New 2022/23 transfers of Solti's Ring cycle.

[HighlandDougie]

I would be very interested to know whether you can detect any difference between the older Solti Ring which you may have on CD or have access to via streamers and the remaster.

I have the big 2012 box (CDs + BluRay) but it gets a bit complicated in relation to what will play on what. My Pioneer UDP player will allow comparison of Blu-Ray, SACD and CD sources but, to give the new SACDs their due, the Esoteric SACD player is in a bit of a different league to the Pioneer box so that's what I used earlier. The new mastering does live up to the claims made for it in terms of the usual hi-fi geek clichés like sound-stage, depth of sound and dynamic range but, in truth, the 2012 CDs don't exactly sound that bad. In - unfair - comparison with current "big-orchestra" recording quality (e.g. Fabio Luisi's new Nielsen Symphony No 3 on DG), the recording definitely sounds as if it was taped some time ago but, as should be the case, the performance is so involving that one soon forgets about it. In short, unless you have what Richard F has memorably christened as "FOMO", I would stick with what you have.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I have the big 2012 box (CDs + BluRay) but it gets a bit complicated in relation to what will play on what. My Pioneer UDP player will allow comparison of Blu-Ray, SACD and CD sources but, to give the new SACDs their due, the Esoteric SACD player is in a bit of a different league to the Pioneer box so that's what I used earlier. The new mastering does live up to the claims made for it in terms of the usual hi-fi geek clichés like sound-stage, depth of sound and dynamic range but, in truth, the 2012 CDs don't exactly sound that bad. In - unfair - comparison with current "big-orchestra" recording quality (e.g. Fabio Luisi's new Nielsen Symphony No 3 on DG), the recording definitely sounds as if it was taped some time ago but, as should be the case, the performance is so involving that one soon forgets about it. In short, unless you have what Richard F has memorably christened as "FOMO", I would stick with what you have.

An admirable summary - thanks. In short I suspect we are talking a large outlay for an incremental improvement. The sad thing is even if the singers emerged that could outclass Solti’s I doubt they would be recorded in a complete cycle.

[gurnemanz]

This new transfer is being released in May, but at staggeringly high prices:
Vinyl LP set: £630

Appropriate for a Ring Cycle, I suppose, but I note that things have sort of come full circle. I wouldn't spend £630 of my present budget on it and over 50 years ago I certainly couldn't afford it on my student budget. I borrowed the Solti Ring LPs from the Public Library and recorded them onto reel-to-reel tape for extended use. Now I can just listen on Spotify - good enough for my septuagenarian ears.

[hmvman]

.... The aim of these Ring remixes seems to be largely about reducing tape his which is well nigh impossible without impacting on audible frequencies.

Is removal of tape hiss really so important? I think I'd rather be able to hear all of the music and put up with a bit of hiss, and maybe other noise too. I find one's ears are great filters!

Thanks for the interesting posts on these recordings. Amazing that Decca lost the 4-track tapes. Wasn't this Ring cycle recorded over a period of 6 or 7 years into the mid-'60s? Would the recording methods have changed much over that time?

[Ein Heldenleben]

Is removal of tape hiss really so important? I think I'd rather be able to hear all of the music and put up with a bit of hiss, and maybe other noise too. I find one's ears are great filters!

Thanks for the interesting posts on these recordings. Amazing that Decca lost the 4-track tapes. Wasn't this Ring cycle recorded over a period of 6 or 7 years into the mid-'60s? Would the recording methods have changed much over that time?

You’d think so but the principles were largely in place by the late 50’s . Amazingly the Decca tree system is still in use - it’s used for example on the BBC Proms TV relays but not on the radio relays .So are co-incident pair microphones though these are now remotely controllable ,I understand, in terms of things like acceptance angle and polar diagrams. The mics you see in the Golden Ring are still on sale today - like the Neumann M49 now recently re released . The big changes are digital mixing desks and digital recorders and - chips or SIM cards these days I guess. Tape hiss, wow , flutter , tracking distortion and error etc all things of the past. Digital editing is a radical change from the days of the single sided razor blade and edit block . The one constant is the artistry and technical expertise of the recording engineers - very much unsung heroes imv.

[hmvman]

The one constant is the artistry and technical expertise of the recording engineers - very much unsung heroes imv.

Definitely agree with that!

[akiralx]

The one constant is the artistry and technical expertise of the recording engineers - very much unsung heroes imv.

In his amusing memoir the veteran EMI producer Suvi Raj Grubb writes about accessing the Concertgebouw to plan an EMI recording (Mendelssohn/Bruch with Perlman and Haitink) when another company were having a session there - they raised an objection about his entering as he might see their microphone setup...

He expostulated that he was not remotely interested in a rival's recording techniques, along the lines of 'tell them I was making gramophone records when they were in nappies'.

[smittims]

gurnemanz' remark on the price of the LP set reminds me that I was fortunate to get a mint copy of the famous 1968 wooden presentation box set at the time it was deleted in 1976. At that time the price was £50, difficult to translate to 2023 money values in this age of inflation but about £750 would not be far out, I think.