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SACD/CD Question

I've got a question for you SACD guys. I don't have SACD, but have a high-quality two-channel system. I recently bought my first so-called hybrid compatible CD/SACD, a Sony recording, made live in the Berlin Philharmonie in 2002, of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto played by Arcadi Volodos, with the Berlin Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa. I have no idea what this one sounds like on an SACD system, but on my two-channel system the orchestral sound is just conspicuously AWFUL! This was all the more surprising to me because I'd earlier bought the same pianist's performance of the Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto, also recorded live, in the same hall, in 1999, with the same orchestra under James Levine, also on Sony (but with a different recording engineer), and this one's NOT a hybrid compatible CD/SACD but a plain stereo CD, and it sounds just fine. Can anyone shed some light on what is going on here? I'm reluctant now to buy any more so-called hybrid compatible CD/SACD discs after getting burned.
texasdave

Showing 1 response by rtn1

rtn1
535 posts
 
The acoustics for Berlin recordings are sometimes problematic. For a blazing Tchaikovsky #1 in great sound consider Argerich with Chailly. She sometimes drives the music too hard, but excells with Russian composers. Look for the older edition on Phillips with Rachmaninov #3. I believe the newly remastered version of Rach #3 on Philips 50 has deleted the Tchaikovsky #1.

I also like Pletnev on Virgin, which contains all the Tchaikovsky piano concertos. There's others to consider, but these have great sound. Sell your Volodos on Amazon marketplace.

Also, if you want to get the best out of your redbook CDs, consider Walker Audio Vivid Enhancer.

Rob
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