I have to say I was disappointed by Fry’s reading. Not bad, but I prefer Jim Dale’s reading, even though it lacks the British quality that Fry brings to the table. The ability of good narrators to switch characters, and keep track of them all, continues to impress me.
The only time i complained to audible was when a book’s quality sounded like it was transferred from a 3rd generation audio cassette and was sort of unbearable.
Yeah, I’ve definitely heard a few that sounded like they came off of old Recorded Books tape masters - and I wouldn’t be surprised if in some cases only the duplication master, if that, is still around. I think the Robin Hood story I listened to on Audible was like that. Some of my favorite readers were probably mastered on tape, though, and I’ll put up with some less than perfect audio quality to hear them again. Patrick Tull’s performances of the Aubrey–Maturin series are great and there is a great narrator for the old Rumpole of the Baily books who’s name I can’t recall at the moment who really made the books come alive for me. I liked the late Frank Muller a lot back when I listened to spy novels and thrillers, though he wasn’t so great reading female characters. He was amazing for certain kinds of books.
