THE WATERCOOLER HEADPHONE EDITION – Headphones, Amps, DACs, and desktop/home audio related – a freewheeling discussion of gear, impressions, music, and musings.

[dleblanc343]

First end game hp. This is a Philphone-like model. I use audio technica housing, and driver fostex 50mm. I have adjusted a few things behind the driver. The result is extremely satisfying with the sound I've been wanting for a long time. Thank you head fi community, for sharing your knowledge and ideas for me to mod this product.

Neat!

Phil is a friend of mine and also a huge A-T fan. Furthermore, he's very creative and has made several fun mods using A & AD series shells - glad to see more ideas come to life.

 

[gammi]

I'd like to get into classical/orchestral music more but it's always so intimidating because there are 100 different recordings of the same piece. What would you guys say are some of the all time great classical albums that someone should build off of? Any best venues I should keep in mind? Any best labels that generally have good recording quality?

 

[Conan1974]

Great question

 

[chrisnyc75]

I'd like to get into classical music more but it's always so intimidating because there are 100 different recordings of the same piece. What would you guys say are some of the all time great classical albums that someone should build off of?

Anything from RCA Living Stereo.

"Scheherezade" is the crown jewel.

 

[gammi]

Anything from RCA Living Stereo.

"Scheherezade" is the crown jewel.

Thanks, I'm actually listening to a Living Stereo recording right now

Edit:
I added a screenshot of an organ album I've found to be of exceptional quality. And this Wagner album is quite a ride.

 

[genefruit]

I'd like to get into classical/orchestral music more but it's always so intimidating because there are 100 different recordings of the same piece. What would you guys say are some of the all time great classical albums that someone should build off of? Any best venues I should keep in mind? Any best labels that generally have good recording quality?

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-watercooler-headphone-edition-–-headphones-amps-dacs-and-desktop-home-audio-related-–-a-freewheeling-discussion-of-gear-impressions-music-and-musings.972819/post-18119825

 

[Toonartist]

I'd like to get into classical/orchestral music more but it's always so intimidating because there are 100 different recordings of the same piece. What would you guys say are some of the all time great classical albums that someone should build off of? Any best venues I should keep in mind? Any best labels that generally have good recording quality?

Just a couple of suggestions…

Pavel Haas Quartet, Anne-Sophie Mutter, John Williams, Yo-Yo Ma, Max Richter, Nemanja Radulovic and Nigel Kennedy should give you a good selection… plenty more but they were the first to jump to mind

 

[Neweymatt]

I'd like to get into classical/orchestral music more but it's always so intimidating because there are 100 different recordings of the same piece. What would you guys say are some of the all time great classical albums that someone should build off of? Any best venues I should keep in mind? Any best labels that generally have good recording quality?

I'm no expert on the subject, but I did stumble on to this one last year:
https://outhere-music.com/en/albums/1723-bach-bertali-biber-corelli-pisendel

There's something pretty magical listening to 300 year old music played on 300 year old instruments with all of the fancy modern gear we have today to record it and listen to it.

 

[Rollnrock]

I'd like to get into classical/orchestral music more but it's always so intimidating because there are 100 different recordings of the same piece. What would you guys say are some of the all time great classical albums that someone should build off of? Any best venues I should keep in mind? Any best labels that generally have good recording quality?

Great and difficult question. Speaking of labels, I tend to like Deutsche Grammophon recordings, usually of good quality (not always).

At the end of the day, I think it's a matter of looking and trying. I agree with you that there is a huge catalog to dive into. Normally I search by author (I love Bach and Mozart) or performers (i.e. Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yuja Wang, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields by Sir Neville Marriner, etc)

Some recordings that I love if you want to try them

Happy Friday listening!

 

[chrisnyc75]

Also, anything by the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra wouldn't be a bad choice. I've heard them live in NYC several times, and they never fail to impress. Classical/orchestral productions are often more about who's playing than what's being played.

For more modern productions, try these:

 

[tutetibiimperes]

I'd like to get into classical/orchestral music more but it's always so intimidating because there are 100 different recordings of the same piece. What would you guys say are some of the all time great classical albums that someone should build off of? Any best venues I should keep in mind? Any best labels that generally have good recording quality?

One of my favorite recordings of one of my favorite symphonies. Charles Mackerras and the Royal Philharmonic doing Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony.

Absolutely huge dynamic range on this recording as well.

 

[cats4cans]

I'd like to get into classical/orchestral music more but it's always so intimidating because there are 100 different recordings of the same piece. What would you guys say are some of the all time great classical albums that someone should build off of? Any best venues I should keep in mind? Any best labels that generally have good recording quality?

When I was buying CDs I would often look at the NAXOS label as they were generally well regarded and often cheaper. Deutsche Grammophon has a stellar reputation for quality. If I search by composer and filter by label then the choices are slightly less overwhelming. Reading the Wikipedia article on a composer you just found you like can help you find their influences, contemporaries, and most lauded works. Here’s a link to one of a series of videos on great recordings.

 

[goldwerger]

Anything from RCA Living Stereo.

"Scheherezade" is the crown jewel.

What a wonderful recording that one!

Here's another beautiful rendition:

this Wagner album is quite a ride

"Flight of the valkyries" ("Die Walküre") from this album is just so good.

I'd like to get into classical/orchestral music more but it's always so intimidating because there are 100 different recordings of the same piece. What would you guys say are some of the all time great classical albums that someone should build off of? Any best venues I should keep in mind? Any best labels that generally have good recording quality?

That's such a broad question. I love to discover recordings via roon, as I do for all genres. Rather than list any top recommendations, which is too hard to think about, here are a few orchestral favorites that happen to pop into mind (which include both more known and less known pieces):

The following concerto out of this next album:

 

[BassicScience]

I'd like to get into classical/orchestral music more but it's always so intimidating because there are 100 different recordings of the same piece. What would you guys say are some of the all time great classical albums that someone should build off of? Any best venues I should keep in mind? Any best labels that generally have good recording quality?

I tend to listen more to (primarily Baroque) chamber music than to large-scale orchestral works, but I presume you're more interested in the latter(?). The first step is probably to identify which composers, conductors, soloists you generally enjoy the most, and then go from there.

For Baroque chamber music, my favorite conductors are Christopher Hogwood, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and Trevor Pinnock. They seem to consistently deliver great interpretations and performances, although there are countless great recordings from any number of others. Enduring classics of the Baroque era such as The Brandenburg Concertos and Suites for Orchestra (J.S. Bach), Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks (Haendel), and The Four Seasons (Vivaldi) are a decent starting point.

In terms of symphonic works, a newbie should probably start with such classic warhorses as Symphony No. 40 (Mozart), Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven), Symphony No. 4 (Brahms), Symphony No. 9 (Dvorak), The Nutcracker Suite (Tchaikovsky), The Rite of Spring (Stravinsky), and La Mer (Debussy). As far as record labels, Deutsche Grammophon is a fairly safe starting point for good recording quality. I generally like Karl Boehm's interpretations of Mozart symphonies, and von Karajan's treatment of Beethoven and Brahms, but lots of people don't. In the old days, The Penguin Guide was a good resource for discovering excellent performances of favorite works; nowadays, I'd just recommend Google.

Final thought: venues are (somewhat) less important than recording quality/technique and (far) less important than interpretation and performance, IMO. For broad (background) exposure to classical music, you might want to stream a classical station like 1.FM. When you really enjoy a piece, make a note of composer and conductor, and follow up from there. Best of luck in your journey of discovery!

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

It's long out of date now but this compendium, The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 2010: The Key Classical Recordings on CD, DVD and SACD, is a useful reference book. The authors have encyclopedic knowledge, are good writers, and can explain well why they recommend certain recordings. Beyond these good recommendations, you get nice commentary on the artists, composers, and their works. And it's a good resource, too, if you want to see all the works by a composer.

Obviously it's now 15 years out of date but it's a good point of entry.