Bigshot

That originals box is probably going to have a lot of crossover with the Karajan, Abbado and DGG anniversary boxes.

Absolutely. The performer is half the show. The music is the other half. Staying with one recording forever would be like only wanting to see one performance of Hamlet. That's because most people on internet forums haven't gotten to the point where they are ready to explore various interpretations. They're still getting familiar with the basic layout of the work itself. I agree however that a lot of modern performers are pretty much interchangeable, but that isn't the sort of thing we're talking about with big boxes of Heifetz, Horowitz, Rubinstein, Reiner or Toscanini.

I can think of two reasons... First of all, Beethoven's music lends itself to a variety of interpretations. The music has considerable opportunity for depth and nuance. Secondly, back catalog conductors are more likely to have quite different approaches. A Toscanini box isn't going to sound anything like a Stokowski box, even if they contain the same program. When you're first starting out in classical music, it's good to get a lay of the land by spreading out wide and sampling a variety of as many different composers and works as possible. Once you've spent a couple of decades doing that, you can start digging deeper and listen to interpretative variety.

The Hanson recordings on Mercury too.

A broader frame of reference is ALWAYS a good thing. I would much rather know a little bit about a lot than a lot about very little. Oh man. That's a buy. Ordered. The first Bernstein box was terrific.

I have no interest in "proper" performances. I want *vital* performances. Sometimes vital performances are proper, sometimes not. I've heard performances, both romanticized and HIP that I like. I used to think I just liked the old timers. But I have softened, largely because of the box sets I've gotten of HIPish period music. My only objection to buying another baroque box is that they take up so many disks with the "regular suspects"... Brandenbergs, Four Seasons, etc. I can have fifteen different Mahler or Beethoven Symphony performances and enjoy them all for different reasons, but I don't find that to be as much the case with Baroque music. After three sets of Brandenbergs, there isn't as much point picking up another any more.

I rip CDs at my computer in the background while I work, and then transfer the files to my media server. The server streams music all over the house 24/7, so all I have to do is turn on the stereo and my collection is playing. I hear everything eventually. Right now my classical library is about 150 days worth of music.

Bach: Complete Cantatas 60 CDs (Harnoncourt/Leonhardt) $35 shipped to the US http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B000RZOR2U/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=

You're not going to get anywhere with trying to return bits and pieces. It's all or nothing.

I just got the two sets in the mail. I just listened to the Chet Baker box. They neglected to make the tracks true mono, so there is harmonic distortion in stereo on top of the mono music. Pretty distracting. Easy to fix by ripping to mono.

I just ordered this two. It looks like a second box of French New Wave soundtracks is on the horizon too. Good news.

Ordered the Horowitz box. There shouldn't be any overlap between this and the Carnegie Hall box.

Wow! The Ford at Fox box just arrived with UPS. Amazing deal. This thing is monumental! Shipping alone must have covered most of the price.

Both the Mercury Living Presence sets are great. But they have a bit of midcentury classical music that isn't as fashionable with the kids today. My strategy on preorders is to get an order in quick and see how it goes. I can always cancel before the delivery date.

I got mine the other day and I feel about the same. I'm glad I got the set because there's some great Munch and Monteux I didn't have before, but it sure wasn't as generous with the running times as the first set was.

Deal appears to still be valid

Those Quincy Jones boxes are available at Amazon US through third party for $9 each. Pretty good deal!

ahem! snakeoil ahem!

I wonder if it's adding cross feed. Have you tried it on a mono recording?

Not inverted phase... *absolute* inverted phase. Both channels inverted the same way.

Absolute phase reversal should be inaudible. It's probably some sort of slight reverb filter applied to the music. It could be easily solved by simply ripping the music to true mono instead of stereo. I've found a lot of CDs, particularly on budget labels that have fake stereo phase tricks. Strapping both channels to mono fixes it right up.

Not complete, but cheap and decent sound.

There's a ten cd bargain box on Membran. No problem with sound quality. It costs under $20 if I remember correctly.

Are you talking a simple reversal of absolute phase, or is it one channel out of phase to the other?

Haven't ripped that one yet. I'll let you know. Busy doing Baroque Masterpieces box right now!