Customer Reviews

MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition / Boris Godunov/ Night on Bare Mountain (Stokowski Transcriptions) - Acoustic Reality Experience [7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Disc] [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

All I can say is...SPECTACULAR!

A wonderful combination of sterling dynamic range and multichannel surround sound. THIS is the way that classical music was meant to be enjoyed.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Richard Kish
Beacon, NY

The recorded sound is outstanding, with a wide dynamic range and just the right amount of reverberation. If you have a subwoofer, anchor down your valuable pottery--there are some low tones here that will start everything shaking, responsive qualities are captured in gorgeously detailed, atmospheric sonic splendor worthy of the most demanding audiophile.

I just finished listening to this recording again so as to refresh my memory on what it sounds like. For the record, I have a sound system that provides me much enjoyment.

I use the OPPO Blu-ray player connected to a Krell HTS preamp/processor which drives a five channel power amplifier. External bass management routes everything below 80 cycles to a Velodyne F1500R subwoofer with everything over 80 cycles to a matching Infinity speaker system which uses two Overture 3's as main speakers.

The total power output of this system is over 1,800 watts continuous; needless to say, I have never actually operated the system at that level.

I mention the above as it seems to be the norm to describe the equipment being used in evaluating a recording; now on to the recording.

This is a Blu-ray music recording in DTS-HD Master Audio. To realize the full potential of the recording the player must be connected to a full-range surround sound system. According to the disc, the recording dates from 2008. The conductor, Jose Serebrier, was associated with Leopold Stokowsky so he should fully understand what Stokowski wanted to accomplish with these transcriptions.

The transcriptions are rather dramatic showpieces and have a wide dynamic range; they will show off a good system to advantage. I have set my OPPO to an uncompressed dynamic mode so the dynamic range can be as wide as the recording allows.

The number of uncompressed audio recordings is still rather small. There seem to be some DTS-HD Master Audio recordings available but few Dolby True HD music recordings the last time I checked.

If you are committed to building a library of uncompressed audio recordings this one should be on your list. It does make some specific requirements on a system so it would be advisable to make sure your system can handle these recordings. The OPPO can handle all of the uncompressed audio formats plus SACD and DVD-Audio and has the 7.1 channel analog outputs. It also has the HDMI output but that would require your receiver or preamp processor have the ability to decode these formats.

This is an exciting time for audio/video enthusiasts!

I purchased this and the Tchaikovsky Acoustic Reality discs. My Panasonic player rejected the discs with a "not supported" message, but my Sony BDP-S500 player plays them happily.

At this stage, I don't have a receiver that decodes the HD stream, but the DTS-ES stream sounds fine. I select THX mode to spread out the surround from 5.1 to 7.1. The result is great - very smooth silken sound with a terrific surround ambience.

I'm happy to keep supporting this label, although the leaflet supplied with the disc is rather primitive (to say the least).

This disc was not recognized by my Sony PS3 Blu-ray player, which has never happened with any of the dozens of Blu-ray discs I've purchased or rented. I returned it for a refund.

To be honest, I didn't buy this and have not heard it. I know I have heard the Stokowski version of Night on Bare Mountain, and was reminded of what Stravinsky said of Stoky's butchering of le Sacre du Printemps in Fantasia -- "The performance was execrable."

I keep thinking that Disney needs to ditch the Stoky transcriptions (except for the Bach) and start all over with original Sacre excerpts and the Rimsky-Korsakov version of Night on Bald Mountain.

Not that Stoky's conducting is always bad; his RCA recording from the early 70's of Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture is unbeatable, coupled with the flip-side reading of the eccentric but wonderful nonetheless Symphony No. 3 for Organ, Orchestra and 15 extra trumpets. You can only find this on out of print vinyl or reel to reel.

Speaking of which, I wish the old labels like Sony and EMI would realize the potential for bluray audio only discs and start reissuing their older analog catalogs on these discs.

I was really disappointed to find that this disc was audio only. I was expecting to listen and see the orchestra and conductor playing... but found out too late that it was only audio. At the beggining I thought it was my player because an LG BD player could not even play the audio (only a strong digital noise). Then I played it on a Panasonic BD-60 and I could get the audio out as DTS 5.1. Finally I tried Power DVD on my PC and confirmed only audio disc (not even a bluray: DVD-R DL and AVCHD encoding).

The music is great, I can't complaint on that, and the DTS gives really an impressive surround experience... I just wish I could also see the performers...

I give only 3 stars for the misleading information about this disc.

Like several other people I purchased this BluRay recording to be able to hear the performance offered in DTS HD. Hoever it will NOT play in any of three different Blu Ray Players (LG BD-390, LG BD-590, or Sony BDP-S570, all of which have DTS decoding built in. Neither would it play on three computer BD ROM's and writers. It would appear that "Surround Records" is having problems producing reliable Bly Ray disks. Stay away from this brand until they improve their product.

Waited a long time for the product. When it finally arrived, it would not play in any of three Bluray players. Returned it and replacement still would not play.

I bought three of this company's Blu-rays ... save your money and get the CD. Better yet, get an SACD version for real high-quality sound. I have "Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3," "Bach Orchestral Suites No. 1, 2 & 3," and "Vivaldi Four Seasons" in these discs. None will play in my Samsung Blu-ray player with the latest firmware. All play in my Panasonic. The sound quality is no better than standard quality 5.1 surround; in fact, I suspect they just copied the material from a standard 5.1 version. There's very little sound in the rear channels and virtually no separation. Sounds like stereo. Save your money, these are a rip-off.