Audiostream Magazine reviews our high-resolution downloads for the Utah Symphony’s Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky – Lieutenant Kijé Suite:
“I was given access to download the 24-bit/192kHz WAV files of Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky – Lieutenant Kijé Suite for listening, and was immediately blown away at the lack of any compression artefacting on the tracks – this recording sounds like it has a mile of dynamic headroom built into it. Regardless of whether I played it on my main two-channel rig via Roon (Roon Nucleus+, totaldac d1-direct, McIntosh 2600 tubed preamplifier, MC601 mono blocs into Harbeth M40.1 loudspeakers) a pair of B+W Formation Duos hooked up downstairs, or through an Astell&Kern SR15 juicing HIFIMAN HE1000se headphones, the sound was expansive, timbrally and tonally rich throughout the frequency bandwidth with no peaky highs or muddy lows. Bass was stygian, with clearly-defined textures to notes between the lowest octaves sharing a deep 3-D sound stage alongside detailed, resolution-oriented highs that remained sweet without etching. Midrange was transcriptive with punchiness and swagger to the playing throughout the suites. Lots of emphasis on transient-speed capabilities in your system while playing this recording. … I’m not an expert on classical recordings by any stretch of the imagination, but I do like to think I know great music when I hear it, and this is a great set of classical works in my opinion. This is what I would describe as an iconoclastic recording. It’s bombastic. It wants to tear down the foundations of your sound system with the raw power of flesh, blood and the tides of history writ emotionally through music. Like every Reference Recording LP or download I’ve bought or heard, it’s beautifully recorded and mastered; full of resolution, tonal/timbral color and accuracy, incredible dynamics, explosive transient power and draws you into the music as only the best albums can. It has unusual time signatures and dissonant harmonies that keep you off balance and always keenly listening to every change-up. If you’ve not gotten into classical – for whatever reasons – this would be the one album I’d recommend to buy to dip your toes in (so to speak). It is as punk rock as I imagine classical can get… get it and you’ll want to spend more time with it.”
—Rafe Arnott, Audiostream
See the full review on audiostream.com
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