tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578688126265821360.post6245557096386176476..comments2024-03-26T14:07:32.489-04:00Comments on Miles to Mozart: Columbia SAX 2470-2aqlamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14158533801520443218noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578688126265821360.post-64257356323190487502013-08-18T13:53:35.234-04:002013-08-18T13:53:35.234-04:00Sounds like I need to cruise popsike and note whic...Sounds like I need to cruise popsike and note which are Epic stampers. Ah the fun.Meleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17803490723541660219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578688126265821360.post-76108407353487475232013-08-18T12:30:08.488-04:002013-08-18T12:30:08.488-04:00Except that I asked the seller what the stampers/m...Except that I asked the seller what the stampers/matrix numbers were on the Haydn.<br /><br />YAX, not BC.<br /><br />Yup, it was repressed by Columbia, so it's legit. It might even sound better.<br /><br />The other really expensive SAX of Szell conducting Beethoven's 7th and Wagner ... I think that has YAX stampers, too. Perhaps that's why these are more valuable, because they aren't simply Epic stampers but actually remastered or repressed by EMI. Wish I could speak with someone at the company who could confirm! aqlamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14158533801520443218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578688126265821360.post-62793154724201302082013-08-18T11:53:56.800-04:002013-08-18T11:53:56.800-04:00That Haydyn Oxford epic gold label might be better...That Haydyn Oxford epic gold label might be better than the SAX.Meleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17803490723541660219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578688126265821360.post-50027820503788535142013-08-18T11:50:55.153-04:002013-08-18T11:50:55.153-04:00The same typeset as EPIC. Perhaps Epic made the p...The same typeset as EPIC. Perhaps Epic made the plates for Columbia and sent them over. I trust ears first and if they are that close they'd have to be done by Epic. <br /><br />You know what this means? The semi-circle pressings of Szell are probably identical to the Blue and Silver. For Epic stuff, I'd get the semi-circle and save the money.<br /><br />You know what else this means? Epic probably cut these around the time Columbia released them in the mid-sixties. They are probably not tube pressings which would explain why your later Epic pressing sounds the same. A Gold Epic would sound different as it is a tube pressing probably.<br /><br />I love this kind of stuff.Meleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17803490723541660219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578688126265821360.post-50485651822630129162013-08-18T11:40:44.508-04:002013-08-18T11:40:44.508-04:00Another case in point. A Szell SAX of Haydn's...Another case in point. A Szell SAX of Haydn's Oxford symphony and Mozart's Haffner sold on ebay last night for $295. I was actually eyeing it for less than that but wasn't going to go too crazy. I have the Epic gold which has the Oxford paired with Schubert's Unfinished. Same exact front over with Schubert in the title rather than Mozart. I got mine for $10. I made sure to listen to it last night before bidding. The Haydn sounded pretty good for an Epic. I don't care too much for Schubert's Unfinished, so I didn't sample that one again.aqlamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14158533801520443218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578688126265821360.post-82952707855750124352013-08-18T11:23:13.793-04:002013-08-18T11:23:13.793-04:00It's in the Epic font letters. I know it'...It's in the Epic font letters. I know it's not the same stamper as the first pressing Epic, but I"m telling you, it still sounds very good! Many of my Epics are blue labels (I do have some golds, too), and some of the blues are not bad. They aren't outstanding by a wide margin, but they seem to be not too far off from some of the SAXes reissues. Case in point, the Szell conducting Mendelssohn's Italian symphony. I have both the SAX and the Epic blue. They sound almost the same, and the SAX has BC stampers.aqlamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14158533801520443218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578688126265821360.post-14259765848931652322013-08-18T11:15:50.811-04:002013-08-18T11:15:50.811-04:00I've got lots of gold label. Its XSB. That m...I've got lots of gold label. Its XSB. That means they are not the same stampers. I think columbia used the BC number because they did not have a sub-number of their own, since it was not their recording. Take a look at the typeset. Is it EMI/Columbia style letters or Epic font style letters.Meleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17803490723541660219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578688126265821360.post-12963701273772670092013-08-18T11:07:49.792-04:002013-08-18T11:07:49.792-04:00Ditto -- my Epic does not have the BC stampers, wh...Ditto -- my Epic does not have the BC stampers, which I bet were reserved for the gold label. Mine has XSB numbers like yours. I'm not sure exactly how to interpret that. I guess Epic used different mothers for their later pressings?aqlamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14158533801520443218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6578688126265821360.post-14353775476886169942013-08-18T10:09:41.736-04:002013-08-18T10:09:41.736-04:00It still amazes me that it appears that Columbia u...It still amazes me that it appears that Columbia used the EPIC mothers and did not master their own LP! Did you look in the dead wax of the Epic? I have BC 1241, Mozart Clarinet, Strauss Horn 1, and it has the subnumber XSB-56559. This is a gold label and equivalent to SAX 2536 ($75). I paid 95 cents. <br /><br />In any event, even if not the same at least the sound is close which is really the whole point. An Epic Gold label would sound better than a blue. I find Epic barely passable with a dried up tube sound. No bloom. Some control to the sound, but not in the league of EMI. An unmagical sound in every way. Sterile, clinical, but perhaps faithful to the music in some way. I've not listened to this LP, but this is my impression from the Brahms 1 with Szell on Epic. (To these ears the Classic for Pleasure Kempe Brahms 1 reissue of the $1000 ASD blows away Szell in performance and sound.)<br /><br />Verify back with what you've seen on the stampers. My earlier epic do not have the BC xxxx code in the dead wax. If these truly do match in the dead wax then it seems the second pressing is the one to have. You save money or perhaps you get one actually mastered by Columbia!Meleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17803490723541660219noreply@blogger.com