Paul Chang
03-18-2002, 03:35 PM
I asked my good friend Robert Pincus about his opinion on paying top dollars for four TAS Super Discs.
Pink Floyd/The Wall - Japanese CBS/Sony 40AP 1750~1
Bizet/Carmen (von Karajan/Vienna) - RCA LDS 6164
Prokofiev/Romeo & Juliet (Maazel/Cleveland) - British Decca SXL 6020-2
Delibes/Coppelia (Dorati/Minneapolis) - Mercury SR2-9005
With his permission (encouragement actually), I'm posting his reply here unedited.
FYI. Robert aka Mr. Record is the music expert at Cisco Music (not the one that provides networking solutions) and he can be reached at (818) 884-2234. He does not have a direct number but he should. He is an avid record collector and audiophile (not the lazy kind ;)).
Dear Paul,
As far as the titles below are concerned, you're talking to the wrong guy for an opinion on Pink Floyd's Wall. It always sounded disco crap to me. I was never impressed by the music or the sound. I haven't a clue which version is the best.
As far as the rest is concerned, I would never pay those prices! Yes, I know that dealers get these kind of prices, and people are glad to pay them too, but, Paul, I've been there and done those!!!! The Karajan Carmen was
NEVER pressed on good vinyl. It's full of pre-echo, and the dynamic range is squashed! Is this what you want?
As far as Romeo and Juliet is concerned, does having 3 versions make you
happier? Maazel's great Decca's are the ones he made in the 60s, in the city of Vienna! Do you have the Super Analogue Sibelius 2nd or the STUNNING Fidelio? The Fidelio isn't particularly rare, and it's one of the finest
sounding opera sets ever recorded. The only reason people aren't clamoring to get it is because it hasn't made it to anybody's list, yet! The only Maazel/Cleveland recording I like is his Respighi album. It kills that compressed to crap/overrated Reiner recording, and in ALL HONESTY, the new Decca CD is fabulous. However, it's only fabulous to those who know and ACCEPT the good and bad qualities of '70s multi-miked recordings. The best vinyl version I've heard is the Mofi UHQR. The regular Mofi version is a joke, but if you think I'd pay the kind of money people ask for that record, you're thinking of somebody else! If I found a UHQR it would go directly to Better Records!
The Mercury is a wonderful performance and the sound is very punchy. However, at that price it had better be really quiet. The Golden import has MUCH better string tone, at a slight sacrifice in punch. As decent strings mean a lot to me, I kept the Golden Import.
Robert
Pink Floyd/The Wall - Japanese CBS/Sony 40AP 1750~1
Bizet/Carmen (von Karajan/Vienna) - RCA LDS 6164
Prokofiev/Romeo & Juliet (Maazel/Cleveland) - British Decca SXL 6020-2
Delibes/Coppelia (Dorati/Minneapolis) - Mercury SR2-9005
With his permission (encouragement actually), I'm posting his reply here unedited.
FYI. Robert aka Mr. Record is the music expert at Cisco Music (not the one that provides networking solutions) and he can be reached at (818) 884-2234. He does not have a direct number but he should. He is an avid record collector and audiophile (not the lazy kind ;)).
Dear Paul,
As far as the titles below are concerned, you're talking to the wrong guy for an opinion on Pink Floyd's Wall. It always sounded disco crap to me. I was never impressed by the music or the sound. I haven't a clue which version is the best.
As far as the rest is concerned, I would never pay those prices! Yes, I know that dealers get these kind of prices, and people are glad to pay them too, but, Paul, I've been there and done those!!!! The Karajan Carmen was
NEVER pressed on good vinyl. It's full of pre-echo, and the dynamic range is squashed! Is this what you want?
As far as Romeo and Juliet is concerned, does having 3 versions make you
happier? Maazel's great Decca's are the ones he made in the 60s, in the city of Vienna! Do you have the Super Analogue Sibelius 2nd or the STUNNING Fidelio? The Fidelio isn't particularly rare, and it's one of the finest
sounding opera sets ever recorded. The only reason people aren't clamoring to get it is because it hasn't made it to anybody's list, yet! The only Maazel/Cleveland recording I like is his Respighi album. It kills that compressed to crap/overrated Reiner recording, and in ALL HONESTY, the new Decca CD is fabulous. However, it's only fabulous to those who know and ACCEPT the good and bad qualities of '70s multi-miked recordings. The best vinyl version I've heard is the Mofi UHQR. The regular Mofi version is a joke, but if you think I'd pay the kind of money people ask for that record, you're thinking of somebody else! If I found a UHQR it would go directly to Better Records!
The Mercury is a wonderful performance and the sound is very punchy. However, at that price it had better be really quiet. The Golden import has MUCH better string tone, at a slight sacrifice in punch. As decent strings mean a lot to me, I kept the Golden Import.
Robert