The Wax Wars: London or Living Presence?
Posted by: Lester on 27 January 2005
My cousin and and I, both avid music lovers and concert-goers, are re-discovering the joys of vinyl. My Rega 25/600 arm/Grado Statement Sonata combo sounds lovely; his Linn Axis/Garrott Brothers combo sounds equally delightful. I currently own about 1200 LPs, a modest but worthwhile collection. It consists of mostly classical and jazz, with a smattering of pop (Stevie Wonder, the Moody Blues, Billy Joel, David Bowie, the Talking Heads, et al -- I guess this pretty much gives away my age, no?).
Interestingly, we have discovered that London (and later Argo) recordings from the 50s and 60s (mostly classical) sound every bit as compelling as their Living Presence/Living Stereo counterparts. Interestingly, when we visited a used wax dealer in Montreal a couple of years back, we discovered very few so-called "Shaded Dogs" and Mercury's, but tons of London, Argo and other European audiophile labels in stock. When asked to explain this, the dealer simply responded that these were the labels that European audiences preferred, though the American labels certainly have their European supporters.
Is this simply a matter of the limited availability of European pressings in the states, and vice versa? Does this phenomenon denote a deeper line in the sand so to speak? Do American and European music lovers differ dramatically in their opinions over what represents excellent analog sound?
(I must say, the used wax factories that I visit seem to have ample stocks of European and American audiophile classical recordings.)
Comments???
Interestingly, we have discovered that London (and later Argo) recordings from the 50s and 60s (mostly classical) sound every bit as compelling as their Living Presence/Living Stereo counterparts. Interestingly, when we visited a used wax dealer in Montreal a couple of years back, we discovered very few so-called "Shaded Dogs" and Mercury's, but tons of London, Argo and other European audiophile labels in stock. When asked to explain this, the dealer simply responded that these were the labels that European audiences preferred, though the American labels certainly have their European supporters.
Is this simply a matter of the limited availability of European pressings in the states, and vice versa? Does this phenomenon denote a deeper line in the sand so to speak? Do American and European music lovers differ dramatically in their opinions over what represents excellent analog sound?
(I must say, the used wax factories that I visit seem to have ample stocks of European and American audiophile classical recordings.)
Comments???