Abbado in Mahler

[Mahlerei]

I wondered why Euroarts decided to release symphonies 1 to 7 and I've discovered it's because producer Paul Smaczny left to set up Accentus at the end of 2009 (when Nos.1 and 4 were recorded). He has taken the rights to the remaining concerts with him; no bad thing, as Euroarts seem to have made a pig's ear of the Blu-rays.

[Karafan]

johnb

One Blu-ray I can recommend in terms of fine sonics is Maazel's Ring without words. The PCM stereo mix of the Berlin Phil in full cry is just sensational.

Thanks for the recommendation for that Mahlerei: I will seek it out.

Bws

Karafan

[Black Swan]

I unfortunately already have Symphonies 1, 2, 3 and 6 purchased before the box came out. I can verify that the problems initially encountered with 2 are fixed. I started with 9 as BBC Magazine rated it the best classical Blue-ray made to date. I also see that on Mahler's Birthday Abbado conducted and I believe recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic the Adagio from Symphony 10 as well as Das Lied von de Erde with Anne Sofie van Otter. I am hoping that a recording of 8 is in the mix to complete the set.

John

[johnb]

Thanks for the recommendations.

As far as Abbado's Mahler is concerned I was hesitating about which to plump for as an initial test. In the end I decided on No 2 partly because, other than the Walter record through which I got to know the piece and which was my introduction to Mahler, I don't really have a totally satisfactory recording of the work.

If that proves satisfactory in my slightly improvised setup I'll try out the Maazel Ring without Words.

By the way, once again as a test (though a very expensive test) I downloaded the Ivan Fischer recording of No 4 from the Linn website in "Studio Master" 96/24 and have been giving it a listen. I'm always very hesitant about believing that I would notice any increase in audio quality over the standard CD but the sound did seem greatly more natural and much more what one would actually hear in a concert hall than most CDs. The strings, to mention one aspect, have none of that slightly artificial quality that I often hear with CDs. The dynamic range, realism and the detail also seem greater. (But then it's probable that if I bought the actual CD I wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway.) Oh, and I very much enjoyed the performance!

[Stunsworth]

By the way, once again as a test (though a very expensive test) I downloaded the Ivan Fischer recording of No 4 from the Linn website in "Studio Master" 96/24 and have been giving it a listen. I'm always very hesitant about believing that I would notice any increase in audio quality over the standard CD but the sound did seem greatly more natural and much more what one would actually hear in a concert hall than most CDs. The strings, to mention one aspect, have none of that slightly artificial quality that I often hear with CDs. The dynamic range, realism and the detail also seem greater. (But then it's probable that if I bought the actual CD I wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway.) Oh, and I very much enjoyed the performance!

If you are quick - the offer ends today - you can download two 'studio master' tracks by the Prince Consort for free. Details here...

http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-prince-consort-two-track-sampler.aspx?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The+Prince+Consort+-+Free+tracks&utm_content=The+Prince+Consort+-+Free+tracks+CID_7b904e0fa73a10b86cc88aab9e2504eb&utm_source=Campaign+Montior&utm_term=The+Prince+Consort

[BBMmk2]

I wondered why Euroarts decided to release symphonies 1 to 7 and I've discovered it's because producer Paul Smaczny left to set up Accentus at the end of 2009 (when Nos.1 and 4 were recorded). He has taken the rights to the remaining concerts with him; no bad thing, as Euroarts seem to have made a pig's ear of the Blu-rays.

You don't reccoemnd the Blu-Rays then?

[Mahlerei]

BBM

There's nothing wrong with the performances, it's just that the series has had a few technical problems along the way. Caveat emptor, I suppose.

[BBMmk2]

Ah right, Mahlerei!! Anyone knows on gppd Blu-ray players? Reasonably priced?

[PJPJ]

Yes, it is......

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gppd

[johnb]

I suppose the question "You don't recommend the Blu-Rays then?" raises a further question: "What are the benefits of Blu-Ray discs compared with standard DVDs?"

As I have only recently bought my first Blu-Ray disc (Abbado Mahler 2) and am using my PC Blu-Ray drive to play it (HD video ouput to my TV, digital audio output to my audio system) I am hardly the best person to answer that question. But perhaps:-

1) The increased resolution and clarity of the video picture. Though this will probably be much more apparent with larger TV displays than the 28" that I have (where the benefits are marginal, at least as far as I am concerned).

2) Two channel stereo: with the Abbado Mahler 2 the PMC Stereo is 48/24 vs the normal 48/16 of standard DVDs (though some standard DVDs have lossy AC3 stereo instead of PCM). I'm not too sure what the benefits of the additional bit-depth is. The ambient noise level in the Mahler 2 concert hall is -65 dB RMS which is about the same as the Zinman Mahler 1 CD (but that is a studio recording). So the additional bits aren't necessarily used to give a wider dynamic range (though the low level ambient noise in the hall will be more clearly represented).

3) Surround sound: I think this is where Blu-Ray discs might well shine. The Abbado Mahler 2 surround sound is lossless "DTS-HD Master Audio" 5.1 48/24 whereas standard DVDs use lossy surround sound. (Unfortunately I only listen to stereo so I don't benefit from this.)

Do tell me if I am talking nonsense!

Incidentally, I found using Windows Media Centre meant that you had to be careful setting Windows Mixer to stop it affecting the audio, so I ended up using JRiver Media Centre (which is very good with audio) after working out how to set it up to play Blu-Ray.

[Mahlerei]

Ah right, Mahlerei!! Anyone knows on gppd Blu-ray players? Reasonably priced?

I have this Sony and the quality of picture and sound is simply stunning. You really don't need to spend more to get the benefits of Blu-ray:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-BDPS370B-CEK-BDPS370-Blu-ray-Player/dp/B0038M1UTW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308697336&sr=1-1

[remdataram]

I have this Sony and the quality of picture and sound is simply stunning. You really don't need to spend more to get the benefits of Blu-ray:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-BDPS370...8697336&sr=1-1

I completely agree. Not only superb Blu-ray and upscaled DVD, but it also provides BBC iPlayer, the BPO concert hall and several other feeds. The bargain of the year!

I run mine through a DAC into my stereo system. Sound is superb from DVD and Blu-ray.

As to the Abbodo Mahler recordings, I have 2 - 6 and 9, with 4 & 9 on Blu-ray. Watching them on a 42" panasonic Plasma TV there is a slight improvement on Blu-ray over the DVD's, but I certainly wouldn't bother to 'upgrade' to Blu-ray. I don't notice any difference in the (really excellent) sound - but I am only listening in Stereo.

[johnb]

Interesting, Mahlerei.

Even more interesting is that, when I went to the Sony website and entered my post code it said that the price at my local (bricks and mortar) Sony store was £69.99. The bad news was that the model was "temporarily unavailable"!

Worth keeping an eye on though.

[Bryn]

I got an S370 at HMV for £99.99 a few weeks ago on the basis that it plays SACD as well as Blu-ray, CD, DVD etc. My one minor moan is that while it claims to play aac files via the USB ports, it actually needs them in m4a format. A week later I grabbed a Philips BDP5100, replete with te BBC Blu-ray sets of "Life", "Planet Earth" and "Wonders of the Solar System" for £49.99 the lot! The Philips does not play the SACD layer of SACDs but it does handle aac files without having to pack them up in m4a format. The Philips had become my main player, due to the wide range of formats it can handle via the front USB port (it happily powers my 500GB Verbatim GT USB hard drives, too). I have not yet bought the optional WiFi dongle for the rear USB port yet, but probably will. Once the firmware of the Philips is upgraded to the latest version, it rivals the Sony as networked player.

[Thomas Roth]

I have an Oppo BDP-83 and it is a stunning machine. It plays all formats and it is region free on blu-ray as well as DVD.