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  • Speakers Corner - Classical reissues

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ID:	16467 i have most of the Mercury's and just started getting the Decca collection. Listening to Stravinsky - Petrushka- Ansermet SXL 2011. Wow...so clear, robust and dynamic. Hoping the rest of the series is this good. Super good pressings...flat and quiet.
    Last edited by rockitman; 05-27-2016, 12:23 AM.
    Christian
    System Gear

  • #2
    all of the SXL 2000 series reissues are superb with very few duds.

    better you discovered them now than never, so get 'em while you can. some are already out of print and fetch a c-note or more on ebay.

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks Rob. Great recordings and performances(DECCA). Nice to get out of the RCA house.
      Christian
      System Gear

      Comment


      • #4
        Speakers Corner does a bang-up job with their Deccas; they're capable of rivaling QRP.

        Comment


        • #5
          Not really into Classical, but I have high regard for the Speakers Corner pressings. Hope you enjoy your purchases Christian!
          Dynavector DV20x2L MC cartridge - Genesis G7.1f speakers - Marantz Reference PM-KI-Pearl Int. Amp. - Oracle Audio Paris MkV turntable - Various Morrow & Valab/King cables

          Comment


          • #6
            Just ordered more titles last night.

            Peter Maag / Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream

            Clifford Curzon / Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1

            Pierino Gamba / Rossini Overtures

            Jacques Loussier / Play Bach No. 1

            Aram Khachaturian / Spartacus & Gayaneh

            Horenstein/ Hindemith / Bruch: Scottish Fantasia/ Hindemith: Violin Concerto

            Borodin Quartet / Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 in D/ Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8, op. 110

            Kiril Kondrashin / Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante/ David & Igor Oistrakh, viola & violin

            I may like the DECCA sound better than the RCA Living Stereo sound.


            Christian
            System Gear

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by rockitman View Post
              Just ordered more titles last night.

              Peter Maag / Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream

              Clifford Curzon / Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1

              Pierino Gamba / Rossini Overtures

              Jacques Loussier / Play Bach No. 1

              Aram Khachaturian / Spartacus & Gayaneh

              Horenstein/ Hindemith / Bruch: Scottish Fantasia/ Hindemith: Violin Concerto

              Borodin Quartet / Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 in D/ Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8, op. 110

              Kiril Kondrashin / Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante/ David & Igor Oistrakh, viola & violin

              I may like the DECCA sound better than the RCA Living Stereo sound.

              Deccas, like all the classical labels of the day, vary widely in sound depending upon where they were recorded, whether they used 1/2 speed mastering (say in the beginning) that some feel affected the bass negatively, before or after they changed from directional to omni mikes or of course, tubes to solid-state, mastering engineer, pressing, etc. Of course, the best of breed were the Wilkie/Kingsway Hall recordings.

              I think the RCA's strength was their tone (with the CSO having one of, if not the best, string section in the world), midrange and perspective--not to mention recording two or two of the best orchestras in the world (BSO and CSO). On the other hand, the Deccas were a little more spot lit. RCA just had the best seat in the hall but what they lacked low end extensions (some were really bass shy) and dynamics.

              Just some quick off the cuff comment on the different labels:

              Mercury: Great dynamics, sense of space and low end. Little close up and biggest achille's heel was their string sound.

              RCA (US): Great mids and tone, almost perfect hall perspective and sense of hall. Weak point: low end and rolled off upper frequencies and dynamics.

              Decca: Great hall sound, soloists little spot lit. At their best, lush, liquid recordings; at their worst, say with Maazel and Vienna recording (or Israeli recordings that are the worst sound), wirey and hard sounding. Some composers seem to get better sound here such as Britten. Pretty much all of his recordings are top notch. The Royal Ballet might be string sound at its best.

              EMI: Great sense of hall, multi-miking gives great sense of instrumental sections. Downsides: Music (you have to like English composers), limitations on dynamics.

              Nonesuch: One label that sometimes gets really overlooked. Judiciously multimiked, great extension at both ends of frequency spectrum, transparency, hall sound, dynamics and detail. Downsides: have to like the music and the vinyl (during the oil crisis) left a lot to be desired.

              Lyrita: see Decca (because used Decca engineers). I did think though the Lyritas were a little harder and thinner sounding than the Deccas. And one must like British composers. There are a few UK composers that I like but after a while, the all start sounding the same to me. Arnold, Bax, Bridge, Finzi, Holst, Ireland, Lloyd, Moeran and Vaughn-Williams stick out here.
              Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
              Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
              ________________________________________

              -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
              -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
              -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
              -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
              -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
              -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
              -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
              -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
              -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
              -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

              Comment


              • Guest's Avatar
                Guest commented
                Editing a comment
                Many of the smaller pieces in the Holst repertoire are delightful.
                There's also Delius, Alwyn, and Elgar.
                For a taste of Lyrita, try their 'Lollipops' sampler.
                Near half the catalog was done by Wilkinson.
                more: http://milestomozart.blogspot.com/20...ta-series.html

              • Madfloyd
                Madfloyd commented
                Editing a comment
                Whoah, that link is amazing. I often scour the internet looking for info on classical LPs but have never come across that site before - thanks!

            • #8
              Originally posted by rockitman View Post
              Just ordered more titles last night.

              Peter Maag / Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream
              On HP's list.

              Clifford Curzon / Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1

              Pierino Gamba / Rossini Overtures
              The de Gamba is a wonderful performance. Sound is OK. They pressed a million of these and it's hard to find an early pressing in good shape yet. I've bought four or five copies and they've all been played to death. Ughhh

              Jacques Loussier / Play Bach No. 1

              Aram Khachaturian / Spartacus & Gayaneh

              Horenstein/ Hindemith / Bruch: Scottish Fantasia/ Hindemith: Violin Concerto
              One of the best Decca recordings ever and original as Rob mentioned fetch a mint. This is the one to get from the Tape Project but is no longer available. The tape will make you weep.


              Borodin Quartet / Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 in D/ Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8, op. 110

              Kiril Kondrashin / Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante/ David & Igor Oistrakh, viola & violin

              I may like the DECCA sound better than the RCA Living Stereo sound.

              Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
              Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
              ________________________________________

              -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
              -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
              -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
              -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
              -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
              -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
              -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
              -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
              -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
              -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

              Comment


              • #9
                Originally posted by rockitman View Post
                Just ordered more titles last night.

                Peter Maag / Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream

                Clifford Curzon / Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1

                Pierino Gamba / Rossini Overtures

                Jacques Loussier / Play Bach No. 1

                Aram Khachaturian / Spartacus & Gayaneh

                Horenstein/ Hindemith / Bruch: Scottish Fantasia/ Hindemith: Violin Concerto

                Borodin Quartet / Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 in D/ Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8, op. 110

                Kiril Kondrashin / Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante/ David & Igor Oistrakh, viola & violin

                I may like the DECCA sound better than the RCA Living Stereo sound.


                Nice list, Christian. I have a few SC Decca reissues that I'm happy with. One that didn't ring my bell was the Nutcracker reissue. Some overripe bass, forget which passages. But overall happy with them as a whole.

                Kronos Sparta -> Trinity Phono -> Trinity Pre -> CH Precision A1 -> Magico S7s

                Comment


                • #10
                  Originally posted by MylesBAstor View Post

                  On HP's list.



                  The de Gamba is a wonderful performance. Sound is OK. They pressed a million of these and it's hard to find an early pressing in good shape yet. I've bought four or five copies and they've all been played to death. Ughhh



                  One of the best Decca recordings ever and original as Rob mentioned fetch a mint. This is the one to get from the Tape Project but is no longer available. The tape will make you weep.


                  Thanks for the education !
                  Christian
                  System Gear

                  Comment


                  • #11
                    Originally posted by Rob View Post
                    all of the SXL 2000 series reissues are superb with very few duds.

                    better you discovered them now than never, so get 'em while you can. some are already out of print and fetch a c-note or more on ebay.
                    Which ones are "worthy" and which ones are "valuable" ?

                    I've got over 40 sealed Decca reissues from Speakers Corner that I haven't even opened. And I may not, since I also have over 70 King Super Analogue London reissues waiting on my seal cracking fingers as well. I may need to share the love on some of these LPs.

                    Dre
                    **************************************************
                    Every day is a good day to play analog.
                    - 12" 33-1/3 RPM or 45 RPM vinyl
                    - 10.5" 15ips or 30ips tape
                    **************************************************
                    Every day is a good day for live music.
                    **************************************************
                    Every day is a good day to listen to music.
                    **************************************************
                    Industry Affiliation:
                    Senior Writer, The Absolute Sound
                    **************************************************

                    Comment


                    • #12
                      Originally posted by Dre_J View Post

                      Which ones are "worthy" and which ones are "valuable" ?

                      I've got over 40 sealed Decca reissues from Speakers Corner that I haven't even opened. And I may not, since I also have over 70 King Super Analogue London reissues waiting on my seal cracking fingers as well. I may need to share the love on some of these LPs.

                      Dre
                      hold it, you've got 70 (!) King Super Analogues from Japan (early/mid-nineties) mastered on an all-tube cutting system pressed on 180g vinyl? that's the mother load right there, I wouldn't trade any of those. As far as the SC Deccas are concerned, they will do nothing but appreciate, some of the very best all-analog classical recordings for sound and music. consider yourself blessed. If you must thin the herd, hook up with Christian I'm sure he'll take what you don't want.

                      Comment


                      • #13
                        Originally posted by Rob View Post

                        hold it, you've got 70 (!) King Super Analogues from Japan (early/mid-nineties) mastered on an all-tube cutting system pressed on 180g vinyl? that's the mother load right there, I wouldn't trade any of those. As far as the SC Deccas are concerned, they will do nothing but appreciate, some of the very best all-analog classical recordings for sound and music. consider yourself blessed. If you must thin the herd, hook up with Christian I'm sure he'll take what you don't want.
                        Ok Rob,

                        You've convinced me to keep them all. (I gave the duplicates away a couple years ago)

                        70+ of these things: Click image for larger version

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                        and 40+ of these:
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                        Dre
                        Last edited by Dre_J; 05-31-2016, 09:30 PM.
                        **************************************************
                        Every day is a good day to play analog.
                        - 12" 33-1/3 RPM or 45 RPM vinyl
                        - 10.5" 15ips or 30ips tape
                        **************************************************
                        Every day is a good day for live music.
                        **************************************************
                        Every day is a good day to listen to music.
                        **************************************************
                        Industry Affiliation:
                        Senior Writer, The Absolute Sound
                        **************************************************

                        Comment


                        • #14
                          Originally posted by Dre_J View Post

                          Ok Rob,

                          You've convinced me to keep them all. (I gave the duplicates away a couple years ago)

                          70+ of these things: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n16995[/ATTACH]

                          and 40+ of these:
                          [ATTACH=CONFIG]n16998[/ATTACH]

                          Dre
                          yup, that's them. Cisco dist the Super Analogues way back when. The early series were very classy with hard plastic outer jacket protectors with squared edges and bonded seams. The 2nd series omitted the high grade jacket cover for conventional Japanese resealable mylar covers. I'm not sure if King Records internal catalog numbers changed with each series but jacket covers were identical maybe the OB sleeve was slightly different. yours look to have the later, resealable mylar covers - these are still every bit as good sonically. I have less than 20 of these I nearly had all of them at one time. They're the next best thing to owning a tape copy, dynamics can be off the charts.

                          I'm curious if Larry has theses what he thinks of them.

                          Comment


                          • Dre_J
                            Dre_J commented
                            Editing a comment
                            Hi Rob,

                            All of my Super Analogue Disc LPs have the plastic outer jacket (squared with seams on the sides) that are NOT the resealable mylar but have a flap about 3-4 inches long. There is a small gold colored circular sticker (around 1 1/2" in diameter) to seal the flap on each outer jacket that says "The Super Analogue Disc". I'm not sure if that information helps or confuses things more.

                            Thanks for the information.

                            Dre
                            Last edited by Dre_J; 06-01-2016, 08:44 AM. Reason: added NOT the reasealable mylar

                          • Rob
                            Rob commented
                            Editing a comment
                            You got the good ones, by that I mean the 1st press which sold out quickly. the 2nd press could have been run off worn metal parts/stampers and is a little less good. Hang on to those they are superb. IIRC, new they were about $40 each back then, which was a lot of money around '87-95.

                        • #15


                          #7.1

                          tima commented
                          06-01-2016, 01:08 AM

                          Many of the smaller pieces in the Holst repertoire are delightful.
                          There's also Delius, Alwyn, and Elgar.
                          For a taste of Lyrita, try their 'Lollipops' sampler.
                          Near half the catalog was done by Wilkinson.
                          more: http://milestomozart.blogspot.com/20...ta-series.html
                          Know it's getting a little OT, but on the topic of Holst.

                          Everyone or many know or have this on Argo. Click image for larger version

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                          But there are three other Holst recordings conducted by his daughter that are superlative too. I assume this quartet were all recorded as part of the same project. If you like Holst, you should definitely get ahold of these albums!
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                          Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
                          Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
                          ________________________________________

                          -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
                          -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
                          -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
                          -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
                          -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
                          -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
                          -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
                          -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
                          -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
                          -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

                          Comment

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