Beethoven Symphonies - best perf + sonics on CD

Goofyfoot, I think the later and current DG CDs are excellent quality and the Berliner Philharmonie concert hall clearly has good sonics.
I do know that during the mid 70s to mid 80s, Bernstein
(in Vienna) and Karajan were making very different demands on the DG engineers and the result in both cases were recordings resulting in a different sound compared to other DG recordings. So I don't know what to make of that.
As far as DG moving into digital, you make a very compelling case. What is very interesting to me is that Philips and Teldec (Decca + Telefunken) their German competitors made far superior recordings.

Thanks to both responses. I remember when visiting Berlin, hearing negative comments concerning the venue changes for the Philharmoniker, however this alone should not have influenced DG to the degree that their quality had declined. The Teldec recordings are my favorite from the larger companies as there is a definite aesthetic that speaks of integrity to the finest detail. I'm still fond of the Harnoncourt Mozart recording on Teldec. But as I said earlier, sometimes it comes down to who's on the board of directors.
Thanks

Regarding the 80's digital DG Karajan set--I'm curious to know if any of you find them tolerable on today's less harsh-sounding machines. I know I found them hard to listen to back when they came out, but much better-sounding now.

Tostadosunidos, good question. The Box set was remastered and the result was the Karajan Gold set. All 9 symphonies released as separates. Although slightly bright, they lack the harshness of early DG digital. With my tube CDP, they sound open, well balanced and with first rate performances. Karajan is in top form IMO.
I think with a good CD or DAC they are worth buying, in fact, I play them often.

Tostadosunidos, I will attempt to listen to the 4th and 7th tonight. Not only did I find the recording quality objectionable, I thought von Karajan fell way short of his previous effort. The 7th from the 60's was magical. The 80's version was nothing special. I may try and pick up reissues of the 9th and 3rd from the 60's. Those were the only ones I saw.