This song was introduced to me by someone I was casually seeing in 2003, strangely, the memory of them and this song are intertwined and still occupies my memory, anytime I hear ‘Nella Fantasia’
That said, in the realm of light cross over classical music, it is a captivating and wistful song and speaks to the heart in different ways and the voice and arrangement here seems to be the definitive version, imo.
Composer Ennio Morricone created the music with lyrics by Chiara Ferraù, “Nella Fantasia” is popular among classical crossover singers, and was originally released in 1998 by Sarah Brightman on her album EDEN.
In this outing, we have the playback of a simple yet elaborate sound system, yes of course playing it back through a phone video recording is not the ultimate capture medium for absolute sound quality transfer but it gives you an idea of how good music can sound on a quality system, with absolute authority in playback.
Of course it’s all very subjective, here or in person, sound like this can either captivate you or bore you witless ha ha.
Pointless if you’re tone deaf !
The system is legacy these days, a pair of Bower & Wilkins, first generation Diamond Tweeters in a more traditional tower configuration, I can tell you for 15k in 2007, they’re as good as the day they arrived.
At the price point of 10k you also enter into the realm of diminishing returns, would speakers 3 or 4 times that price be better ?
Hard to say as it’s all very subjective and a matter of personal taste then you have to factor in a typical domestic lounge room & what I have is already borderline so practicality also comes into the mix, if it’s so loud that you can barely use it or enjoy the playback, then what ?
The 803D design lasted for 3 editions in a tower configuration, until they decided to follow the more innovative sound design construction of separate units for mid-range & tweeter with a curved enclosure, unfortunately, I believe that removing one bass driver to have two in the new design, really diminished the lower register impact of the 803 D3.
I bought a used good condition version of the 803 D3 in 2001 and it was terribly disappointing.
I’ve listened to the 800 Series in a few different iterations range since 1984 and of course maybe the 803 D3 was not suited to my other equipment, sadly, they were returned after two weeks and I lost 10% of the 13k purchase price, couldn’t wait to get rid of them.
Never been so disappointed (shattered) in a piece of audio kit before with a hobby that began in 1979.
Bowers & Wilkins never disappointed me in the past but the recent 800 Series range, I just don’t know what to think and they’re hideously expensive, 803D starting at about $34,000 au dollars in 2024.
The components are :
Bryston 4BSST2 (2=squared) 300 RMS a side
https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/equipment/bryston_4b_sst2.htm
Bryston BCD-1 CD
Bryston BP26 Pre-Amp
MPS 2 Power Supply
BDA-1 D/A Converter
B&W 2007 803D Diamond Speakers
The units mentioned here were purchased in Feb 2010 at wholesale price, so I had to buy it.
Regards the separate power supply for the pre amp, I was never sold on the idea but it makes such a huge difference, as long as the components are matched, compared to the previous set up with a small power supply, the difference was like night & day, the amp is great but needs the right pre amp to make it work & the speakers are thirsty for good power so the whole thing sings in a focused soundstage that just wants you to listen more & more.
The playback here is from a Yamaha Legacy CDR player, with a digital link straight into the D/A unit and to the Pre Amp with Volume at a very conservative 9o’clock on the dial and it’s just getting started, I never go beyond the 10 o’clock range on the dial, if ever.
So if your considering owning anything equivalent like this, you have to have an almost equal quality of components in the chain to realise that audio Nirvana !
You can’t buy $20,000 speakers and match it with an integrated amplifier for 1k and hope it works, like putting a Lamborghini engine into a VW bug ha ha … everything has to be of near equal quality.
Anyway, I won’t be upgrading the system anytime soon, I’m happy with the lot and Hi Fi gear is just too expensive to navigate and I’ve plateaued in my absolute need of what I want these days.
Who could be bothered, I’ll just listen and enjoy, what I have, does the trick for me !
Russell Watson : Official Webpage
http://russellwatson.com/
Russell Watson : WiKi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Watson
Russell Watson : Cancer Battle : 2023
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/russell-watson-says-new-life-29908691
Nella Fantasia : Song Origin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nella_Fantasia
Nella Fantasia : Russel Watson – Aled Jones 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMedcsOqK2w
Nella Fantasia : Sarah Brightman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA8AAFt0Gjg
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