Beethoven Symphonies - best perf + sonics on CD

"This is no minueto!" That is very funny, Brownsfan. And thanks for your impression of the new Karajan.
I'm disappointed to hear that some of the muddiness is still there, but I'll be comparing it to the original 1963 CD release which sounds very muddy with some violins mixed in.
You know what I mean, there's a string section in the mix, but no separation.
Oh yeah, and I remembered the word to describe Karajan 1980s performances..."Passion." There is a lack of passion on Karajan's part.

Hey Lowrider,

look forward to your impressions of the Karajan '63 original CD vs the Remaster. I felt the Remasters were definitely better...no, not the best remaster/CD i have by some margin. Its not a MA Recordings or even an FIM remaster of an older recording...but it is markedly superior to the original CD which felt 'stereotypically' thin in comparison. one man's experience.

Update on the DG SACD 1963 Herbert von Karajan recordings. Tonight I listened to the Eroica. I was stunned. Just stunned, by how much better the recording quality was from the 1, 2, 7, & 8. Yes, there was still a little grunge here and there, but it was really good. Lower strings were not at all tubby or bloated. Horns were glorious. Violins were satisfactory. And this, my friends, is the best Eroica I have heard. I had forgotten how good this was in the 35 years since I last heard it.
Now I know why I loved HvK so much in my youth and wandered away as he aged. Stay tuned, perhaps tomorrow night I will do the 4th or the 5th.

Brownsfan, I didn't realize that these DG remasters were SACD hybrids. Just to recapitulate our earlier discussion; if DG allocates all of this time and money towards remastering the Von Karajan, then wouldn't one expect that they'd rival their Japanese competitors? In other words, after all of this, if I were to compare both side by side and find that the Japanese remasters were superior to the DG, then I would just have to shake my head and wonder.

Goofyfoot, With the first dozen measures of the DG Eroica, the thought came to mind that the Japanese cherry picked the 3rd. The 3rd and 4th are the only ones I see available in the Japanese remasters. On the other hand, if the Japanese were able to remove just a little more of the grunge that I still hear in the DG, then it may be worth $50. This performance is one for the ages. The SHM process offers some advantages that are not available to a standard hybrid SACD, so there could be improvements due to that apart differences in how the remasterings may have been done. I think I am in the process of talking myself into trying one of the Japanese remasters. Not quite there yet, but getting close.