Paavo Jarvi/Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, Night on Bald Mountain, Prelude to Khovanshchina

Robert Spano/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem

Erich Kunzel/Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Ravel’s Bolero:Borodin: Music from Kismet; Bizet: Suites from Carmen

More information available on the Telarc site >>

Here’s what’s in the pipe:

BACH/CANTATAS FOR THE NATIVITY SACD
Eric Milnes conducts the Montreal Baroque for Volume 4 of Bach’s Complete Sacred Cantatas.
Format: Atma Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

ORFF/CARMINA BURANA SACD
Richard Hickox conducts the London Symphony Orchestra for this recording of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.
Format: Chandos Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

HOLMGREEN/KRONOS PLAYS HOLMGREEN SACD
The Kronos Quartet are joined by the British baritone Paul Hillier and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Thomas Dausgaard.
Format: Dacapo Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

RAYMOND LEPPARD/J.S. BACH, C.P.E. BACH, VIVALDI SACD
RQR (Remastered Quadro Recording)
Raymond Leppard conducts the English Chamber Orchestra for recordings by J.S. Bach & C.P.E. Bach while I Musici perform concertos by Vivaldi.
Format: PentaTone RQR Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

BRAHMS/PIANO TRIOS SACD & BONUS DVD
The Storioni Trio of Van de Roer, W. Vossen & M. Vossen perform Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2 by Brahms.
Format: PentaTone Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD & Bonus DVD
October 2008

TCHAIKOVSKY/HAMLET AND ROMEO & JULIET SACD
Vladimir Jurowski conducts the Russian National Orchestra for this recording of the “Hamlet” and “Romeo & Juliet” works by Tchaikovsky.
Format: PentaTone Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

CHOPIN/PIANO CONCERTOS NOS. 1 & 2 SACD & BONUS DVD
Pianist Sa Chen is joined by the Gulbenkian Orchestra Lisbon conducted by Lawrence Foster for this recording of Chopin Piano Concertos.
Format: PentaTone Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD & Bonus DVD
October 2008

MOZART/VIOLIN SONATAS VOL. 6 SACD
The duo, Gary Cooper and Rachel Podger, present Volume Six of the ongoing series of Mozart Sonatas.
Format: Channel Classics Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

TULEV/SONGS SACD
World-renowned countertenor Robin Blaze joins Paul Hillier and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir in this world premiere recording.
Format: Harmonia Mundi Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

MAHLER/SYMPHONY NO. 3 2SACD
October 2008
Valery Gergiev’s Mahler cycle has been received with the highest praise – this new set raises the bar even higher and will undoubtedly appear on year-end ‘best-of ’ lists.
Format: 2 LSO Live Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACDs

GERSHWIN/AN AMERICAN IN PARIS SACD
October 2008
Pascal Rogé joins the RSO Wien conducted by Bertrand de Billy for their second Gershwin/Ravel recording.
Format: Oehms Classics Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD

SCHUBERT/SCHWANENGESANG & SONGS AFTER SEIDL SACD
October 2008
Christoph Pregardien and Andreas Staier plant a bright, clearly waving flag amidst the many fine recordings of this famous song cycle.
Format: Challenge Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD

SHOSTAKOVICH/SYMPHONY NO. 14 SACD
Once again, Roman Kofman conducts the Beethoven Orchestra of Bonn for the 14th Symphony for this ongoing cycle of works by Shostakovich.
Format: MDG Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
November 11, 2008

GEOFFREY SIMON/THE LONDON TRUMPET ORCHESTRA SACD
Conductor Geoffrey Simon has selected the very best tracks from two sonic and artistic blockbusters for a single disc spectacular – newly remastered in SACD surround sound, and featuring some of the world’s finest trumpet virtuosos.
Format: Cala Records Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

KWARTET SLASKI/REPUBLIQUE SACD
Mesmerizing SACD Surround Sound!
There are three major driving forces behind this project: the phenomenal musicians of the Silesian String Quartet, Stefan Sendecki, the congenial arranger/composer, and Andrzej Lipinski, the Einstein of Sound!
Format: Lipinski Records Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

MOZART/PIANO CONCERTOS SACD
Stanislaw Drzewiecki, Tatiana Shebanova and Jaroslaw Drzewiecki – one of the greatest piano families perform triple, dual and single piano concertos.
Format: Lipinski Records Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

VIVALDI/THE FOUR SEASONS SACD
The original Italian sonnets, Vivaldi’s inspiration for the music, and the phenomenal interpretation and voice of Stacy Keach contribute to its uniqueness.
Format: Lipinski Records Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

PENDERECKI/CREDO SACD
Featured as one of the Records to Die For in the February 2007 issue of Stereophile!
Krzysztof Penderecki conducting his tremendous masterpiece during his 70th birthday gala concert in the thunderous acoustics of St. Jacek monastery in Warsaw’s Old Town.
Format: Lipinski Records Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

GORECKI/SYMPHONY NO. 3 SACD
One the most famous classical music masterpieces ever written, conducted by the composer himself during his 70th birthday gala concert.
Format: Lipinski Records Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

KILAR/MISSA PRO PACE SACD
Kazimierz Kord, a style setting conductor for a quarter of a century, of The National Philharmonic, Warsaw, conducts the most important work of F. Coppola’s and R. Polanski’s movies court composer.
Format: Lipinski Records Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

MARSHALL CRENSHAW/MARSHALL CRENSHAW SACD
Marshall Crenshaw’s 1982 self-titled debut album was immediately lauded as a pop masterpiece.
Format: Mobile Fidelity Ultradisc UHR™ Hybrid Stereo SACD
October 2008

IRMA ISSAKADZE/BACH GOLDBERG VARIATIONS 2SACD
Irma Issakadze demonstrates both a compelling and individualistic musical personality in an interpretation that combines completely transparent articulation, balanced polyphony and breathtaking virtuosity.
Format: 2 Oehms Classics Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACDs
October 2008

BEETHOVEN/SYMPHONIES NOS. 5 & 6 SACD
Bertrand de Billy conducts the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Format: 2 Oehms Classics Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACDs
October 2008

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS/A SEA SYMPHONY SACD
Soloists, internationally renowned opera star Geraldine McGreevy and acclaimed baritone Tommi Hakala, bring their individual talents and intuitive, idiomatic style to this demonstration-quality SACD recording.
Format: Querstand Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

MAHLER/SYMPHONY NO. 1 SACD
Gramophone Magazine Editor’s Choice
Jonathan Nott conducts the Bamberger Symphoniker for this fiery performance.
Format: Tudor Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

MAHLER/SYMPHONY NO. 4 SACD
Gustav Mahler’ Symphony No.4 is the third release in the Nott/Bamberg Mahler cycle and features German soprano Mojca Erdmann.
Format: Tudor Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACD
October 2008

Foghat’s fortunes turned around with their 1975 release Fool For the City, which was their first album to go platinum, and it introduced the band to Top 40 radio with the enduring rock favorite “Slow Ride.” Fool For The City still stands as the group’s finest achievement, and the well-crafted and ambitious set of tunes is the perfect representation of the road-tested band and of ’70s hard rock. Now available for the first time on Numbered Limited Edition Hybrid SACD From Mobile Fidelity!

Features:
• Numbered, Limited Edition Mini-LP Style Packaging
• Mastered from original 1/2″ Analog Master Tapes

Pre-orders are already being taken at the Elusive Disc !

Here is the real situation:

Sure, SACD is not going to take over CDs, of that much we can be clear. BUT, there are still great players coming out that are either dedicated to SACD or are multiplayers that include SACD playback. Also, the number of new releases per year hasn’t changed much in the last five years.

The Players of interest

The Pioneer DV48A, DV58A (US) and DV-600AV (Europe) along with the Oppo DV-970HD and 980H are recent players that have finally made digital output of the SACD DSD signal via HDMI to a compatible receiver like the Pioneer Elite VSX-92TXH, the Sony STR-DA5300ES (TA-DA5300ES), the Denon AVR-3808 and AVR-4308 and Onkyo TX- TX-SR805, TX-SR875 and TX -SR905 or the Marantz SR60001, SR7001, SR8001, SR7002 and SR8002 receivers, and the Yamaha RX-Z11, RX-V661, RX-V761, RX-V861, RX-V1700, RX-V2700, RX-V1800 and RX-V3800.
There are also now players and receivers using iLINK that can also transfer the DSD signal to the receiver. A few years ago this just didn’t exist.
If SACD were already dead, we would not be seeing new features coming out that are specifically for SACD! Right?

Pioneer has released an SACD audio player, the PD-D6-J and NAD came out with their first SACD machine. There are loads of high end players that too, like the Esoterics, Ed Meitner / EMM Labs, the dCS Paganini, Scarlatti and Puccini and the Accuphase MDSD SA-CD Player DP-700, and loads more.
Other SACD player manufacturers include Alouette Audio, Audio Aero, Bladelius Design, Bel Canto Designs, Classé, Daisy Laser, Denon, Faroudja, Krell, Lexicon, Lindermann, Linn, Marantz, McCormack, Micromega, Musical Fidelity, Music Hall Audio, Onkyo, Opera Audio, Philips, Pioneer, Primare, Revox, Shenzhen Shanling, Sharp, Sony, Theatris, Van Den Hul and Yamaha.

Doesn’t look very dead to me!

The Discs are Still Coming

Although the majors have slacked off, the smaller labels are still rolling out new titles.
The SA-CD stats show that this year has only rolled off about 10%. RIAA stats are of course bogus as they are for SACD only (non-hybrid) discs. Most SACDs released now are Hybrid SACD and CD playback and are counted as CDs by the RIAA.
And since there are more and more users that have SACD playback capable systems and have invested in better sound, there are new users every day.

The picks at the stores are there too. Arkiv Music has 2030 classical music titles, up from 1428 a year ago, Elusive disc has 3000 titles, one year ago they had 2500, and Amazon.com has 4430 titles up from only 1240 a year ago! OK, there are those who say that 4400 is way to little, but at least it is still growing! That’s a long way from dead if it is still growing!

I’d say that rather call SACD as dead, we need to call it what it is, a baby growing to toddler stage. I think SACD is here to stay, and will slowly continue to grow.

So please people, let’s not bury SACD while it is still alive and kicking.

For the second half of 2008 LINN announces the coming release of 5 new titles including works by Ravel, Mozart, Tartini, Veracini and the UK jazz legend Carol Kidd.

The discs

Palladians / The Palladian Ensemble – The Devil’s Trill

Palladians presents a collection of works by the Italian composer and virtuoso violinist, Giuseppe Tartini. The ensemble also perform a sonata by Francesco Maria Veracini, a fellow composer and virtuoso violinist whose style greatly inspired Tartini.
Release Date: 25 August 2008

“Dreamsville” marks the long-awaited return of a UK jazz legend. Carol Kidd is well known for her impeccable phrasing and delivery and for her innate ability to breathe fresh life into jazz standards. “Dreamsville” showcases American Songbook favourites as well as previously unrecorded original songs.

Release Date: 20 October 2008

—

A surf-space rock album that touched upon new heights, Bossanova departed from the “unpredictable” signature sound of the Pixies and is considered their first thematic project.

According to MoFi, the disc will be a Stereo and Multichannel Hybrid SACD and the digital transfer is mastered from the Original ½” Analog Master Tapes so we can expect the traditional great sound of mofi here. The packaging will be a numbered Limited Edition Mini-LP-Style. I recently added the Rush “Parallel Lines” MoFi Gold CD to my collection and I must say that the mini LP format really adds a sense of something special.

If you don’t know this album, there is a great review on Amazon By Wheelchair Assassin .

I’ll add links when it is actually available.

Availability

Music Direct 4 – 6 weeks.*
Elusive Disc – Preorder

Works by Jean-Baptiste Lully, Marin Marais, Sainte Colombe, & François Couperin
Montserrat Figueras (soprano); Maria Cristina Kiehr (soprano); Fabio Biondi (violin); Christophe Coin (bass viol); Jérôme Hantaï (bass viol); Rolf Lislevand (theorbo); Pierre Hantaï (harpsichord)

Le Concert des Nations

Jordi Savall

Alia Vox- 9821(CD)
Reference Recording – 1991 issue of same (Auvidis)

The SACD version has a fold out cardboard cover. The original CD from 1992 is the standard jewel box with booklet. The CD version is also available as a 2002 reissue but my example is the original 1992 version.

History

This is a “to die for” disc in ANY form!
I have both the CD and the SACD version and so I will try to define the differences between them, but let it be known that this music and the performance are brilliant!

If you are not familiar with the movie, don’t let that stop you from getting this music. If you like baroque music this is a stunner. If you would like to learn more about the movie or the book, this is the place to go :
http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/misc/tlmdm.htm

Also, a very good movie review can be found here:
http://jclarkmedia.com/film/filmreviewtouslesmatins.html

A good review of the CD is available here :
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=4828

Now, about that SACD …

Listening

I knew from the beginning that bettering the CD was going to be a tough job if at all possible. The CD is an excellent recording and has texture gallore as the recording is very close miked. Also, most of the pieces are either solo instrument with the viol (or viola da gamba) Composed by Jean de Sainte-Colombe and Marin Marais (played by Jordi Savall) or very small ensembles. However, the lead piece by Jean-Baptiste Lully (Le bourgeois gentilhomme, comédie-ballet, LWV 43 Marche pour la cérémonie des Turcs) is a much larger ensemble performed by Le Concert des Nations and Conducted by Jordi Savall. But the quality of the recording is no less stunning here.

Switching to the SACD does give you less edge, but it is decidely a small improvement. What is more noticable is the space around the instruments and of the room that is greatly improved with the SACD version. The SACD is more relaxed, although this may be due to a lack of edge.
Where the differences really stand out are with the vocal pieces like “Une jeune fillette” performed by two incredibly beautiful sopranos. The CD gets rather shrill with the voices here where as the SACD stays rich and clear.

Another place of improvement is the dynamics. The first piece is a ceremonial marche by Jean-Baptiste Lully and is very lively and dynamic. The SACD handles this far better as the music increases in volume until the final repetition of the theme as well as the power of the percussion instruments. This is a hair raising piece and really could be my favourite piece of the disc just after “Sonnerie de Ste Genevieve du Mont-de-Paris”. Most of the music here is somber or I prefer to say melancholic. But “Sonnerie de Ste Genevieve du Mont-de-Paris” is far from melancholic and provides some very interesting counterpoint.

In any case, as this is one of my very favorite classical discs, any improvement is welcome, and we certainly do get it. This SACD will be one of my primary demo discs when friends want to hear something on my system.

Where to get it
CD Universe Go There »

Amazon USA Go There »
Amazon UK Go There »

History

The Stranger was Billy Joel’s first big hit album. The Piano Man netted only one real hit, but The Stranger rang up four top 40 hits and four Grammy nominations. Phil Ramone’s assistance in this album was certainly of big importance in its success.


This was one of my favourite albums growing up along with Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge over Troubled Water, but when I got the CD version in the 80’s I was very upset at the raspy thin sound. My LP wasn’t great, but far better.

So when SACD came around, one of the first discs I wanted was The Stranger. I didn’t have to wait long as Sony released it in 2001, in fact this was my second SACD purchase. Boy was I excited!

The SACD version is a non-hybrid SACD so it will only play on an SACD capable player. It does add multi-channel which I’ve never tried.

Listening

My SACD player is a Pioneer DV-747 with lots of mods (See the article on this site for more info) and the rest of the system is quite revealing so differences in source quality really jump out.

When the disc arrived from Amazon, I couldn’t wait to hear it so I didn’t even give the system time to warm up. I put it in and pushed play.

…

Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song) bounces out, and I just listen, listen, and the big smile on my face slides off onto the carpet. What is this? It doesn’t sound much better than the CD. This was not enjoyable, in fact painful. So I decided to turn down the volume and let the system warm up for a while.

An hour later I came back and started the disc from the beginning. Nope, still sucks. Listened to all the tracks though. Then I put in the CD to compare. It was much quieter, but the same sound. It just sounds the same. All that effort to get better sound, and for nothing.

Results

Unless you want multi-channel of this disc, it is an absolute waste. You can’t play it in your car, or in the cd player in the bedroom, and when you do play it on your he-man system, your ears will hurt.

If you haven’t heard of the Gotan Project, you still may have heard them; if you’ve seen the hot argentine tango performed by Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere in Shall We Dance, then you’ve heard the most popular cut on the album, “Santa Maria (del buen ayre)” which is also on the SACD as track 5.

I’m not going to go on and on trying to describe them because that has already been very well done by Andy Hermann at pop matters. What I do want to do here is tell you how the CD version (XLCD 148) compares to the SACD Hybride (Dual Layer) (981 878-7).

Visually the two versions are very different. The CD is a folded cardboard packaging with no extra booklet. All the information is printed on the cardboard. It’s just cardboard, but I do like the style of it though. The SACD is in the standard Super Jewel Box and does have a single page booklet, but there is no extra information that isn’t already on the CD version except that DSD was remastered by Universal Music in Paris.

the system

• Pioneer DV-747 with 1000 euros of mods (and silver wired)
• Lavardin IS Reference amp
• Cabasse JAVA MKIV speakers (rewired with silver)
• All wire is AudioLitz silver

I’ve also given this a listen at my hifi buddy’s place who is set up with a dCS P8i SACD player, Flying Mole pre-amp, 2 Flying Mole amps and a pair of truly gorgeous sounding Sonus Faber Cremona speaker.

Listening

Well, I’m starting with the SACD, track 1, queremos paz.
The sound is rich; very deep bass, maybe a bit loose. The highs are very clean, no splash, but maybe a bit too recessed. Let’s put on the CD and see what that does.

EEIIIK! It’s dry, dry, dry! The bass sounds tighter, but less deep, the highs are chingy, and the rest sounds dry. I really didn’t expect this kind of difference!
Skipping to track 2; this is a very tango sounding piece with a womans voice. It sounds good, but dry. Switch to the SACD. Fyew! This really is much better. Her voice is much richer, the crying chello is better seperated from the other instruments and the over all space is much improved.
Track 3 – chunga’s revenge; The CD has great bass with the rythmic bass on this cut.
Track 5 santa maria (del buen ayre) – This is my favorite, and from here on out the cuts just get better and better. This is cool music. I still can’t get over just how dry the CD is compared to the SACD. The SACD is not velvity, but it is much better texturally and sound stage is better defined. But the biggest difference is the highs which are free from the ching chings on the CD.

This disc gets a lot more play on my system than most, and is the first disc to go on when company comes over. It is kewl groovin and is something special at the same time, and gives gives a good excuse to turn it up.

The only negative is the bass that comes out a bit loose on my system, but was just perfect on my friends rig with the Sonus Fabers. But the truth is, everything sounds amazing on his system.

Well I think it is certainly worth the effort to get the SACD. The only place I have seen it is on Amazon France. You can also here the track samples there. If you find it anywhere else, please let me know and I’ll add a link here.

This difference really makes me wish even more that record labels would release far more titles on SACD. I would especially like to see the fantastic CD of rodrigo y gabriela on SACD!

Until next time.

NAD is a Canadian hifi manufacturer that is world famous for making not too expensive hifi equipment that sounds great. When I say great, I mean that it isn’t just well composed, doesn’t offend, I mean it jams! And it does it right with every kind of music; which is mighty hand for me because I have a very wide range of musical tastes. Their most famous product is the NAD 3020 amplifier from the 70’s, designed by Bjørn Erik Edvardsen, who has been back in the lab there recently to bring out the NAD C320BEE (a real gem in affordable hifi).

I have many friends with NAD amps and CD players, and they have had them a long time. This meaning that they hold on to them. Other units have come and gone, but the NADs stay. I still have a NAD 7150 in the bedroom that serves for night listening with a pair of Onkyo D-TK10 speakers (truly gorgeous!) and as a headphone amp for my Beyerdynamics DT-990. I love it!

Now, back to the present. SACD from NAD, baby!

Now, the sad part is, I don’t have one here in my hot little hand to plug in and listen too, but I promise I will in the next few weeks.
Let me explain the real reason I am so excited. It is all because of this article in the Italian best-selling audio magazine AUDIO REVIEW. I’ve never heard these guys gush like this before!
Here are some quotes:

Lab test:

“…the level of silence and resolution reached by this player in SACD mode is the best ever in our lab tests!” “Only small perplexities emerged using the double-tones lab measure at 19+20kHz, but they are nothing compared to the global, superlative performance.”

and

“Over 19 bits; it’s a record! Normally, we don’t use sensational quotes, but now we must! This graph shows the Philips test SACD pure tone track recorded at –140dB. We never used this disc, cause the noise of the players we tested drowned the original signal. Now, with phenomenal performance of the M5, in conjunction with the very good qualities of the Audio Precision System 2C, the signal line fly out at 16dB over the noise threshold!” …

and then

“Crystal clear sound in Joni Mitchells old recording, with a full and resonating voice and a rich and well balanced acoustic guitar. The smallest details are very well heard, inside an accurate and fine playback.”

the article is here in its full Italian glory, and here in paraphrased English on the NAD site.

As I said, I’ll get one in soonly and give my own eval and compare it to the recent Pioneer PD-D6

Gasp! I’m out of breath!