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Only recently did I discover the remastered Living Stereo SACD series of recordings and have been very pleasantly surprised by the outstanding audio quality. When SACD first came out Sony produced a series of two channel SACD recordings as reissues of older analog recordings with sometimes marginal results. I was concerned that these might fall into that same category and bought my first one with some degree of apprehension.
I was truly delighted to discover a competently recorded performance enhanced by three-channel SACD sound. Whereas a number of the Living Stereo SACD series are three-channel some are also two-channel. My compliments to the recording engineers at RCA for their vision and professionalism!
These performances were recorded in 1962 and 1963 using an Ampex 300-3 tape recorder using 1/2 inch tape running at either 15 ips or 30 ips (ips stands for inches per second). The piano sound on this SACD three-channel recording is some of the best recorded solo piano sound I have ever heard.
My surround sound system was designed primarily for music reproduction and I have an extensive collection of SACD, and DVD-A recordings as well as a number of the newer recordings featuring DTS-HD Master Audio. By comparison with all of those the piano recordings contained on this disc compares favorably and is, in some respects, superior as played on my system.
I read the review concerning tape hiss after I had listened to the SACD and could not recall noticing the tape hiss on my system. I went back and played the beginning of the disc and noticed if I placed my ear close to the speaker I could make out some hiss. It was not so loud as to interfere with my enjoyment of the music.
I have been a fan of Arthur Rubinstein for many years and have a number of his recordings but I didn't have any of him performing Beethoven Sonatas. This disc shows off Rubinstein's masterful technique with power and drama. The dynamic range of the SACD format can be challenging to a system and the listener's ear. Setting the volume high enough to produce the softer sections at a realistic level can produce sound at much higher levels during the really loud sections.
As a matter of curiosity I set the level at the beginning of the Moonlight Sonata at a level that sounded convincingly as if a 9 foot concert grand were placed at the front of the room. It didn't take too much imagination to visualize the piano there in the room with me.
As the recording progressed I realized that the level of the music was getting pretty loud so I set up a sound pressure level meter and started checking the peak sound levels as the louder sections were being played. I was interested in noting the meter was frequently registering levels of 84 to 88 decibels and would on occasion pass the 90 decibel level at the loudest parts.
I have read that the sound pressure level at a concert grand can reach 105 decibel peaks at the piano bench when the piano is played with great force.
Please forgive my enthusiasm for the technical part of music reproduction; the results have been a surround music system which has provided many hours of enjoyment for me.
The quality of the reproduction you will get in your home will be in direct proportion to the quality of your system, especially the ability of your system to reproduce multi-channel music. The newer uncompressed audio formats promise a bright future for music lovers; as frequently happens the audio engineers are going through a learning curve and the early results are a mixed bag. I'm hopeful that we'll soon be seeing these newer formats engineered and recorded up to the potential they offer.
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Thierry Clemont
Sans esbrouffe cette version tient le haut de la rampe
Reviewed in France on August 5, 2014
