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124.179.254.77
Just finished listening to this SACD and it certailly lives up to the lavish praise received from reviewers.Superb MC sound with brilliant artistry from all concerned. The bass in this recording is phenominal, the string playing seductive, ........
Recommended. DGG 00289 477 5684
John
Do not criticise the idiots in this world - we need them as they make the rest of us look so much better :-)
Follow Ups:
Years ago I had the privilege of attending a BPO/Abbado rehearsal of a concert here in Turin at the Lingotto L8 Auditorium. The program was Mahler 7th. The rehearsal was of little interest per se; the Berliner were extremely lush and the rehearsal was practically a sort of final performance, perhaps with little emotional commitment: I am pretty ready to barter a rehearsal for the final concert, provided the rehearsal enables you to hear separate parts, and so on.But, wait a minute: while the rehearsal was already closed and the audience were (very noisily, alas) leaving the place, Abbado summoned some members of the woodwinds and brass sections for a rapid rehearsal of the orchestral part of "Um Mitternacht" (no singing, just the orchestra). I rapibly elbowed my way to a closer location: in listening the complete version one is inevitably drawn to the voice, and misses much of the incredible sophistication contained in just a few minutes of orchestral writing. Great experience!
L.
then I listened to my three reference 6s, Barbirolli (EMI CD), Abravanel (Vanguard LP), and Horenstein (Unicorn LP). The giants stood undisturbed. While the EMI CD has its limitations, both LPs were better sounding than SACD, even the Vanguard's Everyman, which is not the highest in their quality line.
... has got to be the most sloppily played version of this symphony on record. What good is outstanding sound if it only allows you to hear all the cracked notes more clearly?
... with Abbado's M6: quick tempos, propulsive sense of rhythm, less saturated textures from the BPO, incredibly precise articulation from the strings, the andante/scherzo movement order... all of it adds up to a rather different but ultimately very convincing way with the 6th.Interesting to compare this with the recent Eschenbach/Philly, which is more of an "old school" approach, with the scherzo/andante movement order, BIG textures from the orchestra, ritards at all the big moments. It works, I think, but mainly because the orchestra sounds so good--as an interpretation, this approach can make the music sound overwrought. Lately I'm leaning toward the way Abbado (and Boulez, Jansons, and some others) are playing this music to emphasize its classical elements and sort of let the emotions speak for themselves without underlining everything.
The Eschenbach is a traditional performance that lacks conviction. OTOH, the orchestral execution and the sound are extraordinary.The Abbado, however, is simply filled with resolve and power.
Kal
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You should be a pretty good arbiter. I am still struggling with the concept because most demos i heard make my head spin. Plus I for one do not have the room for three more speakers, need to move in the basement for that, and I am not ready, but when i will be i will consider using the current speakers as the rears, and get three new ones for the front. But ....i am still cautious.dee
;-D
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.Kurt Vonnegut
If done right, multi-channel does in fact increase the 3 dimensional-feel of the orchestra, and detangles climaxes. My head never spun, and sound was very solid. I added a separate "cheapie" surround amp and "cheapie" cables to power the rears and center channel. I bought Vandersteen rears and center to match my mains. I have fond memories of Telarc's Gliere Symphony #3 and Telarc's Berlioz Requiem, (bland performance in the end, but spectacular use of rears for off-stage brass.)My problems were "mental:" mixing the best two-channel system I could afford with a cheap amp and wire bothered me, I was also annoyed at companies remastering old/new PCM into SACD, ("bit," or get off the pot," as my Dad used to say.) And finally--I know this is controversial--I heard good vinyl on a humbly-priced turntable for the first time. Vinyl yields the same 3 dimensionality that SACD did, just set back a bit; and I like the sound of the strings better--more organic, but of course, this is subjective.
If you already have a surround system in your family room, you can pick up an SACD or DVDA player for around $150 and try.
modded for 2 ch play, but still has its 5.1 out available. The 2 ch is toobed, transformer out. my main speakers are full range electrostats, I have a pair of vandersteen 3a sigs with a pair of 2wqs I could use for rears, and could get an extra ESL center, would need a processor and 3 more amp channels, but all of that can be resolved. The point is that I could put together a pretty decent MCH system without spending an extraordinate amount, but I just do not feel like doing it halfway. I think I will just wait till I can get the three new panels, and go all out. Hell somebody needs to blow he money, why should it be my wife?dee
;-D
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.Kurt Vonnegut
... considerations such as the budget and practicability (room wise) can make it unattractive.We have a combined audio-video system so it gets used daily. Although enjoying good movies (not the spectacular Hollywood genre) most of our video viewing is of documentaries and they can have impressive sound tracks. And of course ballet, opera etc benefits from a goods sound system.
Back to audio only, most of the collection here is on CD with a growing list of SACDs and a very few DVD-As. We use a Meridian 861 processor and this very effectively synthesises subtle ambient surround sound from 2 track material. The main L/R signal goes direct to a modded Benchmark DAC1 digital -> analog processor -> preamp -> main amps & speakers. A secondary output from the preamp -> Meridian 861 -> centre, side, rear & sub amps & speakers for the surround affect.
The levels of the main cf surround feeds can be independently controlled so the surround is subtle and not overwhelming. [Some of the surround sound DVD-As I've heard are dreadful in this respect as the surround sound dominates - YUK].
All visitors have commented on the collapse of ther sound field if that synthesised surround is turned off. It really does add to musical enjoyment.
So, finally to the SACDs. They are another further advance as, well recorded, as most are, the clarity is further improved and the surround ambient channels can be highly effective.
But, I would not recommend MC for SACD only, mainly because the cataog is rather restricted compared to what is available on CD. But yes, recommended if you have a good processor that can give a good surround sound field from 2CH. But that is a catch 22 as there are some awful processors out there that really hack up the sound if a "surround" mode is used on 2CH.
And on speakers, the selection of matching speakers, particularly the centre channel, can be difficult. In my early experiments I tried using a cheapie centre speaker and the result was awful. So that immediately poses a challenge for anyone who has spent hard earned dollars on good L/R mains. We also use side speakers here - not exactly the same as the L/R and centre units, but they are electrostaics and match in well. Same with the rears.
Trust this has not been too long winded and has answered your query.
John
Do not criticise the idiots in this world - we need them as they make the rest of us look so much better :-)
But my thinking of relegating the current A1s to the back and getting 3 identical 45 degree panels for the front might work (at least I already know what the overall sound will be). If I want video I will use an acoustically transparent ceiling mounted screen and a projector. And yeah, I'll forgo the sub, i think with that much Mylar pushing air I will not need some pistons stirring dust.dee
;-D
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.Kurt Vonnegut
Sounds like a good set up Kurt. But, despite the excellent bass of the Sound Labs, a few subs (at 80hz & below) do not go amiss here to give even better coupling of the low notes to the room. I've ended up with 4 sub units spread at different points and have fluked an excellent bass response. But the room here is very large and it is unprofitable to generalise about what suits each system. All rooms/furnishings are different and each poses its own unique set of problems, particularly at the bottom end of the spectrum.And a sub setup is useful to use that 6th channel with SACDs and it can divert some excessive low end power away from the mains. Theoretically those piston subs should be a mismatch with the mylar but it does not seem to work out that way (as long as the subs are in a well designed enclosure).
John
Do not criticise the idiots in this world - we need them as they make the rest of us look so much better :-)
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