HiRez Poll Doors - THE BEST OF THE DOORS [SACD/BDA]

[ar surround]

I do not know what the people who mixed Perception into 5.1 had to work with, but many of the tracks on this Best of the Doors SACD come across much stronger. This seems especially so with the songs taken from their first, self-titled album. On Light My Fire, you can hear way down into the 4.0 mix on the SACD with all parts having equal presence, this despite that the mixes on Best of and Perception are both simple and essentially the same. The self titled album from Perception always sounds as if something is missing from the 5.1 mix - as if something is out-of-phase - and no tweeking I do will correct it. Light My Fire on the SACD sounds so good in comparison that I listened to it three times; and I swear that I hear things that I never noticed before.

I also particularly like the mix on Stronger Than Dirt. Again, it's not as phasey sounding as on Perception, and Morrison's Pat Boone-on-steroids performance is really showcased.

I very much like all of the other mixes on this set as well. I gave it a 10!

 

[deepsky4565]

This is a great release. There are a couple of songs where I still prefer the Perception mixes, and for 11 songs, they aren't the 11 I would pick for a best of. But kudos to AF for dusting this gem off, and showing it off to a new generation. A solid 9 from me, and hoping for lots more classic quad rereleases from AF. How about Boston's self titled album next, please?

 

[blue.monk]

I'm impressed by both the sound and mix on this one, particularly given the age of the recordings and limited number of tracks on the multis. I don't have the Perception set for comparison but being only a moderate Doors fan this collection fills my needs quite nicely. A 9.

 

[sf49erjohn]

Listening to this cranked up is an awesome experience. I love this disc. So many great nuances that have already been mentioned by Jon and GOS that enhance the listening experience. I only wish the "12th" tune after Light My Fire was The End. :music. I give the Best of the Doors an unequivocal 10! With this AF SACD, you get to enjoy The Doors in all their splendor sounding better then they did 45-50 years ago. Love it!

 

[oxenholme]

Every track on it sounds a lot better than I've heard them before. I found the Perception Box a massive disappointment. This is the exact opposite! It's got nearly all my favourite Doors tracks on it too. An easy 10.

 

[infaze]

Terrific mixing job
Its clear with lots of air.
Every instrument is distinct
Soul Kitchen is a revelation .
It liked high volume and
boosted bass.
This is authentic rock .
Gets my 10

 

[arnold_layne]

Awesome disc. I own the Q8 and have a digital transfer of the QR. The QR transfer is quite good, but of course this blows it away. Solid 10.
I've also added the release to discogs for those who use it to track their collection: http://www.discogs.com/release/7201053

 

[Snood]

Well Snood finally got a chance to take a listen to this disc and it waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas AWESOME. Kinda in between a 9 and 10, only knocking off a couple of points for the song selection of so called best of Take it as it comes & Who do ya Love, but knew that going in.

Gave me a brand new appreciation for Riders on the Storm which while always being a koo song, this mix brings out soooooo much more to make it a freaking AWESOME song. Anyone notice before the closing Riders on the Storm word repeats...........you can hear what sounds like Jim down the hall in another room singing the riders on the storm before the actual Riders of the Storm words close it out. Its very low.

Same goes for Hello, I Love You & Moonlight Drive as far as being freaking Awesome

Soul Kitchen is Great

Light My Fire started off kinda meh but with the solos and such kicking it made it very enjoyable

For a Live mix - WHo do you Love was pretty good

All in all very freaking koooooooo about a 9.3 bringing to a 9 :51banana:

 

[timbre4]

Jim had been gone for two years and I think they wanted to give people a taste of what a really great live band they could be. If more time had gone by, they might not have made that same decision.

So many good memories attached to this quad!

 

[infaze]

After this release I'm seriously tempted to toss my
my SACD 5.1 copy of the The Doors
- If it wasn't my only copy of Backdoor Man

 

[dr8track]

OK, I'll consider this one fantastic! Per my previous post, I considered not buying this one. But Jon's review swayed me. I mean, how often do we have the opportunity to hear this recording as it was meant to be? It is amazing! The clarity, the placement of the instruments, it is amazing! Amazong! I have this vision.... I focus on the music and it feels like I am midway on the stage during a live performance.

 

[dr8track]

Maybe the fact that I am super stoned should be figured into the equation of my enthusiastic support of this recording?

 

[dr8track]

by the way, if I didn't mention it. This is a 10!!!!

 

[JonUrban]

......I considered not buying this one. But Jon's review swayed me. ...... It is amazing! ......

Whew! :music

 

[GOS]

Maybe the fact that I am super stoned should be figured into the equation of my enthusiastic support of this recording?

by the way, if I didn't mention it. This is a 10!!!!

What's a 10? The pot, or The Doors? lmao

 

[grill]

FYI
The dyniamic range of the quad mix is very good: DR12 (equal to that of a QR to DVDA conversion floating around). Here is the spectrogram of a DSD to PCM conversion of the front channels of the quad mix:



Btw, seems the DSD transfer of the quad mix was done at an anusually low volume level (max. -3.3dB SACD). I guess it was intentional. I'm curious what would Gus Skinas' comment be about that.

 

[grill]

...Btw, seems the DSD transfer of the quad mix was done at an anusually low volume level (max. -3.3dB SACD). I guess it was intentional. I'm curious what would Gus Skinas' comment be about that.

The same applies to the stereo mix. It has DR11.

In the high frequency range the spectrum of the front channels of the SACD quad mix looks much smoother than that of a QR to DVDA conversion:

Front channels of the SACD quad mix:


Front channels of a QR to DVDA conversion:

 

[dr8track]

What's a 10? The pot, or The Doors? lmao

Well, I was referring to the Doors being a 10, but the next day when you have a moment of panic and ask yourself, "Wait a minute... Did I post to the forum last night while under the influence of cannabis and beer?" It pretty much is an indicator that the pot must have been a 10 as well.

 

[Q-Eight]

I've always liked this album. It's a pretty good overview of the Doors and a great album to use as an introduction to the band.
I suppose we can say that it's the Quad master tape that has the lack of bass that the Quad Reel features. I also found the bass somewhat lacking on this disc as well as the volume levels being a bit on the low side. Lack of compression maybe? Not necessarily a bad thing, but worth mentioning.

I agree with a few that the track listing isn't the greatest. I would've loved to have "Break on Through" and "L.A. Woman" replace a couple songs but, that would be revisionist history. This album is fine the way it is.

 

[Snood]

I've always liked this album. It's a pretty good overview of the Doors and a great album to use as an introduction to the band.
I suppose we can say that it's the Quad master tape that has the lack of bass that the Quad Reel features. I also found the bass somewhat lacking on this disc as well as the volume levels being a bit on the low side. Lack of compression maybe? Not necessarily a bad thing, but worth mentioning.

I agree with a few that the track listing isn't the greatest. I would've loved to have "Break on Through" and "L.A. Woman" replace a couple songs but, that would be revisionist history. This album is fine the way it is.

Yeah Snood had to crank it up more than normal also - but certainly not a deal breaker for me still a 9 almost a 10 :banana: