You don't expect demonstration quality sound at this price, and you don't get it; it is a 1988 recording after all. It's boomy and dull and seems to have a compressed dynamic range. At some points the level ducks down when the tympani appears, as if a limiter has cut in. There's no perspective at all, which is hardly surprising given the balance; the Tannhauser Venusberg overture has castanets (?, or some similar sounding percussion instrument) that are louder than the horns. As music, these wonderfully vibrant pieces sound inanimate to me, though some quiet passages are nicely done.