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...but I'm still in.

Can the sides be unlabeled? So that we don't know which side is analog and which is digital. And give us a good amount of time (month or so) before revealing.

If you had to conservatively guess a price window, what would you think it might be?

Count me in.

This is going to be fun.

...One for playing and one for the "archives"
Maybe you should offer signed copies at a premium?

For $15-$20, I am definitely in.

Michael, will the master analog be transferred to digital at 24/96 or 24/192 then down sampled? I was just curious, although it probably won't make much difference. Those Pacific Microsonics converters he uses are to die for.

For $20? That's not a lot for a good learning experience. Count me in.

I'm totally in.

I'm in!

This is a no-brainer. Thanks for setting it up -- looking forward to it!

Very reasonable price and a signed copy would be a great option!

Yes indeed. Mahalo Michael.

I'm still in.

Thanks Michael!

IN!

I'm in!!

Thanks for putting all this work in! Hopefully this will all fall in line and budget! Looking forward to updates! Cheers!

Goodness, yes I am in now!

That this is now especially interesting and even important - at least for me and other classical fans. Because Universal under the Decca, DG and Mercury Living Presence labels are releasing vinyl at a rate that bears comparison with the late 70s. Just in the last 18 months there must have been more than 100 new pressings. Look at the Acoustic Sounds website and there are batches and batches of it month after month. The reissues are all from digital masters that were in turn mastered from the analogue originals. So this exercise will give potential buyers a much closer idea of what they are missing by buying these titles and saving a few dollars over the "true" analogue titles.

This is still with the caveats I mentioned in the other thread but now I have a lot more interest in this than I did before.

One thing: I hope we know precisely the technical details of the ADA "loop" for the "digital" side - right down to the specific models used and the settings. This is extremely important.

I think this is really cool. Thanks! I'm in!

Definitely in.

Prefer you dont make it obvious which side is most popular from the summary on your website. Some of us who live in the middle of nowhere (aka Australia) might take a while to get their copy ;)

Awesome idea, would really appreciate the DSD. Even if you had to do 3-4 sides.

Just registered to post that I'm in for this.

I'm in

I'm assuming the reference to the symphonic colors and textures include ultrasonic frequencies. If so, I'm certainly in.

Sounds great

Sounds like fun. Hope it will be available in Germany...

NO BRAINER.....I'M IN! Looking forward to it. Sadly, this won't change the "digital is perfect" close minded people, but it will sure be a fun experiment.
Can we pre-order?

this sounds fun, and useful

Sign me up.

like Flynn.

but no DSD please - or maybe put it on a separate disc, as an earlier poster suggested. I suspect that many of us who are more analog-oriented don't have the DACS for it

I registered because of this!
I am in.

looking forward to challenging my old ears.

If you decide to include DSD in the second half of side B, you could print the same last section of the music as on side A, that way a direct comparison of A/B with either digi format would allow to compare the same music selection at the same distance into the record and have similar distortion on both formats making the comparison fair.

However! If you include 2 digi formated tracks on one side, it will be obvious which is the digital side!

I have no trouble believing that Kevin Gray's 45rpm cut bests the Athena. But, when the Athena came out it was the best sounding record I'd ever heard. I bought a half dozen copies, though classical isn't really my thing.

Where do I send my money?

and let me know :-)

15$ to 20$ is a great price for something as unique as this record. However the cost of postage form USA to UK can double this cost. I'm still in though.

Sounds like fun!

I have two copies of this! one is noisy the other is warped, I really would like to get good copy of this performance!

Love this performance

I see a problem. Too many variables. How would you know the feed from the analog tape will match the feed from the original cut? If you want to reduce variables I think you need to cut a new all analog lacquer, and from the same exact feed make the hi res digital copy, then turn around and immediately cut the other lacquer from that copy making sure the levels are exactly matched.

If the AAA side is highly preferred over the digital side, I'm hoping this will send a message to record companies that going the all analog route is worth the extra effort/cost.

I will buy this record as soon as it becomes available.

Count me in too - and I;m sure a few buds will go for it as well.

I love Rachmaninoff.

Great, I'm in! I will have to order this from Belgium but I'm placing 2 times a year an order at acoustic sounds so, keep me informed and I'll plan my order when this record is available.

Thanks,
Tom

for me!

I think it's great of you to do this, apparently, blind comparison. I'll wait to see how, or if, it remains fair throughout the listening tests. I fear that somehow this test will be compromised. So far, none of Mr. Fremer's listening tests have been adequate. There's always some sort of issue, like mismatched levels, alignment variables, whatever. There's always trouble with the finer details that throw off results.

But... this test has a few too many variables already. And doing the digital cut months after(!) the analog cut is less than ideal. The tape machine alignments will not be identical. The mastering will not be identical. The cutting and plating will not be identical, and we all know the digital stage will get blamed for any shortcomings, when this test doesn't allow us to know for sure.

The only way it will be a fair test is if you recut the analog side on the same day with the same azimuth and the same noise in the power grid, and other variables.

It was mastered by Doug Sax. Is it really so bad?

I'm very interested in a copy as well.

DSD and PCM have very different sonic signatures. A direct unfiltered DSD rip of an analogue master tape can sound wonderful, while even the highest-resolution PCM tends to impose a sonic signature on the tape. I believe this is due to anti-aliasing filters causing pre-ringing.

Now do you begin this as a crowd source project to see if it will fly? Curious as to how many adopters you will need for the record to be say $15 or $20 or $30 or $50. I assume you are waiting for a quote from parties that need to be involved.

Cheers and again thanks for your hard work going into this.

Count me in please!

My first post after stalking for months - count me in!

You have piqued my interest. Thanks for pioneering this effort.
Just tell me where to send the money.

This will be $20 - $30 Cdn + shipping and duty but i'm still in. It's called putting your money where your mouth is and i'm all but sure that there will be a difference and it will be AAA all the way! To some there won't be a big enough difference to care but for most of us who come to this site there will be.Thanks for doing this for us.

Great stuff!

Hope we can get it in Australia for a reasonable price. Would love to see if I can hear what I think I can hear.

The comparison of PCM vs DSD would also be informative, regardless of the inner vs. outer groove distortions. Documentation of the mastering chain would be good to know, but only after the feedback is tabulated.

Sure, why not?

I've never heard this recording and I just recently started listening to classical music. I'm in!