texasdave
Responses from texasdave
| Outstanding Drum Performances The Sheffield Drum Record by Sheffield Labs would get my vote as the ultimate reference recording for drums. One cut from it, a 7-minute drum riff by Jim Keltner called "Improvisation," is included in the Usher demonstration CD used and given out ... | |
| "best" version for "Toccata and Fugue D minor? Agree with SDCampbell about the desirability of getting the 3-CD Dorian set by Jean Guillou for only $17 from OHS (and anybody who likes pipe organs should check out OHS anyway). Guillou is an eccentric organist, a kind of Glenn Gould of the organ... | |
| Reference Recordings Is Back Not only is RR back, all their recordings are on sale this month (Nov. 05) for $14.99 at Arkiv Music (www.ArkivMusic.com) and at H&B Recordings Direct (www.hbdirect.com). And you can buy them directly from RR. Welcome back, Reference Recordings! | |
| "best" version for "Toccata and Fugue D minor? I'm a pipe organ buff, so naturally I have a great many versions of this ubiquitous warhorse. If I could keep only one, it would be Michael Murray's on Telarc, played on the great organ of First Congregational Church, Los Angeles. An excellent rec... | |
| Soundtrack to "The Pawnbroker" The film was released in 1965 and the score was by Quincy Jones. Don't know if the soundtrack was released, but I'll bet it was. | |
| The very best new/used under $3k for classical? If I were you and were looking for the best bang for my buck, I'd probably be looking at used Vandersteens or Von Schweikerts. | |
| Breaking in new speakers Yes, there are two good break-in CDs that will enhance/speed up the break-in process (and not just for speakers):(1) Purist Audio Design, System Enhancer (Rev-B). From Purist Audio Design, the high-end cable manufacturer.(2) Irrational but Efficac... | |
| Mozart Trios - Recommendations Yes, here's one more: you can't go wrong with the Beaux Arts Trio recordings of the complete Mozart piano trios on Philips, recorded 1987, a boxed set of 3 CDs. Lovely performances and good sound. | |
| HDCD Lists There was a very recent thread on this subject here on Audiogon. | |
| Avalon Isis If I remember correctly, I believe the piece of product literature I looked at in the Isis demonstration room at RMAF specified efficiency as 87dB. The vocal I heard had excessive sibilance, but this may have been the recording. Would like to have... | |
| classical sampler? Here's a suggestion that some may consider lightweight or frivolous, but it's an inexpensive way to get briefly exposed to a wide variety of classical music. Telarc has produced a series of ten (10) classical sampler CDs (all drawn of course from ... | |
| Discography of Brahms, Piano concerto 1, op. 15 To the two fine classic recommendations of Vvrinc above (Rubinstein/Reiner on RCA and Fleisher/Szell on CBS/Sony), I would add one more "golden oldie": Curzon/Szell on Decca/London (engineered by the great Kenneth Wilkinson). If you seek more rece... | |
| Discography of Brahms, Piano concerto 1, op. 15 These are not "complete discographies" but rather books of selective recommendations of classical recordings that in the opinion of the editors/contributors merit consideration. In the order of their usefulness to me: (1) The Penguin Guide to Comp... | |
| cable break in "Most cable designs offer mostly inconsequential differences [after break-in] in the sonic presentation . . . ." That has not been my experience, and it has not been the experience of other audiophiles I know. | |
| 24-bit 96-kHz remastering of classical I have the Piatigorsky Dvorak Cello Concerto in the RCA Living Stereo remastering of 1993 (with the Walton Cello Concerto). The sound is just fine, and I agree that it's an outstanding recording. Of course your SACD version may be even better. I'l... |