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Listened tonight to Leontyne Price with Fritz Reiner/CSO on black and gold Gold Seal, jacket stamped 1981. Sounds pretty damned good, I was surprised to check the archives and see such strongly negative comments about them. I don't think I have many more to compare, but are others'experiences really that uniformly negative?
Dave
Follow Ups:
What I have generally not liked about RCA Gold Seal records, is that transients are compressed and distorted. Are you saying the transients are clean on this record?
Dave
See clip below.
Dave
Previously released as LSC-2695, this was from AGLI-3792 dated 1981 on the jacket.
Shaded Dog to follow.
Dave
First half of side one from LSC-2506, Leontyne Price Arias. Not a terribly clean copy, a fair number of pops and ticks but audio quality is clear enough. Sounds nice and different from the Gold Seal above, but neither "sounds bad" to me.
Perhaps my Gold Seal is one of the good ones as vinyl phanatic said, I'll probably buy some more if I see them in decent enough shape, to see how others compare.
Dave
You are comparing two very different recordings.
The El Amor Brujo, LSC 2695 is a later "Dynagroove" recording, and the original does have very good sound. There are quite a few Dynagroove recordings that are worth having. It was a step in the wrong direction, to be sure, but it is a mistake to dismiss them all. If you like it, I would recommend looking for an original issue of this. It did come as a shaded dog, but a "White Dog" would be fine as well. It is neither hard to find nor expensive.
LSC 2506 is an earlier recording, before the introduction of Dynagroove, recorded in Italy by RCA with the Rome Opera Orchestra. The Trovatore excerpts on this record are lifted from the complete recording (you'll notice that they have a different conductor). This is a nice record, certainly worth having for the performances, but it's not among the best sounding Living Stereos.
Do you think the gold seal sounds "bad"? I think it sounds quite good. I wouldn't doubt an original sounds different or possibly better, as with many records.
I posted the shaded dog for frame of reference if we're discussing how much worse the gold seal sounds compared to a shaded dog.
Dave
Some of late RCA's are great - This Borodin disk is cut at a low level but is well recorded and the performances are first rate. These are crazy cheap and well worth the effort.
A number of early stereo recordings were never issued on disc in stereo until the Gold Label era. I suppose it's possible that RCA took more care with these than they did with titles that were reissues. Most notable is the Reiner/CSO Elektra excerpts with Inge Borkh. Fantastic performance and great sound, a must-have for any RCA fan. Others include the 1954 Munch/BSO Symphonie Fantastique, the Stokowski Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet excerpts with the NBC orchestra, Munch/BSO Martinu and Piston Symphonies. All of these are fine performances with very good sound. There are more. These are for the most part recordings that were issued in stereo on 2 track tape, but only in mono on disc.
This one?
I'll make a recording of this Gold Seal record as well as LSC-2506 shaded dog (Leontyne Price Arias) for point of comparison.
Dave
So yeah the sonics of the recording are not 'audiophile' grade.
Best thing for those folks is to go buy only the 'audiophile approved' recordings. All twenty of them. And remember to keep "Jazz at the Pawnshop" on the top of the pile.
Best to play those only.. and FORGET about the thousands of spectacular performances that sadly only have average sonics. Much better to play the few totally boring audiophile approved recordings.
Yessirs...
You can try the Living Stereo shaded dog, the Living Stereo white dog, the plum Victrola, the Chesky reissues, the RCA .5 reissues, the Hobson-era Classic Records, or the current Chad Kassem Classic Records.
All of them will easily beat a Gold Seal.
Scott Joplin, 16 Classic Rags on RCA Gold Seal - I listen to the one track, "Solace," over and over (a quiet piece; solo piano). It plays silently - no ticks or pops. Outer tracks have a few ticks.
Anyone who has done a comparison with a good original Living Stereo shaded dog, or a early plum Victrola reissue, can tell you the Gold Seal reissues are inferior. RCA put out this series as a cheap reissue, and did not expend any effort in cutting the masters or pressing the records.
I have probably two dozen Living Stereo shaded dogs (not of this record) and while I could believe the LSC sounds even better I do think this one sounds excellent and better than a good number of records.
Dave
I was pleasantly surprised by Reiner's "Spain" on Gold Seal, and Leinsdorf's Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet synthesis. But psst: don't tell anyone. : )
Some are digital remasters though.
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