Awash in a sea of echo - Mobile Fidelity has done a great job with the SACD transfer of the analog original. It s how all SACDs should be done. And this seems to be a good performance of the Planets. But the original recording was made in such a cavernous hall, with microphones so distant from the instruments, that the recording is awash in echo. The echo softens all the attacks, and individual instrumental solos are too faint, so much of the impact of the score is lost. If psychoacoustically, you like the feeling of an immense concert hall, this recording is superlative. Being a trombonist, I prefer to sit in the orchestra itself to listen. The early London FFRR recordings had the philosophy of close miking of all the instruments, making you feel in the middle of the orchestra. Later, there seemed to be a fashion of more distant miking to give a big concert hall sound. This recording epitomizes that approach. I was going to buy the St. Louis Symphony series from Mobile Fidelity, but now I wonder whether all the recordings are like this.
Cosmic Masterpiece - Performed by The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Walter Susskind, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab s (MFSL) multichannel debut of Holst s The Planets is a remarkable and stunning revelation within the aural cosmos. Utilizing MFSL s heralded GAIN 2 (Greater Ambient Information Network) proprietary mastering process, the compelling contrast between the thunderous, enraged Mars and the refined pomp and beauty of Venus is unveiled in spectacular sonic splendor. Gustav Holst s deep understanding and inspired interpretation of Astrology, Mythology, and the Greek influenced Music of the Spheres is illustrated here in meticulous, spacious surround sound on the most technologically advanced sound reproduction media format to date - the Ultradisc UHR™ Surround SACD. The fact is that MFSL s exploration of the sonic universe has often been likened to NASA s research in space - utilizing the greatest technological achievement possible to unveil greater mysteries. So it stands to reason that Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, who illuminated The Dark Side of the Moon with its definitive versions of that classic album, will now unveil the The Planets...