I wonder how many others are troubled by the over reverberant recordings which are still appearing on some labels? I recently bought the new Delius CD by the BBCSO and Andrew Davis of Appalachia and Song of the High Hills. This is a Chandos disc recorded at All Saints Tooting. Much of the quieter music lives in a sort of woolly reverent haze, perhaps in tribute to the ecclesiastical venue? There is very little sense of a sound stage, and if you increase the gain the enormous dynamic range produces climaxes that could kill the neighbour's dog.Because of this, the wonderful climax following the baritone's entry simply batters the ears.
As far as I can recall, no critic has commented on the sound quality, in fact the disc has been praised, although I would say it's almost impossible to pick out a performance through the fog.
Just for comparison, I've listened to the performances of Appalachia by Beecham and Barbirolli, and there's really no comparison, even though Beecham's
performance is in rather elderly mono, both these great conductors give us Delius completely convincingly.
The Davis CD case is covered with logos for SACD, DTS, Multi-channel, CD compatibility, etc. but I'm beginning to feel that we have made little progress in recent years where clarity and transparency are so rarely achieved. I should perhaps add that my sound system delivers great results normally.
As far as I can recall, no critic has commented on the sound quality, in fact the disc has been praised, although I would say it's almost impossible to pick out a performance through the fog.
Just for comparison, I've listened to the performances of Appalachia by Beecham and Barbirolli, and there's really no comparison, even though Beecham's
performance is in rather elderly mono, both these great conductors give us Delius completely convincingly.
The Davis CD case is covered with logos for SACD, DTS, Multi-channel, CD compatibility, etc. but I'm beginning to feel that we have made little progress in recent years where clarity and transparency are so rarely achieved. I should perhaps add that my sound system delivers great results normally.
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