Classic Record RCA 45 rpm reissues - Which?

Quincy, thanks but have you listened to the 45rpm versions of any of these?

Thanks very much Albert and Doug - your experience with these 45 rpm issues is exactly the help and encouragement I needed.

Quincy, thank you. The reason for my caution is that I have most of the Classic Records classical releases in 33 rpm and the mastering is variable (some are very good, some are bright and harsh). Most of my pressings are the 180 gram, but as best I can determine, the 200gram pressings have not been remastered - CR is using the same metal parts. The 45 rpm versions would have been separately mastered, so there is no way to anticipate the results (for better or worse) based on experience with the 33 rpm versions.

Doug,

Classic Records has been extremely frustrating to so many of us. As you say, both Solti/'Venice'/LSC 2313 and Gobson/'Witches Brew'/LSC 2225 are examples of hugely disappointing sound quality. And then CR can flip around and create something that is really well done, such as the Reiner Prokofiev/'Lt. Kije'/LSC 2150 or the Heifitz/Rozsa/LSC 2767 to list two out of several. I'm not looking for sound that mimics the original LPs; I'm looking for good sound in its own right with natural timbre and harmonic overtones, and one just cannot trust that Classic Records will deliver it. Perhaps if one knew the sequence in which the CR releases were mastered that could supply a key to the puzzle. Wilma Cozart jerked a knot in their tail over the Mercury reissue project, forcing them to upgrade their mastering chain and to insert tube amps to drive the mastering lathe. But, again, their results were inconsistent.

Speakers Corner has done such a better job overall with the reissues of the Decca catalogue, and now the Mercury catalogue. For that I am very thankful because the Decca's are superb performances with some of the best recording engineering symphonic music has ever received.

I've purchased some of the 45 rpm Classic Records reissues we've listed. If there is interest, I may add my thoughts about them when I've had a chance to listen.

Dkarmeli,

I don't wish to engage in a long discussion of Classic Records per se. But as to 45 rpm pressings versus 33 rpm pressings, other things being equal (and that is the operative condition here), the 45 rpm pressings always sound superior to me.

To my ear, the 45 rpm pressings consistently have a greater openess to the sound (greater "transparency" if you will), greater dynamics, and more solid imaging. The sound quality also is different overall, and I don't know how to describe this. It's like a certain sonic signature we associate with vinyl is gone or is shifted to a different resonance point. The 45's, for me, get closer to the sound I hear from good quality reel to reel tape.

This is easily observed in the Analogue Productions Fantasy series of reissues cut at 45 rpm. It also is very noticeable in the Classic Records 45 rpm reissue of the Mercury Stravinksy/Firebird. And I just had the pleasure of hearing the Billie Holiday "Songs for Distingue Lovers" from Classic Records today in 45 rpm, and the same can be said for that recording (although the source tape is not of sterling quality).

But, it's that caveat "all things being equal" that caused me to post my question at the beginning of this thread. Mastering at 45 rpm won't turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, and any 45 rpm is separately mastered from any 33 rpm so one can't draw any necessary conclusions how well or how poorly the 33 rpm version was done. But, the sound charateristics of 45 versus 33 I described above are, for me, very consistent across the two formats.
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I’ve been doing some comparative listening to 33 rpm vs. 45 rpm versions recently (classical music reissues from Classic Records) and thought I should add to this thread once again.

There really is no contest sonically between the 45s and the 33s (did anyone suspect otherwise?).

But, my question in doing some comparisons was: "Did the mastering of the 45 rpm versions avoid the hard brittle top end plaguing some of the early 33 rpm issues sufficiently to make it worth the gamble of buying a few more of the 45s to replace other disappointing early release 33s?"

So far, the answer is "YES" for the following LPs (listening to selected tracks on each):

"Clair de Lune" RCA LSC-2326 - the sound of strings on the 33 rpm is brittle in the upper frequencies to the point I don't find it enjoyable to listen to (at least on my system). The 45 rpm does not have this problem: the string tone is smooth and extended. Definitely not polite and rolled off like many of the originals (so don't come here looking for that original "Shaded Dog" sound; this is more like what I expect to hear in an excellent "contemporary" recording. The 45 rpm also has all the other virtues we've come to expect of this media.

"Gonoud: Faust/Bizet: Carmen Suite" LSC-2449 - The 33 rpm version of this is much better, and much more listenable, than I recalled. The top end has some of that brittleness and hard edge to it, but not nearly so much as some others. Just every now and then the massed strings jump out and BITE. Still..., the 45 rpm version is simply soooo muuucch better in so many respects.

"Belioz: Symphony Fantastique" LSC-1900 - MUCH improved string tone on the 45 rpm version. The 33 rpm is not as bad as I recalled, as with LSC-2449; but the 45 rpm is a very distinct improvement in every respect. (And still my favorite performance with a modern orchestra is the Freccia/RPO reissued on Chesky CR 1. (If you can find it and have a choice, get the 180 gram, not the lighter weight first pressing run).

Albert: you are certainly correct on the Berlioz and the Prokofiev, thank you.

And then there are some 45 rpm issues for which the 33 rpm issues were very satisfactory, but for which the 45 rpm version is clearly better still (such as the Rozsa/Hendl/Heifitz, LSC-2767).

Conclusion? For me I will go ahead with some additional 45 rpm Classic Record purchases (such as the Sibelius: Finlandia LSC-2336 which sounds so sad on the 33 rpm version and is such a GREAT performance and recording, and such as the Reiner: Spain LSC- 2230), but cautiously.
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Doug and 4yanx, thanks for your comments; knowing that some people appreciate the input makes the posting worthwhile! And, Doug, its good to know we are hearing the same things.

Styx, thanks for adding. My focus in this thread has been on the CLASSICAL music reissues because Classic's 33 rpm classical reissues have been so variable. Generally, they've been more consistently successful on their non-classical reissues.
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