The Super-Duper Cheap Bargains Thread

[Moonfish]

Agree about the Annie Fischer Icon set. 8 discs is a nice size, though $38 seems high both for the Icon series and the SDCB thread.

jpc lists the contents of the "50 Great Recordings" set here. I can resist this -- I think I already have most of what I want from it.

Thanks for the jpc link! That was very helpful!      Those recordings are definitely all over the place, but it is a "top 50" box so no wonder it is scattered.

[I removed the Fischer post since it was already posted by Todd in the New Releases thread]

[Ken B]

Thanks for the jpc link! That was very helpful!      Those recordings are definitely all over the place, but it is a "top 50" box so no wonder it is scattered.

[I removed the Fischer post since it was already posted by Todd in the New Releases thread]

It looks excellent indeed, but I have a lot of those recordings.
What a great time to be new to classical music though.

Someone needs to convince Sony to issue 50 Great Renaissance Masses We Didn't Put In Other Boxes

[The new erato]

Someone needs to convince Sony to issue 50 Great Renaissance Masses We Didn't Put In Other Boxes

[Manos]

What shipping you choosing? I live 20 miles from you and can get it for L48 including shipping from amazon uk. Thats $84 all in.

Thanks for pointing that out, Ken. I didn't notice the shipping selector buttons below the delivery address. The selector defaults to AmazonGlobal Priority for £22.58. Changing to Standard lowers the shipping charge to £3.08!

[Mookalafalas]

Apparently these are from the 1950s and in Mono. Still, about $1 per disc for Callas...
[asin]B004JC16LM[/asin]

[Moonfish]

Apparently these are from the 1950s and in Mono. Still, about $1 per disc for Callas...
[asin]B004JC16LM[/asin]

I thought you already had that box, Baklavaboy? You are falling behind.... 
Moonfish <--------- Adores Callas   
The Callas 52 is very similar to the red box (and it is an annoying huge square box (a la Bernstein/Wand) but with cute tiny boxes ones inside). The 52 one has Callas' live Aida performance in Mexico City. That one alone is worth the price for the whole box (for me at least). Ok.. I have CDCDCD. I cannot help it!!!!
Don't forget to buy:
[asin] B002PP10BG[/asin] [asin] B000TIO4Z0[/asin]
[asin] B000URDEAQ[/asin]  [asin] B007LNJ3ZW[/asin]
[asin] B00F2V01NS[/asin]

[Moonfish]

Great Voices of the Opera II (40 cds) for 19 Euros and III (40 cds) for 22 Euros. Can't beat the price.
They are quite a bit of fun if you like opera voices from the 1920-1950 and accept the quality. I think they are a gold mine!   

http://www.amazon.de/Great-Voices-Opera-Maria-Callas/dp/B00005826N/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1393836962&sr=1-1&keywords=B00005826N

http://www.amazon.de/Great-Voices-Opera-3-Various/dp/B00005B470/ref=pd_bxgy_m_text_y

[Moonfish]

Is this Karajan box just a cheap combination of the two large EMI boxes from the past? It is certainly affordable for a Karajan fan.... (117 cds for $100)!!!

[asin] B008VT20TQ[/asin]

[Mookalafalas]

Is this Karajan box just a cheap combination of the two large EMI boxes from the past? It is certainly affordable for a Karajan fan.... (117 cds for $100)!!!

[asin] B008VT20TQ[/asin]

You're behind on this one. These are mostly from before the EMI and DG boxes begin.  e.g. back when everything sounded pretty bad. According to some other folks (I actually posted this a couple of pages back) the sound is pretty hit or miss.

And thanks for the Callas info.  I'll see what I can come up with.

Ah, and now I recognize you. I read your review of the Strauss box at Amazon

[Moonfish]

You're behind on this one. These are mostly from before the EMI and DG boxes begin.  e.g. back when everything sounded pretty bad. According to some other folks (I actually posted this a couple of pages back) the sound is pretty hit or miss.

And thanks for the Callas info.  I'll see what I can come up with.

Ah, and now I recognize you. I read your review of the Strauss box at Amazon

Yep, that's me. I tend to get tired of Amazon not listing contents, but they updated that listing after my review. Ummm, I know that Membran can be pretty much hit and miss, but I have been impressed with the sound quality of their releases over the last five years (stuff back in 2000-2004 or so was awful). This box must at least contain 50% of the recordings from the EMI boxes plus stuff from the 1940s?  Has anybody here enjoyed this huge Karajan box? It seems a bit superfluous after the two EMI boxes, and the DG 60s and 70s boxes. Why would a company make such a release when the market is saturated with Karajan. I cannot believe that Warner (EMI) are releasing further smaller boxes with Karajan recordings this year.  Amazing!

I think my shelves are saturated with Karajan....... but the membran box is so affordable....       Perhaps I won't hear the hiss if I play them all while cooking with the fan on high?

I want Solti and Bohm!!!!!

In terms of recognition I think I note a resemblance between you and Mookalafalas, eh?   

[jut1972]

The emi boxes are later performances.   I'd skip this one.

[Mookalafalas]

In terms of recognition I think I note a resemblance between you and Mookalafalas, eh?   

  Why yes, that's right! I signed up here under that handle as well, but there was some glitch and not only could I not open the account again, I also couldn't use the name again to make a  new account.  I panicked a little and was just using random stuff to try to sign on, and when the dust cleared I was stuck with this silly moniker. (Not that Mookalafalas actually means anything, either). 

[Ken B]

  Why yes, that's right! I signed up here under that handle as well, but there was some glitch and not only could I not open the account again, I also couldn't use the name again to make a  new account.  I panicked a little and was just using random stuff to try to sign on, and when the dust cleared I was stuck with this silly moniker. (Not that Mookalafalas actually means anything, either).

Think of how Jeffery Smith feels. After he signed on here he eventually gave up and changed his real name by deed poll.

[Moonfish]

  Why yes, that's right! I signed up here under that handle as well, but there was some glitch and not only could I not open the account again, I also couldn't use the name again to make a  new account.  I panicked a little and was just using random stuff to try to sign on, and when the dust cleared I was stuck with this silly moniker. (Not that Mookalafalas actually means anything, either).

The name Baklavaboy goes well with your avatar!!   

Hmm, I am pondering the Haitink Symphony Edition....  (@70 Euros at Amazon.de http://www.amazon.de/Haitink-The-Symphony-Edition-Limited/dp/B00GMVBL7W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393891892&sr=8-1&keywords=haitink

I read the previous posts on it in one of these threads. Any further thoughts on that box or on Haitink in general? Did you buy it? How many Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Schumann and Tchaikovsky cycles will one end up with at the end of time at this rate? However, I am discovering that the recordings that are the "ones to own" do not always resonate with me. Lately I have become very fond of Solti and ponder if it is worthwhile to try a dosage of Haitink. Listening to different conductors is like trying on clothes....

[DavidW]

No Shostakovich?  Seems like a glaring omission.

[Ken B]

No Shostakovich?  Seems like a glaring omission.

Yes because Haitink's Shosty is very good. Will there be a 20th C box to follow?

[Mookalafalas]

Any further thoughts on that box or on Haitink in general? Did you buy it? How many Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Schumann and Tchaikovsky cycles will one end up with at the end of time at this rate?

   How many? That is getting to be the real question.  The problem for me is that these are all so good.  I've been playing Reiner's stuff, and the overall quality of the conducting, playing, and recording is just unbelievably high--but the same can be said of several others. However...I personally don't have a full Bruckner or Tchaikovsky, so Haitink is at the top of my list when my no-buy period is over.  Still, I am getting embarrassed about all the unheard duplicates I have.  We are like the billionaires with 50 cars in their garage, 48 collecting dust.  Of course our Lamborghinis and Pierce-Arrows are $2 apiece. This may be what finally gets me off the merry-go round: just knowing that the new boxes aren't as good as what I already have. I can't buy them for comparison purposes until I have really come to deeply know what I have now.

[Moonfish]

   I can't buy them for comparison purposes until I have really come to deeply know what I have now.

There is only one way to find out!   

[Moonfish]

Yes because Haitink's Shosty is very good. Will there be a 20th C box to follow?

Never heard Haitink's Shosty......    *deprived*

[Mookalafalas]

Yes because Haitink's Shosty is very good. Will there be a 20th C box to follow?

  I'll bet you are right. Or maybe just a Shosty box, like spinning Colin Davis's Berlioz into it's own box.