Your best sounding classical CDs

Which of your classical CDs come closest to giving you a lifelike sound? A bonus would be a good performance.

 

Does nobody collect good-sounding classical CDs?

 

Wonderful performance and terrific sounding CD

 

Hybrid SACD counts.

 

Several 80s Decca Kingsway Hall recordings, Charles Dutoit, Ricardo Chailly...

 

Dutoit's recording of Holst's The Planets, at St. Eustache in Montreal. Stunning.

 

any Telarc "Soundstream" SACD is recommended

 

Many to choose from, this is a contender for best.

 

gardiners planets

 

For many (probably most) lovers of classical music the performance comes first, the sound quality is of secondary importance.

 

Here you go:
Everyone have their RCA LIVING STEREO SACDs yet? Better grab 'em! Leontyne Price... »

Audiophile sound on approximately 85% of the series. The only one I do not recommend is the Julian Bream "Classics for Spanish Guitar" some major defect that the old 90's CD did not have.

BTW: To the OP don't you have any to recommend?

 

List is coming. Stand by.

 

From a purely audio quality point of view, this is the most cherished bit of my classical collection. Truly amazing through my HD800 headphones, chord mojo dac and Cavalli Liquid Carbon amp.



Nordic Sound, Various - 2L: Nordic Sound - 2L Audiophile Reference Record (Blu Ray Audio & SACD) - Amazon.com Music »

Even though I have never heard the redbook cd version of it.

 

Georg Solti. SOLTI - The Greatest Hits. Fantastic CD!

 

Conducting what and whom?

 

Bare with me, as I am not a Classical connoisseur

Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra Op. 30
Wagner - The Ride of the Valkyries
Berloiz - March Hongroise
Bizet - Carmen, Prelude to Act 1
Bizet - Carmen, Entr'acte to Act 4
Holst - The Planets:'Jupiter
- - - - - Pomp and Circumstances March Op.39. ( I see I am missing the composer, in my iTunes)
Mussorgsky - The Hut on Fowls' Legs (Baba-Yaga)

 

20 years ago Reference Recordings and Telarc were highly regarded. 50 years ago it was the EMI, Decca, Mercury Living Presence and Living Stereo releases.

If you like lists how about: The HP Super LP List »

 

Arturo Delmoni-Songs My Mother Taught Me, 1986 MFSL
A couple Archiv Produktion discs-
1-J.S. Bach-Mass In B-Minor (Fatboy), 1985
2.-Palestrina Missa Papae Marcelli; Allegri Miserere Preston, 1986
Handel-Music For The Royal Fireworks,1972 US PDO pressing
I have a few more I need to explore reguarding SQ
+1 on Ricks suggestion link
Some of these suggestions on older compact disc's may contain pre-emphasis, just a heads up
Pretty much every early Denon will have it
The ones I posted do not

 

I have an Antonio Vivaldi CD that sounds the closest to 'real' that I've ever heard on my system. Outstanding performance to boot. This has been my go-to piece of music for judging new components for over 20 years. It's not on Discogs, but this release looks the same as my US pressing:

Vivaldi* - Dall' Arco Chamber Orchestra, István Párkányi* - Famous Concerti »

 

I have Holst's The Planets directed by Zubin Mehta and performed by The Los Angeles Philarmonic on Japanese SHM-SACD (non hybrid) which sounds great for a 1971 recording. Very happy with it till I got for Christmas the same recording on record released and in 2016 by Decca/Universal and mastered at Abbey Road from the original analog master tapes. The record trounces the Japanese SHM-SACD.So I have preordered the Analog Productions hybrid SACD mastered by Willem Makke (never heard of him, I guess if Analog Productions is using him he has to be good), I'm eager to get it (still no release date) and check how it sounds, sure better than the Japanese SHM-SACD as this new SACD os mastered from the original analog master tapes while I don't think it's the case with the Japanese SHM-SACD as it has an ADD SPARS code so it must be sourced from a digital copy of the master at God knows the resolution.

 

I have quite a lot of Baroque period classical music and this is one of my favorites. A 1998 recording.

 

I have a total of 16 of the Analogue Productions classical SACDs and they are all excellent. Some of the best sounding discs I own. I think they even sound better than the regular Living Stereo SACDs from Sony that are common and recommended by Steve himself. They sound more warm and detailed to me. If they were cheaper I would probably buy them all! I expect the Planets disc you pre-ordered will sound great as well. The last two I bought are "Espana" and Gounod "Faust" with Bizet "Carmen" and they are both superb in sound and performance.