Everything in life moves forward and the way classical music was recorded since the โGolden Ageโโthe mono and early stereo periodโis no exception. How did the landscape change since then, and what does it mean to audio enthusiasts?
I vividly remember the first time I heard a high resolution file. It was a 24/96 download from HDtracks.com of Vivaldiโs Spring played by violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. It sounded amazing. But it got me thinking: was the better sound really due to the hi-res format or, rather, to the quality of the recording itself?…
Now that LPs are once again the biggest selling form of physical media, industry players large and small are getting into the LP game. Waiting times of nine months or more are now common at LP pressings plants. New artists who are smart about managing their careers routinely produce many limited-edition LPs in various colors.…
3-to-6-minute tunes? Sure, they can move us, or be fun to hum to or even do a little dance-step to, but the truth is, for many of us audio enthusiasts, they become just not good enough. Now wait. Before anyone gets up in arms about of my comment, let me say that I realize that…
Back in 1967, Aretha Franklin won the respect of the public and press, not to mention her musical peers, who crowned her Queen of Soul or Lady Soul. As disco began to supplant soul in the mid-seventies, two women each sought to become successor to Aretha’s throne: glorious Gloria Gaynor and diva-esque Donna Summer. The former got…