If you are using a dedicated mono set up (Miya zero etc), please recommend Mono classical LPs
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If you are using a dedicated mono set up (Miya zero etc), please recommend Mono classical LPs
I have quite a collection of early Phillips Minigroove, many of them come up very well. (Series dates from the early 50s I think). Mainly Lieder and Chamber Music from my perspective, but also some orchestral stuff if that's your bag (on the whole that stuff it not really of interest to me though an exception would be Furtwangler or Walter's doing Beethoven symphones). Some good early EMI/HMV Lieder recordings. DG can be variable in terms of pressings, but some of it's good.
A substantial chunk of my classical LPs from this period are Lieder - early Fischer-Dieskau, Hermann Prey, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Gerard Souzay (his early mono recordings on Phillips are so much better than the stereo ones from the 60s), Kisten Flagstatt, many random others.
Some of the very early stuff especially from the likes of Columbia needs re-equalisation or it won't sound that great. This can apply to the others as well up till the late 50s but I find Columbia improves the most when I correct for pre-RIAA equalisation.
There are some fabulous chamber music recordings around, Cassals, Vegh, Serkin, Menuhun from the 1950s. Good organ music too.
Most of the early LP Baroque ensemble or vocal stuff is utterly terrible/unlistenable - pianos for harpsichords, idiotically slow tempi, utterly stupid instrumentations, warbling massed choirs and this persisted right through the 1960s ... thank god for the early music revival of the 1970s.
I'm not recommending individual recordings as it's all about what you like.
Watch out for 78 reissues, some of this stuff is of historic interest but sound quality of a lot of the early reissues leaves a lot to be desired. They can do so much more with these recordings nowadays with digital clean-up techniques, see the Pristine Classical site.
I like all of this stuff. I go to around 50 concerts a year in London from chamber to Leider to orchestral. But I don't want to go overboard with vinyl purchases so looking to build up a steady collection on recommendations.
Drop round sometime we'll have a mono session.Quote:
Originally Posted by bonzo
I had some early Elvis (and Charlie Parker) 78s.......I guess they're 'classical' in a way?
The bottom is falling out of the Elvis market I read but the Charlie Parker would still be in demand I suspect. Good jazz 78s are a lot of fun to play with.
Will do. What's your nearest station, and how far are you from it? Also please PM me your ph no.Quote:
Originally Posted by montesquieu
Classical fans, don't you find that the surface noise of vinyl is a major problem when playing classical? There is so much silence in the music that every crackle and pop is audible - I find it unlistenable.
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One reason why CD caught on initially fastest with classical listeners.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crackles
However a decent setup will minimise all this:
- a good record cleaning machine like a Loricraft will clean the grooves out
- a quality cartridge with an appropriate stylus profile - stylus and cantilever design have an enormous impact on how loudly imperfections are picked up and transmitted
- a decent tonearm - noise can be attenuated/controlled or amplified through resonances, depending on tonearm quality
- record decks can also make things worse or better in the way noise is damped or reflected
- phono stage/SUT - the electrical response of the phono stage will determine whether noise is quickly passed over or lingered on and made worse, phono stages also contribute hiss and other noise that can exacerbate problems with noisy vinyl. A good phono stage will help with noise not make things worse.
Of course there's no substitute for pristine vinyl but I hear very little difference after a few plays between new vinyl/reissues and well cared for older vinyl that's kept clean. I won't say I have no issues, I have acquired damaged vinyl over the years (second hand stuff) that is indeed unplayable, but 99.9% of the time it's fine and if it's not, a clean will usually fix the issue.
All good points. With my own setup I don't normally have a problem with noise except with the odd second hand or badly pressed record, but with classical I always find it a problem. Maybe I've just bought bad classical vinyl.Quote:
Originally Posted by montesquieu
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