User Details - Fugue

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Name:
   John Oster
Details:
   I'm a high school English teacher and classical guitarist.
Location:
  
HiFi:
   Martin Logan Theos main speakers
Martin Logan Motif center speaker
Definitive Technology ProMonitor 1000 surrounds
Martin-Logan Abyss subwoofer
Oppo BDP 105 SACD/Blu-ray player
Parasound Halo A51 5-ch amp
Marantz 8801 pre/pro
Stax SR 404/SRM 717 electrostatic headphones
Email:
   fugue14@comcast.net
Web:
  
Posts:
   769
 
 
Reviews
Found: 33 show all
Chopin: The Complete Nocturnes - Gergely Bogányi      (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
  June 17, 2013

This 2-disc set boasts "Direct Cut pure DSD," which is supposed to maintain native DSD throughout the entire production process. This disc certainly clearly captures his Fazioli piano--if a bit close and dry...too bad it isn't m-ch. I do hear some damper thumps here and there, however. Bogányi's ... more
Debussy: 12 Etudes - Jean-Efflam Bavouzet      (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
  January 30, 2013

This turned out to be rather pricey ($32 for the disc, $22 shipping from Japan--but it got here in 3 days!), but it is certainly a wonderful recording, and one of the few multi-channel discs from Triton. Those people certainly know how to capture the sound of the piano! The perspective is a little ... more
Bach: The Well Tempered Clavier I - Abdel Rahman El Bacha      (3 of 4 found this review helpful)
  January 9, 2013

I concur: this is a wonderful set. The main information that I want to add, which might further explain the sound difference, is that the Ravel is multi-channel and this Bach release is stereo. In my experience, m-ch always has more bloom, and often more presence, than stereo. Oh, how I wish Triton ... more
Schumann: The Violin Sonatas - Ulf Wallin, Roland Pöntinen      (3 of 3 found this review helpful)
  February 19, 2012

Just to add on to Adrian's comparison to the Dora Schwarzberg/Polina Leschenko recording, I can say that this BIS disc has vastly superior sound. Schwarzberg's has very little width, depth, or ambiance (in fact, through headphones, it almost sounds like it's mono!), plus Wallin has much better tone. ... more
Bach: Cello Suites - Martin Ostertag      (2 of 3 found this review helpful)
  February 18, 2012

I basically concur with Jazz1. Ostertag plays these Suites with enough power and passion without overdoing it, ala Gavriel Lipkin, the only other SACD set that I've heard. The latter can't leave a single note alone without distorting it in some manner. I initially liked it, but it doesn't wear well. ... more
 
 
Latest Posts
Discussion: Szymanowski: Symphonies 1 & 2 - Gergiev
Today 08:50 am
Yes, I know, I have several of the Mariinsky recordings. ... more
Discussion: Szymanowski: Symphonies 1 & 2 - Gergiev
Today 08:49 am
So his recordings would sound better. ... more
Discussion: Szymanowski: Symphonies 1 & 2 - Gergiev
Yesterday 01:03 pm
BIS, Channel Classics, Chandos, or Pentatone needs to lure Gergiev into their lair! ... more
NEOS Maderna cycle almost complete
June 17, 2013
I found a live recording by Zehetmair of the Maderna--he plays it very well. ... more
What are your buying habits, regards any "new" surround titles ?
June 17, 2013
I'm more selective than I used to be--I rarely buy a disc these days simply because it is SACD now that I have a few hundred. I still mainly buy SACDs (probably 95% of my purchases), though. ... more