The Super-Duper Cheap Bargains Thread

[Brian]

Presto have launched a Sony Clearance Sale, on both Box Sets and full price single discs

Supplies are strictly while stocks last, so get em while you can!

Oooh thank you!

Wait no on second thought. I'm upset with you.

I have a nice full Presto shopping cart already. I'm waiting to order because I'm about to go on holiday. I prefer to know my parcel will arrive on a day when I can get home first, take it in the house, and hide it before my girlfriend says "more CDs??!??!?" But now I need to order ASAP to grab these clearance items, and it will be waiting for us when we get back, and my girlfriend will say "more CDs??!??!?"

I guess I'll just sigh and say "it's this guy named Paul's fault."

[Paul_Thomas]

Oooh thank you!

Wait no on second thought. I'm upset with you.

I have a nice full Presto shopping cart already. I'm waiting to order because I'm about to go on holiday. I prefer to know my parcel will arrive on a day when I can get home first, take it in the house, and hide it before my girlfriend says "more CDs??!??!?" But now I need to order ASAP to grab these clearance items, and it will be waiting for us when we get back, and my girlfriend will say "more CDs??!??!?"

I guess I'll just sigh and say "it's this guy named Paul's fault."

[CB45]

Amazon UK also have the Harnoncourt for £48....

[Brian]

Amazon UK also have the Harnoncourt for £48....

A couple of the prices are definitely matched elsewhere (Amazon US has the Emanuel Ax box same price) but many of them are not, especially the budget "white boxes" and 2-3 CD sets.

[Mookalafalas]

Ordered the Bernstein 100 Disk original jackets set w/NY Sym from AmazonUK for about $55. Expected it to be cancelled, but instead got an email it would be delivered earlier than first stated.  Some crazy good bargains over there for mega-box fans.  Unlike other European sellers, they have super-cheap shipping. I had been interested in the Richard Stoltzman complete RCA box for a year or two, but not quite enough to pull the trigger.  For $42, however, saw no reason to resist.

[Roasted Swan]

Presto are doing Naxos Studio Master quality downloads for under £4.00 per disc.  I know some will argue that there is little/no benefit from this degree of audio resolution but the reality is you are getting better than CD quality for less than half the price of the equivalent CD so its seems like a good deal to me.  I've picked up their latest Howells Chamber music and Brian Symphonies discs which I was resisting at around £8 for the actual disc.

[Wakefield]

Ordered the Bernstein 100 Disk original jackets set w/NY Sym from AmazonUK for about $55. Expected it to be cancelled, but instead got an email it would be delivered earlier than first stated.  Some crazy good bargains over there for mega-box fans.  Unlike other European sellers, they have super-cheap shipping. I had been interested in the Richard Stoltzman complete RCA box for a year or two, but not quite enough to pull the trigger.  For $42, however, saw no reason to resist.

Could you provide a link for that Bernstein? 

[Mookalafalas]

Could you provide a link for that Bernstein? 

Alas, Gordo, it is gone.  This recently happened to me at the German Amazon. They had the giant Solti and Menuhin boxes for 99Euros each, and went I went back, the price had leaped back up...
  When I got mine, it seemed to be from a 3rd party seller.  I suppose they were closing out their stock.  Or perhaps it will never actually arrive? 

BTW, Japan Amazon has the big Munch box for about $100, and the big Stravinsky box for about $60. Perhaps those could assuage your disappointment? 

[Wakefield]

Alas, Gordo, it is gone.  This recently happened to me at the German Amazon. They had the giant Solti and Menuhin boxes for 99Euros each, and went I went back, the price had leaped back up...

Dammit! It will be great if your order is fulfilled!   

[vers la flamme]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004Z4ZN4A/

Can someone tell me why this set is so ridiculously cheap in MP3 form? Is there something wrong with it? I've heard huge acclaim for this set, maestro Vänskä's earlier of two Sibelius cycles. I'm not even a huge Sibelius guy, and I'm perfectly happy with the Berglund/Bournemouth set that I have, but I'm considering going for this just for the price.

[North Star]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004Z4ZN4A/

Can someone tell me why this set is so ridiculously cheap in MP3 form? Is there something wrong with it? I've heard huge acclaim for this set, maestro Vänskä's earlier of two Sibelius cycles. I'm not even a huge Sibelius guy, and I'm perfectly happy with the Berglund/Bournemouth set that I have, but I'm considering going for this just for the price.

It's a great set, mp3's  are cheap.

[André]

JPC is having a huge Dacapo sale (some 400 titles). Fans of Langgaard, Holmboe, Riisager, Norgärd, Ruders, arise!


https://www.jpc.de/s/DaCapo+30th+Anniversary?searchtype=campaigntext

[Mookalafalas]

Dammit! It will be great if your order is fulfilled! 

  Gordo, it came in today! It is a big boy, like the Perahia or Szell boxes.  I am delighted to have it, but rather wish you had gotten it, instead.  I actually have the 3 NY Phil boxes, so probably have the lions share of what is inside...
   To reduce shipping cost, they used cardboard that is little more than paper. One corner of the lid of the Bernie-Box has a split in it, but at this price I would not dream of complaining

[aukhawk]

It's a great set, mp3's  are cheap.

So often, they're not.  But that Sibelius/Vanska set has been available at rock-bottom price for many years now.  Perhaps BIS's idea of a Scandi loss leader?

[North Star]

So often, they're not.  But that Sibelius/Vanska set has been available at rock-bottom price for many years now.  Perhaps BIS's idea of a Scandi loss leader?

I meant cheap to manufacture. But I would imagine they try to be competitive against Spotify and other streaming services that BIS is offering their content through also.

[Que]

Lovers of contemporary Classical music might find this KAIROS sale at jpc of interest!

Q

[Roasted Swan]

I meant cheap to manufacture. But I would imagine they try to be competitive against Spotify and other streaming services that BIS is offering their content through also.

For some time BIS has been licencing their recordings for use in these low bit-rate compilations.  Never quite understood that since they make such a deal of their high-end-no-compromise recording philosophy.  BUT it does mean that there are a lot of really excellent BIS recordings hiding out there under the cover of naff art work and cheap "best of" type compilations. 

Check out Saint-Saens / Glazunov Symphonies / Tchaik Symphonies (later Jarvi Gothenburg cycle) / Debussy / Grieg (REALLY good)

[asin]B005W0DXU2[/asin]
[asin]B005VY6AUO[/asin]
[asin]B005VY6KWC[/asin]
[asin]B004GBI06U[/asin]

the BIS element is mixed in with other stuff too but at this price worth a look (annoyingly these links only show on UK Amazon....... look for "99 most essential [Saint-Saens]" etc OR "Rise of the Masters [Tchaikovsky]" etc

[Harry]

At JPC of today, 135 titles of BIS for 7,99€.
Many interesting things to get.

https://www.jpc.de/s/Preisaktion+bei+BIS?searchtype=campaigntext

[Mookalafalas]

This is now $72.49, including shipping, but from Amazon UK (Link is to US Amazon). 60 disks, and unlike the "jackets" edition, the disks are filled up. 

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[jwinter]

This is now $72.49, including shipping, but from Amazon UK (Link is to US Amazon). 60 disks, and unlike the "jackets" edition, the disks are filled up. 

That's truly a great deal, though personally I'll pass since I already have a large percentage of it in various guises.

That said, I must confess I picked up the huge Szell box late last year, despite having many of those recordings as well.  But Szell has long been my favorite conductor for lots of things, and the inclusion of some old mono recordings I'd never heard, plus the top-class packaging and new remastering on some of it (at least compared to the versions I had) led me to pull the trigger.  And I'm very glad I did, it's a beautiful set.

And yet... if anything I find myself less likely to listen to Szell in the past few months.  Just the act of lugging that big thing off the shelf and pulling something out... I'm lazy I suppose, but I'll often grab another recording just because it's easier to get at.  So the big Szell box is actually helping me to diversify my listening a little more, oddly enough...