I've recently added the Mercury Living Presence Boxed Set to the The Decca Sound box set I got for Christmas. A total of 100 CDs of great music and performances for around £160 ish - you could do a lot worse. Some of the earlier recordings might not meet some hifi criteria, and I'm not sure about some of the Americana, but it matters little as they are a great buy.
Pretty much all classical music is well recorded these days. But watch out for Nimbus. They used to use a distant miking technique, not sure if they still do, which was like listening through the wrong end of a telescope
Yes, I have the Decca set and am humming and hahring over the Mercury set
The American reviewers rave about the Mercury recordings, but I find many of them too close. Perhaps they sound better in larger American listening rooms. I bought 20-30 of them when they were first issued on CD but had mixed feelings about them.
The Decca set has been on my wish list for some time, I'll have to pull the trigger before too long.
It has often seemed to me that many American recordings of the fifties and sixties were markedly inferior to the majority of EMI, Decca and DG releases
Stunsworth, have you had any experience with Spanish Harmonia Mundi pressings done by Edigsa, Barcelona? I came across a set of them, but have no idea if they are worth the money or is it better to look for French originals? Thanks, phi
I meant LP's...
Don't forget Naxos - they do some smashing recordings and at excellent prices.
If you like Choral music, I can highly recommend the Decca Magnificat boxed set, which spans 500 years of choral music in 50 CDs. IIRC it costs just over £100.
The American reviewers rave about the Mercury recordings, but I find many of them too close. Perhaps they sound better in larger American listening rooms. I bought 20-30 of them when they were first issued on CD but had mixed feelings about them.
The Decca set has been on my wish list for some time, I'll have to pull the trigger before too long.