Deryk Barker wrote:

>Danny Tan ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
>
>>...  I envy people who claim to be able to listen to the content of the
>>music....(despite all those hisses coming out!)
>
>The only answer is: keep trying.  I started with historical recordings
>from the 1950s and worked my way backwards.  Eventually you'll find you
>can listen through the sound of frying bacon.

Age of recording is not always a reliable predictor of a CD's sound
quality.  I recently received a 4-CD set (LYS 231-234) from Berkshire of
Lotte Lehman singing Schubert.  The first two CDs are *Schoene Muellerin*
and *Winterreise* respectively, the last two, assorted Lieder recordings.
"Muellerin" was recorded in 1942; "Winterreise" in 1941; the Lieder on the
third CD, from 1927 to 1947.  I'm no audiophile, but I could listen to
all of these with full enjoyment despite the recordings' age.  I've just
started listening to the last CD, which starts w/ three Lieder recorded in
1943.  So far these have been the only ones where I found the recording
deficiencies annoying.

Walter Meyer