[johnation33]

Hey headfiers,


So recently i bought the bolm set for mozart's symphonies and found that they are not as interesting to listen to the Mackerras recordings because of the hiss in the background and on my stax, the instruments just don't seem as clear, when I listen to the Mackerras recording it literally sounds like im at carnegie hall concert hall listening to it live. So can anyone name any other composers with audiophile SQ?

Example:
Mackerras, Perahia (although i think to a lesser extent in terms of SQ)

No:
Karajan, Bohm, ashkenzay

 

[Currawong]

linnrecords.com

 

[johnation33]

is everything by linn the same quality? i guess its classified by label recording studios then? any others?

 

[zumaro]

Sound recording is a highly variable art - even within labels results can vary wildly, depending upon conditions at the time of recording, placement of microphones, acoustic etc etc. Reliable classical labels include Harmonia Mundi, Hyperion, Bis among others, although it is others such as Telarc and Linn which have the audiophile reputations.

What you are mainly reacting to it seems is the hiss of old taped recordings - choosing old recordings from the predigital era will not help you in this regard! With the wider dynamic range of classical music, noise like hiss is much more obvious than in rock or jazz recordings. Digital recordings obviously lack hiss, although many other faults may disqualify a modern recording from being of audiophile quality, such as being too closely or distantly recorded, over reverberant or too dry acoustics and the list goes on.

Some recent audiophile quality disks I can think of would include Ivan Fischer's Mahler 2 on Channel Classics, and Vanska's Beethoven symphony series on Bis.

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnation33 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey headfiers, So recently i bought the bolm set for mozart's symphonies and found that they are not as interesting to listen to the Mackerras recordings because of the hiss in the background and on my stax, the instruments just don't seem as clear, when I listen to the Mackerras recording it literally sounds like im at carnegie hall concert hall listening to it live. So can anyone name any other composers with audiophile SQ? Example: Mackerras, Perahia (although i think to a lesser extent in terms of SQ) No: Karajan, Bohm, ashkenzay

I was one of the folks who recommended the Bohm Mozart recording, and it is generally a highly regarded set in both sound quality and performance. Sorry it wasn't to your liking...but had you taken care to mention that you listen through headphones exclusively I never would have suggested any historical recordings -- for the reason given by Zumaro.

BTW, this is one of the main reasons I went back to listening mostly through loudspeakers. Headphones can sound amazing but they also seem to exacerbate every single imperfection in recorded music, and I found it too distracting. Recordings that I thought were great on loudspeakers were insufferable on headphones. I found that continuous heaphone use was actually limiting the music I was able to enjoy because I would only listen to recordings that sounded perfect on phones. Now I only use headphones at night at times when using my speakers might disturb my wife and kids.

--Jerome

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

Quote:

Now I only use headphones at night at times when using my speakers might disturb my wife and kids.

And at work cos I can't blast music on loudspeakers here as well

 

[johnation33]

ahhhh you guys are trying to trap me into another audiophile trap... just when i'm satisfied with my headphones trying to make me get into speakers which are 10x the money... nice try I will now gouge my eyes so I cannot read your posts anymore


haha thanks for the wealth of info!

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnation33 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ahhhh you guys are trying to trap me into another audiophile trap...

Not at all. But it helps to know a little something about the listening environment of the person you are making recommendations for, and it won't always occur to people to check your profile or signature. So if you state at the outset that you listen with phones, then people won't be inclined to suggest material that won't sound good on them.

Hey...to each his own.

--Jerome

 

[Kraps]

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnation33 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey headfiers, So recently i bought the bolm set for mozart's symphonies and found that they are not as interesting to listen to the Mackerras recordings because of the hiss in the background and on my stax, the instruments just don't seem as clear, when I listen to the Mackerras recording it literally sounds like im at carnegie hall concert hall listening to it live. So can anyone name any other composers with audiophile SQ? Example: Mackerras, Perahia (although i think to a lesser extent in terms of SQ) No: Karajan, Bohm, ashkenzay

Your question is quite confusing reminds of a funny story I had a while ago. I entered some kind a neigbourhood shop and saw an obscure classic music cd collection, which only mentioned on the box the name of the piece and the composer, i.e. Bethoven, 5th symphony. So I asked the girl on the cashier who was performing. It is written on the box, she said. I checked again just see that it was not true and went back to tell her that on the boxes only the names of the composers were mentioned. And then she killed me with the satement "So, they are performing themselves"

And she was serious.

So, no offence meant but the question about "audiphile composers" strangely reminds me of Bethoven recording himself the 5th.

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnation33 /img/forum/go_quote.gif So recently i bought the bolm set for mozart's symphonies and found that they are not as interesting to listen to the Mackerras recordings because of the hiss in the background and on my stax

You're listening to the wrong thing. Focus on the music-making, not the sounds of the recording equipment. Read the liner notes and think about the music. Classical music requires effort to understand what you're listening to. If you listen to it without any context, you'll get bored and listen to details instead of the music.

That Bohm recording wipes the floor with Mackerras. Listen to more of it.

See ya
Steve

 

[zumaro]

The Bohm is dull old Kapellmeister stuff - it doesn't hold up at all well these days...
And yes I first heard my Mozart through Bohm so I know these recordings very well.

 

[jsaliga]

Oh goody! A classical music "Snob Off."

--Jerome

 

[mofonyx]

How can you exclude Karajan?

What are you saying?!?!?!

Amazon.com: Great Recordings Of The Century - Beethoven: Triple Concerto; Brahms: Double Concerto / Oistrakh, Rostropovich, Richter: Mstislav Rostropovich, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, George Szell, Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoni

What a CD. WHAT A CD!

 

[nick_charles]

Be grateful you do no listen to vinyl, that would drive you bananananas

But seriously I agree with Steve here, you are picking at nits and missing the bigger picture. Yes classical recordings can be highly variable but unless they are utter crap you are worrying about the wrong part.

I have about 800 Classical CDs of which precisely 3 have utter rubbish SQ (Brilliant Classics Bach Brandenburgs CD 1, Mozart Requiem Schreier/Dresden Staatskapelle, and Carmina Burana (Levine/CSO) ) - all the rest vary from okay to jaw-droppingly good (Mahler 2, Vienna Phil , Zubin Mehta 1975).

Also some musical forms will be "noisier" than others, I have a buch of solo lute music and there is a constant low level background noise (hall/tape and so on) on many of them.

 

[johnation33]

but but how do you listen to them... it drives me crazy even when the performance is good to hear the hiss (and it isn't soft at all) on my stax, which multiplies any artifacts 100x. I dunno I just can't stand it. Karajan wasnt as bad as the bohm recording though.