Classical Audiophiles Rejoice!


The audio quality of recordings now available has recently made huge gains with various remastering techniques used by major labels to greatest recordings in their past catalog, and released at mid price! EMI "great recordings of century" uses ART (Abbey Rd tech.), DG uses original image bit processing, Sony uses SBM (superior bit mapping), RCA "living stereo" uses UV22 super CD encoding, DECCA "legends" uses 24bit/96khz digital transfers, etc etc. Even budget lines like Naxos have very good sound! For example I am now listening to Mahler 2nd Sym EMI label Klemperer/Schwarzkopf remastered using ART. I had original CD, and sound was average at best for 1963 recording. What a transformation now, huge gains in every dept.....much larger gain than a Gold CD gives to average recording. Mahler 2 on one CD, mid price, excellent sound quality, great performance with SCHWARZKOPF! Some of the RCA remasters from late 1950s are better than any recordings made today! Any other comments on this subject.......
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Megasam, 100% agreed. I have the same discs you mentioned, I gave the old cd to my friend next day. Bryan
I am not rejoicing. Naxos and some small labels are great, but a lot of what comes lately from the major labels really suck big time. They are mixing them to sound good on cheap stereos and boom boxes in order to sell to the mass market. On high-end equipment the instruments are all way out of balance with a boosted and bloated midrange. Since people don't like the hiss that is in all historical recording they cut off the highs to remove all the hiss, leaving a less than real sounding recording. I listened to some of those DG "Originals" recordings and the strings are a lot louder than the rest of the orchestra. I sit in live classical concerts every month, so I am use to how things should sound. If the microphones are placed well, there should be no reason to do any remixing. That is one reason the Naxos sound good. They are budget discs, so what you get is the raw recording put on discs with no tricks. Most are recorded in churches and old concerts halls in Europe, so the natural room sound comes through as if you are there. I am very wary buying any recent recording or re-mix from the major labels other than Decca/London who have got it right. The Bernstein Century discs from Sony are also good.
Sugarbrie, the comments you make are absolutely correct. That is even more reason to listen to the Classic Records reissues on LP. I have every 45 RPM that Classic has issued. These are pressed from the RCA masters that had music lovers the world over, chasing after the "shaded dogs" pressed in the 1960's. And, if the RCA's masters are not exactly to your taste, much of the Decca masters have been perfectly repressed, and without any remixing on them either. The Decca's are becoming very difficult to find though.
Sugarbrie, I have a couple DG "originals" that I feel may be exaggerated as you say, but I don't feel it applies to entire series, must be judged case by case.....but the other lines DECCA "Legends", EMI "Recordings of the Century" and RCA "Living Stereo" are very successful, I have replaced several of my original CD recordings with these new remasters and find increased 3D soundstage, more bloom, and improved detail, Bernstein reissues all use Sony SBM technology for remasters. I rarely buy new CD releases at full price from major labels, because of huge and mostly superior back catalogs at mid and budget prices, so I cannot comment on current audio quality....regards Sam
Anyone who has been at this audio game for twenty years or more knows that we have recently emerged from the darkest period of recording history into the brightly lit day of digital sound. Nothing was worse than LP's in the late 60's and all 70's into mid-80's. Recordings were ruthlessly manipulated to soup them up, vinyl was recycled garbage and fillers, pressings were done poorly with dirty plates, etc. We would pay $25 or $30 for a "direct to disc" with crappy music by second-rate performers only because we wanted to hear something, anything, which approached real sound. CD's were promising but poorly done initially. There is more music with far higher quality sound now than ever before. Anyone who says differently is a neophyte, or simply stodgy beyond comprehension. Sure, there is still a lot of junk available, many modern classical releases are for illiterates who wouldn't know Mahler from Mozart. Not all the digital sound and remasters are equally well realized, but their intent is to make the best possible sound available to the consumer, and for that they should be applauded. When they get it right, DAMN, they get it great. I hear music now in a way that was not possible 20, or even 10, years ago. If you're a vinyl dinosaur, fine, go that way. But digital technology has opened up a treasure chest of vintage recordings, and the best digital, SACD, is yet to come. The only thing magical about putting a sharpened piece of rock against a distorted piece of rotating plastic to get sound is that some peole are still spellbound by it.