Vidar P:
jeg mener jeg har lest at du har et hjertelig forhold til Thus Spoke Zarathustra/ Karajan/Decca (1959)
Stemmer det?
En gammel traver på SH forum er gått helt bananas over SHM-SACD utgaven og gir den 15 poeng på en skala fra 1-10.
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.Thus, the opening stanza from The Raven fairly well encapsulates my experience this morning. No, it wasn't a midnight dreary -- better yet. In the moments just after dawn, there was indeed an ever so gentle rapping at my kitchen door.
This seemingly pedestrian endeavor soon revealed itself to be a glorious moment sans parallel. The Fed Ex van had arrived and with the swift signature necessary I was delivered three most covetous items from Japan. I poured a measure of freshly brewed Hazelnut Dunkin Donuts coffee into my cup and a smile broke across my face.
The packaging is wondrous before one even gets inside the box. Once carefully opened, three brand new SHM SACD in hand, I was sure I had been delivered upon by the magus himself. As I contemplated the three SHM SACDs, I couldn't help putting on "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" first. A most appropriate selection.
Well, guys, this is as far as I have got, the bright northern New Mexico sun whipping behind clouds over the eastern mountains and creating bizarre patterns of light across my listening room. Indeed, this effect, like someone dialing a rheostat potentiometer from full-on to semi-darkness in the blink of an eye, is more dramatic than one could imagine. I am enjoying an epiphanic experience.
Since there doesn't seem to be much if any interest in the Decca Classical releases, and because I am not expert on such matters anyway, I will keep it short and sweet.
My initial impression is simply that this is the finest moment I have ever enjoyed as it regards such endeavors. On a scale of one to ten, this is about a fifteen. Hyperbole? Perhaps. But my only qualifier is that this is an initial impression. And I couldn't be more impressed.
The Karajan conducted "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" Decca recording (circa 1959) as presented on SHM SACD is the finest moment I have ever experienced. Oh, my freakin' goodness!
And now, onto more pedestrian matters. I let the amps warm up for a few moments while I carefully considered the packaging. For those who concern themselves with such matters, the deluxe replica cardboard album sleeve is a thing to behold. Being in Japanese, I cannot translate, but there seems to be much discussion of the DSD process and its inherent advantages. Suffice it to say, the sound is pure analogue to my ears.
Not one to even illuminate the big blue meters on my McIntosh amps, as I generally find it to be a distraction to the listening experience, my interest was piqued during a particularly dynamic section and I flipped them on during a moment of darkness as the sun dipped behind a dark grey rain cloud. Indeed, we often enjoy sun showers here, as I think they are known, when it is raining on your roof while the sun shines intently from above the mountains.
At any rate, I glanced at the meters, which McIntosh goes into much detail about the accuracy of which, and discovered them to be dancing in the flick of an eye between 5 milliwatts and nearly 50 watts, and back down again. I have never seen anything like it. They say the meters are more accurate than even those found in the finest recording studio equipment. But I digress.
Let it be known that the dynamics are truly incredible. I have never heard anything like it. The thundering tympani contrasted with the stark and ever clear triangle, the brass, stings and bass drum. The swirling dervishes of the violins and violas. Oh, my word. It is nearly psychedelic. Well, it is more than that.
I shall get to the other two SHM SACDs. But for now, I have just hit repeat on the Richard Strauss and am simply stunned. Stunned is the word I am using. It is, in short, the finest presentation I have ever experienced.
Will I doubt the superiority of the SHM SACD. Never more. Never more.
