02-28-2018, 12:07 PM
I do not fully trust sound quality over the Internet, but there is much material available only through the Internet except through difficult means.
I was satisfied that the pristine vinyl disk if new and played on a high-quality turntable with an excellent needle and cartridge was as good as a compact disc. I thought the compact disc less vulnerable to stretching and shrinking with temperature flux which happens even within a day between night and direct sunlight, dust, and the inevitable degradation of phonograph needles. That explains why I went from vinyl discs to compact discs in the 1980s and why I consider the fad of the vinyl disc suspect. I am surprised that the recorded-music industry never adopted Blu-Ray technology. Maybe Blu-Ray technology could put more material on one disc, especially in classical music, where there is a gigantic back catalogue. Putting all nine Beethoven symphonies on one Blu-ray disc is obviously less profitable than putting them on five ordinary compact discs (two symphonies except the ninth on one disc). With the disc could come such goodies as music scores that music lovers might want to follow.
But there is the huge back catalogue, and the record industry prefers that it not be available so that people can be induced to buy something new. I am not convinced. Recording quality with late-stage acoustic recording was as satisfying as the new technology of digital recording. Note also that sound quality often reflects such attributes of an orchestra as intonation and ensemble, and the powerful effect of the recording venue. Recordings of the Cleveland Orchestra with George Szell (who was much appreciated as a conductor) were typically compromised by the venue in which the recordings were made, much in contrast to those made by the Boston Symphony. Spherical halls do not work as well as rectangular halls for recording.
I was satisfied that the pristine vinyl disk if new and played on a high-quality turntable with an excellent needle and cartridge was as good as a compact disc. I thought the compact disc less vulnerable to stretching and shrinking with temperature flux which happens even within a day between night and direct sunlight, dust, and the inevitable degradation of phonograph needles. That explains why I went from vinyl discs to compact discs in the 1980s and why I consider the fad of the vinyl disc suspect. I am surprised that the recorded-music industry never adopted Blu-Ray technology. Maybe Blu-Ray technology could put more material on one disc, especially in classical music, where there is a gigantic back catalogue. Putting all nine Beethoven symphonies on one Blu-ray disc is obviously less profitable than putting them on five ordinary compact discs (two symphonies except the ninth on one disc). With the disc could come such goodies as music scores that music lovers might want to follow.
But there is the huge back catalogue, and the record industry prefers that it not be available so that people can be induced to buy something new. I am not convinced. Recording quality with late-stage acoustic recording was as satisfying as the new technology of digital recording. Note also that sound quality often reflects such attributes of an orchestra as intonation and ensemble, and the powerful effect of the recording venue. Recordings of the Cleveland Orchestra with George Szell (who was much appreciated as a conductor) were typically compromised by the venue in which the recordings were made, much in contrast to those made by the Boston Symphony. Spherical halls do not work as well as rectangular halls for recording.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.