[CanadianMaestro]

Yeah, I swear Kempff was in another dimension of consciousness when he did Schubert's sonatas for DG. Totally sublime, esp his 960 but also the joyous 664.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

Love Schiff's WTC (his last recording), like it best of all I heard so far..(though Gould is King of course )
love what he does with the no pedal but finger sustain thingy..works very well

Me too. After yrs of hearingGould's '55 Goldies, I heard Schiff's Decca recording, and was shocked at the much slower tempo.
Like warm water splashed on my face after yrs of cold showers! Then Gould's '81 rec put me back on track.

 

[Quinto]

I love the way piano sounds on my new HD800S, I'll have to listen to all my piano cd's all over again

 

[CanadianMaestro]

I love the way piano sounds on my new HD800S, I'll have to listen to all my piano cd's all over again

Never heard the 800 or 800S. Are they warmish? I prefer a touch of warmth for piano solos. Which is why I have the 650s. Gorgeous tonal palette for sonatas and strings. Weak on soundstaging, so avoid them for symphonies.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

He was brilliant, but this piece is in his veins. He plays them every day. This is the first time it has been played at the proms and I don't think they would have chose anyone else. It was a late night concert but still seems packed.

I missed hearing Schiff at Carnegie Hall, when I was living in NYC in the '90s. But I did get to see Brendel, Pollini, Ax, play Chopin, Beethoven, and some Liszt. Very glad that I did. Especially Brendel, now that's he is done performing. It's a damn shame I never got to see Gould perform esp in Toronto, where I was raised.

I still need/want to see Hewitt. I have her Hyperion box set of Bach, and they are very good recordings, although she can sound a bit analytical with some pieces like Partita 4, slow mvt -- gawd awful compared to Richard Goode and Schiff.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

Zuzana Růžičková (1927-2017)
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/obituary/1851/Zuzana-R-zi-kova-1927-2017

 

[Quinto]

Never heard the 800 or 800S. Are they warmish? I prefer a touch of warmth for piano solos. Which is why I have the 650s. Gorgeous tonal palette for sonatas and strings. Weak on soundstaging, so avoid them for symphonies.

Clean, clear, true to life comes to mind ... certainly not analytical or cold. The bass is just the way I like it, maybe...maybe(still?) a tiny bit loose sometimes on symphonies (and I do mean tiny, must be the bass 'fix' of the 'S' which works for me for all the rest..) but always very pleasant.

The level of detail & soundstage is stunning, the treble is amazingly detailed, absolutely grainless and none fatigue! which was my biggest fear. Mids are detailed and clean as a whistle

Years ago I loved my warmish Grado GS1K for piano, but hated them for symphonies and eventually they gave me tinnitus while always using them on low volume

Listened to Haitink's Mahler 9th & a live recording of Beethoven Razumovsky SQ bij Lindsays yesterday and was floored by the experience.. never experienced this although my Gould/GS1k experience comes some what close, but not in sound quality

Sold my HD650 (which I love for what they are) and gonna sell my HD600

Best money I've spend in a long time and very happy with the Audio_GD NOS11v2 pairing..

and those strings..ohhh

 

[CanadianMaestro]

Quinto, based on that description, I am going to have to find a pair to buy! I been looking for a pair with those attributes, although I don't do HPs much anymore (20% of listening time....). My HE560 is faculous but this one sounds like a worthy addition. Thanks.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

Pulled the trigger on this box of LPs. Have the DG CD box for years now, but this was an irresistible deal.

https://www.discogs.com/Franz-Schubert-Wilhelm-Kempff-Piano-Sonatas/release/6136336

 

[Head1]

I missed hearing Schiff at Carnegie Hall, when I was living in NYC in the '90s. But I did get to see Brendel, Pollini, Ax, play Chopin, Beethoven, and some Liszt. Very glad that I did. Especially Brendel, now that's he is done performing. It's a damn shame I never got to see Gould perform esp in Toronto, where I was raised.

I still need/want to see Hewitt. I have her Hyperion box set of Bach, and they are very good recordings, although she can sound a bit analytical with some pieces like Partita 4, slow mvt -- gawd awful compared to Richard Goode and Schiff.

I read that Gould retired from concerts quite early as he preferred recording and then of course he died young. I doubt many of his fans saw him. Early on he was more outgoing and he went to play in Moscow to great acclaim. Bach was not popular there at that time and so to them he was like from another planet. A youtube comment I saw, said that he would go into cafes after concerts and played jazz, imagine that.

 

[Quinto]

I read that Gould retired from concerts quite early as he preferred recording and then of course he died young. I doubt many of his fans saw him. Early on he was more outgoing and he went to play in Moscow to great acclaim. Bach was not popular there at that time and so to them he was like from another planet. A youtube comment I saw, said that he would go into cafes after concerts and played jazz, imagine that.

He never was outgoing, he took loads of valium to deal with his nerves, he never made a secret about that.. and I know for a fact he didn't play jazz in a cafe or whereever, ever..

 

[Quinto]

Pulled the trigger on this box of LPs. Have the DG CD box for years now, but this was an irresistible deal.

https://www.discogs.com/Franz-Schubert-Wilhelm-Kempff-Piano-Sonatas/release/6136336

Very cool, what kind of turntable do you use, mine (Music Hall mmf 9.1) isn't great with solo piano, because of the unstable pitch..which isn't really audible on other music...
Maybe I should go direct drive (SL1200G)..

I sold all my solo piano records about a year ago because of that..bin crying myself to sleep ever since

I started buying again lol crazy hobby

 

[Head1]

I love the way piano sounds on my new HD800S, I'll have to listen to all my piano cd's all over again

Congrats. I'll try to check them out or the non-s.

Have you ever tried the Etymotic ER4 or the latest versions XR & SR? They are supposed to have like 90% of the HD800 SQ but in IEM form and cheaper.

 

[Quinto]

Congrats. I'll try to check them out or the non-s.

Have you ever tried the Etymotic ER4 or the latest versions XR & SR? They are supposed to have like 90% of the HD800 SQ but in IEM form and cheaper.

No, I bought Shure IEM (Se530?) years ago and loved the sound but IEM are definitely not for me, takes me about a minute before I'll yank them out. Earbuds no problem, loved my Yuin PK1 for as long as they lasted..

 

[Light - Man]

Congrats. I'll try to check them out or the non-s.

Have you ever tried the Etymotic ER4 or the latest versions XR & SR? They are supposed to have like 90% of the HD800 SQ but in IEM form and cheaper.

Have a look at this post by me and a few after it, if it was not so expensive for what it is - I would have whacked it with a sledgehammer!

IEM's are not good for your hearing.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-lab.751177/page-1324#post-13731610