Antal Dorati – Piano Concerto No. 3

Played with the A-T 33 true mono cart, this pressing really shines. Dynamic and tight sonics. The A-T even tracked my warped copy better than my Ortofon 2M Blue.

My apologies for the long overdue reply – Yes, I own both records and have just performed another shoot out - I believe the difference in sound quality has less to do with Speakers Corner’s preferred pressing plant and more to do with this original pressing using a “fresher” master tape (43 years younger).

And a special note – this first pressing has only 4mm of dead wax on side 2 - leading to wider grooves - so the majority of side 2 is much easier for a cartridge to track, thus sounding more dynamic and less congested compared to the Speakers Corner pressing, which has 23mm of dead wax - leading to narrower grooves - so more difficult for a cartridge to track, thus sounding less dynamic and more congested.

Although with only 4mm of dead wax, this first pressing has some minor inner groove distortion during the last few minutes of play, but nothing to distract from the incredible performance. I’m guessing this is why Speakers Corner made the decision to use thinner grooves at the expense of improved dynamics.

Both the original pressing and Speakers Corner reissue are fantastic, but if you want the very best pressing with maximum clarity and dynamics – look no further.

And to answer your question - Does the original and Speakers Corner pressing have that broken space between 2nd and 3rd movements? – No, both the original and Speakers Corner do not have any audible broken space between the 2nd and 3rd movements. And looking at both records, there is no break between any movement on both sides of each record.

An amazing version of this recording.Dead silent with beautiful rich piano tone.

Just received my copy of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 with Byron Janis, the first Living Presence Stereo by Mercury to be produced with 35mm film. This has to be the definitive listening experience for this work! A great buying experience from https://discogs.sitiosdesbloqueados.info//btowns01. Thanks.

First of all, thanks for sharing this info!

Guess you did compare the 2 records?

Speakers Corner pressed at Pallas , which may explain this issue. There is a video on youtube where Chad Kassem said that he stopped pressing at Optimal back at the time because they polish the metal parts / stempers without letting you know about it and this caused such veil you described. Maybe Pallas does same? This is not the case with RTI US.

Does the original and Speakers Corner pressing has that broken space between 2n and 3rd movements?

Thanks.

This US 1st pressing is much much better than the Speakers Corner reissue. As if a veil had been lifted, everything is better: clarity, dynamics, presence, etc.

I cannot believe there is a space between the second and the third movements. Usually they are played continuously. Unfortunately this LP doesn't. However, the CD from the same recording is correct. Besides that, the sound quality is absolutely great.