Sorry for the misspelling of the composers name. The auto-correct struck again.
It should read Saint-Saens.
It should read Saint-Saens.
Saint-Sean’s 3rd Symphony
One of the reasons I bought my new GoldenEar Triton 1 speakers is that they have built-in sub-woofers which would enable me to hear the subterranean bass organ tones in the divine second movement of Saint-Sean’s 3rd Symphony. So far, the only recording of the many I’ve heard that fulfills that quest is the Mercury Living Presence disc with Paul Paray conducting. All the other recordings fall short of delivering that magnificent sonority.
I’m wondering if others have experienced that situation in the majority of recordings of this symphony’s 2nd movement, or do I have to start getting some room treatment.
I have no problems with bass in any other recordings. Even solo organ recordings go deep and sound natural and fine. I don’t want to boost the subwoofer controls on the speakers because, any higher than they are causes muddiness in everything else.
I’m wondering if others have experienced that situation in the majority of recordings of this symphony’s 2nd movement, or do I have to start getting some room treatment.
I have no problems with bass in any other recordings. Even solo organ recordings go deep and sound natural and fine. I don’t want to boost the subwoofer controls on the speakers because, any higher than they are causes muddiness in everything else.
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ANY system/room is challenged by that masterpiece. I have several LP versions. A couple faves: The same Mercury Living Presence-Dupray 80’s DG digital recording with the Berlin Phil RCA Living Stereo -Boston Symphony-Munch Only the best treated/dedicated rooms can approximate the experience of hearing this performanc live. I’m sure your Tritons are up to the task, but room treatment is mandatory. My room unfortunately doubles as living space,so for serious listening, I do makeshift damping/reflection management. Almost a religious experience, played loud with a nice glass of wine. |
I’m wondering if others have experienced that situation in the majority of recordings of this symphony’s 2nd movement, or do I have to start getting some room treatment. If you are going to plumb the depths of your system and room, you should definitely: 1 - Get good room treatment, talk to GIK Acoustics and look at their soffit traps. 2 - Consider an EQ for the LFE input. The deeper you go, the bigger the dragons. Subwoofers can open up most music, so if you are only hearing it with one particular recording, I'd say it's probably not set up fully. |
My personal favorite of this Camille Saint-Saens piece is Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim on Deutsche Grammophon. It has an energetic quality that I like and the organ, piano and orchestral instruments are all very well captured with large dynamics. Get it on vinyl! https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Saens-Symphony-Macabre-Bacchanale-Deluge/dp/B0000B09YY/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_1... |
Thanks for all the recommendations of performances. The Ormandy versions (there are three) all go very deep. Barenboim’s recording is very good in the bass and well balanced in general. The Levine ‘80’s Berlin Philharmonic version on DG was better in the bass than von Karajan’s. I couldn’t find the Murray on Telarc. The best bass presentations on my system were the classics: the Munch and the Paray. erik_squires, I noticed GIK Acoustics when I did some research recently. I’m not sure I need the treatment based on all the recordings I sampled. Some were quite adequate. I suppose some room treatment would be beneficial, but I’m not sure if it would be cost effective. |