● A Collection of Interesting Articles:
System Design
Music Servers
- Berkeley Alpha USB (audiophile grade USB to AES-EBU or SP-DIF converter/reclocker)
- SOtM tX-USB PCI USB Audio Output Card
SOtM mBPS-d2s Intelligent Battery Power Supply (for SOtM tX-USB
PCI-e USB Audio Output Card)- UPDATED March 2013: Transferring Music from your CD/DVD/Bluray/SACD library to a Music Server
-
For
Music Servers - Windows 8 Tweaks
- UPDATED January 2012: Using a Mac as a music server
- UPDATED January 2012: Silent Music Servers
- UPDATED June 2012: Custom Silent Music Server FAQ
- UPDATED January 2012: Building a Silent Music Server
-
Computer Power Supply Efficiency Ratings
- February, 2011: dCS Guide to Computer Audio
- Using the Apple iPad & iPod Touch as a Music Server remote control
- Using an iPod or iPad as a music source in a home system
- Compressed vs. Uncompressed music files
- Media Monkey Music Server Software - Installation and Optimization for Windows XP
- Lynx AES16 PCI Digital Audio Card - Installation and Optimization for Windows XP
Music Formats
-
Music Formats & Music Collections
- Playing High
Resolution Files
-
High Resolution
Digital Audio Formats
- Updated: Audio Formats: SACD and DVD-Audio. And Blu-ray?
- Info on HDCD
- More about HDCD
- HDCD FAQ
- Info on Internet Radio
- Info on HD Radio
- Info on Satellite Radio
Home Theater
- Video Displays
- Ultra HD 4K: 1080p Upscaling, Native Ultra HD 4K content, & D-Cinema
- Surround Sound
- Custom Installation & Remote Control
-
Video Screen
Size Comparisons
-
Due to piracy concerns the future for video is the FCC mandated "analog
sunset" starting in 2011 such that going forward only HDMI outputs
will work of high definition video—articles
here,
here, here,
here, and
here
- Video piracy lawsuit announced, aimed at 150,000 downloaders—article here
-
3-D Video at
ZDNet
- 3-D Video article at Technologizer
- 3-D Video Article in The Economist
- 3-D Video - Health Warning if you are a Teenager, a Senior, Pregnant, Drunk, or very Tired
- 3-D Video - Q&A
- 3-D Video
- HDMI 1.4
- Movie Collections
- Movie Website Links
- Home Theater System Design
- Progressive Scan DVD Players Explained
- How to enable the Tivo HR10-250 30-second commercial skip feature
Electrical & RF/EMI shielding
- World Power Standards
- Electrical System Design for your Music System or Home Theater
- RF / EMI shielding
Networked Whole House Music & Video Systems
- System Design
- Internet TV & Movie Websites
- Wi-Fi and Ethernet Networks
- Wi-Fi and Ethernet Networks - Some Technical Specifications
- Custom Installation, System Integration, Home Automation & Remote Control
- Detailed Steps explained with regard to Custom Installation and System Integration
Room Optimization & Acoustics
- Room Design 101
- Room Design for Music Playback
- Room Design for Home Theater
- Room Design for Recording Acoustic Music
- Room Design for Live Music
- Room Dimensions
- Room Construction
- Soundproofing
- Electrical
- Lighting
- HVAC
- RF/EMI Shielding
- Acoustic Treatment
High End Audio Engineers
Professional Recording & Mastering
- HDCD Recording/Encoding and decoding
- Pacific Microsonics Model Two
- Plangent Processes
More Articles
- Bibliography of Recommended Reading
- Systems: Articles about component matching and various types of systems and installations.
- Room Design: Articles about the various aspects of designing and building rooms for music, recording, live music, and home theater.
- Acoustical Fabrics for Walls & Ceilings
- Info on high quality CD-R blank discs
Music
- Music Collections
- Classical Music Collections: for ReQuest Music Servers
- Jazz Music Collections: for ReQuest Music Servers
- NAS (network attached storage) pre-loaded Rolling Stone Top 500 Rock Albums
- Another Classic Rock Collection
- Music on SACD
- Music on DVD-Audio
- Music on HDCD
- Music on Mobile Fidelity Gold CD - Complete Discography
- 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die - drawn from all genres
- NEWS: Record Industry Braces for Artists’ Battles Over Song Rights
Classical Music
- Composer Timeline Listing
- Works Listing - Bach
- Works Listing - Beethoven
- Works Listing - Handel
- Works Listing - Mozart
- Works Listing - Schubert
- Opera - Listing of top works
- Desert Island Discs from BBC Radio 4
- An opinion on various Bach organ recordings
- Classical Music Eras
- Glossary of Tempo Markings used in Classical Music
- Music Website Links
Classical Music CD Box Sets - (some that might be of interest)
BMC Records
- BMC Records - Pianist: Richter in Hungary (1954-1993) - 14 CD Box Set - Info & Detailed Listing
Brilliant
- Brilliant Classics - Russian Legends - Live Recordings - 100 CD box set - Information and Detailed Listing
Decca
- Decca - Pianist: The Art of Alicia de Larrocha - 7 CD Box Set
- Decca - Piano Masterworks - 50 CD Box Set
- Decca - Handel Masterworks - 30 CD Box Set
- Decca - Mozart: The Complete Operas - 44 CD Box Set
- Decca - The Decca Sound - 50 CD Box set - Information & Detailed Repertoire Listing
- Decca - Conductor: Soltissimo2 Georg Solti: Complete 1970's Decca Recordings - 53CD + 5 DVD Box Set - Works Listing
- Decca - Pianist: Ingrid Haebler: Mozart & Schubert, Sonatas & Concertos - 34 CD Box Set - Information & Detailed Repertoire Listing - Amazon - Universal - CD MelOn - 11st
- Decca - Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen - Solti - 17 CD Box set / 1 Audio Blu-Ray / 1 DVD / 1 Book - Review
-
17 CD Box Set
-
1 Blu-ray Disc: The Complete Ring - 48kHz 24-bit LPCM 2.0 (audio files)
-
1 DVD: The Golden Ring
-
1 Book: Ring Resounding: The stirring account of how Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen was recorded for the first time - by John Culshaw
Deutsche Grammophon
- Deutsche Grammophon - Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner: Bach Sacred Masterpieces / Cantatas - 22 CD Box Set
- Deutsche Grammophon - Conductor: Gardiner: Mozart Operas - 22 CD Box Set
- Deutsche Grammophon - Conductor: Karajan 1960s - 82 CD Box Set
- Deutsche Grammophon - Pianist: Horowitz: Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon - 7 CD Box Set
- Deutsche Grammophon - 111 Years of Deutsche Grammophon 55CD Anthology - 55 CD Box Set - Detailed Listing
- Deutsche Grammophon - 111: The Collector's Edition 2 - 56 CD Box Set - Detailed Listing
- Deutsche Grammophon - Magnificat: 500 Years of Choral Masterworks - 50 CD Box Set - Detailed Listing
- Deutsche Grammophon - The All Baroque Box: From Monteverdi to Bach - 50 CD Box Set
- Deutsche Grammophon - Mozart 111 Masterworks - 55 CD Box Set
- Westminster Legacy: Chamber Music Collection - 59 CD Box Set - Detailed Listing - ImportCDs
- Westminster Legacy Vol. 2: Orchestral Recordings Collection - 65 CD Box Set - ImportCDs
EMI
- EMI - Selected Box Sets
- EMI - Violinist: Yehudi Menuhin - 51 CD Box Set
- EMI - Violinist: David Oistrakh - 17 CD Box Set
- EMI - Violinist: Nathan Milstein - 8 CD Box Set
- EMI - Violinist: Jascha Heifetz - 6 CD Box Set
- EMI - Cellist: Mstislav Rostropovich - 26 CD Box Set
- EMI - Cellist: Paul Tortelier - 20 CD Box Set
- EMI - Pianist: Sviatoslav Richter - 6 CD Box Set
- EMI - Pianist: Aldo Ciccolini - 56 CD Box Set
- EMI - Pianist: Alicia de Larrocha - 8 CD Box Set
- EMI - Conductor: Herbert von Karajan: Orchestral - 88 CD Box Set - Information and Detailed Listing
- EMI - Conductor: Herbert von Karajan: Opera - 72 CD Box Set - Information - Operas & Track Listing
- EMI - Conductor: Sir John Barbirolli - 10 CD Box Set
- EMI - Composer: Gustav Mahler - 16 CD Box Set
- EMI - Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams - 30 CD Box Set
- EMI - Opera Highlights: The Collector's Edition - 50 CD Box Set
- EMI - Soprano: Elly Ameling: Icon - 8 CD Box Set
Hanssler
- Hanssler - Bach Complete Works - 172 CD Box Set - Information and Detailed Listing
Harmonia Mundi
- Harmonia Mundi - Sacred Music - 30 CD Box Set
Hyperion
- Hyperion - Pianist: Angela Hewitt: Bach - 16 CD Box Set
- Hyperion - Pianist: Garrick Ohlsson: Chopin - 16 CD Box Set
Membran
- Membran - Various Artists - Meisterkonzerte (Masters of Music) - 100 CD Box Set - Detailed Listing - Info
- Membran - Conductor: Wilhelm Furtwängler: The Legacy - 107 CD Box Set
- Membran - Conductor: Herbert von Karajan: 1938-1960 Collection - 117 CD Box Set
Mercury
- Mercury Living Presence - Mercury Living Presence 50 CD Box Set (plus 1 bonus CD)
-
Mercury Living Presence -
Mercury Living Presence
Vol. 2 - 55 CD Box Set
Philips
- Philips - Great Pianists of the 20th Century: The Complete Edition - 200 CD Box Set
-
Philips -
Philips Original Jackets Collection: Obsessed With Sound - 55
CD Box Set
Sony
- Sony / RCA Living Stereo - Living Stereo 60 CD Collection Box Set
- Sony / RCA Red Seal - Conductor: Arturo Toscanini: The Complete RCA Collection - 85 CD Box Set
- Sony - Vivarte Collection - 60 CD Box Set - Listing
- Sony - Conductor: Leonard Bernstein: The Symphony Edition - 60 CD Box Set - Works Listing
- Sony - Conductor: Bruno Walter: The Edition - 39 CD Box Set - Works Listing
- Sony - Conductor: George Szell: The Edition - 49 CD Box Set - Works Listing
- Sony - Pianist: Horowitz Complete Original Covers - 70 CD Box Set - Information & Detailed Listing
- Sony - Pianist: Arthur Rubinstein Plays Chopin - 10 CD Box Set
- Sony - Pianist: Arthur Rubinstein: The Complete Album Collection - 144 CD Box Set
- Sony - Pianist: Glenn Gould: Complete Bach Collection - 42 CD Box Set
-
Sony -
Pianist:
Murray Perahia: The First 40 Years
- 67 CD Box Set -
Information &
Detailed Listing
- Sony - Violinist: Heifetz Complete Original Covers - 103 CD Box Set - Information & Detailed Listing
Classical Music CD's - (some that might be of interest)
- Bach - The Well-Tempered Clavier - info on various recordings by Sviatoslav Richter & Tatiana Nikolayeva
- Bach - The Goldberg Variations - info on various recordings by Tatiana Nikolayeva
- EMI Great Recordings of the Century - (reissues)
- Naxos Historical Series - (remastered reissues) - review
- Classical Music Recommendations
Jazz CD Box Sets - (some that might be of interest)
- Miles Davis: The Complete Columbia Album Collection - 71 CD box set
- Perfect Miles Davis Collection - 22 CD box set
- The Complete Stan Getz Columbia Albums Collection - 8 CD box set (2012 remaster w/Pacific Microsonics A-D)
- Perfect Jazz Collection: 25 Original Jazz Recordings - 25 CD box set
- Perfect Jazz Collection 2 - 25 CD box set
- Mosaic Records (This label releases numerous jazz reissues. They also have as few LP sets too.)
Jazz Vocals CD Box Sets - (some that might be of interest)
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings Cole Porter & Rodgers and Hart Songbooks - 3CD Box Set
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings Irving Berlin & Duke Ellington Songbooks - 3CD Box Set
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George & Ira Gershwin Songbook - 3CD Box Set
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook - 1 CD
- Ella Fitzgerald - discography
- Frank Sinatra: The Reprise Years - 35 CD box set
- FYI: Amazon Forum - suggestions for most moving ballads
Indian Classical CD's - (some that might be of interest)
- EMI - Ravi Shankar Collection - 10 CD Box Set
- Deutsche Grammophon - Ravi Shankar, The Master: Complete DG Recordings - 3 CD Box Set
- AMMP - Ali Akbar Khan: Signature Series, Vol. 1
- AMMP - Ali Akbar Khan: Signature Series, Vol. 2
- AMMP - Ali Akbar Khan: Signature Series, Vol. 3
- AMMP - Ali Akbar Khan: Signature Series, Vol. 4
- AMMP - Ali Akbar Khan: Signature Series, Vol. 5
- AMMP - Ali Akbar Khan: Plays Alap - 2 CD set
● Bibliography of Recommended Reading
High End Audio
- Stereophile
- Audiophile-oriented magazine.
- The Absolute Sound
- Audiophile-oriented magazine.
- The Complete Guide to High-End Audio
- by Robert Harley
- Introductory Guide to High-Performance Audio Systems: Stereo - Surround Sound - Home Theater
- by Robert Harley
Acoustics
- The Master Handbook of Acoustics 3rd Edition
- by F. Alton Everest
- Concert and Opera Halls: How They Sound
- by Leo Beranek
- Acoustics
- by Leo Beranek
- Sound System Engineering
- by Don Davis & Carolyn Davis
Click here for links to other on-line research.
Recording
- A Century of Recorded Music: Listening to Musical History (Note: the focus is on classical music)
- by Timothy Day
- Temples of Sound: Inside the Great Recording Studios
- by William Clark & Jim Cogan - (Forward by Quincy Jones)
- Inside the Hits: The Seduction of a Rock and Roll Generation
- by Wayne Wadhams
- Sound Advice: The Musicians Guide to the Recording Studio
- by Wayne Wadhams
Classical Music - Producers & Recording Engineers
- Putting the Record Straight: The Autobiography of John Culshaw
- by John Culshaw - (Producer 1946-1967, Decca Records)
- Ring Resounding: The stirring account of how Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen was recorded for the first time
- by John Culshaw
- The Other Side of the Record
- by Charles O'Connell - (Musical Director RCA Victor; Producer 1930-1944 RCA Victor Red Seal Records)
- On and Off the Record : A Memoir of Walter Legge, the Most Influential Man in Twentieth Century Classical Music
- by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf - (soprano & Walter Legge's wife) - (Walter Legge, Producer 1927-1964, HMV / EMI & founder of the Philharmonia Orchestra)
- Walter Legge: Words and Music
- by Alan Sanders
- The Music Goes Round
- by Fred Gaisberg - (Producer 1898-1939, HMV / EMI)
Classical Music
- What to Listen For in Music
- by Aaron Copland
- The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
- by Charles Rosen
- First and Last Love: An Autobiography of His Life in Music
- by Vincent Sheehan
Classical Music - Conductors
- A Mingled Chime: An Autobiography
- by Sir Thomas Beecham
- Memoirs
- by George Solti
- Arturo Toscanini: Contemporary Recollections of the Maestro [contains Conversations with Toscanini (1959) and Toscanini Musicians Knew (1967)]
- by B. H. Haggin
- Two Worlds of Music - (British Title: The Baton and the Jackboot) (autobiography)
- by Berta Geissmar (secretary - first to Furtwangler, then to Beecham)
Classical Music - String Quartets
- Indivisible by Four: A String Quartet in Pursuit of Harmony
- by Arnold Steinhardt
Classical Music - Violinists
- Unfinished Journey: Twenty Years Later (autobiography)
- by Yehudi Menuhin
- Yehudi Menuhin: A Life (biography)
- by Humphrey Burton
- Fiddlers Moll: Life With Yehudi
- by Diana Menuhin
- Heifetz As I Knew Him
- by Ayke Agus
- From Russia to the West: The Musical Memoirs and Reminiscences of Nathan Milstein (autobiography)
- by Nathan Milstein
- My First 79 Years: Isaac Stern (autobiography)
- by Isaac Stern
- Violin Dreams (autobiography)
- by Arnold Steinhardt
Classical Music - Pianists
- Piano Notes: The World of the Pianist
- by Charles Rosen
- Arthur Rubinstein: My Young Years (autobiography)
- by Arthur Rubinstein
- Arthur Rubinstein: My Many Years (autobiography)
- by Arthur Rubinstein
- Rubinstein: A Life in Music (biography)
- by Harvey Sachs
- Horowitz: A Biography of Vladimir Horowitz
- by Glenn Plaskin
- Chopin and Beyond: My Extraordinary Life in Music and the Paranormal (autobiography)
- by Byron Janis
- My Husband: Gabrilowitsch (biography)
- by Clara Clemens (Mark Twain's daughter)
- The Great Pianists: From Mozart to the Present
- by Harold C. Schonberg
Classical Music - Cellists
- Cellist (autobiography)
- by Gregor Piatigorsky
- Joys and Sorrows: Reflections by Pablo Casals
- as told to Albert Kahn
Classical Music - Singers
- My Life (autobiography)
- by Emma Calvé
- Such Sweet Compulsion: The Autobiography of Geraldine Farrar (autobiography)
- by Geraldine Farrar
- The Inner Voice: The Making of a Singer (autobiography)
- by Renee Fleming
- The Sibyl Sanderson Story: Requiem for a Diva (biography)
- by Jack Winsor Hansen
Classical Music - Piano Accompanists for Singers
- Am I Too Loud?: A Musical Autobiography
- by Gerald Moore
- Farewell recital: Further memoirs
- by Gerald Moore
Classical Music - Opera
- A Passion for Opera: Learning to Love It: The Greatest Masters, Their Greatest Music
- by Peter Fox Smith
- Opera 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera
- by Fred Plotkin
- 5000 Nights at the Opera: The Memoirs of Sir Rudolf Bing
- by Sir Rudolf Bing
Classical Music - Repertoire & Recording Guides
- The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 2010
- by Ivan March, Edward Greenfield, Robert Layton; Paul Czajkowski (Editor)
- Classical Music: Third Ear: The Essential Listening Companion
- by Alexander Morin
- The Billboard Encyclopedia of Classical Music
- by Stanley Sadie
- The Essential Canon of Classical Music
- by David Dubal
- Gramophone Classical Music Guide 2012
- by James Jolly
- The Insider's Guide to Classical Recordings, From the Host of The Record Shelf, a Highly Opinionated, Irreverent, and Selective Guide to What's Good and What's Not
- by Jim Svejda
The Rough Guide to Classical Music
by
Joe Staines
Classical Music: The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1000 Greatest Works
by Phil G. Goulding
- The Life and Death of Classical Music: Featuring the 100 Best and 20 Worst Recordings Ever Made
- by Norman Lebrecht
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians: 29 volumes with index
by Stanley Sadie
and John Tyrrell
- The Norton/Grove Concise Encyclopedia of Music
- by Stanley Sadie; Alison Latham (Editor)
Classical Music Websites
AllMusic.com - Classical (Note: click the 'works' tab on a composer's page for 'highlights' of their oeuvre)
MusicWeb International (reviews of classical CDs)
Classical.net (another good source for basic repertoire)
- Gramophone (reviews of classical CDs)
Indian Classical Music
- Raga Mala: The Autobiography of Ravi Shankar
- by Ravi Shankar
- My Music, My Life
- by Ravi Shankar
- Classical Music of North India: the First Years of Study: The Music of the Baba Allauddin Gharana As Taught by Ali Akbar Khan at the Ali Akbar College of Music
- by Ali Akbar Khan and George Ruckert
Indian Classical Music - Web Links
Music Websites - Multiple Genres