But if a record is cut with one curve and replayed with another, it will introduce a degree of balance and tonal error that would debar a loudspeaker from serious consideration. Each EQ curve also includes a time constant and if that shifts the whole reproduction falls apart. So the suggestion that EQ curves only apply to early mono LPs is not just wrong, it’s actively misleading. The fact that major labels were cutting stereo records that weren’t RIAA long after 1956 has a direct impact on how those records are judged. But what really rammed home the significance of this issue was a recent trip to a favourite source of used records.
Have you ever wondered how records come to end up in the bins at charity shops? Normally, they arrive in collections, meaning that if the person who assembled that collection shared your musical tastes, it’s your lucky day. If they collected carefully, bought early and really looked after their records, then its jackpot time! That’s exactly what happened a few days ago. With a half hour to spare I popped into the Oxfam shop, rooted through the bins and came out 30-minutes later with 11 albums (one of which was a late 50s mono disc) and three box-sets, all in mint condition. Amongst the haul were:
- Six DGG first pressings (Karajan/BPO Beethoven and Brahms symphonies, dating from 1962-65 and the Beethoven Triple Concerto with Fournier, Anda and Schneiderhan, Fricsay/RSOB, dating from 1961)
- David and Igor Oistrach playing Bach, Beethoven and Vivaldi, also on DGG, dating from 1961 but a much later pressing)
- Bach and Vivaldi settings of the Magnificat (on Argo, a New Malden pressing dating from 1977)
- Two Menuhin albums (Beethoven Violin Concerto on EMI from 1966 and the Brandenburg Concertos on HMV from 1959)
- The Solti Die Walküre (on Decca wideband dating from 1965)
- The Mehta Turandot (also on Decca, but dating from 1973)
That’s a total of 17 records, varying between the excellent and the merely interesting, acquired at less than £2.00 a disc. The only problem being that each and every one of them requires something other than the RIAA EQ curve for proper replay. Both EMI and Decca classical albums used those company’s curves well into the 1970s, while there’s considerable evidence to suggest that DGG relied on the Teldec curve right up to the point where they stopped LP production in favour of CD. In amongst that list there are some stellar performers and superb performances – but play them with the RIAA EQ curve and you’d never know. Which is one of the reasons why the reputation of Karajan and DGG records in general is so low when it comes to audiophile collectors. The very people who seek out and buy early pressings. Why does that matter? Because, right through the 1960s and 70s, DGG had arguably the greatest single roster of classical performers – a roster that included not just Karajan and Klemperer but the likes of Rostropovich, Benedetti Michelangeli and Martha Argerich, amongst many, many others. Add to that the collected talent then performing for EMI and Decca and any serious classical collector should sit up and take notice. It’s not just that you need the correct replay EQ to truly appreciate these performances. Due to their poor reputation, many of these discs – but DGG in particular – are readily available at bargain prices.
