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| August 2004 LAUNCH OF MERCURY LIVING PRESENCE ON SUPER AUDIO CD The Decca Music Group, which owns the celebrated Mercury Living Presence classical catalogue, is proud to announce the imminent launch of Mercury Living Presence recordings on the new high-resolution digital audiophile format, Super Audio CD (SACD).  Mercury
Living Presence continues to enjoy a special reputation as one of the most
enterprising and prestigious labels in the history of classical recording,
with many of its famous 50s, 60s and 70s recordings never leaving the catalogue.
At the start of the 21st century, Super Audio CD has established itself
as the preferred new high-resolution, multi-channel format, and offers the
perfect new medium for revisiting and revitalising these unique recordings.Each Mercury Living Presence SACD offers several major advantages over the previous CD release. Firstly - and most excitingly - every SACD features a 3-channel (left, right and centre) transfer of the original 3-channel recording. This will be the first opportunity for Mercury Living Presence enthusiasts to hear their favourite recordings in their original 3-channel format. Secondly, every transfer is a direct DSD (Direct Stream Digital) analogue-to-digital transfer from the original analogue master tape. And, finally, every SACD includes a new DSD 2-channel stereo mix, as well as the original CD mix prepared by the label's legendary producer Wilma Cozart Fine. The first Mercury Living Presence SACDs will go
on sale worldwide as early as Monday, 13 September (UK), and will include
such landmark recordings as Antal Dorati's complete Firebird with the
London Symphony Orchestra, his recording of Respighi's popular Ancient
Airs & Dances with the Philharmonia Hungarica, American virtuoso Byron
Janis in Rachmaninoff's Second and Third Piano Concertos, Hungarian cellist
Janos Starker's definitive Bach Cello Suites, Frederick Fennell's rousing
disc of Sousa marches, and the celebrated discs of Chabrier and Suppé
from Paul Paray conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. As with the CD transfers in the 1990s, only original masters have been used for these new SACDs. For the transfers themselves, Saki Magnetics 3-channel heads (specially built for this series) were mounted on a Studer A80R ½" or Studer A820 1" recorder. Both machines were substantially modified to optimise tape reproduction. The analogue-to-digital conversion was done exclusively via DSD, using dCS equipment. This combination of superior head construction, high quality electronics and transport, and direct-to-DSD conversion, results in a very high quality transfer: there is less risk of wow and flutter, a better signal-to-noise ratio, and because the signal path incorporates no transformers, there is less possibility of distortion.
Future Mercury Living Presence SACDs are planned to include Antal Dorati's top-selling disc of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and the amazing disc of balalaika favourites from the Osipov Russian Folk Orchestra. As with the CD transfers in the 1990s, the distinctive logo, livery and liner notes of the original Mercury Living Presences LPs have been retained for these new SACDs.
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