Telarc makes great demo discs for stereo system

Q What do you recommend for demonstrating an ordinary stereo system built for the enjoyment of music?

G. BENTLEY, GRAND FORKS, N.D.

A To show off your system, you need fine recordings. Some of the best I know consistently come from Telarc.

Telarc, based in Cleveland, is an audiophile recording label known for producing some of the best-sounding recordings in the world. Its catalog is skewed toward classical music, but it also has some jazz, pop and country music available.

Some of my favorite Telarc recordings are performed by Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. They encompass modern music that is enjoyable even to many who aren't necessarily classical music connoisseurs, and a lot of it is just pure fun.

For example, "Round Up" has western favorites such as "Rawhide," "The Magnificent Seven," "Gunfight at the OK Corral" and "The William Tell Overture" (as used for "The Lone Ranger" theme). Some of the tracks include vocals by western music legend Frankie Laine and sound effects such as a crackling fire with coyotes howling in the distance, a horse and rider running around the room and a hoedown.

Another Telarc disc with broad appeal is "Hollywood's Greatest Hits," with memorable movie music such as "Theme From Rocky," "Lara's Theme" from "Dr. Zhivago," "Tara's Theme" from "Gone With the Wind" and "Love Theme From Romeo and Juliet."

A final note: Many Telarc tracks include sound effects that will really put your system to the test and might even destroy some gear if you are not careful. "Gunfight at the OK Corral" includes gunfire, and the Telarc release of "1812 Overture" has dramatic cannon shots that are legendary in audiophile circles. Be sure the volume is turned down the first time you play them.

JPGs degrade on saves Q Is it true that JPG picture files degrade when you save them?

J. CUNLIFFE, MOUNT LEBANON, PA.

A Whenever you save a JPG image, you recompress it, and quality can be lost each time you do this. To preserve image quality, whenever you work on an image in an editing program like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, save the image in a format that can be resaved without quality loss, such as TIFF or PSD.

Please note that you do not lose quality when you transfer JPGs from folder to folder or from camera to computer, only when you use the Save command.