Anyway, that Haydn set is my second favorite, after Beecham. Szell is actually more faithful temperamentally to Haydn, but Beecham is more fun...

Klemperer's Mozart set is easily my favorite. Szell is good, too, as a distant second (and a budget option). Britten's partial set is very impressive. I'm curious to try Bernstein's NYP Mozart records, because his NYP Haydn was so in the groove. Beecham and Walter were surprising...

  Grumiaux was a very gentlemanly violinist, both in his demeanor and his playing. That's my favorite set for the violin concerti. His performance of the 3d gets it just right.   Which other Mozart 3d violin concerti do you particularly enjoy?       Not if his Beethoven concerti with...

  In 1979, Harold Schonberg did an informal survey of about 270 people using a tape he made. The article is called "How Sex Plays a Role at the Piano," reprinted in Facing the Music (1981).   His conclusion: "There was an indication that there is indeed a difference between a male and female...

I don't have that particular release of the set. It's worth knowing that the Beethoven's 4th in the Sony Essential Classics budget line has an annoying pause between the 2d and 3d movements. One can supplement those discs with this one which has the smooth transition. It's my second favorite...

Comparing its FR with the roughly contemporaneous HD580/600: 1a. Bass rolls off sooner. K501: -5 dB @ 40 Hz and -10 dB @ 30 Hz HD580: -5 dB @ 30 Hz. 1b. Bass rolls off more. K501: -20 dB @ 10 Hz HD580: -15 dB @ 10 Hz. 2. Treble is more even on the Senns, lacking especially the narrow spike...

OK, Guys... K501 measurements up at Innerfidelity. Big thanks to Tyll Hertsens for measuring these for us. Other info.: The baffle configuration on this pair is 6 sections in the inner ring (3 open, 3 closed) and 4 small open sections in the outer ring. NOS elastics and pads.

Re: period vs modern "As [the music] enters the ear, does it come in like broken glass or does it come in like honey?" -- Eddie Condon I think Bach would be A-OK with, only one example, Hewitt's Inventions & Sinfonias. Moreover, Beethoven always wanted more than his pianos could deliver and...

A fine interview about Horowitz' unissued recordings, which includes an absolutely amazing live Vallée d'Obermann (pretty sure it's now released).

All the great composers begin with B. bigshot and perhapss got into a long argument about Beyoncé a couple of years back, because people disagree about Modernism.

Thanks. I'm not surprised: Brendel's romanticism is often under-rated. I have fond memories of his Mendelssohn Variations sérieuses and even some Liszt from when he was younger. If anyone could reawaken Brendel's passion, it would be Beyoncé.

No, just OOP. They met on the Sports Illustrated set and hit it off. I've heard good things about it.

Dubal's documentary, The Art of the Piano (aired in the 90s?), along with Harold Schonberg's Great Pianists first got me interested in old piano records. I hunted down CD transfers of the whole Golden Age--probably much easier to find now. If I liked what I heard, I'd buy more; if not, no. I...

He's good. If he speaks German, as he claims, why didn't he just switch to German? They'd have loved him for it. But I can sympathize with the crowd even if I disagree. I'd be irked if I were at a concert here and a German soloist addressed us in German without a translator. That's just...

It's not a real disagreement. Anyone who wants good sound needs a good DAC (unless they're sticking with vinyl) and a good amp. Nowadays, many people are using headphone amps capable of driving speakers such as Rag, or speaker amps to drive inefficient planars and e-stats. It's all the same gear...