Page 1 of Classical music on dvd-audio

Can anyone recommend any good classical music dvd-audio`s. I admit I`m more a Metallica/Soundgarden fan myself but it would also be nice to listen to some stirring classical opus`s (opii?) in sexy 5.1 - Ride of the Valkyries, errrrr "that Old Spice music" and the "one with the bumblebees".... that kind of thing.

The availability of software for DVD-A is currently poor to non-existant. There are a few rock & pop dics out there but classical material is notable by it`s absence. It seems that the anti-piracy "watermarking" may be to blame for this as it`s far from transparent and, frankly, in most cases you`d get better sound from CDs played back on a quality CD player.

Another point is that there are very few true 5.1 recordings around, instead one is offered 2 channel recordings re-mixed for surround sound - Aaaarrrghh!!! A well recorded classical piece played back on a fine system will recreate the atmosphere and space of the venue to the extent that "surround-sound" just muddies the waters.

SACD has a much wider range of software available, especially Classical material (including a few true 5.1 recordings!) but the same caveat applies. It sounds initially impressive but the 2 channel recordings get much closer to the feeling of "being there" unless one takes the trouble to have a 5.1 setup using exactly the same speakers all-round, and all at exactly the same distance and height from the listening position. Fine in theory, but a nightmare in practice and hardly practical for most living rooms. Using a "cinema" style 5.1 setup is a disaster for playing classical material, although interesting results can be obtained on some heavily processed/equalised rock & pop material.

If you really want some stirring classical music whirling around you, I`d advise you drop a few grand on a good quality 2 channel system - preferably with a vinyl front-end, but CD should do fine. Trust me, I have two seperate systems, one dedicated to film, the other dedicated to music - I`ve tried combining both but each has to compromise to an unacceptable degree. I have an SACD player and, while it`s great in 2 channel mode, I`m not convinced that 5.1 channel replay brings anything significant to the party (and remember - to keep the same quality you need to spend a fortune on extra amplification, speakers, cables etc.. - that means that say you have an amp costing £2K and speakers costing the same, then you`ll need to find an extra £6K at least to keep the same level of quality - The reality is that you`d get a much better sound spending the xetra money on a better 2 channel stereo sytem...)

So, the short answer is, if you`re thinking of playing classical music on DVD-A, forget about it unless, a) Money really is no object b) You`re single or your partner doesn`t mind a living room decked out like a hifi dem room c) You`ve never been to a live concert so won`t expect it to sound anything like the real thing.... d) You can actually find any discs to play...

Thanks for the tips and I agree that the software for dvd-audio is p*** poor at the moment - to be honest there`s only 2 or 3 discs that I`d consider buying and I have 2 of them already (Metallica`s "Black" album and Stone Temple Pilot`s Core). I do have a pretty decent 6 speaker setup but found that when playing a 2-channel source the sound, while very good, doesn`t really envelope you. However, if I stick in Metallica`s "black" album on dvd-audio or their S&M concert the 5.1 sound is truly superb and knocks the socks off anything in stereo. This is probably down to my amp (Yamaha) which is dedicated mainly towards home-cinema and the various DSP modes aren`t really designed to be used for music-only tracks, but for older movies like The Last Waltz or Elvis` That`s The Way It Is the 5.1 sound is truly superb and I`d like to try out a few classical dvd-audios to see if the sound is as good.

You`re right that AV amp/receivers are very poor in stereo - even the top line Denon and Harman/Kardon units offer only the merest hint of what`s capable from a similar two-channel amplifier.

The NAD units are pretty good for the money but still only really compare with their least expensive stereo amplifiers, as for the rest..... oh brother...!

Things only start to get good at a higher level, the Myryad units are good, as are the Arcam FMJ series. Meridian are also good but the sound is still a little veiled and obviously processed which all units seem to suffer from to a greater or lesser extent. It`s subtle but definitely a huge bar to total enjoyment. All bar one, that is - the Naim AV-2 is definitely my reference at the moment but then it`s just a processor devoid of AV switching (probably why it sounds so much more natural than any of the others - why else would Mark Levinson do it on their £30,000 processor...?) and amplification - put together with some Naim amps (take your pick depending on budget or use another make, why not?) and it wipes the floor with Lexicons and the like but you only get such a performance by stripping out everything bar the essentials for 5.1 replay. And, of course, used in a system, stereo replay is unaffected... I`m saving up!!!