[bangraman]

Menuhin's technique may have receded with the onset of age but his teaching abilities thankfully didn't. His earlier works are a must. I spent ages listening to scratchy records of his.


Vanessa-Mae is a talent undoubtedly but whether the talent is wholly in the area of violin playing remains debatable. The problem is that these days even in classical music image and a popular choice of performance is undeniably wedded to exposure and sales. You've got to have unbelievable amounts of talent these days to get by with a tuxedo one size too small, face full of spots, hair like an untended topiary and a Tipett repertoire, whereas even ten years ago that was what you were supposed to be like!


The MX500 is very clean for a cheap earphone, but it doesn't have the fluency of tone or the liquidity of performance that can do justice to a good performance. Yes, even Vanessa-Mae's idea of a good performance.

 

[SuperGiraffe]

I find it odd that no one yet has criticized the recording -- on almost every system, headphone and speaker, that I have heard both "The Violin Player" and "Storm" on, the sound, particularly from the violin, is flat and lifeless, and (oooh, I'll say it) "veiled." IMHO, the sound quality on these CDs is sub-par and compressed dynamically.

 

[Spent&Bent]

Get a pair of headphones that don't smooth over details and are very fast.
On my baby O she plays so much faster with "in between" sort of notes (I have no musical vocab to use here...) compared to my dynamic phones.

I didn't really like to listen to her until I listened to her with electrostats.

 

[Vertigo-1]

Quote:

Originally posted by go_vtec Although this is not MUSIC forum, I thought we were not suppose to criticize others for their taste/selection in music.

I do find it pretty sad and disappointing myself that a lot of Headfiers seem pretty snobbish about what's "publically acceptable" as music.

This thread being a prime example.

Anyways, what Permonic said about the electric violin is pretty much the problem you're having. Electric violins are not known for emotion invoking qualities, that's for sure.

 

[grkn]

Could someone recommend some amazing violin stuff with -good/clear- recording? I haTe noise

 

[Geek]

Try alexander markov, midori, or perlman's rendition of paganini's 24 caprices. Also consider Milstein's recording of unaccompanied bach.

Cheers,
Geek

 

[grkn]

Any special recordings that's good with good sound

 

[dj_mocok]

as supergiraffe said, it might be the recording too ? because the violin really sounds flat though... although other instruments or background music (if i can call it that way), sounds quite good...

 

[dj_mocok]

i think that vanessa mae cd is the culprit..
today, i just bought a CD "Homage to Fritz kreisler" (whoever this guy is, im not a big fan of classical, hehe...) i picked it because it has violin and piano works.

i am playing it on my PC system now, and the violin really sounds different. much more realistic now... i think the vanessa mae cd has a below average quality recording...

 

[TonyTripleA]

Well into the deep water I go...

I actually think Vanessa Mae has done a great job with "the violin player". Like permonic I prefer the later albums like "the classical album" but I certainly don't find her original album lifeless. I do think it has elements of "pop" which require some bass and therefore I play it on my speaker system (with sub) rather than through the etymotics (my usual standard for classical music). I don't think the recording is sub standard (I do own plenty of average Naxos CDs and its certainly a step up from them).

But for a fun, "groove" in the classical/pop mixed genre, wow. And quality of recording, well my old ears don't so much analyse this as get into it. To me the emotion is certainly there.

And now a true confession. My wife and I named our daughter Vanessa. So what you say.... second name mae... lucky she likes the violin!

enjoy,

TonyAAA

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Originally posted by Vertigo-1 I do find it pretty sad and disappointing myself that a lot of Headfiers seem pretty snobbish about what's "publically acceptable" as music. This thread being a prime example.

At the risk of going even more off topic, that's an interesting point Vertigo-1. If someone came on and said 'What should I buy to listen to my Britney Spears albums' would you think the mods would stop any snide comments? Do you think they'd stay away from posting themselves? As good as the moderation is here, I'm not sure.


Vanessa and Britney (and I do own albums by both) are very similar. Flamboyant performers, both great entertainers but without technical or pure artistic merit in their respective fields.

 

[dj_mocok]

well britney is alright for me. plus she's hot.
but not justin timberlake. no thanks.
hehe..

 

[PeterR]

Quote:

Originally posted by Vertigo-1 I do find it pretty sad and disappointing myself that a lot of Headfiers seem pretty snobbish about what's "publically acceptable" as music. This thread being a prime example.

Nobody said Vanessa Mae wasn't 'publically acceptable'. However, dj_mocok was disappointed with the CD and obviously new to classical music (in the broadest sense of the word). So wasn't it fair then for people to point out that Ms. Mae isn't considered a "wonder" by everyone? And that in fact most people wouldn't call the instrument she plays a violin either?
If Vanessa Mae is your thing, that's great. Buy her CDs and enjoy them, by all means. That doesn't mean I have to like them too, and I don't see anything wrong with saying so?

 

[dj_mocok]

?? whats all the fuss here...
when i bought vanessa mae, i wasn't thinking like: " okay, lets get classical music....which one should i choose...",
but i bought it actually because i wanted to check how the violin works sound on my system, and vanessa mae is the only violinist i know. (the one i recognize the songs)

anyway, the only thing i didnt realise was that she is not using traditional violin, but electic violin instead... but i honestly cant tell the difference between the sound of an electric one and traditional one...

however, i realised to really listen to how violin sounds with my rig, i need something that is more pure, thats why i got some classical stuffs today (Bruch violin concerto, Fritz Kreisler)...
and with those CDs, i can listen to more violin than Vanessa Mae's CD (sometimes her violin play is covered by too much bass and special effects, since its a mix of classical and pop)

but all is good, i like Vanessa Mae's work - its different, and i also like those classical violin plays that i just got today, they really sound very emotive... violin is a very interesting piece of equipment really...

anyway, i figured that in order to really enjoy violin sound, i might need to get a better system....

 

[bangraman]

I'm not sure how good (or how powerful that 5mw amp in it really is) the D-CJ01 is but maybe it's worth looking at something like the Alessandro MS1 or the DT231 (both of which I have unfortunately not listened to to be able to comment but they look like potential choices), which is carried by Headphonic in Aus for AU$150 and AU$109 respectively.