Can digital get to vinyl sound and at what price?

[bonzo75]

no, it does not. it depends on which later pressings you are comparing. to which earlier pressings. i realize that some of those spendy rare early pressings are wonderful. but none the less i also can hear how the quality of some types of classical pressings gets better and better especially with the the original instruments. that area of classical got better both performances and process over time through the latest later 80's one's i have.

so we are both right. i'm not diminishing the quality of what you refer to. it's not the same music.

i can only speak to my experience. it's not comprehensive. but it's not nothing.

i went into this project expecting to reject the later pressings as lesser, but i found they mostly were the best ones for the original instruments. certainly on par at least with the earlier ones. lots of really great London's and RCA's (more later compositions) that sounded very good too, but would expect that the originals were likely mostly better. but was happy to have them.

Please put the pics of 2 examples of LPs you think the later pressing is better than the earlier pressing.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Please put the pics of 2 examples of LPs you think the later pressing is better than the earlier pressing.

it will not be of the same recording. but when i get around to it i will do what i can. the original instrument recordings i'm referring to don't normally have reissues. it will be where i'm listening to an 80's pressing expecting it to sound marginal, and it's really fine. and even later 80's also carry that trend as they get better and better at it. which was a surprise. and i saw more of these type recordings the later i went. very few in the 60's, more in the 70's, then even more in the late 70's and deep into the 80's.

maybe there were lots of original instrument recordings in the 50's and 60's that are the rare spendy one's and those are unknown to me? and then there are lesser reissues of those? i don't know what i don't know. reading the jackets i did not see any reference to any of that. the early music and original instrument movement seemed to gather momentum in the 70's, late 70's and 80's. that the opportunity of the Lp prompted the focus to look back and recapture the true sound of the early music and early instruments. but it took a couple decades and some champions to launch it. which is why it took until the 70's to get going.

and i'm told it's continuing now with digital where the current original instrument recordings on digital are the best ever. i don't personally know about that myself. just very happy with the slice of it i've had dropped in my lap.

 

[bonzo75]

it will not be of the same recording. but when i get around to it i will do what i can. the original instrument recordings i'm referring to don't normally have reissues.

The reason I asked is, when you go to old recordings, or when people to refer to originals, it is not ALL the originals, but there is a whole pool of LPs - some in the pool could be from Decca, some from HMV, some RCA, etc. There are some reasonably hundreds to thousands of well-known such performances and their associated pressings, so I would be surprised if for those you found a better say Decca in the 70s.

Now, if you are comparing different performances that is different. It is quite possible for certain classical pieces decca had bad 'uns in their golden era as did other labels.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

The reason I asked is, when you go to old recordings, or when people to refer to originals, it is not ALL the originals, but there is a whole pool of LPs - some in the pool could be from Decca, some from HMV, some RCA, etc. There are some reasonably hundreds to thousands of well-known such performances and their associated pressings, so I would be surprised if for those you found a better say Decca in the 70s.

i'm sure you have a grip on this stuff leagues beyond me. i never even tried to play in that sandbox. i get the general thing you are referring to. i own plenty of the reissues of those recordings and enjoy them in my ignorance.

Now, if you are comparing different performances that is different. It is quite possible for certain classical pieces decca had bad 'uns in their golden era as did other labels.

and again; the recordings you are referring to are not the one's i am referring to. few of my pressings are 50's or early 60's recordings. some of them are and for those i do agree that (1) i don't know what i'm talking about, and (2) i don't have and have not pursued the originals.

 

[adrianywu]

it will not be of the same recording. but when i get around to it i will do what i can. the original instrument recordings i'm referring to don't normally have reissues. it will be where i'm listening to an 80's pressing expecting it to sound marginal, and it's really fine. and even later 80's also carry that trend as they get better and better at it. which was a surprise. and i saw more of these type recordings the later i went. very few in the 60's, more in the 70's, then even more in the late 70's and deep into the 80's.

maybe there were lots of original instrument recordings in the 50's and 60's that are the rare spendy one's and those are unknown to me? and then there are lesser reissues of those? i don't know what i don't know. reading the jackets i did not see any reference to any of that. the early music and original instrument movement seemed to gather momentum in the 70's, late 70's and 80's. that the opportunity of the Lp prompted the focus to look back and recapture the true sound of the early music and early instruments. but it took a couple decades and some champions to launch it. which is why it took until the 70's to get going.

and i'm told it's continuing now with digital where the current original instrument recordings on digital are the best ever. i don't personally know about that myself. just very happy with the slice of it i've had dropped in my lap.

If you are talking about original instrument performances, which only became popular since the late 1970s, then there are certainly great recordings from specialist labels such as Harmonia Mundi, L'Oiseau-Lyre, Archiv and Chando just to name a few. Many Harmonia Mundi recordings from that era are demonstration quality. What I was referring to is more relevant to the older labels such as Decca, EMI, RCA and Mercury; their decline in quality has a lot to do with their corporate culture of maximising profits in that era. The book "Life and Death of Classical Music" by Norman Lebrecht gives a wonderful account of the inside story of these companies from the early days to the modern era. He blames the bosses in charge of these venerable labels during that era for killing the classical music industry.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

If you are talking about original instrument performances, which only became popular since the late 1970s, then there are certainly great recordings from specialist labels such as Harmonia Mundi, L'Oiseau-Lyre, Archiv and Chando just to name a few. Many Harmonia Mundi recordings from that era are demonstration quality.

yes, i was. more than half of the collection was these type pressings.

What I was referring to is more relevant to the older labels such as Decca, EMI, RCA and Mercury; their decline in quality has a lot to do with their corporate culture of maximising profits in that era. The book "Life and Death of Classical Music" by Norman Lebrecht gives a wonderful account of the inside story of these companies from the early days to the modern era. He blames the bosses in charge of these venerable labels during that era for killing the classical music industry.

fair enough.