Many thanks for the Sinopoli appraisal -- the Amazon reviews of the more expensive DG box are cool, but the song cycles did seem to draw some strong support from Santa Fe Listener (generally an insightful reviewer).

It's a pity that the LPO label recordings of Mahler by both Tennstedt and Jurowski (especially the 2nd) haven't been released as hybrid discs.

Mozart, Mass in C Minor (Les Arts Florissants/Christie).

The Hagen box on DG is both affordable and interesting.

How satisfying is the Shaham/Bronfman/Mork version of the Beethoven?

Thanks for the information on the Shaham recording which I have rather belatedly noted.  The performance and especially the concertante balance with the orchestra is to be admired.  Any votes for Mullova, by the way?

I also like the EMI set, but would recommend too the double (or even single!) that includes Rattle's CBSO _Firebird_.

The SACD is worth having too.  And yes, the performance is extraordinary.  

Does anyone own and like the Eloquence rerelease of the Sinopoli/Philharmonia set?  It looks like a bargain if only for the song-cycle performances by Terfel and Fassbaender.

Isn't there also a recording of the Summer Night Music by Christoph von Dohnanyi and the Cleveleand Orchestra?

I need to return to the Emerson Quartets, but will be fascinated to hear what Faust/Melnikov et al might eventually make of Op. 34.  The Shostakovich question is also on my listening list at the moment.  I bought the Melodiya second set by the Borodin Quartet last year, but have been very...

Any enthusiasm for Jansons/Concertgebouw on their RCO Live hybrid disc?

Does anyone have a view on the best Schubert String Quintet release of late (Takacs, Pavel Haas et al)?  Do you find it preferable to, say, the Hagen/Schiff DG version?

The Perahia set is available at an astonishing price ($60 or thereabouts) on Amazon just now.  The packaging is especially handsome, although not altogether CD-shelf friendly.

If this trail hasn't gone cold, I use Vertex AQ supports underneath my Aristaeus, albeit taking care to minimize the risk of abrasion.  There is certainly a considerable improvement in sound quality as a result.