Search - Georges Bizet, Edvard Grieg, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov :: Bizet: Carmen Suites; Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite [Hybrid SACD]

Another of the "lost generation" of digital recordings

A techno geek | Kihei, Maui, HI USA | 10/03/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Telarc always put a premium on sound quality, but the hazard of being an "early adopter" happened here. The Bizet and Grieg were digitally recorded in 1979 before CDs existed! The 50KHz sample rate was not adopted by the "Red Book" CD, making it hard to transfer without sonic artifacts. DSD solves the artifact problem, but leaves us with a recording no better than a CD in fidelity. So, if you are looking for real SACD sound quality, skip this disk. Sadly, Slatkin's great performances are trapped forever in this low resolution digital state --- as are all of the digitally recorded performances until DSD and DXD came along about 10 years ago. But the lost generation continue as market momentum perpetuates the 96KHz and 192KHz standards. To my ears, you have to get up to twice that to match the resolution of even 1960 vintage analog, as one can hear in the beautiful Living Stereo series SACD reissues. The future of high resolution audio is still in flux. While SACD did not displace CD, it survives in the audiophile ecosystem ... ready to reinvade the mass market ecosystem when the time is right???"

DSD Makes them sound better!

A. Craig | Grand Junction,CO | 04/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This SACD of the Bizet and Grieg Suites started out life as a



Telarc L.P. DG 10048 then is was released on CD, now it has been



remasterd and issued as a Hybrid SACD that plays in stereo.



These perfomances were recorded using the Soundstream System



which were done at 50kHz. CD's were done at 44.1 which meant



that some of the great sound of the recordings were lost when



being transfered to CD. Fortunatly the SACD uses something



called Direct Stream Digital or DSD. This allows the origianl



50kHz sound to be heard on a disc as it was meant to be heard.



As for the performances Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis



Symphony deliver some sonic knockouts! At just over 79:00



minutes you get alot for your money. Great sound! Room filling



speaker demonstraiting, lease busting performances! The Rimsky-



Korsakov " Russian Easter Overture" is worth the price of the



disc alone!"