Most of our friends and family turn on political TV at night and get angry. Fortunately WE in the audio hobby, have music in our lives and THAT can be the evening’s entertainment.
Last night I wanted to hear something soul searching and beautiful. In my world, that has to be acoustic. Further, I prefer music that is a bit sparse so I can delve into the VOICE of a great cello in particular. I decided on LVB cello/piano duos.
There have been a hundred and one recordings of the LVB cello sonatas, which feature piano as an equal partner. My go to is a DG CD by Pierre Fournier and Wilhelm Kempff. It was recorded in 1965 (stereo) and has the lovely DG sound of that era. The two disc set I have is the remastered version.
For music as transparent as this, I refuse to listen through LP noise. The richness of the cello is so heartfelt that I want to hear every last drop of its groan and heartbeat, unencumbered with noise. I insist on playing the CD, vs losing 5-10% of its texture via streaming. The bow’s physical contact with the cello strings brings not only a sound, but a tactile, emotional connection to the music that is softened via streaming.
Now, you could… stream a hundred or more versions of these works very easily. There are more modern recordings with a mic shoved down the throat of each instrument- EQ’d and mixed after the fact. But for me, there’s no substitute for the majesty of Fournier and Kempff, along with their inscrutable interplay. Beethoven never heard his music played so well- and I’m 100% serious about that.
I’m making the appeal to you look beyond streaming. With the right music, as described above, there are more layers to the onion with CD than streaming. I can’t even start on the LP conversation with rumble and various mechanicals in the road.
It’s a heroic waste of time to save CDs or files to a computer or server. On top of the time it takes to save all that music to a drive, then you’ll have to start correcting all the inaccurate meta data. Life is too short. Oh, and virtually every server out there is going to break your heart and crash some day. Don’t toss your CDs!
Just play the CDs already. Please don’t tell me your wife won’t LET you have CDs about the house. It’s your house too. Look at all the crapola around your house. Grow some … courage. Sheeze.
The industry is much abuzz about the vinyl revival. That’s great. It’s fun. Dive in as part of the hobby to ENJOY. But if you want to hear intimate acoustic works without pretending there isn’t snap, crackle, pop, remember your CD collection.
We are seeing more people return to CDs now, as they returned to LPs. Even if you choose to stream the majority of your music, I suggest you rely on CDs for music such as I’ve described above.
To derive the pleasure your discs offer, is pretty easy. You just need to get a CD player that pays attention to the details of playing CDs, the same way a high quality turntable pays attention to getting more out of vinyl than your average bear.
Atoll CD Players
The easy solution to this question can be answered with one word- Atoll. Atoll of France treats the CD format as seriously as Rega and top turntable makers treat playing LPs. Atolls aren’t the only good CD players on the market. But there’s no brand at affordable money that beats them, and they make a wide range of models.
We’ve found that audiophiles who have dismissed CDs have done so for two main reasons.
The first reason is that they’ve only had hard and thin sounding Chinese built CD players. Well, if you judged the sound of LPs based on flimsy plastic turntables and poor cartridges, you wouldn’t think vinyl had potential either. We need to go beyond this level of player to unlock the treasures of CDs. Atoll does that.
The second reason some audiophiles put their CDs in the basement is that they’ve read nonsense from expert reviewers, that CDs are no good.
There’s a cadre of snooty reviewers who write ad nauseam about tables/arms/carts that sell for many thousands of dollars. The October 24 Stereophile had, in its recommended components, turntables for 48k, 363k, 550k and several for 37k. In its class A+ and A listings, there are 17 turntables, many without arms, with an average price of $73k. I’m sure all of these sound very good, as long as your brain is able to ignore rumble and endemic record noise. My brain isn’t willing to do this any more. Back in the 70s… we had no alternative but to PRETEND and listen “through” the snow.
Atoll CD players, MADE WITH TLC IN FRANCE, use high quality transformers and large amounts of filter capacitance to provide a relaxed, rich sound. In fact, when you compare an Atoll to a Chinese player you will appreciate the burnished timbre it presents on acoustic instruments and singers.
I’m done with the emperor’s new clothes.
We all have our musical favorites that we enjoy time, and time again. This music… is worth hunting down great CDs for.
Above, I described the version of the LVB cello sonatas I prefer. It holds true for all genres of music. Here are a few more examples.
I’ve always been in love with Sade. Since “Diamond Life” came out in 1984 I was hooked. I played it a million times and still love it. If you want it on CD, think a second. You could buy the basic CD at Walmart with the 1984 recording. Buttt, just as you might consider a 180g pressing on vinyl. let’s look a bit further. In 2011 most of that album was remastered along with most of her other great songs. It was released as a double CD called the “Ultimate Collection.” It’s worth spending $18 for the double, with much superior sound. I encourage you to pursue the CD hobby like this- just as you would for quality vinyl.
Shelby Lynne’s “Just A Little Lovin” is a fun, sparse album that all of us in the audio world use. However, much of the character is spoiled by record noise. Further, since the content is often clear and quiet, you can hear ghosting of adjacent grooves. No thanks. It’s easier to play the CD and if you have a wonderful player, it’ll sound fabulous.
Benjamin Grosvenor is a 32 year old pianist from England. His recordings on Decca are magnificent. His 2024 Liszt album features the monumental Sonata in B. It also has Reminiscences de Norma. Here’s 52 minutes of spectacular music with state of the art fidelity- unspoiled by mechanical noise.
Many of you have fancy DACs you’re in love with. That’s fine. Just be sure to feed that DAC with a high quality CD transport. It makes a difference. Atoll makes those too.