Alan Parsons Project - The Turn of a Friendly Card (Box Set in Feb 2023, standalone Blu-Ray in May)

[riskylogic]

Not going to buy a box set and I'm about done with AP's DD releases. Give me lossless! Better yet, give me Atmos! C'mon, Alan.

I think Turn of a Friendly Card is much better than the recent releases, so I'd surely still buy a DD release of it at the same price. But I'd pay double for a bluray.

 

[madship]

I passed on the box set, but a standalone blu-ray will fit in nicely with all the other APP stand alone blu-rays I've purchased. Supporting these dedicated surround releases on blu-ray is important, not just to save $$, but to encourage other artists/companies to do the same. A no-brainer buy for me.

I would have done the same, but a gift card made the price reasonable for me. I'd prefer the standalone. I have the deluxe box of Mystery and the stand alone discs of the Eye and Ammonia. The only other release I want deluxe is I Robot and I'd like the vinyl for consistency. Possibly Stereotomy, for the sentimental reason of it being possibly the first DDD CD I bought in the early 80s.

I have to wait to cancel the box to see if the stand alone is available from Amazon. From the APP site, with shipping, it may be more than I'm paying for the box. I'm not all that interested in the extra CDs, but I do like the books that come with deluxe sets.

Unrelated to the post I'm replying to, but several afterwards. My ears can't hear and my system, I'm sure, doesn't provide a difference for lossless. Knowing there is higher resolution makes me happy and I will support it, but it doesn't benefit me. I always appreciate the work that goes into higher quality and presentation. My interest is in a good surround mix, which my ears can discern and my system can provide. So buying lossy DD or DTS doesn't bother me, if the price is appropriate.

 

[riskylogic]

So buying lossy DD or DTS doesn't bother me, if the price is appropriate.

DTS is much better than DD. Also, no matter what they say, I think all Atmos mixes are somewhat lossy. Streaming is more like DD (or worse), while an Atmos bluray is equivalent to a 5.1 DTS.

 

[mandrix]

DTS is much better than DD. Also, no matter what they say, I think all Atmos mixes are somewhat lossy. Streaming is more like DD (or worse), while an Atmos bluray is equivalent to a 5.1 DTS.

I can't say I've been thrilled with all the Atmos BD releases I have. But I wouldn't equate them with lossy DTS, if I take your meaning correctly.

 

[riskylogic]

I can't say I've been thrilled with all the Atmos BD releases I have. But I wouldn't equate them with lossy DTS, if I take your meaning correctly.

All digital renditions are somewhat lossy compared to analog. I just talking about the greater and very noticeable loss of fidelity at lower bit rates. There are lots of other factors too of course. But if you look at bit rate per channel, Atmos on a bluray is roughly on a par with DTS 5.1 or FLAC stereo. OTOH, streaming Atmos is more like DD 5.1 or a 192 kps MP3. A little bit lossy is usually quite a bit better than very lossy.

 

[mandrix]

All digital renditions are somewhat lossy compared to analog. I just talking about the greater and very noticeable loss of fidelity at lower bit rates. There are lots of other factors too of course. But if you look at bit rate per channel, Atmos on a bluray is roughly on a par with DTS 5.1 or FLAC stereo. OTOH, streaming Atmos is more like DD 5.1 or a 192 kps MP3. A little bit lossy is usually quite a bit better than very lossy.

OK...well bitrate doesn't equal fidelity if you're talking lossy Vs lossless. I have to admit I have some well done DTS @ 96/24 that sounds pretty damn good. But I don't think comparing BD Atmos as equal to any lossless...and here again, there's crap, and there's well done, well mixed, Atmos albums with great fidelity that I don't believe are similar or equal to DTS.

I agree that streaming Atmos DD+ isn't ideal, and it is indeed lossy, but it gives us albums in surround (well done or not) we might not get otherwise. I could hope for a day when the streaming Atmos is pushed out at higher bitrates, but it's not geared just for people with fiber internet. lol, I tell my wife fiber will come available in our locale after I'm dead, only half joking.

We all like what we like, and you're certainly entitled to your views on how the different formats sound.

The other day I was listening to a fair run of Atmos albums I like, as well as some in DTS-HD. I switched off to a Bruce Soord solo album that I like a lot, it's a DVD with DTS. I don't have the best hearing, at my age, but the difference in fidelity was noticeable to me.

 

[Sal1950]

I'm sure we all would like a totally lossless 5.1/Atmos
delivery from streamers, but it all costs money and it took
us years to get lossless stereo at a good price.
At least for now I'm happy with what we're getting, I still don't use my stream for daily listening, more just to sample what's available before a purchase of a disc or download, or just to check out new music.

 

[riskylogic]

The other day I was listening to a fair run of Atmos albums I like, as well as some in DTS-HD. I switched off to a Bruce Soord solo album that I like a lot, it's a DVD with DTS. I don't have the best hearing, at my age, but the difference in fidelity was noticeable to me.

Yes, I have the All This Will Be Yours ear/artbook too. Pretty annoying that it cost double what his blurays usually go for but came with a DTS DVD. Should be the other way around. But still not as disappointing as the Chris Squire Fish Out of Water box with a DTS DVD that I bought before Cherry Red came out with a stand alone bluray for much less.

However, I still stand by my original point: While DTS is a little disappointing, Dolby Digital is very disappointing.

 

[perzon57]

I'm sure we all would like a totally lossless 5.1/Atmos
delivery from streamers, but it all costs money and it took
us years to get lossless stereo at a good price.
At least for now I'm happy with what we're getting, I still don't use my stream for daily listening, more just to sample what's available before a purchase of a disc or download, or just to check out new music.

I'm also happy for Atmos streaming and use it for daily listening, and when I have a little more time I put on a disc for lossless enjoyment.

 

[mandrix]

Yes, I have the All This Will Be Yours ear/artbook too. Pretty annoying that it cost double what his blurays usually go for but came with a DTS DVD. Should be the other way around. But still not as disappointing as the Chris Squire Fish Out of Water box with a DTS DVD that I bought before Cherry Red came out with a stand alone bluray for much less.

However, I still stand by my original point: While DTS is a little disappointing, Dolby Digital is very disappointing.

No argument from me. I've always preferred DTS over DD.

 

[JulesRules]

Possibly Stereotomy, for the sentimental reason of it being possibly the first DDD CD I bought in the early 80s.

Stereotomy would be interesting since the original (except one track) is already encoded in a form of surround sound, although it's a very different principle.
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...round2-version-of-stereotomy-dvd-a-uhj.17991/https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/stereotomy-app.23815/

 

[Bill Mac]

Just found out about this release. Will there be a stand alone Blu-ray Audio disc? Not sure I'll pay the high cost of the deluxe box set.

 

[sjcorne]

Just found out about this release. Will there be a stand alone Blu-ray Audio disc? Not sure I'll pay the high cost of the deluxe box set.

According to the tweet linked in post #162, yes.

 

[madship]

According to the tweet linked in post #162, yes.

I wish the official announcement would come. I'd cancel the box I ordered.

 

[Bill Mac]

According to the tweet linked in post #162, yes.

Excellent... thank you!

I wish AP would do a 5.1 mix of Stereotomy as well.

 

[madscot]

Just found out about this release. Will there be a stand alone Blu-ray Audio disc? Not sure I'll pay the high cost of the deluxe box set.

The standalone blu ray is being released in May

 

[GOS]

Probably this has been posted, but the deluxe box is now cheaper than initially I believe.

$59 at importCD

https://www.importcds.com/alan-pars...1k6eb0ElmMveM_HHy37b5cDpvHYNkOMxoCN3YQAvD_BwE

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Probably this has been posted, but the deluxe box is now cheaper than initially I believe.

$59 at importCD

https://www.importcds.com/alan-pars...1k6eb0ElmMveM_HHy37b5cDpvHYNkOMxoCN3YQAvD_BwE

That's a hell of a good price, don't believe I've ordered this title yet; but I really don't like to use importcds anymore

 

[SHB]

Dang is that a great price. I wonder if Amazon will drop to that price.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Dang is that a great price. I wonder if Amazon will drop to that price.

I'm seeing Amazon US at $99.99 currently