Shostakovich string quartets recommendation

The earlier Borodin set gets more inside the music, but its sound tends to be bright. The later or second Borodin versions, with slightly different personnel, has somewhat better balanced sound with very fine if not quite as visceral performances. The Fitzwilliam renditions are not as idiomatic as the other two, but they are solid nonetheless.

I have the Borodin and Emerson. Agree with Krisjan in toto regarding Emerson. The best version I ever heard was of #8 being played by four high school students on a live radio broadcast from Atlanta, very raw, very wanton, and somehow what I felt Shostakovich must have intended.

Birdies-- I too had the pleasure of seeing them live. They did the John Adams quartet dedicated to them and the Beethoven C# quartet as well as a Haydn quartet. I was disappointed that they did not do one of the Shostakovich quartets instead of the Haydn. The Beethoven and Adams were wonderful. I'd probably rather get my Haydn elsewhere though. On my way out, I heard one patron remark, "That concert was an assault on the senses." She got considerable support for her comment among other patrons. St. Lawrence is not for everyone.
I think the St. Lawrence style is perfect for Shostakovich. He was a man who lived in constant fear of Stalin's whimsical brutality. A man who smoked himself to death trying to cope with this never ending stress. A man who I think found an avenue for relatively free expression in his chamber works, which did not receive the same level of scrutiny that his symphonies and operas did. St. Lawrence just gets this music right.

"The Fitzwilliam is good but the sonics are dated."

I don't find anything to criticize about sonics of this set.

I'm hoping the Jerusalem Quartet does the whole cycle.

I second the mention of the St. Lawrence recordings. Of the quartets that they have put on disc, they are my favorite versions, seemingly closest to heart of the music. I've seen them perform Shostakovich as well and I would enthusiastically recommend that all watch for the opportunity to see them.

Agree with Krisjan's assessment of the Emersons. They have no affinity for music.

My current favorite complete recording is the Mandelring Quartet on Audite (SACD). The playing is amazing, the sonics outstanding. The Mandelring play these quartets so that the music shines through. They are humane and lovely interpretations that lack some of the slash and burn style these quartets receive by others.

I also have the Emerson (DG) and Borodin (EMI) sets on RBCD. The Emerson play with incredible precision but leave out some of the humanity of the quartets. I admire their playing but don't love their interpretations. The Borodin fall somewhere between thr Mandelrings and the Emersons - they bring an authentic Russian ethos to the works but the ensemble playing is nowhere near as precise as the Emerson's nor as supremely musical as the Mandelrings.

Lot's of choices out there. Hope my descriptions help.

I can comment on two complete cycles.
The Fitzwilliam is good but the sonics are dated.
The Quaruor Daniel are wonderfully recorded, but the performances are just a bit too polished or polite for my tastes.
Not a complete cycle, but I wholeheartedly recommend the St. Lawrence recording of 3,7, and 8. It is pure, raw Shostakovich as Shostakovich should be played. I hope they will do the complete cycle.
The Borodin accounts were a little disappointing to me given the hype. I gave them to a friend.