Truly Stunning Vinyl Album
Hey friends, I'm relatively new here, first topic post but I read Audiogon topics daily. I'm a total neophyte with a not-inexpensive mid-fi system (Rogue Cronus iii Dark amp, Michel Gyro SE TT, Maggie 3.7i speakers, and a single Perlisten D15s sub, and an Eversolo DMP A8 streamer), and a growing vinyl collection that I'm partial to over streaming (unless I'm working and can't bother to flip the record). I love classic rock, Neil Young, the Stones, and the Grateful Dead, but really I like almost all genres (not into rap or thrasher metal) and since setting up my system I routinely play jazz and classical albums, and artists I never paid much attention to but now listen to quite frequently because their albums sound great on my system (e.g. Jethro Tull, Santana). So with all of that context, what I'm interested in is any TRULY STUNNING vinyl albums you can recommend, in any genre. I'm not asking for a desert island list, or any list of your favorite albums. I have those lists too, but they're dominated by musicians/groups I love and aren't necessarily "stunning" beyond my own subjective tastes. I'm interested in hearing about the one or two albums in your collection that just blow you away for whatever reason (and please explain). I'll kick it off with the Impex reissue of chamber music by Jascha Heifetz in mono, called The Lark. If you had told me that one of the top 3 records in my collection would be a mono chamber music album, I'd have laughed you out of my house. But it just blows me away. I listen to it daily. Why does it blow me away? Mostly it's the opening piece, Heifetz and an organist playing Vitali's Chaconne. It starts off with somber organ tones that I feel in my soul thanks to the Perlisten D15s sub, and then all of a sudden Heifetz comes crashing in with his piercing violin, and it is so darn stunning and beautiful I could listen to it daily until they plant me. And I don't even have a mono cartridge! So that's the type of album I'm looking for, in any genre. Something younwould play for anyone, and regardless of what genre they prefer, they would likely agree this album is truly stunning. Can you recommend anything like that? And in case you're interested, here's a great review of the Heifetz album:
https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/music-reviews/jascha-heifetz-the-lark/
Thanks for any recommendations!
Arthur Salvatore's website, High End Audio, has an extensive list of LPs, all graded for sound. He listens almost exclusively to classical (he claims that there aren't any good sounding rock LPs). His websire is enormous. Most of it is his impressions of performance, mastering, and pressing quality. He does have his preferences listed along with comments so you don't have to wade through all the other stuff (which can very informative). |
The Barbra Streisand Album. (The first one, 1963.)
I was listening to my recently-acquired-at-the-time Dynavector XX2 Mk II (10 years ago), and this was one of the albums I just randomly put on to listen for the Dynavector's capabilities. And I was somewhat shocked, because the sonics were great (wasn't expecting that!), and this was using an NAD 356BEE integrated.
Streisand's voice sounds fantastic (as do most women’s voices using the Dynavector). Roberta Flack’s "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" had vocals that so much resembled the human voice that the friend listening with me asked if this was a new pressing; I showed him the dog-chewed corner on the cover. "1974," I said. He was astounded because, of course, the Dynavector makes one sit up and take notice particularly on voices, both male and female, and especially anything centered between the midbass and the middle of the midrange frequencies. It can be quite forceful - and alternately, delicate - if the sounds being played (such as a flute), are. An exceptional cartridge, and it sure showed on Streisand's album! None of the other Streisand albums sound sonically, like the first one. This album has very little to no dynamic compression, and the noise floor is low enough that you can hear, on "A Taste of Honey," the studio she’s in, and that there are other people in the room with her them moving quietly behind her. All the subtlest dynamic shifts of the voice (and, in this cut, the accompanying instruments) can be heard - even if you were reading an email and only half-listening. It’s petty transparent for a studio album, but then, it was recorded in the ’60s, when sound quality still mattered on some of the major labels. Columbia was decent back then, and that’s what Streisand was signed to at the time.
And the music itself is nothing to sneeze at, either! Poignant, forceful, zany, defiant are just some of the emotions Streisand conveys quite successfully on this record. |
Maria Duenas “Beethoven and Beyond” on Deutsche Grammophon. - Stunning once in a generation musicianship by Maria on violin. - Impeccable recording engineering - flawless vinyl pressing I just saw her solo debut at Weill Recital Hall (Little Carnegie Hall, just to the left of Carnegie Hall, seats maybe 200) with the nearly equally young Russian pianist (21 and 24 respectively) Alexander Malofeev this past Tuesday. I have not seen someone so talented at such a young age since I saw the pianist Mauricio Polini, also at Carnegie, some 50 years ago. She brings a staggeringly aggressive and overpowering energy that shifts gears to equally tender passages with confident ease. Her bow control is unlike anything I have ever heard: she is able to extract multiple textures out of individual notes, even as she bends those very notes, deriving emotional nuances well beyond the reach of lesser artists. If you don’t believe me, read this: https://www.vulture.com/article/maria-duenas-new-york-recital-debut-carnegie-hall-weill.html https://bachtrack.com/review-maria-duenas-alexander-malofeev-carnegie-hall-new-york-october-2024 |
Regarding the MoFi one step. I had been buying MoFi releases for a decade or so. I personally found that they were not always better than if you had a well cared for original pressing. At one point, I found that the sound quality had deteriorated on new releases. I didn’t understand why. But they sounded like digitally mastered vinyl pressings, which tend to be lacking in atmospherics, texture and sometimes even dynamics. And so I stopped buying them. Years later, I heard about the one step controversy. And I said “Heh heh …” |
