Kleiber Vienna Brahms 4

[Darryl R]

After exhaustive discussion of the famous Vienna Beethoven recording, I thought I'd turn to another favorite.  Has anyone compared the Kleiber/VPO Brahms 4 Esoteric with the 24/96 on blu-ray?

 

 

or

 

Carlos Kleiber - Carlos Kleiber - Complete Recordingson Deutsche Grammophon [12 CD + Blu-ray Audio] - Amazon.com Music

[Darryl R]

1 hour ago, Musicophile said:

I’m still waiting for the 24/96 to be released as download. No idea what DG is waiting for. 

 

Who knows what drives DG.  A few years ago I asked Emil Berliner tonmeister Rainer Maillard for the email of the senior executive at DG, to ask why US and European retailers don't sell the latest remasters, and the answer was it was difficult, and DG had other priorities.  My sense is the licensing is tedious, and the Japanese are more aggressive and have the greater demand.  Very lately though, I'm seeing EBS remasters make to a few Western download retailers, but only in DSD.

 

That 24/96 Brahms 4 can be ripped from the blu-ray release, but I'm just wary of spending $55 if it's not better than the Esoteric.

[Darryl R]

For anyone interested, I found the blu-ray 24/96 extraction of the Kleiber/VPO Brahms 4 to be marginally superior to the older Esoteric SACD, and likewise the Schubert 3/8 to the SHM-SACD (2012 EBS remaster).  My DAC generally favors PCM to DSD64.

 

Special thanks to ted_b for his help with blu-ray.

[Darryl R]

1 hour ago, CatManDo said:

The Brahms 4 recording by Carlos Kleiber is a PCM recording from 1980, so don't expect miracles from a hi-rez transfer.

 

https://www.discogs.com/Johannes-Brahms-Wiener-Philharmoniker-Carlos-Kleiber-Symphonie-No-4/release/3507687

 

Deutsche Grammophon still made many analogue recordings in the early 1980's, which can benefit more from a hi-rez format.

 

16/44 PCM was considered the superior recording format at the time, that's why Karajan re-recorded in the 1980's on PCM many popular works that he had already recorded for DG  in the 1970's.

 

But from today's perspective, it's a sonic limitation.

 

Hi Claude,

 

Good points.  And my listening experience bears them out.

 

Btw, I saw your participation in the Beethoven thread last year but your profile said you hadn't been around in a while.  Hope you're doing well.