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bakufu

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  1. i've been using the orpheus in my system for about six months. i have no concerns about the firewire interface. performance is everything i hoped for. then again, i'm using a mac, and the orpheus mates perfectly with this machine.
  2. i've since discovered that the source of the problem was in fact itunes. specifically, version 10.2, which fails to detect the pre-emphasis bit. using 10.6, i re-ripped several of the offending cds, and those files play back without any problem. thanks to all.
  3. i have what is known as a "difficult" room: 25x25x8, with the rear of the listening space opening up to a 3-story 25x50 studio. so essentially there's no back wall. rather than spend a small fortune on traps and other acoustic treatments, i elected to go the open-baffle + digital EQ/room-correction route. the first thing i did after receiving my cs 1.3's was disconnect the internal cross-over, shifting this task to the spatial computer software running on the mac. now, i've owned a variety of speakers over the years: AR-3's, B&W 801's, Martin Logan Sequel II's, Apogee Divas, and lots of heavy, hot, circuit-breaking Krell equipment. i now count myself as an official convert to the cult of the high-sensitivity pro-audio open-baffle speaker. this is far and away the best musical reproduction i've been able to achieve in this and similar spaces (both the 801s and the divas have lived here, and in my previous dwelling -- a 25x100x20 loft space.) and so naturally i'm curious about what other designers have done with this approach. a friend who's owned two generations of emerald physics cs2's now swears by hawthorne audio, but i haven't heard them.
  4. i'm glad to see the orion 4s mentioned. a very intriguing design, and one which i would love to audition. at the price, it's hard to see how you can do better.
  5. hi folks i've posted on this topic before, but the nuisance-value of the problem is starting to really irritate me. import a cd using itunes -- apple lossless, error-correction on. before attempting to play back, better mute the system, because the result is some of the nastiest static you've ever heard. i've run across this problem with older (< 1995) disks from the BIS, Finlandia, and Ondine catalogs. my solution, which is clunky, is to make a physical copy of the offending disk with titanium, and then rip the copy. works every time. the only explanation i've come across is that cds which exhibit this behavior use a form of copy-protection, no longer extant. anyone else encountered this problem? have an alternative explanation? have a better method than physically copying the disk? thanks in advance.
  6. to my mind, colin davis remains the supreme berlioz conductor, but in this work, inbal's denon recording is my new favorite: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41R3962CWBL._SL500_AA300_.jpg (i'm also very impressed with what i've heard so far of his bruckner cycle.) last night was an early shutdown, but i did have time to listen to the first act of orff's Antigonae: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41-MsFrm7HL._SL500_AA300_.jpg this is the ferdinand leitner recording. six grand pianos and an army of percussionists. what's not to like?
  7. http://www.highdeftapetransfers.com/product/775/Mahler-Symphony-No.-2-Vienna-State-Opera-Orchestra-Hermann-Scherchen-24%7B47%7D96-Download
  8. i second your recommendation of savall's work over the years. and i am saddened to hear of the death of monsterrat figueras, a unique voice and a singular interpreter of all the music she sang. among my favorite recordings of hers is this one: http://www.amazon.com/El-Cant-Sibil-Montserrat-Figueras/dp/B004DY5B1M/ref=pd_sim_sbs_m_1 his monteverdi vespers: http://www.amazon.com/Monteverdi-Vespro-della-Vergine-Hybrid/dp/B000VOHXLE/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1330016301&sr=1-2 i know only the original cd incarnation, but it is wonderful!
  9. occasionally, melodiya gets (got) the sonics right. and what a performance. a set of three cds, beginning with: http://www.amazon.com/Messiaen-Vingt-regards-lEnfant-Jesus-Batagov/dp/B000B65DWI/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1329942852&sr=1-2
  10. i once had the opportunity to ask nat hentoff about nichols. this was back in 1999 or thereabouts, before the official blue-note cd collection had been released. mosaic had collected some of the extant sessions, and there were a few japanese disks, but i think many of us discovered nichols through misha mengelberg's trio. apart from jazz afficianados, nichols has remained -- sadly, and inexplicably -- relatively unknown. enjoy!
  11. http://www.amazon.com/Love-Gloom-Cash-Herbie-Nichols/dp/B00005AVE2/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1329760130&sr=1-1 in some ways i prefer this album to the blue note recordings (but they'd all go in my desert island suitcase)
  12. for what it's worth, i've found a lot to like about the classical shop site: http://www.theclassicalshop.net/ the franz schreker disks from chandos are quite wonderful.
  13. i've been using itunes to import my cd collection (~5000 albums). some of the older disks appear to use some form of copy-protection. they import without apparent problems, but play back as static. in this case, my workaround has been to use titanium to copy the disk -- make an actual physical copy of the cd -- and import that. it appears as though titanium ignores whatever copy-protection exists on the disk. this is cumbersome and time-consuming: the original import + playback + titanium copy + reimport. although i've not seen this problem described anywhere, i can't believe it is unfamiliar to the CA community. so, a couple of questions: 1. on playback, the channel displays on the orpheus window max out. this is a reliable indicator that the imported file is bad. 2. is it theoretically possible to un-protect the file once it has been imported? (highly unlikely, since the output file is likely garbage, but i thought i'd ask.) 3. is there a utility which scans the cd before importing which can detect the existence of copy-protection? 4. does software exist which will import the cd and, like titanium, ignore or bypass copy-protection? 5. assuming that others have experienced this problem, and solved it, or at least found a solution which is less cumbersome than the one i outlined above, please share. [update: i'm importing everything as Apple Lossless]
  14. a list i recently sent to a friend with the same question. my selections, limited as they are, represent a compromise between sampling the maximum number of distinct categories and works which stand a chance of being intrinsically interesting to someone unfamiliar with the terrain. i've tilted the selection somewhat in the direction of "sonic blockbusters", although a few of my recommendations are of older recordings. it's a sad fact that while technical prowess has increased with time, interpretive depth has declined. in some cases this doesn't matter. in others it surely does. for convenience, i've included links to the cds at amazon. it may be that some of them are available somewhere as hi-res downloads. nevertheless, on my equipment, and to my ears, they all sound perfectly fine. it goes without saying that these are highly personal and no doubt idiosyncratic opinions. and i've probably forgotten some, but my phone is ringing off the hook from work this afternoon! 1. monteverdi http://www.amazon.com/Monteverdi-Vespro-Della-Beata-Vergine/dp/B0000057DL/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326224022&sr=1-1 on balance, my favorite recording of this monumental work. gardiner has two recordings. the older one is somewhat more spontaneous, the latter better recorded and technically better. i picked the latter. an astonishing work, it never fails to lift the hairs on the back of my neck. 2. bach my favorite interpreter of the keyboard works is glenn gould. you have a choice: http://www.amazon.com/State-Wonder-Complete-Goldberg-Variations/dp/B00006FI7C/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326224688&sr=1-1 made at the beginning and end of his life. nothing illustrates better the potential for creative interpretation, or why enthusiasts own multiple recordings of great pieces. bach's greatest work for keyboard (and in my opinion the greatest piece of music ever written): http://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Gould-Bach-Well-Tempered-Clavier/dp/B0000028NI/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326224770&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Gould-Bach-Well-Tempered-Clavier/dp/B0000028NJ/ref=pd_bxgy_m_text_b the bach work i play most frequently is the set of english suites. they are beautiful beyond description: http://www.amazon.com/Bach-English-Suites-BWV-806-811/dp/B0000028NK/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326224850&sr=1-1 3. beethoven/brahms this is where it gets tough. there are so many wonderful recorded performances of works by these two composers. in my opinion the greatest performances on record were made in germany during ww2 by wilhelm furtwangler: http://www.amazon.com/Furtwangler-Conducts-Beethoven-Symphonies-Overtures/dp/B00001W09Z/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326225140&sr=1-1 i find the sonics to be more than acceptable. i warn you though: if you get to know these symphonies through this recording every other performance will leave you cold. i believe the same must be said of music&arts' edition of furtwangler's brahms recordings: http://www.amazon.com/Furtwängler-Conducts-Brahms-Complete-Symphonies/dp/B00002062I/ref=pd_sim_m_5 the 1951 hamburg performance is miraculous, a once-in-a-lifetime event. 4. bruckner http://www.amazon.com/Bruckner-Symphonie-No-8-Anton/dp/B000001GNS/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326225515&sr=1-1 this and giulini's equally profound reading of the 9th are essential. a contemporary critic once described bruckner's symphonies as "giant boa constrictors". they are vast, slow-moving, monumental, dark, glorious, intensely spiritual. perhaps an acquired taste, although for me it was love at first listen. 5. mahler all of mahler's symphonies are wonderful, and klaus tennstedt is my favorite interpreter. i had the good fortune to attend several of his concerts in ny, of mahler and bruckner. i'll recommend this live recording of #2: http://www.amazon.com/Mahler-Symphony-No-2--Resurrection/dp/B00361DRBY/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326225669&sr=1-1 the bbc recordings tend not to stay in the catalog for very long, so snap it up before it disappears. i'm also a big fan of the conductor giuseppe sinopoli, although i don't care for most of his mahler recordings, but this one is an exception: http://www.amazon.com/Gustav-Mahler-Symphony-Philharmonia-Orchestra/dp/B00000E533/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326225844&sr=1-1 both #2 and #8 are sonic spectaculars, mahler's largest-scale symphonies. #8 will lift the roof off your house and deposit it several counties over. 6. berlioz forced to choose, i would pick berlioz as my favorite composer. i'll recommend two works: http://www.amazon.com/Berlioz-Symphonie-Fantastique-Hector/dp/B000E6EH1S/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226999&sr=1-2 there is no perfect recording of this piece (i have at least a dozen!), but this one is probably the best. the Requiem is probably my favorite berlioz piece, and here the choice is difficult. this one is a true sonic blockbuster: http://www.amazon.com/Berlioz-Requiem-Boito-Prologue-Mefistofele/dp/B000003CTJ/ref=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326227061&sr=1-6 the Tuba Mirum section is truly terrifying. this one, in addition to containing the Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale, is more idiomatic and "berliozian": http://www.amazon.com/Berlioz-Requiem-Symphonie-funèbre-triomphale/dp/B000GYHZ6M/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326227152&sr=1-1 still, i'd go for the first. ok, into the world of the moderns: 7. sibelius http://www.amazon.com/Sibelius-Symphonies-Nos-2-3/dp/B0000016PI/ref=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326227242&sr=1-6 sibelius #2 is just simply gorgeous, and osmo vanska is easily my favorite sibelius interpreter. great sound! 8. prokofiev http://www.amazon.com/Sergey-Prokofiev-Piano-Concertos/dp/B0024JQNF6/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326225954&sr=1-2 i love these works. they are the most *physically* exciting piano concertos, and here they are beautifully played and recorded. if you enjoy them, continue on to the symphonies, also conducted by jarvi on chandos. 9. bartok his most popular orchestral work: http://www.amazon.com/Bartók-Concerto-Orchestra-Orchestral-Pieces/dp/B000001GJ7/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226070&sr=1-3 the reiner rca living stereo recording is popular with audiophiles, but i've never cared for reiner's dry and emotionally restrained approach to this piece. boulez/chicago is my current favorite. the piano concertos are also wonderful, but i will skip them to recommend his only opera: http://www.amazon.com/Bartók-Bluebeards-Castle-Kertész-Ludwig/dp/B00001IVQX/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226254&sr=1-1 someone has described this work as "an emotional volcano", and i think that's true. this one of those once-in-a-lifetime recordings. opera is an acquired taste, but i think you might find this one fascinating. 10. strauss i love richard strauss. Also Sprach Zarathustra is famous, and you probably know it, but i'll recommend this recording, which contains in addition his Death and Transfiguration, imo a better piece of music: http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Strauss-Zarathustra-Verklärung-Philharmonic/dp/B00000E400/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226372&sr=1-1 sinopoli is always my first choice in strauss, and this is one of his finest. i'll also recommend his recording of Elektra: http://www.amazon.com/Strauss-Elektra-Richard/dp/B000001GYL/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226478&sr=1-1 the peak of german expressionist music, and a real sonic spectacular. 11. puccini since the beecham La Boheme is currently out of print, i'll recommend this: http://www.amazon.com/Puccini-Tosca/dp/B002N4DZ30/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226577&sr=1-2 i am also very fond of sinopoli's Tosca, but this one is pretty close to being perfect. of course, the story is ridiculous and over-the-top, but i find that to be one of the most attractive aspects of italian opera. the characters in these works are creatures of pure emotion, without a single thought in their heads. puccini never heard of irony, thank god. 12. ravel/debussy the only chamber pieces i've included are these by ravel and debussy: http://www.amazon.com/Debussy-Ravel-Streichquartette-Claude/dp/B000001GNA/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326227361&sr=1-1 they are, quite simply, gorgeous, and the emersons play like nobody's business. 13. messiaen last on this list, but it may be the first recording you'll want to get, is this huge, crazy, amazing piece by the french catholic mystic olivier messiaen: http://www.amazon.com/Olivier-Messiaen-Turangalila-Symphonie/dp/B000001GF6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326226783&sr=1-1 i won't even attempt to characterize it. but all of messiaen is wonderful, and if you like this, there's lots more. 14. stravinsky http://www.amazon.com/Pierre-Boulez-Stravinsky-Petrouchka-Cleveland/dp/B000002A2M/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326233882&sr=1-1 this is the second of three (i think) recordings of these works by boulez. the latest one is a bit too analytical for my tastes, though very well recorded and well played. i prefer this one, with the NYPO. the sonics are fine, if not perfect, and the NYPO isn't technically up to chicago, but the sheer ferocity of this performance captures the the spirit better than any other. having said that, you really should also own this: http://www.amazon.com/Stravinsky-Conducts-Petrushka-Printemps-Spring/dp/B0000026GJ/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326234048&sr=1-3 stravinsky was a great conductor of his own music, and his performances sound like no one else's. his Petrouchka really conveys the world of wind up mechanical birds and marionettes, and demonstrates how a large orchestra can be as sonically transparent and detailed as a a group of four or five players. 15. varese http://www.amazon.com/Boulez-Conducts-Varèse-Edgard-Varese/dp/B00005KBJS/ref=sr_1_8?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326234208&sr=1-8 of all the recordings i've listed, varese's Arcana is probably the most spectacular in terms of sonics. a VERY large orchestra, often with everyone playing as loud as they can. -- equipment: mac-mini 8gb spatial computer prism orpheus wyred4sound 250,500,1000 emerald physics cs1.3 spatial computer "black hole" purepower 2000 cabling: the usual suspects
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