Big box of Decca
- Thread starter Basil
- Start date
Barrymagrec
pfm Member
I fear the posts to come....
Got to be better than the septic tank that is the audio section?
Couldn't have picked a better time for the new 'pootar!
It's hitting 30+ times speed ripping these CDs!
jackbarron
Chelsea, London
Mmm, I think I'll watch this one to see how it goes after Xmas.
Jack
Jack
Packing was up to Amazons usual standard, IE excellent!
So this is what the crack of dawn is like... it's been a while!
Ripped 'n' Played the first four CDs and the sound is superb.
The Scherzo (Allegro) from the Sibelius first symphony, with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia Orchestra... seriously good. And a prime example of how CD scores over LP, the timpani on the lp I have is dead center and muted, the CD, without the tracking and RIAA problems, the timpani is left-rear and violent!
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herb
brain's right hemisphere
I've had my box for several weeks. There is a lot of stuff here that I would not normally buy, so it is an education. I dip into it when I feel unfocussed. I must admit I was never keen on the DECCA sound as such, those strange arms and carts, ffss (?) and they were very early to adopt digital methods for vinyl - which resulted in a very flat sound. I find the sound very good here though, but it still has an odd characteristic that I cannot put my finger on.......
Mignun
pfm Member
The price here is remarkable. Unfortunately many of the selections I already have on CD from the Decca Legends series, however, I'm still tempted. But it's a shame so many key performances were missed out. Where's Kertesz's reading of Kodaly's Hary Janos? What about possibly the greatest of Decca's LP releases, i.e. The Borodin Quartet on SXL6036. And so on... With the RCA living stereo box, most of the key discs were covered, and if you like the Decca box then I can definitely recommend it. Fingers crossed that somebody releases a Mercury box some day...
Just a quicky...
Dvorak 9 - István Kertész - Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra...
Astonishing... the strings have more 'bite' than a box full of sharks!
Absolutely nothing warm or 'vintage tube audio' here... and the dynamic range is quite remarkable... a couple of audible edits but it would be churlish to complain...
What we have here is the master tape sound.
herb
brain's right hemisphere
Dangerous ground but I am now parallel running the Mahler 8 by Solti, vinyl on my old fruitbox and CD on a CDX2.
The vinyl has great atmosphere, image precision (on a fruitbox!) and excellent dynamics. It does sound impressive and I prefer it to the CD. I still have a slight problem with the sound, I think it is a phase thing, perhaps absolute phase? Now that is a can of worms!
The CD has unusually good atmosphere (on a CDX2!), superb image precision and great dynamics. It sounds a bit CD-brittle but is very accepable.
These are both very entertaining sounds and I most certainly do not regret buying the CD box.
I heard Mahler 8 at the Usher Hall recently and either format reproduces the sound pretty well, each has its strengths.
The vinyl has great atmosphere, image precision (on a fruitbox!) and excellent dynamics. It does sound impressive and I prefer it to the CD. I still have a slight problem with the sound, I think it is a phase thing, perhaps absolute phase? Now that is a can of worms!
The CD has unusually good atmosphere (on a CDX2!), superb image precision and great dynamics. It sounds a bit CD-brittle but is very accepable.
These are both very entertaining sounds and I most certainly do not regret buying the CD box.
I heard Mahler 8 at the Usher Hall recently and either format reproduces the sound pretty well, each has its strengths.
Herb,
That's the Naim sound, I heard the same thing at a dealer recently, CD's should have no sound of their own.
If you're near SE London, I can prove it!
I have the Lp box of the Solti Mahler 8 too... looking forward to the comparison.
Superb Beethoven fiddle concerto on this set by Paavo Järvi - London Symphony Orchestra - Janine Jansen...
Up to disc 33... I hate ripping CD's...
And the coolest thing?
The box has a magnet in the lid to hold it closed... out-fricking-standing!
herb
brain's right hemisphere
Thanks Basil, point taken. I still think the format is slightly limited but like the CDX2 sound. It's a long way to come for the proof I'm afraid. I live next to the Forth Bridge.....
I'm sure we agree that this is an excellent box set though. My favourite source was live BBC proms FM radio in the '70s (into ESL57s)
I'm sure we agree that this is an excellent box set though. My favourite source was live BBC proms FM radio in the '70s (into ESL57s)
Sorry Herb,
Didn't mean to come across as quite that confrontational... just a tad punchy from three days of ripping CD's...
Not quite at the 'looking for tall buildings and a high power rifle' stage yet... but...
;-)
