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