Telarc vs. Chesky Records
Jun 10, 2004 at 12:35 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 11

Glassman

Headphoneus Supremus
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I've been auditioning two compilations from local audiophile magazines, one with pieces from Telarc and the other from Chesky and to be honest, Chesky was far better to my ears.. so I'm curious about your expirience with these labels..?

btw. both were jazz compilations..
 
Jun 10, 2004 at 5:05 PM Post #2 of 11
Both labels got their start as audiophile vinyl during the LP era. Telarc was favored for its demo-quality recordings because the generally "hot" quality of their pressings was regarded as a challenge to LP playback systems. Chesky was distinguished for the exquisite attention lavished on everything from microphones to recording venues and slightly off-beat programming. I've never been blown away by either label, preferring the products of Supraphon and Hyperion.

You should get quite a diversity of response on this one.
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BW
 
Jun 10, 2004 at 5:18 PM Post #3 of 11
Preferring one label vs. another is something I don't feel too divided upon. So given the poll options, I voted "Don't care much". I care most about specific recordings, rather than the label as a whole. For example I care about what Carmina Burana version might be the best one, both musically, and recording-wise. Chesky is known to make great recordings, but doesn't mean I'm interested in their complete catalog. Both Chesky and Telarc have some excellent recordings, but the comparison is a bit apples and oranges to me, they record different material, and I'm interested in different items in their respective catalogs. I have a few Telarc recordings which are great (Tierney Sutton's "Dancing in the dark" comes to mind), and have a couple from Chesky that are excellent as well (Rebeca Pidgeon's "Raven", Ana Caram's "Other side of Jobim", these two maybe among the best recordings I own). I also have a Harmonia Mundi (Missa Mexicana comes to mind) which is great as well.
 
Jun 10, 2004 at 5:35 PM Post #4 of 11
to put it in the right context, on both samplers there were songs from various artists and albums, but the Chesky CD has it's own specific sound signature as well as Telarc sampler.. this is not about particular recording sounding better/worse, it seems like I prefer every Chesky recordings over any of Telarc recordings, based on those two jazz samplers..

Supraphon, right? that's our brand.. should check some of their recordings.. but I think they're no longer active..
 
Jun 13, 2004 at 11:39 PM Post #6 of 11
I've got a bunch of Telarc and Chesky CeeDees; none of them sound very special to me.

I've got about 5 Telarc vinyls...2 sound extra good, the others are only average-good.

I have no Chesky vinyl
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I have 3 Sheffield Labs vinyls and they all sound terrific.
 
Jun 14, 2004 at 5:48 AM Post #7 of 11
Both labels appear to apply lots of attention to their recording and handling processes. It seems to me that the actual result depends on the particular album, and both have produced albums that are less than exciting. It is difficult to generalize.



Happy listening,
W
 
Jun 15, 2004 at 5:46 AM Post #9 of 11
Channel Classics, Hyperion and Harmonia Mundi also deserve some consideration especially for classical. Channel's catalog is mid-sized and much of it is very well recorded (for example, Rachel Podger's Bach solo violin Sonata & Partitas). Their SACDs are getting very good press. Hyperion and HM have huge catalogs; and some of their engineers, like Tony Faulkner, are audiophile favorites.

Telarc's current classical output is strong and wide-ranging, whereas Chesky, it seems, has stopped putting out new classical, and their jazz is kind of spotty ("Jazz Sexy"?).

Some of Chesky's old Deccas -- Horenstein, Boult -- are fine -- just like the CD reissues of Mercury and RCA Living Stereo.
 
Jun 15, 2004 at 6:10 PM Post #10 of 11
Generally, I'm with rsaavedra on this one. If I were to look only at Telarc vs. Chesky though I had to admit that I never quite could figure out what the Chesky hype was all about. Own about 6 Chesky albums - all jazz or acoustic guitar and wasn't overwhelmed. Rather diffuse, sound-wise to my ears. So for jazz, Telarc would win hands down to my ears. As far as classical (orchestral) goes, I remember quite some (older) Telarc recordings that somehow did not sound that natural to me. Others are excellent though (Mahler with the Philharmonia and Zander for example). But then again there's so many other labels doing a great recording job: Deutsche Grammophon, Hyperion, Chandos, Collins (when they still did exist...), Harmonia Mundi, Musikproduktion Dabringhaus & Grimm, ECM, Tacet, Astrée na¡ve, EMI, Philips, Decca, L'oiseau lyre...
 
Oct 11, 2019 at 4:24 PM Post #11 of 11
Chesky Records is is the perfect illustration of the beauty of simplicity.
No post production besides selecting the best takes. No compression or equalization,
bin-aural series are extremely natural with excellent detail, imaging and balance.
Besides technical stuff, Chesky has always record quality music with excellent musicians.
My favorite Record label followed by 2L and 2xHD.
 

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