I know there's a ton of prog fans here, which means there SHOULD be a good number of classical afficianados too....if you're not into classical and want to know where to start, look no further!!!

I bought the hybrid CD/SACD of ‘Beethoven: Symphonies No.5 and No.7' by the Vienna Philharmonic (Conducted by: Kleiber) last year...Until this week I've only listened to the excellent CD track on this disc.

This week I finally bought myself a SACD player. If any of you are sitting on the fence and can't decide whether or not to splurge, DO IT!

This is by far the single best recording of any classical piece I have ever heard, which means it could very well be the single best recording piece period! (all things considered) It's only fitting that this level of fidelity was given to what is generally accepted as the world's greatest musical composition ever. (being Beethoven's 5th).

The hi-rez 2-channel track introduces a new level of presence, dynamics, and super-imaging I didn't think was possible. Talk about 3-D...there's a ton of information, particularly at the lower volume levels that seems to have been lost on the CD version, you have to hear it understand what I'm talking about. The bass and midrange are more defined, but the biggest improvement is with the frequencies in my opinion. This isn't just a minor step over CD or even LP (I've bought this very album 4 times now), it's a good leap and bound.

But that isn't the best part about this disc at all. I've learned by first snooping through some old magazine articles on the Deutsche Grammophone's LP I have that this very recording was actually done during the era of quadrophonics (for those who aren't familiar, a failed 4 channel stereo format from the 70's that didn't catch on). That means legit SURROUND SOUND! Oh baby, this has to be the biggest recording fluke ever...the original quadrophonic release got blasted for a variety of reasons, but basically the transfer to recording wasn't handled right by the people involved...I think everybody just forgot about this, but the original master tapes remained so the SACD multi-channel track actually had a 20 something year old original surround recording to start with!!! That means there's no guessing involved, just the truth!

I cannot put into words how much "bigger" and more real this sounds in multi-channel than in stereo...the rear speakers are used properly for a hall like ambience effect that just works so well. This isn't like turning on some fake processed DSP mode on your stereo gear, this is as close to real thing as I have ever heard.

I'm not going to get into the actual music itself, any review I write on Kleiber or the 5th wouldn't be worth the cyber space it occupies, but just trust me when I say this is generally accepted by most as the best recording of the 5th. And the 5th is most widely recognized as the best piece of all time (not by me, but who am I?). This makes for a deadly combo.

The 7th is done just as well, and makes for a nice bonus, 2 for the price of 1.

If I can persuade just one person to pick this album up, I'll feel better about myself. This really is the best classical recording I've heard to date!