Classical Music for Aficionados

Can you use headphones?  Also -just curious if listening sans subs puts any significant strain on the rest of your speakers, though I suspect not.  
  I actually used a recording of Beethoven op 59/1 and 59/3, the first and third Razumovsky Quartets, to audition a sub, many years ago.  The salesman was aghast and kept trying to play some rap to show the boom factor.  My reasoning was that the Beethoven with its extended cello parts would reflect the kind of bass that I was more likely to reproduce.  I had also remembered reading that a musical sub should make even a solo flute sound better by enhancing the room ambience.  I would use other music now-Shostakovich Fifteenth Symphony comes to mind-to test a sub, but the Beethoven Quartets would still be useful.

  Regarding the Op. 18 works, I prefer: 1) ensembles who play them big and bold, and not like embryonic Mozart; and 2) Vibrato, please.  I really dislike Quartets that eschew all vibrato (and coincidentally play at crazy speeds) and completely blow the expressive effects of the music.

  My longstanding favorites are the Hungarian Quartet (stereo version)) and the Cleveland Quartet.  Most of the more modern recordings I’ve heard are HIPP and therefore excluded by at least one of my criteria 

I really like the Hogwood Mozart Requiem—but miss the absent parts 

Yes, I have headphones, but I still prefer the speakers.  But, you’re right, without the subwoofers the sound is definitely off, lacks body..    
‘Hopefully the amps will arrive today.

I’ve begun a project of listening to the Beethoven string quartets. So far I’ve listened to op. 18. Quartets. Beethoven’s genius is palpable in these works.  He devoured the classical style whole and spit out masterpieces that surpassed even Haydn and Mozart in invention. And this is to mention only one genre he worked with.

I am on the same opinion as you for sure...

Beethoven add something to the quatuor genre very few can rival if some can...

I like a lot  Robert Simpsons quatuors i begun to explore after i read his book about Bruckner...

 For Beethoven quatuor i like a lot Talich, but i must go with your advice i think :

Regarding the Op. 18 works, I prefer: 1) ensembles who play them big and bold, and not like embryonic Mozart; and 2) Vibrato, please.  I really dislike Quartets that eschew all vibrato (and coincidentally play at crazy speeds) and completely blow the expressive effects of the music.

  My longstanding favorites are the Hungarian Quartet (stereo version)) and the Cleveland Quartet.  Most of the more modern recordings I’ve heard are HIPP and therefore excluded by at least one of my criteria 

I just listened to the Hogwood version of the Mozart Requiem on my compromised speakers. I hadn’t heard this version previously. From what I could tell, it’s a really fine reading. The “Lacrymosa” is a bit shocking in its original version, quite different from Sussmeyer’s arrangement.  
My first encounter with the Requiem was with Krips and the Vienna Choir Boys. I literally wore out three LP’s, playing it every day for a very long time.  Such is my reverence for the work and Mozart.
My subwoofers should be installed tomorrow. Can’t wait to hear the Hogwood with them working.