I got a Frederick Fennell directing The Cleveland Symphonic Winds playing Holst: Suite#1 in E-Flat and #2 in F, Handel: Music For The Royal Fireworks and Bach's Fantasia in G.
Its a Telarc Digital recording using Soundstream hardware...The technical consultant and mastering engineer was Stan Ricker (MFSL fame),,,,The technical info: recording was made using 3 Shoepps/Studer transformless omni mics model SKM-52U. signal then to a Studer Model 169 mixer connected directly to the Soundstream digital recorder. Mastering was via the electronics of a newmann VMS-70, SAL-74 cutting system with a SX-74 cutting head...Its half speed setup, using Pyral lacquers and Adamant cutting styli. No filtering, compression, eq, or low freq. xover was used. ....sampling rate was 50,000 samples/sec.

Well, I like reading about the hardware used, and the LP sounds fantastic,,,there is a lot of ambiamce to it....The LP was distributed by Audio Technica

This is an interesting subject - especially now that LP's are making a comeback!

I have several of these and, yes, they seem to sound a bit better -

…… but, it's mostly an illusion as far as I can tell.

Actually, it's more a trick of how you record analog on vinyl.

First, there is no advantage to doing an A->D conversion, manipulating/mixing/etc in digital, to finally do a D->A conversion so that you can cut an analog record.

Second, I have several analog-only vinyl recordings that match the dynamics of these “digital" recordings. On one exceptional recording of the 1812 with Zubin Mehta conducting the L.A. Philharmonic they used a real Civil War canon for the canon fire and in those last 32 bars you can see the enormous spacing in the groves where the canon fires it last shot. It has destroyed at least one set of my speakers over the years!

BTW, the real canon fire in this recording was, as I recall, the first time this was done – years before Ozawa tried it with the BSO. There is a lengthy dissertation in the album about the difficulties of timing a fuse-fired canon and a conductor anticipating the firing point. They got it absolutely right on in this recording. It is just about my most favourite recoding for it’s emotional impact. It also didn't hurt that they recorded this live in the Hollywood Bowl - the acoustics for canon fire are awesome!

I may be wrong but I think that it's more "how" the vinyl is cut which dictates the dynamic headroom of an LP. In fact you can see quite clearly with modest magnification the spacing of the grooves on a recording with exceptional dynamics - they are spaced further apart to allow for a larger excursion of the stylus.

Others here at AK probably have more knowledge of this that I do so lets see if we can get someone to add onto this thread.

I think the first use of the cannon was in Mercury Living Presence 1812 and Beethoven's Wellngton's Victory in which they used proper napoleonic era cannons from West Point's museum..in 1958.
Also, those recordings kill the one you mentioned, which I also bought a couple of weeks ago to compare....In the digital recording its mentioned that the dynamic range is 0-21Khz, with a -2 dB at 22Khz...

I dont see how an unadulterated recording, be analogue or digital would have a different dynamic range.

Although not digital, I have a Sheffield Labs vinyl - Lincoln Mayorga and Distinguished Friends - where they bypassed the sound to tape - tape to disc steps and went directly to disc.

This required that the engineer running the lathe had to be able to read music so that he could drive the feedscrew according to the volume levels.

It has been babied and I will cut a CD the next time so that it won't get worn out.

Rob

I kinda welcome the lack of tape hiss....especially with low level ambient clues..

I have a direct-to-vinyl too but can't recall what it is (they are in storage until next Fall). And I do recall the beautiful quiet they exhibit.

As for the Zubin Mehta 1812, where did you ever find an original? I have been looking for years for a backup to that original of mine. As I recall (and again, I don't have them handy) it was a mid 60's recording. However, since you now have one how about letting me (us) know the details; label, numbers etc. so I can try again for a spare copy!!

Paul

Funny, because the local classical station has been playing carols since Thanksgiving, I've been using CDs in the car.

Anyhow, this morning was a DG CD with the Gothenburg Symphony and Chorus doing the 1812. I know it is not vinyl, but this is the only version I have heard where they are singing the liturgical music that the 1812 opens with - Awesome. Also had the volume cranked a bit and thought the canons were going to blow the speakers, the Impala has a booster amp under the parcel shelf and can blow the doors off the car.

If you have never heard it with chorus you really should try it.

Rob:eek:

Rob:

Can you get the # for that CD?

I guess I could do a Gracenote search for it (I'm so lazy).

I did hear the 1812 with choir once but don't recall who did it. The whole piece is a goosebump experience for me. There are others that move me as much but it's hard to find a piece of classical music that has as good an ending as the 1812 (well, Beethoven and Prokovief did a few :D as well).

I find that a lot of people malign the 1812 as a 'show piece'. It has certainly been over used by Hollywood but that doesn't reduce it's quality as far as I'm concerned.

Next year when I get all my equipment back in service I'm going to rip some of these better LPs into digital for daily consumption :) .

Paul
:)

Originally posted by Morden2004
First, there is no advantage to doing an A->D conversion, manipulating/mixing/etc in digital, to finally do a D->A conversion so that you can cut an analog record.

Second, I have several analog-only vinyl recordings that match the dynamics of these "digital" recordings.

There is plenty of advantage doing as you describe, it avoids all the noise of the analog tape recorder and mixer. But, in the example that started this thread, they didn't even use a digital mixer, they still mixed in the analog domain. Digital was only used to record the output of the mixer. As others have noted, direct-to-disc also avoids the analog tape recorder and is beneficial as well. Thus, it would seem quite beneficial to avoid the analog recorder.

It is not surprizing at all that several analog-only discs match discs made from a digital recording. The limiting factor here is the vinyl medium itself, not the recording it was made from. No silk purse from this sow's ear (vinyl).