Deutsche Grammophon sound quality

I couldn't disagree more.

The one US DG (RCA) I have is awful compared to the German.

Here's another one worth getting - even on cd:


And a wonderful foil cover.

 

And this one really surprised me. I haven't heard the vinyl, but the performance is the issue here.
Karajan, of all people, conducting Ravel and Debussy! He's not known as the best conductor of Ravel and Debussy. But, this is the best performance I've ever heard of these pieces.
A more romantic and better balanced performance than all the other "famous" recordings.

If you love these compositions, I strongly urge you to buck the trend and listen to this one:

CD:

 

DG boasts so many classics in its catalog that it handily overcomes their less than spectacular engineering, imho.

 

1965 pressing.

Strawinsky* - Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan - Le Sacre Du Printemps

There's also the (unfortunately expensive) single layer stereo SACD:
Strawinsky* - Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan - Strawinsky: Le Sacre Du Printemps

Which I'd love to hear. Despite the fact that's it's remastering was done at EBS. Odd that the SACD was released in only Japan.

I haven't heard the Solti. Thanks for the info. I'll check it out.

 

You may have misunderstood my post. I was saying the tulip pressings do not sound lifeless.
No reference to RCA US pressings there.

 

This is one of the best DGG recordings ever made. A classic. And USA originated recording. Less distantly microphoned than most DGG of the era.

 

Ah yes -- the classical version of "Rudy Van Gelder was a lousy engineer." Can't say I'm surprised.

 

Oh, I was making two points. The first was that the tulip pressings are generally quieter and overall better than the later ones.
Understand your meaning now.

My comment about the RCA US pressings wasn't related to your post - but someone else's comment about them being good.
Those that I've heard are poor.

 

And the RCA shaded dog pressings one finds are always noisy. Even when they look perfect. I’ve spent so much money taking a chance to get better and better pressings. It’s always disappointment.

 

The Solti I have as a JVC XRCD, the only XRCD I own. It sounds great. Mastered by Alan Yoshida who I have read on the board here is responsible for most of the great sounding XRCDs. Like you said I would love to hear that Karajan Sacre du Printemps SACD as well. I realize I am getting a bit off topic as this thread is about LP pressings, but I have recently discovered that I love the Karajan 1977 Beethoven symphonies I bought as Japanese SHM-CDs from 2014.

 

Sorry to hear that, but not in my experience.
Most I find are almost dead quiet and fantastic.
Where are you buying them??

You deserve to hear Living Stereo pressings as wonderful as they are.

 

Thanks for the info. I'd read that the XRCD's tend to be bright (at least Steve has mentioned that off-hand).
So I've avoided them.

Karajan is legendary with Beethoven, but not my fav for the 6th and 7th.

 

Those are the ones. Try finding a New World symphony (Kubelik). I’ve been through tons of these. Living Stereo. I buy them where I can get them for a few bucks. But no scratches.

 

Yes for a long time I only owned Karajans 1963 Beethoven set, as I had heard that popular opinion holds it as the best of his cycles. However I read a few dissenting reviews from people I trust that actually prefer the 1977 Karajan Beethoven symphonies. I tried them and I also prefer the 1977. There is something about the sound of the 1963 set I do not care for, the brass and woodwinds seem too recessed or something and I prefer the sound of the 77 cycle, I find it better balanced and more powerful.

 

I have a number of these. I've never paid more than a dollar. My main gripe is the cover art - often a boring guy in a tuxedo, or a public domain painting of nymphs dancing around the maypole.

 

I have a very fond and personal memory of this album and thus will always be a DGG fan:

 

This sounds terrific, yes. It’s because it was produced by the American producer - an irony? lol
He always remixed the multi track master tapes that were recorded by German engineers and made the ones sound right.

 

Just my two cents. The DG US RCA pressing, always from Rockaway plant, may not sound as good as the German counterparts as they used dupes.
However, the strings sounds like good old RCA discs. Worth hearing IMO.

 

THIS!

 

I know just a single great sounding HvK's DG disc. It is his very first DG recording - Richard Strauss Eien Heldenleben.
The others are good sounding at best.

 

Not to mention lousy mastering on the non USA originated Angel recordings save for Import and digital releases.

 

If it's on Nonesuch, and is not rechanneled Stereo (a few are), and the repertoire interests me, I buy if in near mint condition and reasonably priced. I've never been let down either. As sound of a recommendation as there is. McLover Approved, too.

 

I've only bought a half dozen DG albums in the US. None sounded impressive. They lacked highs. It was as if they were recorded with a single mic far from the instruments..

 

I have to say this has been my experience too: I have yet to encounter a shaded dog that sounded anything but average, at best. I wonder how they've acquired the reputation of being worth seeking out.

 

The nice thing about the DG sleeves that fall apart, however, is that they're dead easy to repair invisibly. When a standard sleeve splits, you're stuck, but the DG-type covers can easily be fixed. My recommendation is this: go to your local art supply store. Ask for a small bottle of archival PVA (polyvinyl acetate) glue. This is the stuff that collage artists and bookbinders use on paper. It sticks well, it's transparent when dry, and its archival; it won't yellow or attack the paper. Lay a thin bead along the split portion, spread it thinly, being sure not to get any on the inside of the sleeve, press the jacket together again and then leave the seam under a stack of heavy books for an hour or so. Voilá--good as new. Sometimes, if the split is big, it's best to pull the entire thing apart at the seams and to re-glue the entire length of the closure from scratch. You'll never know the jacket was ever split.