# Is Telarc really an audiophile label?



## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Telarc is often referred to as an "audiophile" label. Assuming this means that Telarc specializes in sound that sounds live and life-like, I suppose this is true for many of their records.

But I think this is true of just about any other decent label worth its salt, at least these days. I find that Telarc recordings don't sound any better or worse than most recordings which come from other labels. I have any number or recordings on DG, Naxos, EMI, Decca, etc. that sound relly great, even better than some Telarc recordings.

So, just wanted to see what everyone else thought on this. I am not bashing Telarc by any means...they obviously do a very good job. But are they really a cut above everything else?


----------



## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

I dunno... I have a CD of the Enescu cello sonatas from Naxos and it sounds really really amazing. For Telarc, I don't have much of any chamber music CDs that I've listened to lately (if at all), but I do have Mahler's 8th and the Brahms German Requiem, both of which sound very very good indeed. 

The problem that I have with Telarc (especially in Shaw's recording of Mahler's 8th) is that, while the sound is perfectly fine, those silly engineers bring out the soloists WAY TOO MUCH!!! And this shouldn't be necessary at all, at least nowhere near the degree that Telarc seems to prefer. BIS has it perfectly balanced; the Kavakos/Vanska/Lahti Sibelius concerto recording is perfect as far as balance goes, and there sound is pure gold. I think that's the mark of a real audiophile label: not only is the sound quality first-rate, it is actually genuinely natural-sounding, which means the soloists are not always so far forward!


----------



## Guest (Jan 14, 2009)

I have a few Telarc but over 12-15 years old, they were certainly at the top in those days.


----------



## Lisztfreak (Jan 4, 2007)

I, on the other hand, find Telarc recordings quite blunt and mute. With a few exceptions, the sound is dry, and when you listen to a choral/orchestral work, the sound is too mixed and the vocalists are drowned out. For example, Shaw/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus recording of Janáček/Dvořák.


----------

