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Headphoneus Supremus
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It could also be that Speakers Corner are trying to faithfully recreate the sound of the early stereo '50s LP's which often didn't have the exact RIAA curve used today. When you speak of "colouration distortion" I assume that's what you're referring to but remember often the playback equipment of today just has different colouration, not necessarily any superior, and it's as much about finding a balance as anything else. Some interesting notes here MERCURY RECORDS Living Presence - Wilma Cozart Fine and 50 Years Mercury Recordings
This is why many vinyl afficionados who are into old recordings have decks with several tonearms like vintage SMEs fitted with original Ortofons and even pre-amps like the Graham Slee which can accomodate different curves.
I have lots of really old records of famous performances like a David & Igor Oistrach, Bach on DGG from 1957 for instance which I thought sounded all wrong until I played it recently with a Denon 103 conical stylus which made me realise it's actually as good as it's cracked up to be.
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Actually deteriorating tape is a bigger problem with more recent, especially rock, recordings where a lot of multitracking and bounces have been done. These old '50s early stereo recordings with just a couple of mics are amongst the best ever and the tape will last better than any other known format if properly stored. The most important thing in getting good transfers is the design of the pre-amps you are using as modern pre-amps obviously don't have inputs dedicated for analogue tape these days, so you have to go vintage and restore / tweak. See an article about it here george.shilling.com
With mastering for CD there is no choice but to change the mix in some respects and optimise it for modern equipment but I'd guess that Speakers Corner are painstakingly recreating every aspect of the original LPs as that's what the collectors market will most likely want.
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Why not? It's a largely mechanical process requiring old fashioned craftsmanship. Read about it here
How is a vinyl record made?
| Originally Posted by ADD /img/forum/go_quote.gif the sources they are using are always the same quality as those which used when she made the compact discs 18 years ago. Either that, or a lot of those Speaker's Corner vinyl reissues are the best advertisement ever of what CD is capable of. Anaemic and lacking in body and dynamics are a good way to describe these Speaker's Corner reissues, apart from the fact that the colouration distortion is much higher than on the CDs. Though that is one reason why people love vinyl. |
It could also be that Speakers Corner are trying to faithfully recreate the sound of the early stereo '50s LP's which often didn't have the exact RIAA curve used today. When you speak of "colouration distortion" I assume that's what you're referring to but remember often the playback equipment of today just has different colouration, not necessarily any superior, and it's as much about finding a balance as anything else. Some interesting notes here MERCURY RECORDS Living Presence - Wilma Cozart Fine and 50 Years Mercury Recordings
This is why many vinyl afficionados who are into old recordings have decks with several tonearms like vintage SMEs fitted with original Ortofons and even pre-amps like the Graham Slee which can accomodate different curves.
I have lots of really old records of famous performances like a David & Igor Oistrach, Bach on DGG from 1957 for instance which I thought sounded all wrong until I played it recently with a Denon 103 conical stylus which made me realise it's actually as good as it's cracked up to be.
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| Originally Posted by ADD /img/forum/go_quote.gif Then there is the issue of continued deterioration of these old master tapes. In my opinion based on listening to so many of these reissues, the time for these masters has already passed. Listen to the Speaker's Corner reissue of Prokofiev Romeo and Julliet as an example. Compare that to the CD made about 16 years ago. No comparison - the CD sounds pristine. The Speaker's Corner reissue sounds like the master tape was due for the rubbish bin. And in this case, it is difficult to understand why it is so bad. If they did not use a 35mm film machine, then they had to have used a 1/4 tape machine. So where did they get that "master" form and when was it made? It was just about dead. |
Actually deteriorating tape is a bigger problem with more recent, especially rock, recordings where a lot of multitracking and bounces have been done. These old '50s early stereo recordings with just a couple of mics are amongst the best ever and the tape will last better than any other known format if properly stored. The most important thing in getting good transfers is the design of the pre-amps you are using as modern pre-amps obviously don't have inputs dedicated for analogue tape these days, so you have to go vintage and restore / tweak. See an article about it here george.shilling.com
With mastering for CD there is no choice but to change the mix in some respects and optimise it for modern equipment but I'd guess that Speakers Corner are painstakingly recreating every aspect of the original LPs as that's what the collectors market will most likely want.
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| Originally Posted by HippieTom Is there some videos online that shows the process in making LPs? I can not understand how in earths name they did make those back in the days. |
Why not? It's a largely mechanical process requiring old fashioned craftsmanship. Read about it here
How is a vinyl record made?
