dCS Varese short review

[Ron Resnick]

What also should not be forgotten is that the marketing slogan "Perfect Sound Forever" was not necessarily aimed at audiophiles. It was aimed at the mass market of regular music lovers where the real money was to be made by the music industry.

And regular music lovers (including all my non-audiophile friends and acquaintances) could not have been happier to make the switch quickly and forget about their LPs which did not sound that good on their, by audiophile standards, mediocre vinyl playback setups.

+1

 

[Ron Resnick]

Perhaps suffering is part of the vinyl experience? Like the tango, this is vinyl, you must suffer to understand.

I think "suffering" is overwrought. Inconvenient, tweaky, organic, hard-to-see grooves, easy to break? Yes.

(Since I don't know how to do anything to my tape machine except to turn it on and off, I find tapes more convenient than vinyl.)

 

[Ron Resnick]

I’m waiting for streaming to get better and cheaper.

How much better and cheaper can streaming get? Qobuz is high resolution for $12.99 a month. I think that's pretty cheap for unlimited access to 100 million tracks.

 

[Al M.]

Did you ever own records and a record player?

Yes, I did, in my teenage years and twenties. Listened to them all the time. Loved the music, hated the clicks and pops. The arrival of the CD was a great relief.

The reason I heard most often cited during the arrival of digital, by audiophiles selling off their record collections for the CD format, was not about superior sonics, but their records were noisey and scratchy and CD was not. The advent of modern day record cleaning and preservation (post Discwasher) came well after the digital era had begun. It is keeping vinyl viable.

To a degree. The clicks and pops never go away completely. Funny thing is, when vinyl-loving friends complain about noisy records (usually cleaned ones, that is), the noise doesn't bother me as much as them. I enjoy their vinyl no less. If it were *my* records on *my* system though, it probably would drive me absolutely crazy -- just like it did in my younger years.

And maybe it's not a digital 'era' quite yet as digital has not replaced vinyl as a succeeding technology after how many years?.

Digital practically did replace it. Almost all vinyl pressed today is from digital masters, so it's digital.

Vinyl's problem is the diminishing availability of high quality recordings of high quality performances. So-called golden era recordings are kinda like NOS tubes with the re-mastered versions fairing only so-so while original master tapes don't get any younger.

The modern all-analog Tone Poet series from Blue Note tends to produce excellent, vibrant sounding releases. No apparent problem with the age of the tapes.

One thing vinyl has going for it is a standardized media and specification for it's playback.

So does physical Redbook CD which I listen to.

 

[PeterA]

How much better and cheaper can streaming get? Qobuz is high resolution for $12.99 a month. I think that's pretty cheap for unlimited access to 100 million tracks.

Streaming as a complete digital source so including DAC. I just don’t like Digital enough to spend much money on it.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Streaming as a complete digital source so including DAC. I just don’t like Digital enough to spend much money on it.

My entire digital set-up, which sounds surprisingly good, costs less than $10,000. (I have been listening to this set-up several hours a day while the Italians settle into America.)

 

[wil]

Basically Lampi Dacs....

No

 

[marty]

Almost all vinyl pressed today is from digital masters, so it's digital.

+1. I don't understand why everyone doesn't understand this? In my view, buying a TT to play LPs that were made with a digital process to some degree is just self-defeating if the goal is to capture "analog" sound. The only people who should by a TT if they don't already own a significant LP collection are those who plan to buy used LPs from the "golden age" (~58-80) and don't mind that their choices are but a fraction of the music that is available digitally.

 

[Al M.]

+1. I don't understand why everyone doesn't understand this?

Denial.

Some (many) audiophiles take pride in, and feel confirmed by, in the current vinyl resurgence, and this brutal fact pours cold water on that pride and reassurance.

Thus, denial it is.

In my view, buying a TT to play LPs that were made with a digital process to some degree is just self-defeating if the goal is to capture "analog" sound.

Of course. This should be self-evident.

The only people who should by a TT if they don't already own a significant LP collection are those who plan to buy used LPs from the "golden age" (~58-80) and don't mind that their choices are but a fraction of the music that is available digitally.

And/or great all-analog reissues. I mentioned the Tone Poet series from Blue Note as an example. The TOS series (The Original Source) from Deutsche Grammophon would be another. But again, those are all old recordings, too.

 

[bonzo75]

But perhaps like a vegetarian never eating meat, Bonzo has never heard Digital. But I doubt it.

It’s there other way round. It’s like asking a guy on a high protein meeat and fish diet (accompanied with fruit, veggies, and grains) what is his favourite potato

 

[tima]

The clicks and pops never go away completely.

Only on damaged records. If you know how to care for a new record this is not a problem.

I don't understand why everyone doesn't understand this?

Knowledgeable record collectors do understand. I don't think it has diminished the enjoyment of analog playback, particularly when such a remaster is the only way to obtain certain rare or otherwise unobtainable performances on LP. I"m not as liturgical on this issue as some; I place performances before other stuff. Nonetheless contemporary AAA releases tend to be very popular as evidenced by DG's recent 'The Original Source' series.

 

[thedudeabides]

Streaming as a complete digital source so including DAC. I just don’t like Digital enough to spend much money on it.

Peter, maybe I'm misunderstanding. Are you saying you don't have a digital streaming source? If true, how do you access new music?

 

[tima]

Peter, maybe I'm misunderstanding. Are you saying you don't have a digital streaming source? If true, how do you access new music?

I"m not Peter but I believe you can find your answer in his profile.

Can you suggest a few new classical music performances only available via streaming that are 'must haves'?

There's new music and new-to-me music.

 

[bonzo75]

Peter, maybe I'm misunderstanding. Are you saying you don't have a digital streaming source? If true, how do you access new music?

You don’t need an audiophile system to access new music. In many ways you will be better off listening to music on a non audiophile system and then tracking down the best quality vinyl if you like that music. If it does not exist on good quality vinyl, continue to listen to it on a non audiophile system.

 

[dcc]

Can you suggest a few new classical music performances only available via streaming that are 'must haves'?

Yes and hundreds of them if you are into baroque/ancient music. This is the very reason why I have a digital rig at home though I tend to define myself as an analog guy.

Even for the classical era, there are some digital performances that I would take as my must have over all the analog versions I have.

To name just a few:

The Complete Haydn string quartets by Festitics
The Complete Haydn piano solo work by Brautigam
The Beethoven Cello sonatas by Queyras and Melnikov that beats Rostropovich/Richter, Du Pré/Barenboim, Fournier/Gulda etc.
The complete Mozart violin sonatas by Podger and Cooper
The complete piano solo work of Debussy by Bavouzet

 

[tima]

To name just a few:

The Complete Haydn string quartets by Festitics
The Complete Haydn piano solo work by Brautigam
The Beethoven Cello sonatas by Queyras and Melnikov that beats Rostropovich/Richter, Du Pré/Barenboim, Fournier/Gulda etc.
The complete Mozart violin sonatas by Podger and Cooper
The complete piano solo work of Debussy by Bavouzet

Thanks for that. You have given me solid reccomendatios in the past.

 

[bonzo75]

Yes and hundreds of them if you are into baroque/ancient music. This is the very reason why I have a digital rig at home though I tend to define myself as an analog guy.

Even for the classical era, there are some digital performances that I would take as my must have over all the analog versions I have.

To name just a few:

The Complete Haydn string quartets by Festitics
The Complete Haydn piano solo work by Brautigam
The Beethoven Cello sonatas by Queyras and Melnikov that beats Rostropovich/Richter, Du Pré/Barenboim, Fournier/Gulda etc.
The complete Mozart violin sonatas by Podger and Cooper
The complete piano solo work of Debussy by Bavouzet

Mozart Violin Sonatas by Grumiaux Clara Haskil is one of Philips finest, and second editions are not even that expensive.
The best Beethoven cello sonatas are by Hoelscher Elly Ney but way expensive, and Rosty Richter second and third editions are a great price and sonics. For piano works only if one insists on a box set of piano works, rather than collating the pieces separately.

 

[dcc]

Mozart Violin Sonatas by Grumiaux Clara Haskil is one of Philips finest, and second editions are not even that expensive.
The best Beethoven cello sonatas are by Hoelscher Elly Ney but way expensive, and Rosty Richter second and third editions are a great price and sonics. For piano works only if one insists on a box set of piano works, rather than collating the pieces separately.

Except that you only have two LPs and not the complete opus (I have them in multiple copies). You can also take the Grumiaux/Klein boxset (still not the complete opus) but... it is a digital recording. It sounds wonderful so I don't care.

 

[microstrip]

(...) (Since I don't know how to do anything to my tape machine except to turn it on and off, I find tapes more convenient than vinyl.)

We have to clean heads regularly, and if we listen a lot, heads must replaced / relapped from time to time. Standard Studer heads have a typical life time of 2000 hours, and usually can be relapped one or two times. Unfortunately some machines have counters for time being on, not playing/recording time, professionals usually keep a log of playback/recording hours and periodically check their machines for frequency response.

I would not risk tapes of unknown quality or provenance in my machines - some old tapes are known to be particularly abrasive.

 

[microstrip]

+1. I don't understand why everyone doesn't understand this? In my view, buying a TT to play LPs that were made with a digital process to some degree is just self-defeating if the goal is to capture "analog" sound. The only people who should by a TT if they don't already own a significant LP collection are those who plan to buy used LPs from the "golden age" (~58-80) and don't mind that their choices are but a fraction of the music that is available digitally.

In general, the vinyl resurgence is a non-audiophile, mainly behavioural / social movement. People buy vinyl for the pleasure of buying something with nice covers, handling it, the ritual of playing it and keeping it.

Nice to read that you consider that "golden age" covers almost all of the stereo LP recording period!