What are you listening to now?

[Christo]

First-listen Friday
Pärt
Te Deum
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
Tõnu Kaljuste
[asin]B000024ZDF[/asin]

This recording of the Te Deum especially - watch the pictures by Tormis Junior from the church in Finland where it was recorded - is one of my all-time favourites and never fails to move me.

[Malx]

Ibert, Tropismes pour des amours imaginaires.

Schmitt, La Tragedie de Salome Op50 & Psaume 47 Op38 for soprano organ chorus and orchestra.

From this fine boxed set.

[aligreto]

Vivaldi: Concerti per archi RV 121, 129, 153 & 159 [Alessandrini]....

[Parsifal]

Decided to try a different Martinu symphony.

This recording.

[asin]B000AQKUE0[/asin]

Telarc engineering never disappoints me, and it was very nice.

But went back to the new set for comparison.

[asin]B004Y9DFN2[/asin]

I found the sonics non-ideal, but it didn't particularly bother me this time, and Belohlavek's performance seemed more convincing, despite the fine engineering Jarvi was blessed with. In any case, it will be nice to hear Neumann in these works, but I'm not nearly as negative on Belohlavek's recordings as I was at first.

[aligreto]

   

That is a wonderful set full of pleasurable listening. I trust that you will enjoy it 

[Madiel]

I bought this as a "CD quality FLAC" file from Presto Classical...or so I thought. It's nothing more than a slightly upsampled MP3 file (its bit rate is 595 kbps...a CD quality FLAC is 1114.2 kbps). This is the second time Presto has ripped off customers by selling such files. They refunded my money the first I complained and requested a refund, but they didn't even bother to respond this time. They are dead to me. BUYER BEWARE WHEN DEALING WITH PRESTO. Oh, the music is very intense and powerful, and the sound is decent enough, but it would have been better as a true hi-res file or a CD.

On what basis are you asserting the FLAC file must have a specific Bitrate?

Edit: read this for example. An excellent explanation of why your complaint is misconceived. https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,94926.0.html

You should be looking at other measures like sampling rate. As it is they might not be answering because they've concluded you have no idea what you're doing and will complain with every single purchase about perfectly good files.

[aligreto]

When those Tristan excerpts first came out on CD, the cover was this (much more suitable, and with that look in her eye you point out):



I've owned (and cherished) this CD for more than 20 years. 

I have only recently purchased that CD and thus heard Varnay's voice for the first time and what an experience it has been 

[Todd]

On what basis are you asserting the FLAC file must have a specific Bitrate?

Because CD is 1411 constant, the thinking is probably that FLACs should be as well.  That is not the case, of course.  Lossless is lossless.

[Madiel]

Because CD is 1411 constant, the thinking is probably that FLACs should be as well.  That is not the case, of course.  Lossless is lossless.

Come to think of it, the whole point of the "compression" aspect of a FLAC is to be smaller and use less kbps. Without (unlike lossy formats) losing information. So a CD-quality 1411 FLAC is becoming a contradiction in terms.

[Parsifal]

I bought this as a "CD quality FLAC" file from Presto Classical...or so I thought. It's nothing more than a slightly upsampled MP3 file (its bit rate is 595 kbps...a CD quality FLAC is 1114.2 kbps). This is the second time Presto has ripped off customers by selling such files. They refunded my money the first I complained and requested a refund, but they didn't even bother to respond this time. They are dead to me. BUYER BEWARE WHEN DEALING WITH PRESTO. Oh, the music is very intense and powerful, and the sound is decent enough, but it would have been better as a true hi-res file or a CD.

FLAC compression typically results in a file which is 40-60% as large as the raw wave file. That would mean an effective bit rate of 550-850 kbs. Your effective bit rate is quite plausible for a FLAC file. The whole point of lossless compression like FLAC is that the file is smaller even though the full resolution of the audio data is preserved.

As far as determining whether a file is FLAC, an extension "FLAC" is a clue. Another is that iTunes refuses to recognize it.

[SonicMan46]

That is a wonderful set full of pleasurable listening. I trust that you will enjoy it 

Hi Aligreto - listened to the first two discs today and really enjoyed, so looking forward to the remainder - just a $30 purchase from 'across the pond' - the Amazon reviews are quite positive except for one bloke who left a 1* rating (see below + LINK), just asinine for these performances and their sound quality; in a comment, the reviewer stated the 'music was not fit for a dog fight' (not sure if he or she has attended one?) - well, I left my own review w/ a 5* rating hoping to increased the overall to 4 1/2* which did not work.  Dave

[Malx]

Tonight's listening ends with an unusual work:

Hauker Tomasson's, Skima which is a concerto for two double basses and orchestra - played by Havardur Tryggvason & Valur Palsson (double basses), Iceland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bernhardur Wilkinson.

For those who aren't aware of Tomasson he is an Icelandic composer born in 1960.

[North Star]

This recording of the Te Deum especially - watch the pictures by Tormis Junior from the church in Finland where it was recorded - is one of my all-time favourites and never fails to move me.

Yes, a beautiful recording. And the photographs too, indeed.

[aligreto]

Weiss: Sonata for Lute No. 2 [Barto]....

[aligreto]

Hi Aligreto - listened to the first two discs today and really enjoyed, so looking forward to the remainder - just a $30 purchase from 'across the pond' - the Amazon reviews are quite positive except for one bloke who left a 1* rating (see below + LINK), just asinine for these performances and their sound quality; in a comment, the reviewer stated the 'music was not fit for a dog fight' (not sure if he or she has attended one?) - well, I left my own review w/ a 5* rating hoping to increased the overall to 4 1/2* which did not work.  Dave

Hello Dave. I know that you will enjoy the rest of that set 
I tend to ignore the idiots that post such ill informed and attention seeking reviews. I admire your effort to increase the rating and I will add my positive vote to help your cause 

[kyjo]

Summer Night on the River, Intermezzo from Fennimore and Gerda, and the PC from this set:

[asin]B005RXKKQO[/asin]

I had forgotten what a marvelous work the Delius PC is - I had rather slighted it before. The slow movement, in particular, is gorgeous.

[amw]

FLAC compression typically results in a file which is 40-60% as large as the raw wave file. That would mean an effective bit rate of 550-850 kbs. Your effective bit rate is quite plausible for a FLAC file. The whole point of lossless compression like FLAC is that the file is smaller even though the full resolution of the audio data is preserved.

As far as determining whether a file is FLAC, an extension "FLAC" is a clue. Another is that iTunes refuses to recognize it.

To determine whether a particular file is a MP3 or lossy file that has been upsampled to flac only way I know to be sure is to take a spectrogram and look for lossy artifacts. There's probably software that can do that for you though.

[Kontrapunctus]

On what basis are you asserting the FLAC file must have a specific Bitrate?

Edit: read this for example. An excellent explanation of why your complaint is misconceived. https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,94926.0.html

You should be looking at other measures like sampling rate. As it is they might not be answering because they've concluded you have no idea what you're doing and will complain with every single purchase about perfectly good files.

My complaint is based on my Lossless Audio Checker software that states the files are upsampled MP3s, not FLAC at all.

[Madiel]

Streaming first listen: Schoenberg, Chamber Symphony No.1

[asin]B00008MLU1[/asin]
I'm enjoying this. These sorts of textures seem to suit Schoenberg. It's reminding of the Hindemith Kammermusik, which I haven't listened to for a while, though of course I know that chronologically that's completely the wrong way around. And maybe having Chailly conducting in both instances is helping the reminiscence.

[Madiel]

My complaint is based on my Lossless Audio Checker software that states the files are upsampled MP3s, not FLAC at all.

If your software claims that a CD-quality FLAC has to be a specific kbps, throw out your software.