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

[Ranasakawa]

8 for the BluRay
7 for the SACD version
The mono mixes sound very different on CD

 

[marpow]

I voted 9 for the Blu Ray. This poll is screwy. If you read all the posts it makes sense but if you just look at poll results are the votes for the AF or the Rhino? Yes, Morrison's face is creepy on the BD menu.
I find the BD a little on the bright side but certainly discrete and a great surround mix.

 

[HDave]

Listened to some favorite songs on 3 different releases for official research and curiosity. Besides the Blu-Ray version of Riders being IMO the essential cut of the 3, I was surprised that I liked others from the SACD or the perception set. For example the perception cut of Hello I Love You sounded the best to me. I'm happy I have all available. I would rate the Rhino Blu-Ray 1st, the Perception set 2nd, the AF SACD 3rd.
Voted a 10 on the perception basically due to content, and 5.1 mix. Would be 8.5 today
Voting a 9 on the Rhino singles Blu-Ray + mono
Would vote 8 for the AF SACD

 

[key_wiz]

Never been a huge Doors fan and so many of their hits are so overplayed that I’ve never felt the need to own any Doors albums. I bought this most just to support the Quadio program.

But this is a nice set. Especially for the price. And I like the quad mixes and, as is often the case, they breathe new life into tired material.

Easy “9” on this one!

 

[Scott65]

I bet all you folks who grew up listening to the Quad LP are just loving this...and for those of us "younger" folks (OK, I'm 52) who missed the boat on Quad LP's are also loving it! Just wonderful!!!

I'm in the same category as you GOS, and loving all the quad music. To think we are hearing it in better quality than when it was originally released is also a bonus.

 

[key_wiz]

I'm in the same category as you GOS, and loving all the quad music. To think we are hearing it in better quality than when it was originally released is also a bonus.

I’m a third in this category. As a kid in the 70s I’d look at the inserts in the Columbia LPs promoting quad and just dream of having a system like that one day. Then the whole thing died and I got busy with life and barely managed a decent stereo for the next couple of decades.

To be experiencing all these great old quads now for the first time? Wow.

Loving it. Bring ‘em on!

 

[sjcorne]

"Riders On The Storm" is in my mind one of the greatest quad cuts ever.- and it's one of those rare songs that never seems to get old. It goes on every quad sampler disc or playlist I've ever made. I started off using a CD-4 rip, then a Q4 rip, then the SACD files, and now what is clearly the definitive version from this new Blu-Ray.

Honestly I was perfectly content with the AF SACD, but even to my relatively untrained ears this does sound better- and it's in a PCM format! Worth double-dipping just to rip to the PC.

An easy 10 for one of the best quad packages ever.

Now let's hope Rhino really does keep the Quadio flame alive this time...

 

[FlavioRR]

This is an example of a well mixed and mastered disc. Everything sounds very good.

I have been reproducing it 7 times and I am surprised by the quality. this deserves a resounding 10.


Mix: 10/10
Fidelity 10/10

 

[HugoPhyrst]

After spending my college years listening to the Doors albums cranked out on sub-par systems, I thought it was supposed to be harsh! But this Blu-ray really opens up the music. And it blows away (in my opinion) the early surround mixes in the Perception box (which I still love because I prefer albums to Greatest Hits ... usually). Some of the songs feel like a new experience with this mix. 10!

 

[b.smith]

After spending my college years listening to the Doors albums cranked out on sub-par systems, I thought it was supposed to be harsh! But this Blu-ray really opens up the music. And it blows away (in my opinion) the early surround mixes in the Perception box (which I still love because I prefer albums to Greatest Hits ... usually). Some of the songs feel like a new experience with this mix. 10!

Agree 100%. When I first got the Perception Box, a friend asked to listen to Riders On The Storm and we were both underwhelmed. But listening to the track on this BD is sublime.

 

[Audiowannabee]

Got the singles set. Great package great price. Didnt even realize the bluray was the same mix as AF sacd till i discovered this forum. Luckily i didnt purchase the sacd so no comparison there.

Great sound great mix. Loving these quad recordings. Gave it a 10 must own.

Also a side note really enjoy those mono s on the accompanying cds.

Hell of a deal paid like $12-15 for the set

 

[The56Kid]

Bought the AP LA Woman SACD with the Botnick 5.1 mix a few years ago and wasn’t impressed. After reading all of the favorable reviews for the ‘73 quad mix recently available on Blu-ray, I ordered mine last night. Can’t wait to hear Riders on the Storm in glorious quad!

 

[GOS]

Bought the AP LA Woman SACD with the Botnick 5.1 mix a few years ago and wasn’t impressed. After reading all of the favorable reviews for the ‘73 quad mix recently available on Blu-ray, I ordered mine last night. Can’t wait to hear Riders on the Storm in glorious quad!

The Quad wipes the floor....in my opinion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sjcorne]

Bought the AP LA Woman SACD with the Botnick 5.1 mix a few years ago and wasn’t impressed.

The Perception 5.1 mixes and the quad are very different animals. The new 5.1 mixes generally have Jim's vocals hard in the center channel and all the lead instruments upfront. The use of the rears is terribly inconsistent from album to album. The first album (4-track, so understandable) and Strange Days don't really use the rears at all. The remaining albums usually have keys and backing vocals in the rears, along with the occasional panning effect (drums in "Love Her Madly", vocals in "L.A. Woman", guitar solo in "Waiting For The Sun", etc).

The quad mix was created specifically to demo the CD-4 quad vinyl system that WEA was using in the 70's, so it's a pretty aggressive and experimental mix. It's generally static (no 360 pans or anything gimmicky) and all speakers have discrete information. The rears are full volume. However, one thing I know you might not like is that the drums are isolated in the rears on most songs. I would note that it's a stereo spread across the rears, not the entire kit in one rear speaker. Please give it a chance though, I think it really works and is so much better than the 5.1.

The songs from the first album ("Soul Kitchen", "Take It As It Comes", "Light My Fire") are still not very discrete, but they did the best they could considering the 4-track source. They sort of sound like double stereo with the vocals discrete in the front, and some elements are biased front or rear.

"Love Me Two Times" appears to be more "triphonic" than quad- the two guitars are panned hard left and right front with vocals up the middle, while the drums are completely isolated in the rear and sound mono.

The rest of the songs are full-on discrete and amazing mixes. "Moonlight Drive" opens with this cool front-to-rear call & response effect, "Love Her Madly" has the iconic guitar melody in the left rear, "People Are Strange" has the piano (or keyboard?) and guitar solo in the rears, "Touch Me" has the keys in the rears, and "Hello I Love You" has the backing vocals and keys in the rears.

"Riders On The Storm"- the crown jewel of the quad mixes. Simply one of the best quad tracks ever. The rears feature percussion, rain effects, and this eerie low whisper backing vocal. The solos trade off between the two front speakers.

Hope you enjoy it!

 

[The56Kid]

Thanks for the excellent review, Jonathan, and I appreciate you recalling that my system doesn’t feature 4 full sized, full range speakers ideal for quad reproduction. Hence my predilection for not wanting drums isolated in the rears, but my stance on that has softened somewhat since my initial complaints. I really look forward to giving this a listen as I’ve been a Doors fan since I was a young pup!

 

[Mcallister]

I’m a huge doors fan and have been sitting on this disc unopened for the past year while waiting for my room to be completed. I’m hopefully only a few weeks away and reading this thread has me super pumped too give this a spin.

I didn’t know the history of this recording until just now reading this thread. Wow! Am I excited. I have the perception DVD-A boxset and always liked it overall. Can’t describe how excited I am

 

[The56Kid]

Just gave this its first spin and I vote a high 9. Excellent fidelity and quad mix for the most part. At times, the clarity in Jim's voice is startling to hear (People Are Strange). Discrete instrument placement isn't always to my liking, but overall, this is a definite winner. Just cued up Riders on the Storm again. WOW!!!!

 

[GOS]

Just gave this its first spin and I vote a high 9. Excellent fidelity and quad mix for the most part. At times, the clarity in Jim's voice is startling to hear (People Are Strange). Discrete instrument placement isn't always to my liking, but overall, this is a definite winner. Just cued up Riders on the Storm again. WOW!!!!

I have to agree with your comment about clarity of Jim's voice and somewhat startling at times. I felt the same...almost as if I'm hearing subtleties in his vocal style I'd never heard before.

 

[Goona]

Got mine Today and must say I had the SACD of LA Woman and this Blu Ray 5.1 blows away Riders of the Storm from the SACD Version. This is a great Quad disc if any of you have any of the SACD's get this Blu ray while the price is still low, the best $20 ever spent. Full 10 for me

 

[JohnA]

A 9 from me. Not perfect, but better than expected!
I kinda prefer these mixes to those of the Perception set.