feinstein
02-05-2002, 07:52 PM
I just received my copy of Capitol's 40th Anniversary release of Judy At Carnegie Hall and had the chance to listen to it versus the DCC Gold Release of the same album. Here's the results of my listening comparison.
1) The performance is fantastic and entertains incredibly. Judy Garland was hilarious and bawdy as a performer.
2) Both releases suffered from a very "boxy" quality to Judy's voice. Steve managed to "expand" it a little bit, but her voice sounded constrained, almost like she was singing into a box. Perhaps the idiotic noise reduction which the Capitol release had accenuated this "boxy" feeling that Judy's vocal track had.
3) The DCC release had a superior stereo image. The orchestra had a better "spread" and three dimensionality on the DCC. The Capitol release seemed to have incredible directionality (ping-pong stereo) whereas the DCC had a real stereo image to the orchestra.
4) Both releases sounded as though the mikes were "crowding" the stage. It sounded like I was sitting on the stage with Judy and the orchestra. There was no "15th row center" perspective that I would have heard on a good Living Stereo or Living Presence record.
5) The DCC release had a more tube-like character to it (fuller, more balanced). The Capitol left my ears ringing after the first CD whereas I experienced no listening fatigue from the DCC release (which I listened to about 2 hours later).
6) One reviewer on the Judy Garland fan site claimed that the DCC emphasized Judy way too much over the orchestra. IMHO, the center track could have been turned way down on BOTH releases to good effect (reducing the emphasis on Judy's vocal track). This may have given the entirre recording a slightly more distant "living presence" perspective.
7) In conclusion, the DCC won hands down. Pick up a copy (even though it's too high-priced) for the definitive version of an incredible performance.
My system:
Sony SCD-1 SACD player with filter 3 on.
Marantz 7C preamp
Marantz 9 amps in triode mode
Fulton "J" loudspeakers
1) The performance is fantastic and entertains incredibly. Judy Garland was hilarious and bawdy as a performer.
2) Both releases suffered from a very "boxy" quality to Judy's voice. Steve managed to "expand" it a little bit, but her voice sounded constrained, almost like she was singing into a box. Perhaps the idiotic noise reduction which the Capitol release had accenuated this "boxy" feeling that Judy's vocal track had.
3) The DCC release had a superior stereo image. The orchestra had a better "spread" and three dimensionality on the DCC. The Capitol release seemed to have incredible directionality (ping-pong stereo) whereas the DCC had a real stereo image to the orchestra.
4) Both releases sounded as though the mikes were "crowding" the stage. It sounded like I was sitting on the stage with Judy and the orchestra. There was no "15th row center" perspective that I would have heard on a good Living Stereo or Living Presence record.
5) The DCC release had a more tube-like character to it (fuller, more balanced). The Capitol left my ears ringing after the first CD whereas I experienced no listening fatigue from the DCC release (which I listened to about 2 hours later).
6) One reviewer on the Judy Garland fan site claimed that the DCC emphasized Judy way too much over the orchestra. IMHO, the center track could have been turned way down on BOTH releases to good effect (reducing the emphasis on Judy's vocal track). This may have given the entirre recording a slightly more distant "living presence" perspective.
7) In conclusion, the DCC won hands down. Pick up a copy (even though it's too high-priced) for the definitive version of an incredible performance.
My system:
Sony SCD-1 SACD player with filter 3 on.
Marantz 7C preamp
Marantz 9 amps in triode mode
Fulton "J" loudspeakers