Why organ music

Early Telarc digital organ recordings sound quite bright to me as well, I don't think you're alone there. For Bach, I like the Christopher Herrick cycle on Hyperion, which is pretty well-recorded. The Hell recording is quite good, and the kid is a terrific organist, full of excitement. Be aware, though, that the recording is in a comparatively dry venue, won't sound like a recording in a great cathedral by any means. Much of the program for RR was also recorded on Felix's own label from a concert I attended at the Sacred Heart Basillica in Newark a few years ago, when Felix was 17--that's a pretty good facsimile of the Sacred Heart acoustic, worth picking up online.

Has anyone looked at the pictures of his room? It looks like a wonderful living space, but nearly the entire front wall is glass, the walls appear to be wood and there's a piano. The above comments about the high number of harmonics, both odd and even, present in organ music are a partial explanation, but I think it's more a room problem that has little to do with digital vs. analog or organ vs. non-organ music. As a test play a close miked solo violin recording. I suspect it too will sound bright and hard.

It's kind of strange to say - because I think I know what you mean and I agree with you to an extent -but I've found that organ music reveals the weakness in lp more than other genres. Sustained notes in the deep bass are the easiest way for me to hear the speed variabiliy in a turntable. Good 'tables are stable enough to sound mostly "spot on" speedwise to me...except on the deepest sustained organ tones. Anyone else notice this?

Marty

Onhwy61 Great idea that I had not considered. I can play the offending CD's on my other system which is in a 21x25 basement room no glass, fully carpeted and lots of books etc and see what I get. In fact that is where the LP system is and perhaps the room is making it more pleasant down there as much as the LP.

It seems hard to conduct a meaningful comparison of different sources in two different systems!

Definitely see what you get while listening to both cd and LP in the same system.