Rimsky Korsakov - Scheherazade Chasing The Dragon CD

"The macro and the micro in complete detail”: Chasing The Dragon’s new tape recording of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade

"In terms of delivering the full sense of clarity and presence, and a felt experience of sitting in front of an orchestra performing this masterpiece, nothing else comes even close. For sure the Reiner sounds more ballsy, but the recording is also more murky. Where the great crescendos thunder with dark menace on the Reiner, all of the individual textures shine through on the Chasing the Dragon: tympanis, basses, horns – each instrument absolutely explodes out into the Henry Wood Hall, all sounding incredibly real. With the direct copy of the master tape, you really do experience that awesome power and majesty. Yet, even in the midst of such power, the tiniest sounds still break through with impeccable clarity. Imagine hearing the tiniest triangle ‘ting’ amidst a thunderous thunderclap of biblical proportions – it’s pretty mind-blowing – kind of like looking through a telescope and a microscope at the same time and getting to perceive both the macro and the micro in complete detail."

"The feeling of space is palpable. To use another visual metaphor, you can ‘see’ the hall and the whole orchestra. From the tiniest sound, through the most sweet and seductive solo, to the most thunderous crescendo, that piercing clarity remains, each time triggering a visual impression as well as a sonic one. It’s a hi-fi triumph and, as such, any budding audiophile should hear this. If you’re not able to play tape, don’t worry, the recording is being made available on vinyl, on 24/192 and DSD downloads."

Read the full review by Dave Denyer: The Reel-to-Reel Rambler

 Inside Track: Recording On Location

"Apart from getting the performance right, the main challenge when making live recordings is to capture and reproduce all the ambience of the environment without letting it detract from the performance. Failing to do this would result in something that might just as well have been done in a studio. Capturing this along with the instruments requires not only considerable skill but also the best in audiophile equipment for the recording chain – including microphones, cables, amplifiers, power supplies, and the recorder itself. This combination of skill and quality equipment should result in a listening experience that's much closer to a live performance and can be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home."

Read the full feature by StereoNET's Neville Roberts