# most expensive label vs cheapest label, does price is an indicattor of quality?



## deprofundis (Apr 25, 2014)

I recalled buying a gesualdo once two cd it cost me 60$ + tx and it was too polish , compressed, in french i would says : fade, terne et gris= whitch translate easily by drab,dull and grey...

I was disapointed so bad, i wanted to destroy the cd, but decide to keep it...

Than ii purchasedd numereous other cd of Carlo Gesualdo on label like musique d'abord and naxos
and i was amazingly suprise.

Do you havee any case like this, you thought jeez hmm hmm good expensive label , presentation look'S great and you got f(word) in the process or if you preffer in french floué dans votre argent(in french it's funnier to say ...

Never both a cd confidant in a store this was the kaviar, you pay a fortune and discover it crappy, than purchased another label for peanutt and it were awesome.

Look i know this tread has been done allready but it'S 2.2 version new and improve...

Any cd made you curse?? bad words, swear and everything, hmm, so i guess swearing and cursing is cultural phenomenon dont you think?

Since we live in a word of politcal rectitude i adapt and conform to the rule of this Forum, neat hey?? now smile everyone and says cheeze , i will make a nice photo.

Have a nice day everyone, by all mean everyone, from america to zambia to japan land of rising sun,because we all know the sun was born in japan common , it's the land of rising sun, so it's mostt be , this is why the sky is pink overthere.


:tiphat: sorry foor the manicotage in this post i thought it would be more amusing , bare whit me.


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## Melvin (Mar 25, 2011)

A lot of labels specializing in contemporary music seem to be more expensive and more scarce! (Kairos & Col Legno)

Col Legno CDs are always out-of-print, and selling at unfair collector's prices!!

It sure feels dumb to pay $30+ for one CD when you could be getting five CDs for $5/$6 each.

Usually when only one commercial recording of a particular piece exists, it seems like the CD can fetch higher prices especially if it has been out of print for awhile...

Also, the way Amazon sets the prices on scarce used CDs can be very unfair... Sometimes setting arbitrary price bubbles even when the CD is not actually that scarce, I have seen it happen.

That is why I appreciate a label like Naxos, especially when I am looking for obscure pieces and composers. I never feel ripped off


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

It used to be the case that the most expensive labels (Hyperion, RCA/BMG, Chandos, Philips, DG, London, BIS, Olympia at one point) were indicative of higher quality in performances, sound, and the overall presentations (like booklet annotations, indexings, cover arts). Not to say that higher quality in performances always denoted "the final say" in how works were presented, but the quality was there. 

But cheaper labels, during their nascent stage having variable qualities in performances and presentations, are now posing serious challenges to recordings made by, say, Chandos or Hyperion. Naxos is an obvious example of this (as are Brilliant and CPO). And the reissues of these earlier recordings at cheaper prices do not sacrifice sound (sometimes even better with remasterings), although presentation ceased being marvels they once were. Hard to find recordings (of Russian/Soviet works in particular) are often more expensive, even exorbitantly, with performances, while not necessarily definitive, have the authenticity that are worth the time and perhaps that extra capital. 

I purchased a bunch of recordings of those expensive labels for the reasons stated above, and often find their featured performances striking the right rhythm, bite, emotion, approach, etc., whether they be the works of, say, Bax, Rachmaninoff, Glazunov. Later, alternative recordings of the same works (like those in Naxos), often have different yet interesting things to say, but with a few exceptions, that's where the buck stops, for me anyway. The reissues I tend to shy away from because the originals remain, how should I say, more presentable. 

So, from that standpoint, I have no regrets.


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## Boston Charlie (Dec 6, 2017)

Back when I was a young teenager in the early 1980s, my interest in classical music came to the fore. My income was limited, with going to school and washing dishes at a local Italian restaurant and doing odd jobs around the neighborhood and later doing other part-time jobs through college. Back then I relied heavily on Columbia and RCA budget lines of reissues and built what I think was a solid collection of classical music standards by the likes of Arturo Toscanini, Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, George Szell, Leopold Stokowski, Bruno Walter, Jascha Heifetz, Isaac Stern, Zino Francescatti Leonard Rose, Pierre Fournier, Vladimir Horowitz, Rudolf Serkin, Glenn Gould and other such luminaries mostly dead or elderly at the time. How could a kid off the street, with no classical music enthusiasts within his own family, and limited spending power, do better than that?


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Melvin said:


> Also, the way Amazon sets the prices on scarce used CDs can be very unfair... Sometimes setting arbitrary price bubbles even when the CD is not actually that scarce, I have seen it happen.


It isn't Amazon setting those prices - it's the sellers on Amazon Marketplace, who often haven't got a clue about a recording's actual value.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

At the current time, there is no correlation between price and quality, either in terms of performance or sonics. The higher priced CD's will generally be more current performances and performers, but that doesn't mean that they're better.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I tried out some Jeno Jando and Takako Nishizaki Mozart Beethoven on Naxos, and they were dissappointing since I was looking for the best performances. So in well known repertoire, I think it is better to go with the bigger performer names, which are on nore expensive labels. With modern music 20th C and beyond, I found the naxos loabel quite consistent with among the top performances regardless of price. I'm not so impressed with Naxos pre-Baroque either, even though Summerly and the Oxford Canerata are rated well.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Price has no correlation at all to quality in terms of sound, performance, pressing, notes -- nothing. In fact, one could build a first-class library of superb recordings by buying nothing but so-called budget recordings. But then there are some stupid things happening as others note. This set of Beethoven concertos and symphonies is top-drawer in every respect. I bought it when it came out for about $24. Now, some sellers are asking $190. And someone is seriously asking $677 or even $2000? Crazy.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Phil loves classical said:


> I tried out some Jeno Jando and Takako Nishizaki Mozart Beethoven on Naxos, and they were dissappointing since I was looking for the best performances. So in well known repertoire, I think it is better to go with the bigger performer names, which are on nore expensive labels. With modern music 20th C and beyond, I found the naxos loabel quite consistent with among the top performances regardless of price. I'm not so impressed with Naxos pre-Baroque either, even though Summerly and the Oxford Canerata are rated well.


Actually, I no longer consider Naxos a budget label. Yes, they're cheaper than full price, but with so many box sets selling for $1-2 per CD, $8.99 is no bargain.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

mbhaub said:


> Price has no correlation at all to quality in terms of sound, performance, pressing, notes -- nothing. In fact, one could build a first-class library of superb recordings by buying nothing but so-called budget recordings. But then there are some stupid things happening as others note. This set of Beethoven concertos and symphonies is top-drawer in every respect. I bought it when it came out for about $24. Now, some sellers are asking $190. And someone is seriously asking $677 or even $2000? Crazy.
> View attachment 100584


Especially since you can buy the MP3 version at Amazon for $32 (it was a lot less expensive a couple of years ago, when I bought it).

It's a great set, and I think that Decca is missing an opportunity by not reissuing it, but it's not worth the insane prices that people are asking for it. But at this point, the only part of it that I'd call "essential" is the 9th, which is available separately. And several of the symphonies are also available used on Decca's budget "Weekend Classics" label, for a buck or two.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

mbhaub said:


> Price has no correlation at all to quality in terms of sound, performance, pressing, notes -- nothing. In fact, one could build a first-class library of superb recordings by buying nothing but so-called budget recordings. But then there are some stupid things happening as others note. This set of Beethoven concertos and symphonies is top-drawer in every respect. I bought it when it came out for about $24. Now, some sellers are asking $190. And someone is seriously asking $677 or even $2000? Crazy.
> View attachment 100584


Of course, rarity value. But the performances are not the best available imo.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Phil loves classical said:


> I tried out some Jeno Jando and Takako Nishizaki Mozart Beethoven on Naxos, and they were dissappointing since I was looking for the best performances. So in well known repertoire, I think it is better to go with the bigger performer names, which are on nore expensive labels. With modern music 20th C and beyond, I found the naxos loabel quite consistent with among the top performances regardless of price. I'm not so impressed with Naxos pre-Baroque either, even though Summerly and the Oxford Canerata are rated well.


These performances are good - the sort of thing you would be glad to hear in a concert. But they are not the best even at the price these days. You can certainly buy much cheaper second hand


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## spectral (Dec 19, 2017)

Orfeo said:


> It used to be the case that the most expensive labels (Hyperion, RCA/BMG, Chandos, Philips, DG, London, BIS, Olympia at one point) were indicative of higher quality in performances, sound, and the overall presentations (like booklet annotations, indexings, cover arts). Not to say that higher quality in performances always denoted "the final say" in how works were presented, but the quality was there.
> 
> But cheaper labels, during their nascent stage having variable qualities in performances and presentations, are now posing serious challenges to recordings made by, say, Chandos or Hyperion. Naxos is an obvious example of this (as are Brilliant and CPO). And the reissues of these earlier recordings at cheaper prices do not sacrifice sound (sometimes even better with remasterings), although presentation ceased being marvels they once were. Hard to find recordings (of Russian/Soviet works in particular) are often more expensive, even exorbitantly, with performances, while not necessarily definitive, have the authenticity that are worth the time and perhaps that extra capital.
> 
> ...


Naxos is hit and miss. Sometimes they're at or near the top and a lot of the time you're left thinking "Yep, budget disc." The sound quality for Naxos was generally always fine but sometimes the performers weren't the best. But there are plenty of gems, too.

I stopped buying CDs for the most part years ago, though, when Borders stopped stocking a very large selection. I have such a large library that I'm still trying out discs I never gave much time to.

The absolute best performances of pieces are usually found on premium labels, like Pogorelich's 2nd Scriabin sonata. You're not going to find that on Naxos and certainly not on Excelsior. If you do find a best performance on a budget label it's usually an analog recording. Analog is very inferior to digital, although sometimes it's harder to tell.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Yes, there are better performances, even the conductor wanted to redo the 9th. But, given it's compact size, low price, excellent sound and performances that are just fine, given the price it was a steal. It's possible to create competitive sets from Zinman, Szell, Harnoncourt - maybe someday one will show up.


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## Boston Charlie (Dec 6, 2017)

re: NAXOS

I think NAXOS does a really good job with American music. While Columbia and RCA staid pretty much to Ives, Copland, Barber and a little more than a handful of works by the likes of Piston, Harris, William Schuman and Virgil Thomson; the NAXOS American series goes so much deeper into giving American composers from A to Z, 1880s to present, more than an even chance. There's even a sub-division dedicated just to Jewish American composers of which I've found a few works very interesting.


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