Stereophile publishes reviews. Our own @Kal Rubinson has published his own list that includes multichannel/SACD recordings.
I said in my post that at CD rate and above there are no gaps with Qobuz. With their lossy rates, there were gaps when I had the service.
No problem. I tested all of their stream levels with the official Qobuz app (on Windows 10) during the closed Beta. They occasionally broke gapless playback with the Hi-Res streams during the process of changes and bugfixes, but they were prompt to address it, usually within hours of my reporting it. I had hoped that their lossy service would also allow proper gapless playback so that I could recommend it to friends in place of Spotify Premium, but they told me they didn't plan to change the lossy service at that time. I'm sure with time they will fix some of the search shortcomings by adjusting tagging or other things.Ah, sorry for misreading you. I've never used the lossy service.
My collection is about half that size, but I feel like I've only scratched the surface. I know there's a lot more music and performances worth listening to -- but how to find these drops in the vast sea of classical works and performances?... Anywho, thanks to all of those headaches with streaming, I just went back to listening to my CDs. I realize that's not an answer for most people who haven't had 30+ years to acquire 3000+ CDs of the greatest classical recordings. ...
That's a shame, because Hyperion has some great artists and consistently high quality recordings. And buying them as FLAC downloads is cheaper than buying discs. The streaming discussion here has really got me thinking: I agree it's changed everything about how to approach classical music, there are so many works and recordings, nobody could review them all -- you just have to have a way to sample them.... For example the Hyperion label does not stream anywhere. ... Regarding reviews: They are unnecessary in the age of streaming.
... BTW, to my ears, in my very expensive stereo system, 320bps streaming is indistinguishable from CD playback...
320 kbps MP3 is not transparent. I can differentiate it in ABX testing, with suitable recordings. I agree it is challenging (at least for me, if not for everyone), requiring careful listening. That's not a "golden ears" claim, as most trained listeners can do this, including several people at this site, so long as they're playing suitable material for the ABX test. However, fully transparent sound quality would not be a requirement for me when streaming; 320 kbps would be good enough. If I hear something I like on streaming, I'll buy the recording (whether on CD or download).I have to concur that, at least for me, distinguishing between Spotify, at 320 kbps, and lossless, would be very challenging.
Perhaps that is changing. I found at least 1 Hyperion recording, Grace Davidson singing Dowland. I bought this directly from Hyperion last year and happened to find it on both Primephonic and Idagio.... For example the Hyperion label does not stream anywhere. ...
I think that’s a Signum recording. They get sold on the Hyperion site but aren’t full fat Hyperion so appear on streaming services, I believe.Perhaps that is changing. I found at least 1 Hyperion recording, Grace Davidson singing Dowland. I bought this directly from Hyperion last year and happened to find it on both Primephonic and Idagio.
I’m intrigued what these objective standards would be. I assume you mean objective reviews of music (Amit does ditto for equipment). Or do you mean objective reviews of reviewers? Either way, what would these look like?Classical music review is generally trash. I doubt the majority of these reviewers can even read an score. It would be nice if we held music reviewers to the same standard that Amir has brought to equipment reviews; something a little more objective in it's approach.
The best thing a new listener of classical music can do is ignore all of the conductors who have been pushed forward by marketing.
An objective review would involve actually reading through the score and seeing what it actually asks for and comparing it to what the conductor put forward. Most reviews tend to deal with feelings and comparing/contrast of other recordings. Why do you need this when you have the score, the recordings should be compared to the score, not to each other. The score gives you a base to work from. Following along with the score while listening is one of the most enlightening experiences on can have while doing some serious listening.I’m intrigued what these objective standards would be. I assume you mean objective reviews of music (Amit does ditto for equipment). Or do you mean objective reviews of reviewers? Either way, what would these look like?
That would be useful. Judging from what I read, many reviewers must be listening on low to mid fi equipment. What sounds good there is often different from what sounds good on a true high fi system....
It would also be interesting to know what equipment the reviewers listen on, and maybe a little about the room. Graphs from REW would be amazing.
I cannot deny your first statement but it has never been easy to do anything new. Nonetheless, there is the opportunity to do something really superb and refreshing in much better sound than was possible in the past.Sales of classical music in recent years have been very low. I guess there is only so much in the genre, it's mostly been recorded multiple times, and it isn't easy to do anything really new.
I cannot deny your first statement but it has never been easy to do anything new. Nonetheless, there is the opportunity to do something really superb and refreshing in much better sound than was possible in the past.
Not for me. Today, after some time with the newly remixed Abbey Road in 5.1, I listened to all of Weber's Der Freischutz in a new MCH set from Pentatone. That provoked me to survey and sample several other recordings of Der Freischutz and I enjoyed them all but in different ways.I mostly agree, but it's extra difficult when dealing with well known and beloved pieces which have been around since before recorded music.
For the genre to flourish, new music needs to be written and new composers need to produce masterpieces that reflect the age they live in. Otherwise it will become a museum of beautiful things which, while lovely, is rather sad.
Not for me. Today, after some time with the newly remixed Abbey Road in 5.1, I listened to all of Weber's Der Freischutz in a new MCH set from Pentatone. That provoked me to survey and sample several other recordings of Der Freischutz and I enjoyed them all but in different ways.