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In Reply to: What are your favorite Telarc classical CDs? posted by jkend on November 18, 2002 at 07:37:50:
The pre-CD-era Soundstream digitally-mastered LPs are recordings to die for... In fact, in my humble opinion, the best commercially-sold recordings ever made.Most-notably the flip side of the Kunzel/Cincinnati "1812" LP, with "Capriccio Italien" and "Kossack Dance"...
Most of the LPs from Telarc during that time are excellent, including Maazel/Cleveland Tchaikovsky "Romeo and Juliet," and Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition/Night on Bald Mountain."
Just be sure you have a system capable of capturing the dynamic range- Unfortunately not as easy as one might think. I honestly think this is the sole reason why these recordings didn't get unanimous acclaim.
Follow Ups:
Whenever I see a Soundstream album, I pick it up. These are fantastic sounding. Certainly they compare to the best of the best
of the most sought after labels.
Regards,
JRM.
> > > > Just be sure you have a system capable of capturing the dynamic range- Unfortunately not as easy as one might think. I honestly think this is the sole reason why these recordings didn't get unanimous acclaim. < < < <So what is a system "capable of capturing dynamic range"? Is mine?
Thanks for the Soundstream comments.
"So what is a system 'capable of capturing dynamic range'? Is mine?"Can't say. Even if I knew what you had. (Most cartridges compress Telarc Soundstream recordings. The Transfiguration Temper Supreme is one that captures the Soundstream dynamics in effortless fashion.)
The lack of bass linearity and the limited dynamic envelope of many audio systems cannot handle the un-compressed Soundstream recordings. The symptoms are often "bombastic" dynamics with the loss of microdynamic gradations, loss of soundstage when the music gets loud, and especially "bloated" bass during bass drum and organ passages. (The last two symptoms often occur together.)
With a system that *is* capable of capturing the wide dynamic envelope, Soundstream recordings may sound "unspectacular"- You just hear the individual instruments, each with its own dynamic and tonal character. Consistent to how one hears music in the concert hall. And when things do get spectacular, one could actually sense the individual pulsations of the bass drum and even the *low* fundamental frequency of cymbals.
sonically i tend to agree that they were spectactular, however that bass drum (think Holtz band suites, for example) was too prominent, musically speaking, for me to really enjoy listening to them on a regualr basis, but then i normally don't care for "audiophile discs" in general. I thought Telarc got a lot better after they lost the drum, up til their new stuff. I'm not sure that the new stuff is as good, sonically speaking, on ordinary CD.
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