| Columns Retired Columns & Blogs |
March 9, 2007 - 2:01am
#1
Truly excellent recordings by non-audiophile labels
| Loudspeakers Amplification Digital Sources | |
Analog Sources Accessories Featured | |
Music Columns Retired Columns | |
Show Reports | |
Features Latest News Community | |
Resources Subscriptions |
© 2024 StereophileAVTech Media Americas Inc., USA
All rights reserved
"Oh, and Red Book only please, no SACD player chez moi at the moment. " Ah but most SACDs will play on your RedBook player because they are hybrids.
Kal
Kal,
You're quite right of course, however I haven't yet seen them hit the price-points that the (presumably higher volume) pure red-book programme is reaching.
Anyway, I'm more than happy leaving this open to any disc with a red-book layer that meets the criteria and can be had at sub-audiophile label prices.
The Nakamichi/J
Wouldn't Harmonia Mundi count as an audiophile label? In any case, I've recommended this release in the past in the forums, but, it's worth mentioning again:
S
I missed the price criterion.
Kal
Jeff,
Of course it would, at least judged by every parameter except price. Maybe I should have just said great sounding discs that can be had for south of $20 and made this whole thing a lot simpler!
I suppose I was trying to accomplish two things, the price criterion, and also highlighting discs that folks might not expect to sound great because they weren't produced by an 'audiophile' label. If I pony up for an expensive disc from Acoustic Sounds I damn well expect it to sound great! I guess I didn't straighten this out in my own mind before committing fingers to keyboard and the result was ambiguity, which I then compounded with my own recommendation.
So, let's say price/availability is the principal criterion and if the disc is a real stunner but from a major label (which usually means variable quality) then so much the better!
That must mean I can go again!
Soooo....Leif Ove Andsnes's Haydn Piano Sonatas (EMI Classics 7243 5 56756 2 0).
One of the best recordings of the Boston Symphony I've heard is Strauss: Don Quixote (Ma, Ozawa) on Sony. It really captures the feeling of a concert hall. (Maybe this is cheating, since the engineer was Jack Renner of Telarc<g>).
Only two? How about volumes 1 & 2 of Michel Beroff's Debussy cycle on Denon. Superb sound, superb playing (though leaner and more pointed than some Debussy fans may like) and a nice price. (Also - see my recent thread on Nancarrow. That's three, but I can't help it.)
-
Thanks Todd! Your restraint was admirable!
Ben Harper's "The Will to Live" has some engaging cuts and it's very well recorded. I often use it to audition equipment because of its musical complexity and excellent quality. The stereo separation in the beginning of the tenth track, "Glory and Consequence", is so robust that you might think you accidentally twisted your balance knob fully to one side. I highly recommend it.
Oops! Sorry, guys, I just saw that this was in the "Classical" section. I quite enjoy Haydn's first and second cello concertos, performed by Yo-Yo Ma and the English Chamber Orchestra and released by Sony Classical. But, then, I'm a sucker for cello.