The Tacet Thread (Reviews/Latest News & Releases/General Discussion)

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Ok, my 9th arrived yesterday and so far I listened to it twice. I have to say, I'm not disappointed in the least. It's a great enveloping mix, as expected. The performance is top notch as well, though it's always difficult for me to listen to a new version of this familiar piece. I've lived with Kurt Masur conducting the Gewandhausorchester since I was a teenager and it's the version I've heard hundreds of times (first in stereo, later in quad). Every difference in tempo or different voices take me out of the piece a little, but it's only a minor problem. I'm sure, I will get used to this one in no time at all.

Yes, this SACD is everything I hoped for it to be. Even though this music is part of my DNA, I heard little details I never consciously noticed before. As usual, the interaction of the different groups of instruments becomes much more transparent in TACET's "REAL" surround mix. FREUDE!!

I already told my family to get me the Blu-Ray set for my upcoming birthday. So far, the best price I found is from this vendor in the UK (release date June 10th):
http://www.mdt.co.uk/beethoven-symphonies-1-9-polish-chamber-rajski-tacet-3-blu-ray-audio.html
 
I already told my family to get me the Blu-Ray set for my upcoming birthday. So far, the best price I found is from this vendor in the UK (release date June 10th):
http://www.mdt.co.uk/beethoven-symphonies-1-9-polish-chamber-rajski-tacet-3-blu-ray-audio.html

Thanks for the review. That vendor has pretty reasonable shipping prices to the USA, as well ($4.04 airmail to California). I haven't found any USA vendors selling the Blu-Ray set, so they might be the way to go.
 
Thanks for the review. That vendor has pretty reasonable shipping prices to the USA, as well ($4.04 airmail to California). I haven't found any USA vendors selling the Blu-Ray set, so they might be the way to go.
So far I found only two places offering this Blu-Ray set, the other one being the German vendor jpc (usually my source for anything TACET), but they sell it for €90, whereas the MDT offer amounts to something like €72 (including shipping). I don't understand why it's so much cheaper coming from the UK, but I had my brother place the pre-order last week and I'm looking forward to my birthday. :)
 
I got my Blu-ray set of the 9 symphonies yesterday and ripped them to my hard drive today. Right now, I'm listening to them in chronological order (No.7 is on now) and they sound great on my Oppo 105, as expected.

So for everyone who does not have them on SACD already or for some reasons prefers Blu-rays, I can fully recommend them. What a set! I'm so happy to have all these symphonies in TACET surround at last. Now I only hope for the piano concertos by Beethoven in the same way (or at least No.5). That would be another dream come true.
 
I'm seeing U.S. vendors with the 3 Blu-ray version of the complete Beethoven symphonies in stock now:

Import CDs: $68.98
Deep Discount: $74.01
Bull Moose: $76.97
Elusive Disc: $97.99*
(Elusive Disc currently has a 20% off everything sale, bringing this down to $78.39)

I'm tempted to pull the trigger on this one now, but may wait to see if either Import CDs or Deep Discount has another sale coming sometime soon......
 
If you go to Elusive Disc they have a SAVE20 code which works on some sale items as well. That bring the already on-sale Tacet Complete Beethoven Symphonies 1-9 three blu ray set down to $59.99! Amazing price for excellent Tacet surround! Having said that I have used MDT (http://www.mdt.co.uk/) and their international shipping is really low. You can get this same bluray set (including shipping for around $60). Shipping would be extra at Elusive Disc, unless you reach $99.
 
Definitely got the jump on Naxos for that 9th. They've got one in the can from the Colorado Symphony; Leslie jones from Skywalker Studios recorded it using something like, 42 microphones...? They were all keen to finally give the 9th the "immersive" treatment, and free the listener from that Center-Row-AA position the classical world is convinced God Himself has decreed as the One True Proper Perspective for listening to symphonic recordings. I first read about it in Mix Magazine, and just shook my head at the apoplectic shock that registered in the comments section. "Blasphemy!" they cried. "You are painting a mustache upon the Mona Lisa!"

For those purists to whom it did not occur, yes, a mere two mics might be a way to adequately represent what the performance venue had to offer. Yes, adding ambience to your surrounds does place a listener in a more defined space.

So fracking what. A composer scores his ideas for an orchestra to interpret - there's your first unavoidable modification in the music right there, before the ink is even dry. And, who decreed that a concert hall in itself is the "only proper" space to perform a piece in the first place? You want your "authentic" impression of a piece? Then gee, it must have really put your tux-tails in a tizzy when the Stage Manager made the ensemble back-off the edge of the stage to put those gas-fired stage lamps up front, huh. And who says the audience is required to dress up...or, the ensemble, for that matter? And, has it ever occurred to any of these purists that, stereo IS a recreation of a special effect resulting in the creation of a "theoretical space", in the first place!

So, unless you were up in the composers piano room, taking dictation as he SANG the original idea for you before assigning it to real-world instruments...you're ALREADY enjoying special effects, listening modifications and the art and craft of the recording engineer anyway! [rant over]

While 42 mics my give you every possible position to highlight various sections and solos throughout the orchestra, I can see where Tacet ups the ante using movement to add character to various runs and melodies. Having not heard it yet, I only have the stereo video clip from their site to judge. My first impression feels a little too radical on the movement aspect of the possibilities, though: when I hear a melodic line whizzing from one speaker to another, I would want it to sound a bit more organic. For instance, starting a passage over there, and completing it way over there sounds a bit too obvious (and, *sigh* yes, "gimmicky") when the movement loses the sound processing or ambience at the tail-end, as if the panning were an afterthought, and not the three-dimensional impression they were going for. Oh yeah, I know little touches like this work in 3D cinema, as movement telegraphs the sense of depth when the two skewed, polarized images coming into one. But for an otherwise well-thought-out and choreographed effect, why wouldn't the ambience stay in the origin position, to decay naturally?

The segment I heard was a bit busier than I might like for my first exposure to this technique, and albeit in stereo over headphones; a 5.1 soundstage might indeed take that stark change of perspective and even it out (or, it could make the movements even more drastic, I fear).

I no longer have to sit in Row AA Center. I've got my own soundstage, sitting between 5 speakers. Or seven. (Or, just wait until Atmos takes this and runs with it-!) And heck, I can cram 'em all into one corner of the room, I paid for that freedom. The shape, the size, the proximity of the ensemble in question, is now in my hands - I say what this recording will sound like in my own personal space.

So, thanks to Tacet, for nudging my possibilities just a little bit further out there!

(And, for you purists? Relax, I have it on expert authority from physics profesionals...just because one or two recordings come onto the market in a recording form you did not approve? Turns out, that DOESN'T mean all your rickety old stereo and mono LP's are going to vanish into nothingness - not even the ones on your own shelves; as it turns out, science doesn't work that way.)
 
I have a dark confession about Tacet releases...in theory I admire their philosophy of really using the surround soundfield to envelop the listener. But...in practice I find listening to their discs mostly jarring. I have 10-12 of them, so it's not a one-off, but in the string quartet medium especially, they haven't been my go-to.

I can do a direct comparison in their disc of Maurice Ravel, Gabriel Fauré, and Claude Debussy's string quartets (I have the DVD-Audio) to the more conservative recording of the same pieces done by the Guarneri Quartet on the short-lived SurroundedBy label, the last recording made by the original lineup of that venerable ensemble. Both are fantastic performances, and the recording quality is extremely high on both. But while Tacet's engineering allows me to really "pick apart" the sound by effective use of the channels, the SurroundedBy recording is a far more pleasant listening experience that really draws me into the music.
 
I managed to pick up the Beethoven 5th and 6th symphonies DVDA. I like the mix and performance of the 5th (I've not played all of the 6th yet) - I find it very involving and I'm not a major classical fan. I don't like the tone though. I noticed the SACD claims to be all tube recorded, but the DVDA doesn't. I don't know if there's anything between the two I'd prefer. Also, for some reason the disc throws the time display on my player. Despite playing the audio the counter seems to tick up at half speed, and the track numbers don't change in the right place. Direct access to the tracks still works correctly though. My player seems a bit weird in this respect, I've seen the timer display freeze before on at least one other disc.
 
I was just looking around at websites from which I've purchased in the past and discovered that Tacet is now selling 96/24 flac 5.1 downloads. I obviously have no idea how long this has been available, and it appears to be their entire catalog. I've got quite a few of these on shiny discs - both SACDs and DVD-As - but they're not always easy to find. Currently they are only accepting PayPal.
 
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