Rachmaninoff: Piano Con #3- Original pressing vs cd vs Gold Imp

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This post may be better suited to the vinyl forum, but given the preponderance of rock n rollers over there, some of those here may better appreciate the contents.
RACHMANINOW: PIANO CONCERTO #3 / BYRON JANUS/DORATI/LSO
This is one of my favorite recordings of this piece. Janus plays it as music, rather than just another routine run-thru, or star pianist vehicle.

LISTENING COMPARISON: PHILIPS MERCURY GOLDEN IMPORT vs. MERCURY FR1 COLOR BACK PRESSING vs. LIVING PRESENCE cd REISSUE CD-432759-2
Golden Import: Big sound, and a big piano presence, which swamps the strings. Bass is clear with a true wooden tonal quality evident. The bass isnâ€™t boomy, nor is it shelved down or rolled off. Piano dynamics
are excellent. Cymbal crashes, however, sound like typical Mercury non-ringing short bash, nothing like the sound of real cymbals.
FR1: Cut at a much higher level. Wider stereo spread. Greater clarity without extra brightness. Ambience & hall echo not evident on the GI. More bass, and a very different sonic picture, different tonal color. The piano sounds very different, with greater transparency; itâ€™s just as big sounding as the GI, but now itâ€™s surrounded by the orchestra as it would be in real life, rather than having an orchestra lurking somewhere behind the soloist (as is the rule with many concerto recordings). The GI shrunk the stereo to a narrower picture with the piano dominating. Dynamic gradations are greater & more subtle. There is a sense of ease and naturalness, curiously less f the typical biting Merc harshness. However, the GI is more pinpointed â€“ especially in the locating the piano â€“ while the FR1 is more diffuse.
CD: The FR1 vinyl sounds lusher & richer, the cd is more transparent. The vinyl lacks the upper octave extension; the cd reveals a slightly harsher sound, especially with edgy strings. I say reveals because I doubt that Wilma allowed any digital harshness into her reissue â€“ the harshness is undoubtedly in the original recording â€“ often painfully evident in Mercury vinyl â€“ but in this case, hidden by the FR1 pressing. The piano is much larger on the cd. Stage perspective is somewhat further back. The 2nd movement strings lack any sweetness, which is evident on the vinyl along with greater depth of string body image. The vinyl has noticeably less dynamic range.
The biggest differences are the lack of top octave extension and dynamic range of the vinyl â€“but, the vinyl is doesnâ€™t sound dull or rolled off at all. It really sounds sweeter, more dimensional, and more listenable, Iâ€™m not surprised at the differences, tho Iâ€™ve found many of the GIâ€™s to be quite good. Overall, I think Wilma Cozart Fineâ€™s cd reissues are the best of all, lacking much of the cutterhead compression & distortion of the original pressings. However, given better reproducing equipment, some of the original pressings sound wonderful.
--SPL

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Topic - Rachmaninoff: Piano Con #3- Original pressing vs cd vs Gold Imp - SPL 22:50:39 06/08/00 (1)

Re: Rachmaninoff: Piano Con #3- Original pressing vs cd vs Gold Imp - Tom B. 08:42:39 06/09/00 (0)

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