Mozart Requiem - HighFidelityReview.com

Listening to the CD layer of this hybrid disc, one hears a warm yet clear recording of considerable accomplishment. The perspective is moderately close, which lets us hear all of Mackerras' carefully sorted textures.

But moving into the two-channel stereo program of the high-resolution SACD layer, the sounds start rising up and taking more definite shape in the mind's eye. The DSD recording captures raspy string attacks and the burr on the edge of brass notes that make the sound very vivid.

Moving into the multichannel high-resolution program, the sounds became fully three-dimensional, and locating the instruments on the sound stage becomes much easier. The multichannel envelope almost seems to create an electricity here, a frisson where you are no longer just listening to the performance, you're suddenly part of the event.

I would recommend this disc highly strictly on the performance and sound alone. The fact that it features an important new edition of one of the most important pieces in the repertory makes this a must-have for every serious listener - one of the most important discs of the year, and a priceless addition to the surround sound catalogue.