2. music
  3. 1078541747

Living Stereo SACD's are a comin

While at work today (My office is located at a mastering studio) a big box arrived. I watched as the studio manager unpacked it. It contained a treasure the likes of which I have never seen. Dozens of ORIGINAL master tapes from the original LIVING STEREO recordings. I held in my hands THE Master tapes from the Living Stereo Reiner/Chicago Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra and Ravel Daphnis. These weren’t the safeties, they are THE Masters. As you can probably tell I am in awe.

BMG (I think it’s BMG) has decided to release SACD versions of these recordings. It will be new DSD mastering (not redoing the existing PCM masters). How they are done will depend on the master tapes. I am pretty sure that they will not be 5.1

I have nothing to do with this project. I just happen to be there. You can bet your ass I will sit in on some of the sessions and get to listen to the master tapes. Damn sometimes it’s good to be me.

I just thought that some of the classical music lovers would like to know that SACD’s of these great classic recordings are in the works.
hispeedbusa
tfkaudio
591 posts
 
Well, they are here. And there's good news, and there's... more good news. I went to Tower records today to pick up a couple of them, and there were only about 5 left! I asked the guy working the classical section where they all were, and he said there was a run on these discs like he hasn't seen in a long time. Very good news for all of us who hope SACD survives. At $9.99, you gotta be crazy to not grab 'em up. Luckily, they had one copy left of Fritz Reiner and the CSO's Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. That's the one I wanted most.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
I ordered several. It will be interesting to compare the 3-channel mix, which we never had before, with the stereo.
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,689 posts
 
They are excellent. However, not all are 3channel because not all the master tapes were made in 3channel. Also, there are MCH releases that have 2channel-only tracks on the MCH portion and so-labelled 2channel-only releases with bonus MCH (3channel) tracks.

Full details in my November column in Stereophile.

Kal
tfkaudio
591 posts
 
Ditto on excellent. I've listened to the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra disc and the Chopin Ballades/Scherzos by Rubinstein. The Bartok Concerto is ridiculously good. It is in 2 channel, by the way. Also on that disc is "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta" which is in 3 channel. I didn't enjoy it nearly as much. I should note that my center channel speaker is nowhere near the quality of my left and right. That may have had something to do with it. The dynamics on the Rubinstein Chopin disc are astounding. This one also is in 3 channel. There were a couple of "funny" spots in that recording that made me look up at my speakers. I don't know if it was my system, or the recording. I'll post again when I figure it out. I also have the Tchaikovsky 6th Symphony, which I'll get to very soon. Then I'll have to wait for Tower to get a new shipment.

Tom
tfkaudio
591 posts
 
I figured out that the "funny" spots can be attributed to my crappy center channel speaker.
Buyers be warned. The three-channel recordings will tax your center channel.
Now I want to upgrade my CC. Does it ever end? (I know the answer. Sigh)

Don't miss these recordings.

Tom
More to discover