"MiNe 109" wrote in message
...
RVW Fantasia on 'Greensleeves' EMI Classics GROC 9 67264 2
Currently out of print (?), but drawing collectors prices on Amazon
Have you bothered to check out Amazon?
http://www.amazon.com/Vaughan-Willia...510888-7962301
Available from Amazon.com for $7.99 and from sellers for $5.00 (used).
Are these "collectors prices"?
Fantasia on Greensleeves (Track 8)
Computer system: iMac; Yamaha CAVIT (USB); NHT Pro A-10 monitor system
The computer disc drive is too noisy for best results. Noises, page
turns and the like easily audible. Warm orchestral perspective, lotso'
interesting timbres such as harp plucks, flute solos, and
Played back as an iTunes file at 320 kbps, more apparent tape hiss,
coarsening of timbres, brightness of the string fz before "Darling Joan"
at about 1:40 has an odd harmonic quality distinct from the
undifferentiated brightness of the cd-drive hearing. Final fade-out lost
in the opening of "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen, as selected by iTunes.
AMC CD8 as disc player. Cleaner background, hiss more in background,
perspective more to left, longer sustain leading to better harmonic
sense of the harp, distant perspective and smooth string attacks leading
to a sense of lack of bite, better top to bottom balance blend in strings
Arcam/NAD/Quads Interesting! Coarse tape hiss (No Noise or equivalent?),
centered image, unobjectionable spotlight quality on solos, improvement
in clarity over NHT system.
Okay, off the top of my head with no scientific claims. Just to get
y'all started: String tone's "biteless" quality is heard in real string
sections, so likely not a result of too-distant mikes. Troubles spots at
1:40 and 2:20 (glare). Good pluck, good flute representation.
The real test is the first track with string quartet and orchestra.
Stephen