I’d like to compare my older rips with one that you think is top-notch. I’m particularly interested in listening to those crescendo peaks, when everybody is blaring and bowing and singing. I still hear some distortion at those momentary peaks, and I can’t tell if it’s due to the source material, my hardware, or my tinnitus. Thanks in advance for your recs.
PS: I guess any classical reference works might do if the 9th is a poor choice.
SACD
192kHz/24bit
96kHz/24bit
To mention just a few… 
Thanks Bob and bear; none of these are in my library so I will hunt them down. Many thanks.
Thx Koen, just bought it!
I think the Telarc (nominally audiophile) renditions conducted by Dohnanyi are badly underrated for their interpretations. That said, these are early digital recordings, and are pretty far from the recording quality of what’s available now.
For a very new release that may be available in hires, check out Riccardo Chailly’s renditions. If they’re anything like his Brahms releases, they’ll be knock outs.
Excellent performance and outstanding recording quality!
Hi John,
I think @koen’s recommendation of Jan Willem de Vriend’s performance is really great, too (see above). The recording is also available as DSD (e.g. on NativeDSD) or as 24bit/96 kHz flac/wav etc. (e.g. on Qobuz). Sounds really fantastic!
Hi Bob,
I really like Gardiner’s Beethoven. I have the same box set as you, but mine isn’t unidentified. Have you ever tried manual identification?
And? Liking it so far? 
Yeah, I like that one too. Mine is also identified, but if I remember correctly I also had to do some manual identifying.
Nothing wrong witjh the “oldies”, by the way. Still love my Karajan, for example! (Also available in hires.)
Hi @koen,
Yeah, HvK is a must for any Beethoven lover, even if there might be more modern approaches. BTW, did you buy the Rattle performances or do you have a BPO digital concert hall subscription? I got Rattle’s complete Beethoven for free (192kHz)…
The “new Gardiner” set. Refreshing, recommended! Don’t know if it’s also available in hires, haven’t looked that up yet.
I didn’t even know they had such a subscription, sounds interesting!
It’s a digital subscription for HD (1080p) videos. Live performances plus archive (almost every performance at the Berlin Philharmonic from the late 1990s onwards; some selected “older gems” as well). I think it’s about 120 Euros per year.
Thanks, very interesting indeed! I must confess though that I rarely “watch” music (at home). I have some music dvd’s but rarely play them, to be honest. Do you have a screen connected to your set in that beautiful room correction treated cave of yours?
Yeah, “watching” music isn’t the same as going to a concert. That’s definitely true. No, I haven’t got a home cinema in my acoustically tuned listening room. I have a decent (55 inch) TV in my living room and a pair of B&O active speakers (small ones -> Beolab 3). Nothing particularly fancy…
