kongee

Feel her newer albums lacked the melancholy that made her earlier ones more beautiful. I think she is too happy now. Married and plenty of success.

Claudio Abbado with the Berlin Philharmonic and Simon Rattle with the Vienna Philharmonic. Karajan with the Berlin Phil for a older recording but supposedly definitive one. I think you can get all at HMV.

I think not many people can tell the difference either. If I'm not wrong 24-bit is beyond reproduce-able limits of conventional players. So you need a special player to start with. As a purchase, I guess it is a good idea to get the better quality version for storage and rip it to 16-bit for listening. Perhaps 1 day conventional players will support 24-bit. I'm no pro though.

You should try out Li Yundi's latest album. Prokofiev and Ravel 's piano concertos with BP and Seiji Ozawa at the helm. Which brings this discussion to another "note". BP is not best for all classical genres though. I personally feel the Russian repertoire belongs to the Russian National Orchestra under Pletnav. American works like some of Batok's, Copland, really best by the Americans. The Italian operas, Puccini, Verdi again, best by the relaxed and excessively expressive style of the italian orchestras. And of course, BP is infamous for Beethoven, Wagner, Mahler.. all german composers. Vienna Phil supreme with J. Strauss waltzs. This whole thing is actually quite wonderful in that no one orchestra really "owns" the scene. We are all unique and irreplacable. Believe it or not, our SSO is one of the best with Butterfly's Lover's violin concerto. I think Singapore just has the right mix of western and eastern culture for westernised chinese works. Happy appreciating.

Eternal

Yes, different, but I think BP retains its characteristic impeccable precision, sweet, rich and thick sound. The style and approach to the repertoire is what has changed. Abbado and Rattle and Karajan are all different. Rattle brings this progressive dynamism and though he is not young age-wise, personally I think he kinda brings this more youthful perspective. His recent Mahler 9 has been the subject of a key article in Grammaphone magazine. Abbado on the other hand (13 years at BP) is italian and a contemporary of Martha Argerich. I know him for his Ravels, Mahlers and try out the Beethoven symphonies. Try the infamous 5. You can hear immediately how he is different from Karajan. At the risk of getting burnt at the stake, I personally prefer his 5 then to Karajan's. Another interesting note about BP, not a very nice piece of information actually. Until mid 20th century, did you know that BP was rather discriminating in its selection of members. No women, no Jews and no other races. Horrible yeh? That was the practice with Vienna Phil as well. And during WW2, to be in BP, you have to be a registered member of the Nazi party. Don't let this deter you from listening to them now though. The concert master is a Chinese and there are ladies in the orchestra. (I'm sure there are Jews too now).

Yes, yes, I'm quite a fan of the Berlin Phil as well. Their recordings today and in recent decades are still very very good. Recently Simon Rattle has taken the helm off from Claudio Abbado. Really, only the best of the best get "invited" to take the helm. This is one orchestra where the players elect who should lead them. Talk about the democratic process at work. I've been collecting most of the recent releases and I think they do not lack luster from the Karajan days, plus the recording quality is better than the Karajan ones. Planets conducted by Rattle, 2008 release I think. Solid audiophile CD to collect. Most recent is Mahler 9; not for the faint hearted. Actually an interesting note I've gathered is the "female" counterpart of the Berlin Phil is the Vienna Phil. Also just as solid, but with a lighter more refined feminine sound to the strings. I've loads to talk about, but better not crowd this forum with my ramblings.

It's kinda strange too... being in this forum.

Well, I beg to differ. I think it is hard to replicate the soundstage of an open stereo system with proper speakers. Its the way sound travels through more air before reaching your ears and the sheer positioning of the speakers on a wider space that makes the difference. I don't think you can replicate that on headphones and a cool set of amps. That being said, there is still a place for headphones. For me its when I listen to some piece that people around (wife and 3 daughters) will squeal and squirm because it is too discordant for their tastes. (Like something from Shostakovich). I listen with impunity and really get the most out of it. Or, its great listening at work when I need that creative boost or to get through that mundane routine piece of admin work.

Yes, agree. I tried testing 160 and 320 straight from an iPod (nano) and couldn't hear the difference. I then tested 160 and Apple Lossless with an amp. To be honest, I couldn't hear the difference at first. (and I pride myself with having good ears). Maybe my amp and cans are not run-in yet. But as I took a longer while to hear the 2, I started to realize that the difference can be described only in abstract but important terms. Terms like; "sweeter", more "musical", more "interesting". Some classical pieces that I would have normally skipped I find myself lingering all the way to the end. (Can be as long as 10mins per piece). Then I next compared WAV and Apple Lossless. Again, the differences were there, but subtle. And the same superlatives. Yes, agree that WAV is ideal. But with my gig, I can't say the difference is great. Decided that I will leave my best listening at the home hifi and next best on my portables.

Heheh. If you have a wife, she'll help you stop! If you don't have one and need to get out of the addiction, get a wife asap.

I am agreeing on the highs for grado more and more. It is indeed quite bright.

How bad is iPod? In particular the HD ones. 2 aspects; sound quality and durability. Anyone with input. I use a D2 Boa amp and have SR80 earphones. I think iPod in terms of sound quality is not quite among the top 3 or 4 of the list, but would that matter so much with an amp? Reason I'm asking is because there are fewer and fewer HD players nowadays.

Scandalous.

Yes, agree, faster, which was what caught my attention at first because while they did it faster the precision was amazingly in tact. Hahn has this fantastically precise tone ability that Bach just sounds so good when she does it. Audiophile-wise, I find the sound of the immersiveness of the orchestra sounds gives it dimension is is good for testing.

I'm using the D2 Boa with my ipod nano and a pair of nerdy Grados. NO TURNING BACK MAN! I even went further and rip my music as Apple lossless and..... my classical pieces just suddenly become more interesting and sweeter than ever before. The thing about audio is that once you hear better sound, anything less is heart breaking to hear. If you don't mind the bulk, welcome to audio bliss.

Personally, I always avoid the discounted multiple classical CD in one pack sort of thing. Most of these are old recordings and what they do is recycle them to sell them again. Not that some of these old CDs are bad per se. Some of the old classical performers are unmatched till this day. What I am referring to is the recording quality. I mean, assuming you are particular about that. I find the latest recordings on the big classical labels to be really worth buying at none-discounted prices for. Labels include, DeutscheGrammaphone (DG), EMI, Sony Classical..etc. Another thing. I also avoid classical CD compilations. Those like "Peaceful Bach" or "Boost Your Brain Mozart". To be compile a CD with different performers and orchestras is not cheap. Hence, to avoid excessive copyright $$ means they have to select the "cheaper" ones which means the not so current or popular ones. Know what I mean...?

Yeah, yeah, "serious music" does transcend the cliche definition of "classical music". I think any music that goes beyond just trying to be predominantly "popular" can be taken as "serious music". Music that is composed or performed to a level of being an artform where it is an intellectual and creative expression of someone that has spent his/her life perfecting the artform is serious. By that, yeah, Jazz would fall into that category. I'm listening to Herbie Hancock's "River" album. This is art!

Always

Anyone knows how much poorer is Apple Lossless compared to Wav? I have SR80 and a D2 Boa amp.

Shostakovich Piano Concerto no.2, 2nd movement. Hard to get tears out of me (I'm a man) but quite close.

Thanks! Any thoughts about Hiliary Hahn's Bach Concertos? Anyone tried it before.

I have been using my SR80 for just over a month. I think the bright sound you get may be more a thing with the amp. I tried my Grados on my home hifi (Arcam) and it is smoother and ... less bright. But I think it is also a matter of getting it burnt-in. As for the pain (exterior) try gently stretching the head band outwards. I did that and it got alot better.

Grado. SR60 or SR80. You have to bear with noise getting in from outside, but the results are fantastic. Actually, I find that fact that the caps are porous means that there is ventilation and your ears don't feel horribly hot and wet after awhile.

ibasso T1 or T2. But I think they are being phased-out. Spend alittle more, and the ibasso D2 range is a significant factor better.