| Blog: Audio [message #95] |
Sun, 04 January 2004 10:13  |
BillEpstein
Messages: 886
Registered: May 2009
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Illuminati (2nd Degree) |
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Looked up (Blog) (Audio) on Google and found only various Blogs on diverse subjects that were posted with audio files, but no audiophiles posting! :)
Yesterday I went to a Record Show in Columbus. 25 or so exhibitors, some with CD's. Lot's of 45's. Mostly Classic Rock and 50's stuff. Psychedelia, Cruisin' car sounds. And a fair amount of Jazz.
I was among the first in the doors and quickly got on my knees (!) at the few boxes of $1 Classical. Great stuff. Dutch pressing Phillips Mikado, Mercury 1812, Madame Butterfly 1947 with Steber and Tucker and Melchiorre!!!!!, Cleve and Szell Strauss on Oddysey (Columbia) SEALED!, Verdi Requiem Bernstein LSO, others.
All these looking good with the nice contrast between loud and soft rings which usually means quiet.
I've got all this and more in about 15 minutes. My friend is going to be at least another hour because he's after the $20-$30 stuff which requires careful inspection, consulting lists and serious haggling. So I take in the scene.
$10 and more for beat to sh-t Led Zeppellin. And Beatles, don't ask! Revolver, $75!
At least Coltrane and Monk are commanding high prices and the Jazz is obviously better preserved .
Some collectors have little bitty phonos to play 45's. Some have nice shoulder bags. Wish I had. 15 or 20 LPs get heavy. A few people are genuine characters: a tow truck driver who loves to re-build transmissions but is afraid to tackle his Garrard that needs a motor(he's sitting in front of a pile of sound effects albums), a guy who sits down near me to take a load off and will not talk or even make eye contact and keeps his arms around his stash of 45's, two fellow's who dog me as I go thru the Classic Rock bins at one table perhaps hoping I'll find something they overlooked? What would
they do, wrestle me for it? An exhibitor with a T-shirt that reads, "Trust Me, I'm A Doctor". He is.
I compare this venue to Arthur Newman Records where I spent many afternoons haunting the bins and listening in a booth to whatever had been opened. Got "Take Five" there when it was released as well as mostly everything the Cleveland Orchestra recorded. Records were $2.98 and no one knew about poorly recorded Columbias or Shaded Dogs or Bluebacks. You bought Music. Everyone I knew played an instrument, most badly, no one played guitar except the fat kid on the next street. Something called "Les Paul". Basketball and orchestra practice. Solo contests. Practice some more. Szell and Bernstein were on Columbia. Maybe after the High School presented HMS Pinafore you bought the D'oyly Carte on London. Or perhaps dad had some London or Decca 78 Shellacs. Who knew anything about labels?
Fact was, in the 60's, the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra were the top three in the world. And all were on Columbia.
Today, the $1 boxes on the floor are all Columbia and post-70's RCA. The boxes up on the tables with the $30 price tags are all old RCA's, Deccas and London's. Good orchestra's, sure. But not necessarily the "best" or most "interesting" performances.
I just came from Arthur Salvatore's site
http://www.high-endaudio.com/
and read up on his preferred list of albums. Sonics, sonics, sonics. Not one word about performance or performers. Further, he reveals the truth about early RCA Dogs as being inferior to late 60's and early 70's pre-Dynagroove. And ignores the productions of Wilkerson that made those old recordings marvels of coherency and soundstaging, dynamics and shading that comprised breathtaking recordings of performances. The 70's stuff may have used a better cutter head but the producer wasn't Wilkerson!
Collectors are buying vinyl, not performances.
That's okay, I got 17 really great performances for $25.
Oh, by the way, did I mention I haven't got a Turntable?
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| high end audio [message #105 is a reply to message #95] |
Wed, 07 January 2004 11:39  |
replay
Messages: 284
Registered: May 2009
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Grand Master |
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yes of course, arthur salvatore from toronto. quite the character eh? actually he's one of the few columnists i enjoy reading. i seem to agree with most of his thoughts. till, next time your in florida maybe you can visit him and send us your report.
george
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