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Classical music listening... what is a better source High Rez or Vinyl?

For many of us who really enjoy classical music, for me it is Baroque and opera, what is the better and more consistent for source high fidelity listening?

I am a mid hifi guy and have a Pro-ject Classic SB turntable with a high output MC Sumiko Blue Point No. 2 cartridge.. I am using a Jolida JD 9II Tube phone stage, with a vintage Telefunkin tube upgrade.

I have a Rogue Sphinx 3 integrated amplifier, with a vintage Mozada tube upgrade. My digital source DAC/SACD/CD is a Yamaha CD-2100 player.

I have refurbished Ohm H's loud speakers.

I have been picking up many vintage classical albums recently, mainly 1980’s releases in excellent condition too, at my local transfer station, and it has been mixed bag in comparison to my high resolution music files and SACD collection.

I was expecting much more when it came to vinyl and classical but I have not been as won over, as I have been with rock and jazz on vinyl.

My experience with SACD and high resolution, 96/24 or higher, has been very rewarding with a wide variety of classical music. Opera really shines in digital IMHO. Strong and full on classical piece are quite stunning on many a SACD releases I own. Rachel Podger’s Vivaldi: L’estro armonico - 12 concerti, Op. 3 on SACD is an excellent example of the audio quality I demand, as this recording is exceptional! Plus there are are very few new remastered vinyl releases for classical, particularly for opera, these days. A perfect example of this is Shubert’s Winterreise featuring Joyce DiDanato and pianist Yannick Nezet-Sequin, which I saw performed at Carnegie Hall for this recording and which sounds phenomenal in 96/24, and was release recently.

That would seem counter intuitive but that is clearly what the market is showing.

On one of these threads I recall someone posting how strings of violins, and the intensity that they are played at, can lead to degraded sound quality depending on the type of cartridge used.

I want to hear back from the classical music posse here to help me get to that higher level of listening with classical vinyl.

Is it the cartridge?

Or should I just stay with my digital sources?


idigmusic64

Showing 3 responses by simonmoon

simonmoon's avatar
simonmoon
477 posts
 
For me, it’s:

  1. DSD and 24/192
  2. Vinyl
  3. CD

The main reasons for this order, for me is, that with classical, I care a lot about imaging, soundstage and other spatial cues. And I think DSD, 24/192 and vinyl do those things better than CD (16/44.1). CD creates a very flat image, musicians have this cardboard cutout kind of presentation, where the other formats create a 3d, palpable, image of the musicians.

I am willing to give up the increase in dynamic range and quietness of CD over vinyl, in order to get better imaging and soundstage.

But with DSD (and 24/192), you get all the benefits of CD (dead quiet, great dynamic range), and the benefits of vinyl (better imaging and 3d soundstage). With no real tradeoffs that I can hear.
simonmoon's avatar
simonmoon
477 posts
 
Being a big fan of mid to late 20th century, and contemporary classical music (you know, the 'thorny' sounding stuff), I have a quite a few vinyl recordings on Nonesuch records in their "Spectrum: New American Music" series. 

These were considered a budget label release at the time (late 60's to mid 70's). But despite that, I don't believe I have any other recordings in my collection, on any format, that creates such an amazingly tangible soundstage and 3d image within that soundstage. 

If you ever want to test a system for how well it images and creates a soundstage, get one of these recordings. Most good used records stores will have copies.  

Just to give you an idea what to look for, these recordings all have a similar look to this -

https://www.discogs.com/Jacob-Druckman-Joseph-Schwantner-John-Harbison-Spectrum-New-American-Music-Volume-III/release/13338316
simonmoon's avatar
simonmoon
477 posts
 
 If you want to keep up to any degree with what is happening NOW, you need a good digital source.

I absolutely agree!

Being a huge fan of contemporary classical music, limiting oneself to vinyl, would eliminate so much incredible music from the last few decades.

Thomas Ades, Augusta Read Thomas, Unsuk Chin, Nico Muhly, Erkki-Sven Tuur, Esa Pekka Salonan, James Dillon, Jennifer Hidgon, and many more. 

Hell, even many composers from the 20th century had a majority of their compositions released only digitally. Elliott Carter, Bruno Maderna, Joan Tower, Toru Takemitsu, etc.

I could never imagine giving up such a large part of my music collection, in the name of 'vinyl purity'...
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