jho@ihuxn.UUCP (Yosi Hoshen) (09/26/84)
I have had my Sony 101 CD player since February 1984. I am generally pleased with the CD sound. I have over 50 classical CDs. My main interest is chamber and instrumental music. The problem is the lack of selection of CDs in this area. You can find 5-6 performances of Dvorak's New World symphony. Yet, you cannot get Brahms's string quartets on CD. Denon seems to be the only CD manufacturer that has a relatively large chamber music selections. Denon has almost completed issuing Beethoven's String quartets on CD. They have already issued all (six) Mozart's string quintets as well two of his quartets. The performers on these disks are the Smetana Quartet + Josef Suk (viola) from Czechoslovakia. These are gorgeous recording. The sound is great and the performance is superb (In May/June issue of Fanfare there is a review article on the Smetana Quartet and their recordings). These recordings exhibit a very pleasant violin sound without harshness which some people associate with the CD source. (Please note, not all of Denon CDs are of the above quality. My comments only pertain to the Smetana Quartet recordings.) I have been disappointed with some CDs, some of which have received good reviews. For example, I am not very happy with the Schubert Death and the Maiden quartet performed by the Amadeus Quartet (DGG). Another disappointment is Schubert's string quintet, performed by the Berg Quartet, on the Angel label. Although the performance is satisfactory (not great), I find the sound occasionally objectionable. The first violin is rather harsh and unpleasant. Since the LP format of the quintet got a very good review, I suspect that the CD job was botched. To sum up, the availability of the Mozart's and Beethoven's string chamber music on the Denon label has made my purchase of the CD player worthwhile. It is also an indication that it is possible to combine great performances with great sound on a CD. -- Yosi Hoshen Bell Laboratories Naperville, Illinois (312)-979-7321 Mail: ihnp4!ihuxn!jho
greg@olivej.UUCP (Greg Paley) (09/28/84)
Thanks, Yoshi, for the specific comments on particular CD's and their characteristics. It would be good to see more such, particularly mentioning classics. It seems that the most glaringly obvious defect of the CD (and digitally mastered LP's), the edgy, strident string tone, can be (but is by no means always) overcome. How about front-to-back depth? This is what I've sorely missed so far, along with "ambience", and would much like to know of CD's which can compete with good analogue recordings in this regard. - Greg Paley