Audiophile Classical cds?

If you decided to get into SACD or Vynil, you will find more classical music then you will know what to do with. And it will sound very very good.

I'll let the more seasoned classical listeners recommend which is best.

I'll just throw this out there for what it's worth...

I think you'll will find that a lot of serious classical music listeners are primarily concerned with the quality of the performance when choosing a recording.

The quality of the recording is secondary and for my money mostly irrelevant.

Now if a better quality disc is available, then fine. The Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab vinyl LP's come to mind. A lot of the MFSL vinyl LP's were reissues of famous recorded performances, so they are worth collecting whether you are an audiophile or just a music lover.

Brahms String Sextet op 18 in B flat major, by the Leipziger Quartet (+ an additional violist and cellist) on Dabringhaus und Grimm (MDG). This is truly wonderful music and is a gorgeous recording. As an aside, I have found the MDG label produces recordings easily on a par with the highly regarded ECM label.

Try any (or all) of the Mercury Living Presence recordings

Thanks for the recs, keep them coming! I haven't heard any of the Reference Recordings discs, but they cover a wide range so I'll give a couple a go.

Any thoughts on a must have starter 'big red wine' classical collection?

Beethoven 5 and 9
Mahler's 9th
Holst - the planets
Mozart - ???
etc.