I'm basing this mainly on the sound quality although Haitink's orchestrations are superior in pacing and texture to most of the offerings (I tested them all on Nr. 7 first movement) One of the few times where the Timpani was correctly miked adding power and depth to the sound. (Sample the Pastoral, movement 4, the storm, to hear an example). Of course, nobody captured Beethoven like Toscanini but the 1940's recording misses the clarity needed to effectively hear all sections of the orchestra.