I'd like to comment on SQ of some of the CD's listed. The Karajan New Years Concert was mentioned. First some history; Deutsche Grammophon's digital recordings from the 1980's are far from good sound quality. Sound was dry, harsh, and their technique of multi-mic'ing resulted in a closed-in and flat presentation. DG was far behind other record labels during the early years of the CD.
My point is to steer clear of the early DG DDD recordings, as most were remastered later in an attempt to make them listenable.
Now, I would assume the Japanese K2 CD would be superior to the DG issues for sale from US vendors.
One last comment; The San Francisco Symphony's recordings from
their record label are some of the best I've heard. It's true the SQ and performances are top class.
Other major symphonies have created their own record labels and sell very high quality CD's. One that comes to mind is The London Symphony Orchestra.
My point is to steer clear of the early DG DDD recordings, as most were remastered later in an attempt to make them listenable.
Now, I would assume the Japanese K2 CD would be superior to the DG issues for sale from US vendors.
One last comment; The San Francisco Symphony's recordings from
their record label are some of the best I've heard. It's true the SQ and performances are top class.
Other major symphonies have created their own record labels and sell very high quality CD's. One that comes to mind is The London Symphony Orchestra.