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| This is a comments thread about FSM CD: Ben-Hur |
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So, I wonder has any completist fan with a quality Hi-Fi system compared the two for sound quality and maybe even all three (i.e. including the FSM set)? Otherwise this is going to bug me.
According to Recorman on the other thread:
"BTW the sound in this edition of "Ben-Hur" is AMAZING, and the initial hearing of Disk #1 of "Star of Bethlehem/Adoration of the Magi" made my eyes mist over with the glory of that music."
How many here realised back in the day of home cassette recording that the music sounded better if you didn't use Dolby NR (nothing to do with Dolby Stereo/Surround/Digital)?
That simply may be very a very well-known psycho-acoustic effect: if you add hiss to a recording, suddenly the highs seem to sparkle.
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So, I wonder has any completist fan with a quality Hi-Fi system compared the two for sound quality and maybe even all three (i.e. including the FSM set)? Otherwise this is going to bug me.
According to Recorman on the other thread:
"BTW the sound in this edition of "Ben-Hur" is AMAZING, and the initial hearing of Disk #1 of "Star of Bethlehem/Adoration of the Magi" made my eyes mist over with the glory of that music."
How many here realised back in the day of home cassette recording that the music sounded better if you didn't use Dolby NR (nothing to do with Dolby Stereo/Surround/Digital)?
That simply may be very a very well-known psycho-acoustic effect: if you add hiss to a recording, suddenly the highs seem to sparkle.
Nakamichi decks never had hiss, so it wasn't needed (though you had the choice).
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Oh, Eazy Rider! Bought many a second-hand soundtrack LP there - used to come out with armfuls! And if memory serves me well (old age is a terrible thing!) I saw that Rozsa "Long box" in the HMV store near the Concert Hall recently (a couple of months ago now).
Alistair
It was a magic place, true enough, but the guy who ran it (he had allegedly the biggest selection of 2nd. hand stuff in the UK) moved to a newer plush shop in the New Town, and it never took off quite the same.
Just out of curiosity.... this is a long shot, but did you used to write your name on your sleeves? I still have an old Radic 'Genghis Khan' LP from there, with the name 'Alistair' in black ink on the back. Was that you?
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I've seen a comment on an earlier thread about the Sony Classical reissue(s) of the Rhino set (both the "long book" and jewel case versions), which states (actually about a different Rhino title "How the West Was Won" re-released by Sony) , that the Sony version is "cleaner" and "less hissy" than the Rhino, as if this were a good thing. Well I may well act like a hissing rhinocerous and charge Sony for "no-noising" when re-mastering. That just removes the top end detail too - for this is where the hiss is, along with the 'breath' of the music. How many here realised back in the day of home cassette recording that the music sounded better if you didn't use Dolby NR (nothing to do with Dolby Stereo/Surround/Digital)? It's exactly the same as removing film grain for a new Blu-Ray mastering and removing some of the very High Definition that it's supposed to be all about ("Spartacus")!
So, I wonder has any completist fan with a quality Hi-Fi system compared the two for sound quality and maybe even all three (i.e. including the FSM set)? Otherwise this is going to bug me.
I'd be surprised if there were any difference. Sony wouldn't make work for themselves, & it's a budget reissue. I'd have thought they'd just use the same stamper & knocked them out. I do think record companies muck around with albums too much these days (limiters, de-hissing ect). I tend to buy older CD's of pop/rock, as they can have a lot more oomph (& a lot cheaper on Amazon Marketplace), but then The Beatles remasters do sound fantastic, so it's not always so.
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George is correct. The effect is well documented. In fact, Dolby B was the miracle that made cassette audio tolerable in the first place. Hiss levels were bothersome on almost all open-reel machines in those days and intolerable on cassettes without NR. Of course today we hear these things with (literally) different ears. Males especially lose high-frequency hearing as we age, which has the paradoxical effect of making some of those old hissy tapes sound less offensive than they used to.
I think I'd be shocked listening to a cassette tape now, when you think how slow the tape was going over the heads.
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As to Eazy Rider: I never knew about that guy moving to the New Town - where was his shop there? He did have a huge selection of soundtrack vinyl though. Which I did my best to make smaller!
He didn't stay at the new place long, so I'm not sure. It was on one of the streets that run north off Prince's Street. on the left as you go north, like Dundas Street, Frederick St., Hanover St. ... one of those. The new shop was much smaller and had a different name.
I recall once in the Forrest Rd. shop, he was in a fuming rage. He'd ordered a big batch of thousands of discount records from somewhere in NY, and they'd not been what he felt would sell, largely classic jazz etc.. 'Look at this sh****' etc. and fevered phonecalls followed.
I do recall in that particular batch I picked up the Russ Case release of North's 'Cleopatra' though, so it's an ill wind .... as they say.
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The sound on FSM's "BEN-HUR" is nothing short of astounding. I can hardly believe that this the grestest film score ever written could sound this spectaculiar after forty some years. Just a magnificent job well done by Lukas and company.
The sound is much better than the Rhino. A great release all around. BTW 53 years since 1959...but who's counting!
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Posted: |
Mar 2, 2012 - 1:29 AM
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By: |
majorgoo
(Member)
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Got the discs in Newcastle yesterday - got slaughtered by customs though... an extra £16! Ouch. To you Americans, £16 = $39,000. Roughly. 
The sound is as good as is realistically achievable on the 1959 film soundtrack, with clipping related crackle on the high-end brass from the original recording sessions by MGM (thanks), but this is significantly reduced from previous releases. The sound is also clearer and crisper, particularly on low frequency sounds, with drums and low pitched brass being crystal.
Tracks like "Parade of the Charioteers" with their alternative recording location, still sound dead compared to the rest of the recording, but again, it's the best it's ever been and a lot of work has been done with it to make it as listenable as possible.
The only other major change is that the chorus has been mixed down, which is welcome, as the chorus has always been horribly over-imposing in the past, and not my favourite part of the score. There is also a horde of alternative tracks and outtakes, whick enhance your knowledge of the film music composition process considerably.
And onto my favourite part of the release - the Erich Kloss albums. I've always dreamt of having these tracks remastered and assembling them into film order, as it's a wonderful listening experience - clear sound, sweeping orchestral work, and a reasonable size orchestra arranged for concert makes it an absolute delight to listen to. I've already had my playlist set up and listened to it twice through. It causes goose-pimples. And since I prefer the lack of chorus, it's naturally the ideal listen for me.
The Carlo Savina album is there with exceptional sound quality, should you wish to listen to higher quality choral accompanied versions of some of the music.
I am most pleased.
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Since they're almost sold out at SAE...
According to who? I see no official announcement on the SAE site or in this tread. Sounds like fearmongering to me.
Only 262.
...That was Februrary the 26th. Right now it's...
...167
I'm used to letting these things go due to "Fundsalow" - but this one kinda hurts. Still, I have the Rhino, which I never had reason to complain about. I'm thrilled it's out and doing so well, though. An obvious labor of love.
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I'm glad this is doing so well & will probably sell out (for years I said this release would never happen, a lot I know). It looks like a very desirable object, but was an easy pass for me, first the money (I also passed on the Herrmann Box), & with the Rhino, Rozsa's 70's re-recording & the Blu-ray, I feel that's enough for me (if only more films were that well covered). Looking forward to what the next FSM will be, I have the funds for a single purchase (or two).
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- though seems to play okay.
