If you've been reading along, you know I've been having a lot of fun listening to 78 rpm record transfers to CDs from the acoustic (1860 to 1925) and electrical eras (1925 to 1945) of recording.

Listening to 78 transfers will be a new musical experience for many of you, but one that I highly recommend to you for hearing some truly memorable performances of music from the dawn of the recording arts.

There's a tangible immediacy and presence from those 78 transfers that makes listening an invigorating and visceral experience, and one that feels like it transports me as a listener back in time to the musical event - a transcendent listening experience!

Another beneficial aspect of getting familiar with our entire recorded music canon is it has had me listening to musical genres I don't listen to very often normally, like opera, for example, which I've decided I actually enjoy listening to quite a lot.

Many of the albums marketed to audiophiles are from the magnetic era of recording (1945 to 1975), but there are soooo many important musical performances from the acoustic and electric eras of recording that make for truly enjoyable listening, and ones that you'll want to hear to become a more well-rounded music lover.  

In my previous posts I have been telling you about mostly difficult - or impossible - to find 78 transfers, but in this post I would like to share with you several sources of 78 transfers to CD that you can buy right now to begin your listening adventures. 

Marston Records 78 transfers to CD.

First up is Marston Records in the USA.  At the Marston Records "About" section of their website, it says:

"Marston was founded in 1997 by Ward Marston and Scott Kessler. Today, Marston is known worldwide for its superlative sound, informative liner notes, and extensive booklets. The company has received outstanding reviews and awards. Its mission is to preserve the great performances of the past and keep alive the traditions that were prevalent at the dawn of recording."

If you imagine that that I was flush with joy when I read the above you'd be exactly right. I am so appreciative that Ward Marston and Scott Kessler are preserving these great performances from the early periods of recordings for the coming generations of music lovers.

I've ordered a number of Marston Records' offerings, and I'll be telling you more about them in future posts.

Marston Records are responsive, their CDs are priced fairly, and they ship quickly.

Many thanks to Stephen Fleschler for telling me about Marston Records!

Caruso on the Nimbus Records 'Prima Voce' transfers from 78s.

Another source of 78 transfers that you can buy right now is from the Wyastone Estate in the UK.

I've already told you about the Nimbus Records Prima Voce 78 transfers (which you can order directly from Wyastone at the link), but also allow me to tell you about Nimbus Records Hermes jazz collection (you'll have to search through the jazz offerings to find them). 

Most of the 78 transfers to CD I've told you about have been classical or opera, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention there are important performances of jazz available too.

Nimbus Records 'Hermes' transfers from vinylite test pressings.

On the CDs back cover it says, "These transfers have been made from vinylite test pressings, as opposed to commercial shellac pressings, thereby giving true fidelity with minimal surface noise, without the use of artificial filtering or enhancement."

As I've experienced from Analogue Productions test pressings from the magnetic era of recording, test pressings can be very special indeed.

Sounds like fun listening, eh? I'll be telling you about these in future posts.

Enrico Caruso: The Complete Recordings

Naxos Historical Music Label is also a source of an abundance of great performances from the past, which you can also buy direct HERE, or from other vendors such as Amazon. 

From the Naxos Historical Music Label website:

"This label is devoted to keeping the great recordings of the past alive and accessible. Naxos uses the services of the finest transfer engineers, such as Mark Obert-Thorn and Ward Marston, to produce restorations of outstanding quality.  There are separate series devoted to the greatest conductors, pianists, violinists, cellists and singers of the past."

I ordered the Enrico Caruso: The Complete Recordings box set above, but it hasn't arrived yet, so I'll be telling you about listening to that in a future post as well. If I remember correctly, this box set's transfers were done by Ward Marston of Marston Records. 

Oops! I almost forgot to tell you about The Record Collector, "The Journal for the collector of recordings of the great opera singers of the past. 2021 marks our 75th year of publication."

I believe it was my friend Ronald Neale who told me about The Record Collector, and TRC also offers a CD (HERE) for sale each year with rare selections of music from artists discussed in their journal articles.

I just ordered a number of their CDs, and will report back about them in a future post.

In a future post I'll mention a little more about my take on how the AML+, Marston Records, Naxos, Pearl, Prima Voce, etc., transfers to CD compare. Each record label has their own take on making transfers, so they are somewhat different from each other, although they are all very enjoyable. 

Those of you who have tried some of these 78 transfers to CD have reported back some very positive impressions about the musical performances, and how much you've enjoyed the performances.

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it, and am glad to know some of my fellow travelers are enjoying these 78 transfer listening adventures as much as I do!

For those of you who haven't yet tried listening to these great performances from the dawn of the recording arts, I encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and try something a little different.

In additional to being educational, I think it will help you break out of the rut of buying the umpteenth reissue of recordings popular with audiophiles for their sound quality, and nudge you into thinking a bit more about the importance of the quality of the musical performances as well.  

If you are used to the quiet darkness of audiophile recordings sourced from the magnetic era of recording, you might be surprised just how much you enjoy the charming snap, crackle, and pop, of  ‘fireside life’ from the 78 transfers of the great performances from the past.

 As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!