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Excellent CDs

5K views 31 replies 12 participants last post by  kv466 
#1 ·
What companies make the best quality CDs? I suppose Deutsche Grammophone is one.

Thank you.
 
#3 ·
Thank you. I keep wanting to share a story with you since you are in The Netherlands. Off topic but I think worth hearing. I took a package to the post office that was addressed to "The Netherlands". Mail clerk crossed out "The Netherlands" and wrote in "Holland" because, he said, they might not recognize "The Netherlands". :lol:

Ah well!
 
#5 ·
That is worse! In 1850 my great grandfather told the census taker that his parents were born in "The Netherlands". On the other hand, we grew up calling it "Holland". Ah yes, the boy with his finger in the dyke. Wasn't it called Holland in that story? Think so.

Anyway, just had to mention it.
 
#6 ·
The best label for recording quality is in my opinion Decca / London. Famous is all what the Decca engineers recorded in Montreal with Charles Dutoit. EMI & DG offer overall good quality, Teldec is IMHO more uneven in this regard.
 
#10 ·
From the mid-90's with the "rededication" of Emil Berliner Studios, DG has become more consistent. DG Originals are better, too, after too many remastering butcherings and unnecessary reissues across the DG product line.

Good recordings can come from many places, many people, many labels. Avie, BIS, Mirare, Virgin, ECM, Tacet, Naive, Harmonia Mundi continue to be some of my favorite labels.
 
#11 ·
From the mid-90's with the "rededication" of Emil Berliner Studios, DG has become more consistent. DG Originals are better, too, after too many remastering butcherings and unnecessary reissues across the DG product line.

Good recordings can come from many places, many people, many labels. Avie, BIS, Mirare, Virgin, ECM, Tacet, Naive, Harmonia Mundi continue to be some of my favorite labels.
I am sure you are right. I just want to feel secure in what I buy because CDs are not returnable once they have been opened unless there is physical damage to them and you'd better be able to prove you didn't do that yourself. When you buy a CD that is only half-audible, you don't want any more of that particular brand. Or, I don't. On the other hand, I don't think I have ever gotten a poor Deutsche Grammophone recording. I see Hyperion advertised a lot in a BBC magazine. I am not sure I have any of theirs. Some day I'll find a way to sort these 500 +/- CDs so I'll know what I have. :)
 
#12 ·
Hazel, every label has made poor performance or sound recordings. I can now only guess that you're asking for the best chance of avoiding a poor-sounding digital recording that has been recorded after the mid-90's. Prior to that time DG had too many follies in both analogue and digital recording. If you haven't come across one from those eras, then you've been lucky tip-toeing through a minefield, or just avoiding them altogether.

As I said, I'm more confident in DG now, and happily include it in my determination for buying. That said, performance and interpretation for me does not take a backseat. I get the impression from some SACD collectors, that due to limited manufacturing of that product, performance and interpretation often does take a backseat.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Decca is probably my favorite, followed by DGG, EMI, and (wait for it!)... Naxos.

Philips has done some wonderful stuff too, especially with chamber music. Pearl, VAI, Testament, and Naxos Historical are my favorites for historical piano recordings, but their sound quality is well... historical.

RCA is alright, though both sound quality and performances can vary. Same with Brilliant, though their big box sets tend to be pretty high quality through and through. I'm very thankful for my budget Brilliant boxes.

Harmonia Mundi is gigantic in Baroque music and before.
 
#15 ·
Philips has done some wonderful stuff, especially with chamber music. Pearl, VAI, Testament, and Naxos Historical are my favorites for historical piano recordings, but their sound quality is well... historical.

RCA is alright, though both sound quality and performances can vary. Same with Brilliant, though their big box sets tend to be pretty high quality through and through. I'm very thankful for my budget Brilliant boxes.

Harmonia Mundi is gigantic in Baroque music.
Ah yes, Philips. Thanks.
 
#16 ·
From the negative point of view: I never met with a pleasant Supraphon recording (Czechoslovak label). With Soviet Melodiya they did however digitalisation miracles. In the fifties & early sixties recordings were made mostly with two microphones. These recordings are better than the later multi-mike recordings. Sometimes 'technical progress' actually is a setback.
 
#17 ·
I agree in general about Supraphon sound--AAD, ADD, & DDD. Too bad, because there are many performances that I would've liked to hear in a better light.

Multi-miking is often spanked when it's incompetent mixers who should be. I love the ability to easily hear nuances and exchanges.
 
#20 ·
I don't worry too much about labels, but I do buy a lot of DG (and Archiv), EMI, London/Decca, Helios (the budget label of Hyperion), and lately a lot of Sony. I buy ECM, Hyperion and Chandos when I can find them cheap, and I usually love music from ECM and Hyperion (I have generally positive feelings about Chandos, but much more love for the others). I like Telarc and DHM as well. Nonesuch is about as nice as ECM.

I used to buy loads of Naxos, but now I'm more selective; I only buy Naxos albums that have good reviews from people I trust and no strong competition from other labels.

I keep thinking that I've just about bought all the recordings from DG that I could want, then I find 3-4 more in my shopping cart... and in another year or two I'll probably reach that point with EMI and London/Decca. But I think there is a lot more ECM and Hyperion in my future. That's not baased on the label but on the music that I want to buy.
 
#21 ·
I don't worry too much about labels, but I do buy a lot of DG (and Archiv), EMI, London/Decca, Helios (the budget label of Hyperion), and lately a lot of Sony. I buy ECM, Hyperion and Chandos when I can find them cheap, and I usually love music from ECM and Hyperion (I have generally positive feelings about Chandos, but much more love for the others). I like Telarc and DHM as well. Nonesuch is about as nice as ECM.

I used to buy loads of Naxos, but now I'm more selective; I only buy Naxos albums that have good reviews from people I trust and no strong competition from other labels.

I keep thinking that I've just about bought all the recordings from DG that I could want, then I find 3-4 more in my shopping cart... and in another year or two I'll probably reach that point with EMI and London/Decca. But I think there is a lot more ECM and Hyperion in my future. That's not baased on the label but on the music that I want to buy.
It sounds as though your shopping cart is as full of CDs as mine is of books. :)
 
#25 · (Edited)
In my humble opinion, recent release of DG are quite horrible. The album cover is all about having a pretty or handsome face or some silly pop inspired look. Which makes me wonder if DG shares the same marketing department with it's parent company Universal music group.

DG aside, i generally like hyperion, harmonia mundi, zig-zag territoires, Glossa and those cheap boxsets from supraphon.
 
#27 ·
Supraphon over the years, I've not been impressed with. I haven't bought anything from Zig-Zag or Glossa. I generally agree about Hyperion and Harmonia Mundi.

What I've bought from DG lately, I've been impressed with--Mahler 10/Harding, Boulez Piano Sonatas/Jumppanen, The Sicilian/Alagna. Thanks for your warning, I'd like to know what your horrible DG purchases were, so I maybe won't make the same mistake as you.:tiphat:
 
#26 ·
I recall reading about sound engineers in one DG liner notes, and how they take great care in selecting equipment to be used in recording, and similar points in disks published by other companies. From what I gathered, though, one might be better off just looking at reviews and annual guides to see which recordings are best.
 
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