Few here probably heard of this one, but back when Telarc released this version of the 1812 Overture, it was notorious for its rendition using live cannons. Rather than compress them or reduce the volume, Telarc cut this to vinyl using its full dynamic range. It was notorious for two reasons. First, many turntables could not even track it; the stylus would jump right out of the groove. And second, it has destroyed many a speaker, and popped amplifier fuses, in its day.
Here is a video of an Ortofon cartridge barely making its way through. Kudos for it not jumping completely out of the groove! Although it does briefly (when the sound cuts out).
If the video starts at the beginning, fast forward to the 6:00 minute mark. (If you're like me, you can barely sit through this entire piece. )
And here's a close-up of the grooves in that section; it took some custom cutting to get all the cannon fire in there without destroying the surrounding grooves!
I do not own the vinyl, but have the SACD made from the original Soundstream 50kHz sampling rate digital recording. Regarding the warnings? They are not kidding! I can play it at a reasonable volume (not really all that loud) and it will easily clip a 200+ watt amplifier when the cannons hit.
"Caution! Digital Cannons." The yellow sticker is truth in advertising.
Here is a video of an Ortofon cartridge barely making its way through. Kudos for it not jumping completely out of the groove! Although it does briefly (when the sound cuts out).
If the video starts at the beginning, fast forward to the 6:00 minute mark. (If you're like me, you can barely sit through this entire piece. )
And here's a close-up of the grooves in that section; it took some custom cutting to get all the cannon fire in there without destroying the surrounding grooves!
I do not own the vinyl, but have the SACD made from the original Soundstream 50kHz sampling rate digital recording. Regarding the warnings? They are not kidding! I can play it at a reasonable volume (not really all that loud) and it will easily clip a 200+ watt amplifier when the cannons hit.
"Caution! Digital Cannons." The yellow sticker is truth in advertising.