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Good sounding Deutsche Grammophon recordings

We have a pretty big classical CD collection and many are Deutsche Grammophon. Many of these recordings don't sound that great and I have to say that some of the Deutsche Grammophon vinyl we have is average sounding. But the performances are usually top notch. After upgrading my cartridge to an Audio Note iQ3 I took a chance on some mid 60's Herbert Von Karajan/Berlin Philharmonic vinyl from Ebay. I thought I would share some of the outstanding finds I came across.

Brahms four symphonies-outstanding sound and amazing playing. These symphonies can sound thick and muddy. Not here.
Brahms Violin Concerto- Christian Ferras violin.
Beethoven Violin Concerto- Christian Ferras violin -Simply amazing sound.

Karl Bohm and the Berlin Philharmonic Schubert 5th Symphony. Elegant interpretation and excellent sound. I think from the 60's

A live performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto no1. from 1979 Carlo Maria Giulini conducting the Vienna Philharmonic- Sonically amazing.

I found most of these less than $15 and mint minus ratings- not bad :)
Jet
jetrexpro
rrm
45 posts
 
I concur with the general view: great artists but often mediocre sound- or worse.
Two examples that span the range of sound quality: Dvorak cello concerto with Rostropovich/Karajan- glorious sound, analogue at its best.
Beethoven's 7 th in a truly great performance by Carlos Kleiber-thin, dry shallow sound,really awful. I just can't listen to it . So sad.
I can think of several more examples of bad sound but would like to hear of some more good ones.
a_e_watkins
106 posts
 
I have many DG LP's which include the complete Beethoven set. These are all DG recordings and from the get-go I was disappointed in the sound quality. Several years ago, I upgraded my playback to a Basis turntable w/a Vector 3 tonearm and a Transfiguration Axia cartridge and I cannot believe how much better these records sound. All my previous disappointments have been eradicated. The sound is suddenly wonderful and fulfilling.

I now listen to this set much more than I previously did.
rcprince
3,062 posts
 
Jetrexpro--no, afraid I don't. Don't think it's a tube/solid state question as much as the recording philosophy, though perhaps it might be linked to the thinness/skewed tonal balance. I do notice a difference between the earlier DGs, like Karajan's first Beethoven cycle in the 60s, vs. later, worse-sounding, ones, like his second Beethoven cycle from the 70s.
jetrexpro OP
506 posts
 
Rrm,
Thanks for the tip. just picked up a near mint LP of the Dvorak cello concerto with Rostropovich/Karajan on amazon. Have it on CD and like it but the record should sound much better. Agree with you about the Carlos Kleiber/Beethoven - have it on CD - amazing performance but crappy sound. Also agree that every upgrade to ones vinyl rig makes some of these DG records sound better. But it is hard to ignore the bad sounding ones when you A/B them with the great sounding ones.
Rcprince - we also have Karajan's second Beethoven cycle from the 70s. Not much good I can say about it.
Jet
don_c55
1,025 posts
 
DG Lp's rarely show up on "best sounding" Lp lists!

That says it all!
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