i've long been impressed by the 1980 LP pressing of The Korgis "Dumbwaiters" which had less than average surface noise, much less distortion esp. on inner grooves than typical vinyl product of the time. the 1960 RCA red seal recording of the CSO/Reiner performing Rimski-Korsakov/Debussy [on CD] has digital-levels of low-level clarity, in terms of being able to hear all the little musical sounds such as musicians' breathing, mouth noises, chairs and music stands creaking, rustling sheet music etc. the FF and FFF parts are clean and golden, no distortion or treble compression which was more common with most recordings of the era. the Stereo Fidelity LP of Robert Hunter [under the pseudonym of "Georges Montalba"] "stereo fantasy in pipe organ and percussion" was also an exceptional sonic specimen for its day, commonly used as a hifi demo record in hifi salons back then.
Great Recordings, Sonically Speaking - and Why.
I think many of us would accept that artists such as Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, and Dire Straits have consistently put out music that was at least originally recorded to a high technical standard. [I'm not too sure what the loudness wars may have done to subsequent reissues, but even so, the tone and timbre thankfully tends to remain intact.]
However there must be plenty of lesser known recordings out there that could be said to be of a high sonic standard.
One such recording that I like to put on in the background whilst I'm doing other things is a piano recording that features wonderfully lush timbre and some delightful tunes.
This one is The Disney Piano Collection by Hirohashi Makiko and to me it makes a lot of other piano recordings sound a little washed out.
However there must be plenty of lesser known recordings out there that could be said to be of a high sonic standard.
One such recording that I like to put on in the background whilst I'm doing other things is a piano recording that features wonderfully lush timbre and some delightful tunes.
This one is The Disney Piano Collection by Hirohashi Makiko and to me it makes a lot of other piano recordings sound a little washed out.