Anyone Hear this? Living Stereo - The Full Collection Box

[Mike Lavigne]

Hi

While I really appreciate this thread and the constant mention of how superior the Classic re-issue on 45 RPM do sound, it would be nice to not forget that so far Lloydelee, the Op doesn't seem to use a TT ... There are few here that are very much vested in digital and find it quite good ...

Frantz,

i think i made a big deal (because it is a big deal) of how much i enjoy the SACD's of all the Shaded Dogs.....and that i play them often. but bringing up Shaded Dogs without mentioning those 45's would be wrong....as they are very special.

the thing is just how great those recordings are and how enjoyable the performances are. really they were in many ways the best classical recordings ever. i'm not enough of a classical music expert to get into how signnificant the performances were.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Mike and Davey- if you had to pick your favorite RCAs (whether original or Classic 45), which would they be, sonically and musically?
And Lloyd, for what it's worth, one of the other highly touted labels was Lyrita, almost all British composers from the 20th century. Of course, every one knows the Malcolm Arnold record, but there were some very good pieces of music Elizabeth McConchey (sp), George Lloyd, etc. Those are probably also gettable on vinyl at less than astronomical prices and can be powerful, musically and sonically. (And since it was a very UK-centric thing, perhaps easier to find in your neck of the woods?)

i like them all; but if i had to name the -5- 45rpm's i play the most they would be;

-Royal Ballet Gala Performances, Ansermet/Royal Opera, LDS-6065
-Pines/Fountains of Rome, Respighi, Reiner/Chicago, LSC-2436
-Scheheraazade, Rimsky-Korsakoff, Reiner/Chicago, LSC-2446
-Heifetz, Bruch-Scottish Fantasy and Vieuxtemps Con. No 5, LSC-2603 (I play all the Heifetz 45's often)
-Gounod 'Faust', Bizet 'Carmen Suite', Gibson/Royal Opera, LSC-2449

most of those are 4 one sided discs, the Royal Ballet is maybe 8 discs.

beautiful music, astonishing sonics. it is reliable to cure whatever troubles i might be having.

 

[LL21]

Lloyd, as you may know, Sid Marks also covered the Mercury Living Presence recordings in his columns, and the price of those went through the roof as well (this was late 80's-early 90's if memory serves). I know (and you may have mentioned it earlier in this thread) that WCF did supervise the Mercury reissues.

And Lloyd, for what it's worth, one of the other highly touted labels was Lyrita, almost all British composers from the 20th century. Of course, every one knows the Malcolm Arnold record, but there were some very good pieces of music Elizabeth McConchey (sp), George Lloyd, etc. Those are probably also gettable on vinyl at less than astronomical prices and can be powerful, musically and sonically. (And since it was a very UK-centric thing, perhaps easier to find in your neck of the woods?)

Thanks! i will check those out!

 

[LL21]

Hi

While I really appreciate this thread and the constant mention of how superior the Classic re-issue on 45 RPM do sound, it would be nice to not forget that so far Lloydelee, the Op doesn't seem to use a TT ... There are few here that are very much vested in digital and find it quite good ...

Thanks...its alright...i made a decision never to dip my toe into those waters and in 20 years i have stuck to it. And now with approaching 1500 CDs...i dont see myself switch to another medium. Its digital for me. And i get to concentrate my efforts and buying on maxing out on digital.

 

[Bill Hart]

Davey and Mike- thanks for responding on your favorites.
Lloyd- it appears that the Lyrita catalog is on shiny disc.
Frantz- i promise not to hold this shortcoming against Lloyd.

 

[Steve Williams]

Agree with you, the Lyrita's ( most not all) are generally excellent. Although not that easy to find today and some are fetching some decent prices.

The shaded dogs that get the most spin time on my system are: Power of the Orchestra Moussorgsky in a 1s 7s pressing, Witches Brew in a 1s 1s pressing, Prokofiev Lt Kije in a 1s 5s pressing, Offenbach Gaite Parisienne in a 1s 3s pressing and 10s 11s pressing and a 5s 5s pressing, Respighi, Pines of Rome, The Fountains of Rome in a 1s1s pressing and a 5s 5s pressing , Prokofiev Second Piano Concerto, Haydn Sonata No35 with Malcolm Frager in a 1s1s pressing, Ballet music of Gounod and Bizet in a 1s 6s pressing, Venice/Solti in a 1s 1s pressing, Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture, Canon cover, in a 1s 1s pressing ( 1st side only) and last but not least, Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade/Reiner in a 10s 10s pressing.(Rare, But IMHO superior to the 1s1s pressing!)

Davey

can you explain in simplistic terms the differences in those pressings 1s 1s, 1s 5s etc

 

[LL21]

Davey and Mike- thanks for responding on your favorites.
Lloyd- it appears that the Lyrita catalog is on shiny disc.
Frantz- i promise not to hold this shortcoming against Lloyd.

Hah! Very grateful!

 

[hvbias]

Davey

can you explain in simplistic terms the differences in those pressings 1s 1s, 1s 5s etc

They are the stamper that the vinyl is pressed from (those numbers would be machine stamped in the dead wax). Usually the earlier the better, though in some cases of the Living Stereo records the later stampers sound better.

 

[DaveyF]

They are the stamper that the vinyl is pressed from (those numbers would be machine stamped in the dead wax). Usually the earlier the better, though in some cases of the Living Stereo records the later stampers sound better.

Deepak that's correct. There was a time that HP and others were saying that the Pines/Fountains in a 1s1s pressing was the ultimate shaded dog to own. A lowly 15s 15s was considered not even worth listening to I guess,LOL OTOH. there is a BIG difference in the two pressings in my example, with the 1s 1s sounding considerably better than the 15s 15s, BUT not that much better than the 3s5s or 5s5s, in my experience.
Here's a question to the vinyl guys....which pressing is the one to own of the mighty Casino Royale on Colgems ??

Because IF you haven't heard the best pressing have you heard the best that the LP can sound?

 

[Bill Hart]

Deepak that's correct. There was a time that HP and others were saying that the Pines/Fountains in a 1s1s pressing was the ultimate shaded dog to own. A lowly 15s 15s was considered not even worth listening to I guess,LOL OTOH. there is a BIG difference in the two pressings in my example, with the 1s 1s sounding considerably better than the 15s 15s, BUT not that much better than the 3s5s or 5s5s, in my experience.
Here's a question to the vinyl guys....which pressing is the one to own of the mighty Casino Royale on Colgems ??

Because IF you haven't heard the best pressing have you heard the best that the LP can sound?

Davey: are you also literate in the various pressing plants RCA used?
As to Colgems, I have, i dunno 6 or 8 or 10 copies, haven't really looked at the pressing numbers. The one I usually drag out is the 45rpm reissue.
When I asked Phil Ramone about the whole 'Look of Love' phenomenon, he looked at me like i was crazy.

 

[DaveyF]

Davey: are you also literate in the various pressing plants RCA used?
As to Colgems, I have, i dunno 6 or 8 or 10 copies, haven't really looked at the pressing numbers. The one I usually drag out is the 45rpm reissue.
When I asked Phil Ramone about the whole 'Look of Love' phenomenon, he looked at me like i was crazy.

Yup, I like the I ( Indianapolis, IN) slightly better than the R ( Rockaway, NJ ) or H ( Hollywood, CA) plants. Even know the Processing codes...PM if you would like this info

I guess Phil Ramone never heard the 'Look of Love' on a system like yours

 

[FrantzM]

<snip>
When I asked Phil Ramone about the whole 'Look of Love' phenomenon, he looked at me like i was crazy.

aWhen I finally found an immaculate stereo copy of the Casino Royale at a Queens (NY) Flea Market, I was the happiest person on the planet.. Until I heard the album ... Biiiiiiiig letdown.. Still can't comprehend what the fuss is all about ... Heard it in various systems and still don't understand the craze ...

 

[Bill Hart]

When I finally got an immaculate stereo copy of the Casino Royale at Queens (NY) Flee Market, I was the happiest person on the planet.. Until I heard the album ... Biiiiiiiig letdown.. Still can't comprehend what the fuss is all about ... Heard it in various systems and still don't understand the craze ...

The ones sold in Brooklyn sound different.

 

[mep]

When I finally got an immaculate stereo copy of the Casino Royale at Queens (NY) Flee Market, I was the happiest person on the planet.. Until I heard the album ... Biiiiiiiig letdown.. Still can't comprehend what the fuss is all about ... Heard it in various systems and still don't understand the craze ...

It's all about a single song: Dusty Springfield singing "The Look of Love." HP single handily made this record famous and sent people out to scour the earth to find their own copy. It is pretty rare and hard to find. When I think about how many great sounding LPs I own, this one gets a yawn. It's not some kind of religious experience when you hear it.

 

[puroagave]

Agree with you, the Lyrita's ( most not all) are generally excellent. Although not that easy to find today and some are fetching some decent prices.

The shaded dogs that get the most spin time on my system are: Power of the Orchestra Moussorgsky in a 1s 7s pressing, Witches Brew in a 1s 1s pressing, Prokofiev Lt Kije in a 1s 5s pressing, Offenbach Gaite Parisienne in a 1s 3s pressing and 10s 11s pressing and a 5s 5s pressing, Respighi, Pines of Rome, The Fountains of Rome in a 1s1s pressing and a 5s 5s pressing , Prokofiev Second Piano Concerto, Haydn Sonata No35 with Malcolm Frager in a 1s1s pressing, Ballet music of Gounod and Bizet in a 1s 6s pressing, Venice/Solti in a 1s 1s pressing, Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture, Canon cover, in a 1s 1s pressing ( 1st side only) and last but not least, Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade/Reiner in a 10s 10s pressing.(Rare, But IMHO superior to the 1s1s pressing!)

good list. the gounod, ansermet/ballet box, power of the orch, wild/rachmaninov readers digest box and witches brew were among the best of the RCA/Living stereos and incidentaly, all recorded in the UK. most of the reiner conducted repertoire is superb, there were few 'dogs' (pun intended) among them.

 

[rockitman]

i have all the 33rpm Classic reissue RCA Living Presence pressings, and all the 45rpms too. i also have all the SACD's sourced from those recordings as well as the Mercury's too for all three formats. then i have quite a few CD's, XRCD's and that type redbook versions.

the 45rpm classic reissues are maybe the best sounding Lps i've yet heard as a group.

any of them are wonderful.....and it was my introduction to classical music and it is quite 'accessable' in terms of the music and performances. in the mid-90's when i started buying these i knew zero about classical and never listened to it.

this whole series was a game-changer for me in how i looked at music....and now i listen to over 50% classical music.

i'll add that this group of SACD's are my most played silver discs by far.

I have just caught the classical bug and have been busy acquiring classic records Living Stereo collection. In fact I just succeeded in acquiring a sealed 33 rpm of Ansermet's The Royal ballet. I hear that is a coveted classical performance.

 

[Bill Hart]

I have just caught the classical bug and have been busy acquiring classic records Living Stereo collection. In fact I just succeeded in acquiring a sealed 33 rpm of Ansermet's The Royal ballet. I hear that is a coveted classical performance.

It's a big box. tell me if you like the music....

 

[rockitman]

It's a big box. tell me if you like the music....

One thing for sure, the dynamic range of orchestral music is a great test of system performance.

 

[DaveyF]

I have just caught the classical bug and have been busy acquiring classic records Living Stereo collection. In fact I just succeeded in acquiring a sealed 33 rpm of Ansermet's The Royal ballet. I hear that is a coveted classical performance.

Christian, are you talking about the Classic re-issue of The Royal Ballet or the original dog? The original is highly sought after, the re-issue I'm not so sure. BTW, I never pay big money for a sealed original....you never know what it is you are buying...could be a generic pink label ( or no dog) inside the cover, as an example.

 

[rockitman]

Christian, are you talking about the Classic re-issue of The Royal Ballet or the original dog? The original is highly sought after, the re-issue I'm not so sure. BTW, I never pay big money for a sealed original....you never know what it is you are buying...could be a generic pink label inside the cover, as an example.

It's the classic reissue. Cost me $255.00. It doesn't come up on eBay often.