As it turns out, I own a copy of this SACD. I also have it on vinyl and the later release. I made this post on another forum some time last year when I received my set:
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Yesterday, my copy of Wagner's Ring cycle, remastered by Esoteric on SACD arrived. Many thanks to David.M for giving me a heads-up that these were still available on Elusive Disc. I ordered the set at the end of November and paid $60 for express delivery via USPS. It arrived nearly 7 weeks later! I was in contact with Jason from Elusive Disc, who offered to ship me another copy, gratis, if the first one did not arrive. Top marks to Jason for outstanding customer support.
In any case, I am talking about the legendary recording of the Wagner Ring cycle, conducted by Georg Solti with the Vienna Philharmonic, and recorded by John Culshaw between 1958-1964. It was praised for its outstanding sound quality, and for a while even outsold popular albums by Elvis. Wagner nerds might debate which is the best performance - Knappertsbusch, Keilberth, and Furtwangler are also highly regarded - but there is no question that every Wagner afficionado must have a copy of this particular performance.
In any case, I now have three copies of the same performance - on vinyl, RBCD, and SACD. This is
not necessarily a comparison of the formats, although it does showcase what can be achieved by each format. This is because the mastering is different - the vinyl was taken from the original analogue master tape; the RBCD is a 1990's remaster from the analogue master tape; and the SACD is a 2009 remaster, taken from the original analogue tape, but this time in DSD format.
My boxed set on vinyl is a rare release from the 1970's with a brass relief etching on a substantial cardboard box. The thing weighs a tonne - probably about 10kg! The discs inside are pristine and unscratched, and totally silent. You get a beautiful booklet and a lovely libretto.
On digital, there have been two remasters. The first was done in 1985 and was universally acknowledged to sound horrible. The one I have was remastered in 1997. The reviews at the time said that it was a substantial step up from the original digital remaster from the 80's. It does not sound bad by any means, but it is nowhere near as good as modern classical recordings on digital.
When the set was released, it was very expensive - about $350 for 14 discs. In 1997 money. As you can see from the picture, the production copy was not very impressive. The CD's are held in paper sleeves within cardboard boxes, which are packed into another cardboard box. The libretto is printed in small type - very difficult to read in a darkened room.
The Esoteric remaster was made in 2009. The Japanese engineers obtained the original master tapes from Decca and remastered it on DSD using their own equipment. There is a series of Esoteric SACD's, which is supposed to be the pinnacle of classic recordings of classical music - the best performances, with the best sound quality, remastered on the latest and best technology. Sort of the Criterion Collection, but for classical music. This set comes with all the operas, an accompanying documentary on DVD on the making of the 1958-1964 recording, a book called "The Ring Resounding" by John Culshaw, and the Libretto printed on two books on beautiful paper.
Besides the cost ($1299 from
Elusive Disc!!) there is one serious downside. Everything is printed in Japanese.
So what do they sound like? Well: vinyl is best, SACD second best, RBCD is dead last.
The quality of the sound on vinyl was a real eye-opener. Dynamic, rich, layered, clear, and extraordinarily expressive. It is hard to believe this was recorded in the late 50's, because it is better than most modern recordings on digital.
The SACD follows quite closely behind, however for some reason it sounds more sterile even though you can hear as much detail as you can with the vinyl. The dynamics of the attack are still there, but the leading edge lacks aggressiveness and sounds much smoother. This could be distortion on the vinyl, or the Esoteric engineers missed something in translation, or that my playback equipment isn't good enough. Or maybe digital still has a way to go. I am not sure what is responsible, but SACD still isn't as good as vinyl.
That the RBCD finished last was no real surprise. I have known for years that this CD, despite sounding thin and having a brittle top end, still manages to sound muffled in the midrange. However, this is a sad indictment of the modern classical industry that it still sounds better than many modern recordings - for example, nearly every Deutsche Grammofon digital recording from the 1980's right up to the early 2000's, which was when they got their act together. Modern DGG sounds great, but not close to the quality of the SACD of this recording.
So there you have it