Why? Why not treat yourself once and awhile? I have both excellent originals and 45 reissues of Prokofiev's Scythian Suite/Oranges (Mercury), Reiner's Mussy Pics at Exhibition, Saint Saens/Munch Organ Symphony and Ravel/Munch Daphnis. (RCA) Hear it now and hear it loudly: with one exception, the 45rpms beat the heck out of the originals in matters of transparency, lower noise floor, sense of huge acoustic space, (easily heard in soft passages), tighter bass, silky strings and--most important--the retention of the ineffable "boogie factor" of the originals, something I missed in the corresponding 33rpm reissues. The exception is the Munch/Daphnis: there is not the stunning increase in transparency, the untangling of lines in complex and thick writing, (such as the final climax of the Daybreak), that the other 45's exhibit. It may simply be that the master tape is congested in those places to begin with. My lowly cart sure likes them. (Dyna 20 XL)
Can we go back to 33's please?
Yes, I know we have a million records cut at 33.3, but now, I guess in an attempt to have a "super premium" image, some lables are cutting reissues at 45 rpm. I know Levinson did it way back - I have those and they sound great. The only thing is, I have many 33s that also sound great. I really don't feel like hassling with cleaning and storing 2 discs for each album and getting up every 10 minutes to change sides. I really think equal or at least almost equal quality can be achieved on 33. Listen to anything on Stockfisch, Opus3, Tacet, Naim. They do a great job with it. Not to mention many older RCA Red Seals and such. Is there anyone here who believes that 45 has the magic 33 lacks - all things equal?
Maybe it's my system - Linn, Rega RB700, Argo, is not capable of ferreting out the nuances of some other tables? Perhaps you folks with Caliburns believe 45s are the way to go? If not - tell the record companies and they might listen. I don't want to get up every 10 minutes. Sorry.
Maybe it's my system - Linn, Rega RB700, Argo, is not capable of ferreting out the nuances of some other tables? Perhaps you folks with Caliburns believe 45s are the way to go? If not - tell the record companies and they might listen. I don't want to get up every 10 minutes. Sorry.