I have MANY discs from Arkiv. Many of their discs are not burnt copies and the quality is that of the original label complete with artwork, booklet, etc... Those that are out of print are burnt by a familiar name in the quality CD publishing business; the CD blanks they use are well-balanced, cleanly cut and made of good quality materials. Out the many OOP ArkivCDs that I have, I've noticed the sound quality and the transfer are of the same or in most cases, better quality to the originals I've compared them against. This is particularly true of copies of older Deutsche Grammophone, Phillips and Telarc releases whose originals had a tendency to sound bright and glaring. I've found several hard to find original manufacturer box sets of various composers' works at Arkiv. Overall, I've been extremely happy with the results. |
well I enjoyed this tread and at least Audiogon allowed us ao speak our minds. I wish you all a happy holiday and enjoy the music. |
Schipo, you make a good point, no pun intended. It may be that the added cost of getting the art work into a little booklet may remove the profit margin from getting the CD to you that you seek. Again, am talking about the out of print CD's, and getting the music is what it is about isn't it? |
Uru975 you do make a very good point about a fool and his money. I also believe you can still have your cake and eat it to and need not spend this kind of cash that equates to nothing more then buying a burnt Cd without a booklet.My library is full of out of print recordings including friends that I can easily loan then rip and burn.Print up some art work place in jewel case and bingo not much out of my pocket. Am I missing something here or am I just a little thick on top?And I don't mean hair. |
I have bought thousands of dollars of CDs from ArkivMusic over the course of the past several years. It is the most convenient source I know for searching out and buying classical CDs.
As for the ArkivCDs that are burned on demand, I have bought at least 30 of these over the course of the past year. While I have not been able to compare the quality of the sound with the original issues, I have been VERY impressed with the sound quality of many of these. As an example, the live 1965 performance of Mascagni's opera, Cavalleria Rusticana, conducted by von Karajan at La Scala in Milan (Deutsche Grammophon # 419257) is stunningly good.
Unfortunately, this particular CD set is of the type that you mentioned with no liner notes or booklet. However, please note, many of the ArkivCDs do come with a high quality booklet and/or liner notes that are a reasonable facsimile of what was issued with the original release. Just one example is another ArkivCD opera recording that I recently purchased: Delius, A Village Romeo and Juliet, Charles Mackerras, Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra, 1989, Decca # 430275. On the web page that provides the detailed information for any given ArkivCD, there is a statement right before the individual track listings indicating whether liner notes are included.
Schipo, in response to your question, why buy these ArkivCDs?, for me, it's just a matter of the unavailability of the original pressings. Arkiv Music is only licensing the right to do these pressings for recordings that are no longer in the catalog of the record company that owns the recording. I am personally thankful they are offering this service, as many of these recordings are nearly impossible to find even if you are willing to undertake the laborious task of scanning the on-line sites for a used copy.
I don't expect that the ArkivCDs offer better sound than the original pressing; however, based on the sound quality I have heard on many of these discs, I do expect that the quality of the ArkivCDs is probably every bit as good as the original CDs issued by the major labels.
|
A better version of what I had translates to either a different conductor, orchestra, group, etc. than the original CD I had, not the same CD that was bettered by Arkiv. Is it a bit more, yes, but they are also putting out disks that are simply no longer available, a few bucks here and there to support the increased acces to more music seems to me a small price to pay. This may just be a clearer picture of a fool and his money are soon parted or perhaps trying to maintain something that if it goes away is not likely to comeback anytime soon |
If you can easily find a used copy of an OOP CD you're searching for, great! If you can't find it or are not inclined to search for it then ArkivMusics service is great. Many new classical CDs are getting pricey so I don't think their prices are out of line, plus you're paying for convenience. |
Heres the crux of my tread. I just purchased the BMG Rca original Korngold Sea Hawk cd on Amazon. This is not the Dolby surround but their first and now out of print. ArkivMusic wanted $14.00 not including shipping. I bought it on Amazon original with booklet for less than $8.00 total with shipping, it's used but hey it's a Cd and in excellent condition. |
Uru975 first thank u for your input. Now can you clarify what your saying "or a better version than I had" what does this mean? Are we to believe, that Arkiv reissues are better then the original Cd at 17.00 bucks a pop. With no info or booklet compared to the original pressing? I am just curious about them and just wishing to see how many are using them for this purpose? |
I agree. You can often find out-of-print stuff used on Amazon or eBay. But your question about the sound of the reissues still stands. Would be good to hear some opinions. |
Schipo, while I agree with you in the idea of hunting down the original CD pressing, there is something to be said for convenience and being able to get the CD you are looking for in a one stop shopping experience, which is what Arkiv offers. I have used them on more than one occassion to find something that was either new to me or a better version than I had. Is it worth a bit more to get it done, maybe, for me, getting the music comes first>
As I am still working my way through cleaning about an 800 LP gift collection, about half way there, CD's are not on my list of things to buy as a rule these days, but prior to this gift Arkiv was my favorite both for ease and accessiablity. |
Drubin I stand corrected. The prices for the reissues are rather high with no booklet info at all. I just think why not just hunt down the original commercially pressed Cd for much less than Arkiv is charging, unless it is hopelessly unavailable? |
Drubin not at all if you check the label listings on ArkivMusic it reads from A to Z with every well known label. There's the ever popular labels such as Mercury,Decca,london,harmonia,Rca and Lyrita's and so on and so on. Even some very odd ball and obscure lables. |
Schipo, only 6,000 of their 90,000 titles are reissues. The rest are originals. |
I had no idea. But only some of what they sell are reissues. Much of the catalog is current, right? |
Brownsfan thank you for your input. I was wondering about comparisons with the ArkivMusic Cd and original commercial issued Cd. |
I have one or maybe two. The one that comes to mind (I think) is a Bruckner Te Deum by Eugen Jochum. The recording quality is pretty good for the date of the original recording. I do not have the original to compare it to. Since the driver for ArchiveMusic is to make available to the public out of print recordings of exceptional performances, its going to be hard to find anyone who has both the original and the Archive copy. I can say I was very happy with the quality on the one that comes to mind. |
Drubin have you bought any Cds from them? Have you noticed they are all reissued from well known labels and artist.I am asking how their Cds are made, are they burnt Cds or taken from a PC download. They all come with art work but no info at all. I am just curious about the sound and how they STACK UP to the original commercial Cds? |
>how they stack up to the original Cds there burnt from
Huh? What are you talking about? |
