I'll weigh in with a vote for the Takacs as well. I heard their middle quartets for the first time just this week and was very impressed--love their Bartok too. For years I've enjoyed the Cleveland Quartet recordings and am not about to stop, but the Takacs is indeed special. Based on this thread, I'm eager to hear the Vermeer and Vegh as well--whether something is DDD or not doesn't matter much in my mind. There's many old Decca recordings that stand up sonically to what's being "waxed" today. I also enjoy going back to the old Italian Quartet Beethoven cycle on Philips, especially for the middle quartets--they had such grace.
Beethoven String Quartets: DDD recordings....
Any recommendations for true DDD recordings?...looking at Telarc's Complete set...but not familiar with Cleveland Quartet...thanks....