The new release of Beethoven's piano sonatas by Universal Japan, featuring Friedrich Gulda's 1967 recordings for the Austrian label Amadeo, shows some slight differences compared to other SHM-SACD releases. For one, the two volumes, each consisting of 3 SACDs, are priced at 12,000 yen, which is significantly more expensive than earlier 3-SACD box sets. Also, shipping (by cdjapan) was delayed a few days past the official release date, even though I pre-ordered it back in December. But, those are just minor details. Let’s get to the important stuff: how does the new remastering, which was done in December 2024 by UK ClassicSound from the original tapes, sound?

I should mention upfront that I wasn't familiar with these recordings before, so buying this set was a great opportunity for me to not only fill a gap in my collection but also to get this cycle with fresh DSD remastering. For comparison, I bought and downloaded a single track from Qobuz from the 2021 Universal Music release, which is, of course, only available in PCM 16/44.1.

Initially, the sound difference doesn't seem particularly big. The piano sound is, as usual with Gulda's recordings, very direct and dry. However, upon closer comparison, differences do appear. Notably, the new SACD remastering has a noticeable tape hiss, which isn't disturbing but was clearly 'retouched' out in the 2021 RBCD edition. This has its consequences because the sound of the RBCD overall seems slightly muffled, with somewhat metallic-sounding highs and slightly reduced bass - everything compared to the SACD, which presents a generally clearer, more sharply contoured sound image and allows the piano tones to sound both richer in overtones and more voluminous in the bass area, without distortion. The individual tones appear more three-dimensional/spatial on the SACD to my ears. Yes, despite the stronger background hiss, the SACD sounds more natural and convincing to me. As I said, the differences aren't groundbreaking, but we're in an audiophile realm here. Since I was only able to compare a single track from the RBCD version (Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3, 2nd movement), this comment comes with certain limitations. But in that track, I noticed a slight 'click' noise around 0:42-0:43, which isn't audible on the SACD remastering.

I'm now looking forward to several hours of listening enjoyment, once again diving into the cosmos of Beethoven's piano sonatas!