Beethoven: The Symphonies (Dolby Atmos) [2 Disc Blu-ray Audio]

Blu-Ray audio is an odd duck. I say this as a committed Blu-Ray movie aficionado. I love optical media generally, because of its portability and its security. No one can ever take it away from you because they go out of business or lose the rights to something. But music is not the same as movies, and most people (myself included) want their music to be portable, which makes Blu-Ray audio especially challenging. Most people will be tied to their home theater system if they want to listen to it. Not ideal, to be sure.With that said, on a home theater system, whether it is a DTS HD-MA 5.1 channel or Dolby Atmos 7.1.2 channel, this recording is spectacular. The sound field is enveloping and the mastering of the already terrific tracks (I own this recording on CD as well) is a step up in terms of clarity. I can confirm that the DTS HD-MA mix has no data encoded in the center channel. I tried it on two different surround systems. So it's really more "quadrophonic" (with subwoofer). But it's still a heck of a good mix. I did some direct A-B comparison on both my 5.1 channel system and via LDAC from my Blu-Ray player to my Sony MDR-1000x noise canceling headphones. My test track tends to be Symphony 5, 2nd movement. Karajan's "wall of sound" aesthetic can sometimes obscure the strings in this movement when the brass booms. It is noticeably clearer here. There is just more room in the signal for the treble of the strings to compete with the midtones and bass of the brass. Generally speaking, the tones of the instruments are clearer and more detailed. Is it night and day? No. The CD's 16b/44.1khz version of this recording was already excellent. But the 24b/192khz recording is livelier, more involving, and more detailed, albeit slightly. I have seen some reviewers say that there is "added reverb." If there is, it's what is on the CD version. I think perhaps this recording was done in a studio that had a fair amount of reverb naturally. I can say that, for my part, I do not find it to be a fault but rather a strength. It adds to the ambience of being in a concert hall and is not artificial sounding by any means.Personally, I wish this came with a ticket for a stereo 24b/192khz download from Deutsche Grammophon. Instead, to get this onto my Hi-Res audio player (my primary means of consuming music) I'm going to have to go through the rigamarole of ripping this with a Blu-Ray disc reader on PC and converting it to FLAC. But I'm going to do it, because this is my #1 favorite classical recording, the one I listen to the most, and the improvement is there.I know I'm not the average consumer. Most people will listen at home over their home theater system. They are in for a treat. So here's some info for them. The 2-disc set comes housed in a CD-style cardboard fold out case. There is a detailed booklet in the middle of the 3-fold, which is inserted into a sleeve in the middle. It's a bit annoying because it's only the last page that is inserted, and the entire booklet does not fit into the sleeve. I anticipate this leading to many a mangled last page. Which is too bad, because it's a very nice booklet. It has an essay by Karajan biographer Richard Osborne which does a nice job situating Karajan's interpretation and this recording in context. An essay by Stefan Kunze gives a more detailed discussion of Beethoven's symphonies. There are German and English sets of the lyrics to the 9th's choral movement. There are also photographs and roster lists of the BPO players who created this set of symphonies, which is a very nice touch.An additional extra on disc two are two interviews with Karajan himself, one in German and one in English. The English interview is by Osborne, and he asks Karajan about his motives for creating a new recording of the cycle, the technical and musical challenges, and how his interpretation has evolved. Karajan's English is quite good, though accented. Neither interview has subtitles, unfortunately, so unless you are bilingual, only one will be of interest.The video menu is nice looking, though the type is a bit small in my opinion. It allows you to choose between the three available audio presentations and to go between the movements. I kind of wish the symphonies had been broken out more obviously.CONCLUSIONThe price of this set is quite good compared to other Blu-Ray audio discs. You're getting 5.5 hours of music on two discs, with some extras, for a relatively small sum. When you consider that there are other single symphonies that would run you 2/3 of this price, getting all 9 of Beethoven's seems like a steal. The audio quality is peerless compared to other Hi-Res classical I've listened to. This is also my favorite rendition of the 9, and I've listened to all 4 of Karajan's, Gardiner's, Bernstein's, and Chailly's. My only real consequential complaint is that I could not buy this as a stand-alone Hi-Res download and will have to undertake converting it myself.I can't even imagine a well-informed person buying this set and regretting it.UPDATEI have successfully extracted the Hi-Res audio from the Stereo track. It was relatively trivial to do so (assuming one has a Blu-Ray disc drive for PC). Free downloads of MakeMKV and DVDAudioExtractor were able to rip and encode the files as FLAC. The experience listening on my Sony NW-A45 player over my MDR-1000x headphones is sublime, and confirms my appraisal of the audio quality. It is clearer and less congested than the CD iteration of this recording.UPDATE 2:I have upgraded my headphone setup to the Sony MDR-Z7 headphones and the Sony ZX300 audio player. This recording sounds wonderful, and the Z7 headphones reveal it to have really wonderful bass tones. A great subwoofer, bookshelf speakers, or headphones will really shine with this recording.

Atmos sound track but the CD version would sound just as good. Not disappointing, just not blown-away. The music is excellent if you like Beethoven.

The sound quality is very very good. The disc comes with choices that change the output based on what sound system you have (ATMOS, 5.1, etc.). I'm looking forward to a long listening session soon.

Most readers of this review are probably quite familiar with these renowned recordings, Karajan's second stereo Beethoven symphony cycle, so I won't bother to comment too much on the performances which are of classic status. The real buzz about this set is the remastering in LPCM surround and Dolby Atmos, a surround format that also provides overhead sound. Unfortunately, the liner notes say almost nothing about the remastering process or how surround sound was generated from a previously stereo recording. The ninth symphony has already been released in a surround SACD and was originally intended to be released as a quadrophonic recording back in the seventies. The real question is: has the Atmos surround ambience been faked with some kind of artificial reverb? DG tells us nothing in the booklet, but by this time in his recording career, Karajan was multi-miking recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic so that he could have more control over the final balance. I would imagine that a good multi-channel mix could plausibly be derived from the separate tracks. However it was finally done, the Atmos mix sounds quite good, with a hint of overhead ambience, but, at least on my system, not overkill. In fact, it opens up what I've always felt to be a congested, rather flat, untextured stereo mix. The 5.1 track is a little too wide for my taste, but the Atmos track renders a more natural, pleasing sound stage. The recording sounds more detailed and textured, and the masses of violins sound less shrill than on the original, though not as warm as on a more modern recording. Despite the tender loving care these mixes have received from DG engineers, they still sound a little dated. Karajan's wall of strings sometimes sounded a bit mushed as a result, making his Beethoven distinctly Karajan/Beethoven. This is big orchestra Beethoven, just what historically informed directors today try to avoid,; however, it is a classic of the period and includes some white hot music making. If you are equipped for Dolby Atmos and like Karajan's way with Ludwig, by all means buy this, especially for the price! The remix has been well executed. To my ears, it has significantly improved the listening experience. When you move from stereo to multi-channel, inevitable variables multiply the obstacles in trying to successfully duplicate the intentions of the engineers on your own system. On my DefTech ProCinema 1000 speaker system with add on Atmos upfiring speakers in my acoustically challenged listening space, this blu-ray delivers an exciting, somewhat broader than original listening experience. The ninth, especially, is among the very best available.

Magníficas grabaciones y remastirizaciones de las inigualables Sinfonías del Sordo de Bonn. Crecí con las interpretaciones de Herbert Von Karajan, de esas obras, y ahora el magnífico audio de Blue Ray, con un gran valor histórico.

I love listening to it in Dolby Atmos, what an experience.

Mikee' like it. We need more in this format!

Not much to dislike.

Excelente grabación , Karajan era un genio que cuidó al más mínimo detalle sus grabaciones , es eterno. Yo lo he escuchado con equipos de alta definición y es espectacular.

El sonido es imponente. Podríamos estar ante el formato definitivo para música más allá del estéreo.

Musik vom Feinsten in bester Dolby AtmosQualität!DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 war schon klasse,Dolby Atmos ist nochmal eine SteigerungIch höre sie über den KopfhörerJVC EXT-A1 Exofield TheaterDie Musik wird wahrgenommen, als säße manin einem großen Konzertsaal

I have compared the blue ray audio disc with the cd and the sound quality of the blue ray pure audio dics is unquestionably superior. Playing symphonic music conducted by Karajan on BD disc through a high quality audio system, the difference is obvious in terms of the dynamics, depth, clarity and details of the recordings. I am glad that Deutsche Grammophon has reproduced these legendary recordings in this high resolution format. I am very pleased to have this in my music collection and will continue to purchase other pure blue ray audio discs.

Tutto perfetto