Print

Print


Thanks for posting the NY Times Boulez article, Tom, which could have been
entitled "A bunch of famous musicians sitting around kissing up to Pierre
Boulez."  They remark how "influential" (i.e, famous) he is.  That he is.
Does that make him a great conductor? Nope.  I loved the Gunther Schiller
quote.  Obviously, Boulez has occasionally succeeded with a piece of
music.  Like they say, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.  And many
great orchestras could occasionally deliver a great performance even while
ignoring a monkey on the podium.

If DGG digital recordings had max resolution of 48 kHz, as you know that is
not an appreciable difference from 44.1 kHz.  The difference in frequencies
(pitches) those sampling rates will capture is the difference between
22,500 and 24,000 Hz.  Way up there, that is a difference of only a note or
two (think extended piano keyboard).  I have never been able to hear the
slightest difference between a recording at 44.1 kHz and one at 48 kHz.
Recording at 96 kHz is a whole 'nother thing, catching a whole octave above
48 kHz in frequency, but also seemingly able to capture more detail based
on double the number of samples.  Or maybe I should say capture the detail
with greater accuracy.

Since we routinely make hi-def dubs (at least 96/24) from analog master
tapes these days that can sound really great, I have to wonder if, all else
being equal, those results will outshine an original digital recording made
at only 48 kHz.

I am another one who has never felt that your average DGG orchestral
recording captured a lot of the sheer excitement of the sound of a great
symphony orchestra.

Best,
John


On Sat, Apr 4, 2015 at 8:21 PM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Hi Mark:
>
> So from what you're saying, I gather that the maximum resolution of that
> Boulez/CSO master would be 48/24?
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Donahue" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2015 6:13 PM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] SACD "surprise"
>
>
>  On Sat, Apr 4, 2015 at 10:31 AM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>  I can't recall if it was Yamaha or Studer digital consoles, but I think
>>> you are correct in your descriptions of "4D". being a true DDD system in
>>> that the last time anything was analog was when the mic plugged into the
>>> console and the mic preamp went to a ADC.
>>>
>>
>>
>> Tom,
>> The DG 4D system was comprised of a stagebox containing custom remote mic
>> preamps and Yamaha converters that connected digitally at 24 bits/44.1/48k
>> to an RTW bit splitter that allowed them to record 24 bit 16 track on a
>> Sony3324. The signal was also distributed to the input of a pair of Yamaha
>> DMC-1000 digital consoles.  The normal orchestral kit that I would see
>> here
>> in the states was a pair or three stage boxes with a pair of machines for
>> 32 track recording. It was basically modular and could be scaled for the
>> job.
>> All the best,
>> -mark
>>
>>
>>