DVD/DTS Poll Franklin, Aretha - The Best of [DTS DVD]

[markbrow]

I like it a lot, especially the songs I was less-familiar with. I'd have preferred a more radical quad mix on Respect and Chain of Fools, but I don't want them tampering with history either. Bridge sounded amazing -- didn't notice the static, will recheck when I have the chance.

 

[neil wilkes]

All very weird.
However, I am now sorted out and have both titles coming to me fairly soon via a friend who flies aeroplanes, and drops in on London trips.
surround sound & fine scotch whisky sessions - how wonderful is that! (either Caol Ila or Laphroaig, of course)

 

[phydo]

Neil:

Fine quad music and quality adult beverages - life is good!

Justin

 

[Almen]

Thanks again, Rhino! Some good music, a great singer, with Respect, Rock Steady, and Natural Woman as peaks. Sounds like yet another clean transfer, with nice band noise and fine dynamics. Played at -3 dB (ref. lev. ca 105 dB) without any strains.

A bit of nitpicking, though:

- DD as default.
- No recording info about musicians, which year, etc. (I realise that it is "as was", but would still appreciate some info.)
- Uneven recording quality, and also for me musically.
- A lot of reverb on the singing, and the singing often spread between all speakers. This is of course totally subjective, but I prefer a little bit more closeness to the lead vocals.

Regarding the "static" in the beginning of Bridge, it sounds more like oxide on a contact or a volume knob. But it's loud and clear!

I give it 7.

 

[Old Quad Guy]

I was wondering why the Dolby Digital as a default as well. But I speculate it’s to allow those who want to own this and yet still be able to listen to it with a “stereo” down mix like say, through the stereo left/right of one’s DVD player directly connected to a TV or stereo amp would be able to “idiot proof free.” Thus more sales and hopefully more Quadio releases (I've read on other web sites that some folks actually wanted to play these diecs this way until they got up to speed for surround). Also, Dobly should be there set up on one's amp for surround at a minimum. Altough at this point so is DTS - and DVD-A if they just kept the option on all new players.

If I’ve got my facts straight (correct me if I’m wrong) if it went to the DTS stream the DVD player wouldn’t do a “down mix” through the DVDs stereo output. Is this correct? I’m just glad to have this and the sound is great.

Keep them rolling Rhino, Christmas is around the corner! :banana:

 

[winopener]

Madness though - refusing to ship outside North America. methinks Rhino should sort this one out ASAP.

Arrived in Italy today, maybe the Queen of Soul didn't liked the Queen of England? Anyway the Queen of Soul declared its value even in the envelope, so i needed to pay extra taxes to free her from the Custom service.

What can i say?
After been gone for years thru cd4, q8 and q4 releases of this album and worked it out myself into digital, fixing channel swapping issues and other fancyness - so i know the songs and the mix very well - to get it with such a clarity (and a bit of historical hiss) it's simply amazing. One point less for not being a dvd a/v title, with only 850Mb used on a 4.7Gb disc. C'mon, Rhino, i do accept without problem a "Dolby Digital default" but give us the best quality that a lossless disc can offer.

 

[elroy]

Just an FYI - this disc is available at Rhino for 20% off - http://www.rhino.com/product/the-be...quadraphonic-mix-handmade?eml=rn/120213/prod6

Discount is supposed to be automatically applied at checkout off the list price of $29.98. All of Rhino is 20% off today.

 

[d0zer]

Got this yesterday, and I have to admit it's much better than I expected. Great sounding quad mix. I gave it 9 points.

 

[jaybird100]

Arrived in Italy today, maybe the Queen of Soul didn't liked the Queen of England? Anyway the Queen of Soul declared its value even in the envelope, so i needed to pay extra taxes to free her from the Custom service.

What can i say?
After been gone for years thru cd4, q8 and q4 releases of this album and worked it out myself into digital, fixing channel swapping issues and other fancyness - so i know the songs and the mix very well - to get it with such a clarity (and a bit of historical hiss) it's simply amazing. One point less for not being a dvd a/v title, with only 850Mb used on a 4.7Gb disc. C'mon, Rhino, i do accept without problem a "Dolby Digital default" but give us the best quality that a lossless disc can offer.

Could be what they're looking into, although keeping it under wraps for now, is BD-A. The titles I've heard in this format have sounded great. I'm hesitatingly hopeful, but we've all seen how the industry is about "niche" formats. If it doesn't make them money, they won't support it. Even hi-rez downloads don't sound quite as good as a good, uncompressed disc. They'd rather take two steps back than one step forward. Support of MP3 downloads proves that. So what's an audiophile to do?

 

[blue.monk]

I really enjoy this disc. The sound and mix are very good even though there is some unusual instrument placement (by today's standards). Drums are most frequently in rears as is Aretha's lead vocal on several tunes. But I think it all works well. Terrific music and performances of course. 9

 

[Franklin]

Well this is a funny one, isn't it? I've not investigated AR much over the years, but I enjoyed this album. I can understand what people say about channel placement, because as opposed to current convention about half of the tracks have the backing vocals in the front and the drums/percussion in the rear. If I can be bothered I might do some channel switching with the analogue inputs on my AV amp and listen that way too. Great album though!

 

[par4ken]

I might be splitting hairs but didn't anyone notice the name of the disc is "The Best of Aretha Franklin", not Greatest Hits! In any case it's great classic soul. Rear vocals on some tracks is a bit odd, it would work best in a vehicle or with traditional square four corner speaker placement. I rip my discs for convenient computer playback using Foobar2000, it would be simple to remap the front and back channels on those tracks if it bothered me.

 

[Simon A]

For anybody who might missed this one when it came out, it is still available for purchase at the Rhino Homemade store. I took a chance Saturday night and purchased a copy fearing I would get an e-mail saying it was out of print, but it seems that they still have a few copies to sell as I received my shipping confirmation from Rhino this morning. I cannot wait to hear this baby in glorious Quad!

 

[fredblue]

For anybody who might missed this one when it came out, it is still available for purchase at the Rhino Homemade store. I took a chance Saturday night and purchased a copy fearing I would get an e-mail saying it was out of print, but it seems that they still have a few copies to sell as I received my shipping confirmation from Rhino this morning. I cannot wait to hear this baby in glorious Quad!

Be prepared! Its a kooky set of mixes! Some might say in glorious back-to-front-o-phonic sound! (Fidelity is great though and it's nice and discrete which all helps.. though everytime I've played this one I've found myself going "hmm.. that's unusual mixing even by quirky Quad standards!)

 

[Franklin]

Haha, yes. Definitely one of the stranger ones out there!

 

[Simon A]

Be prepared! Its a kooky set of mixes! Some might say in glorious back-to-front-o-phonic sound! (Fidelity is great though and it's nice and discrete which all helps.. though everytime I've played this one I've found myself going "hmm.. that's unusual mixing even by quirky Quad standards!)

Haha, yes. Definitely one of the stranger ones out there!

Oh, I'm looking forward to hearing it. To paraphrase and rewrite that Forrest Gump quote, I think that multichannel mixes are like animal crackers. Sometimes you get a Zebra, sometime a Cheetah, but in the end, you know you're still getting a cracker.

I'll send them an e-mail once I've received the disc to let whomever is left at Rhino that they really should try reviving that Quadio program of theirs and that I'm thankful they are still offering that title in their online store.

 

[Simon A]

So almost a year later my last post in this thread, I'm taking the time to vote and comment. It's getting 8 from me.

I can live the the mix choices because the DTS version sounds so lush and warm that I get a huge smile on my face every time I play it. It seems to still be available from Rhino so go for it if you haven't already.

Yes, the compression level was too low on Aretha's microphone during the last track, but it's it's still an electrifying performance.

I want to thank Rhino for putting this one out. I've so many comments saying that they should not have released it, but I am happy they did.

 

[4-earredwonder]

So almost a year later my last post in this thread, I'm taking the time to vote and comment. It's getting 8 from me.

I can live the the mix choices because the DTS version sounds so lush and warm that I get a huge smile on my face every time I play it. It seems to still be available from Rhino so go for it if you haven't already.

Yes, the compression level was too low on Aretha's microphone during the last track, but it's it's still an electrifying performance.

I want to thank Rhino for putting this one out. I've so many comments saying that they should not have released it, but I am happy they did.

Wholeheartedly agree, Simon. I could NEVER understand all the negatives hurled at this second RHINO Quadio release because, IMO, it sounds fabulous and hey, it's ARETHA! If anyone saw her at this year's Kennedy Center Inductee celebration, she brought the house down with her rendition of Natural Woman. It was beyond astounding. Unlike a lot of artists whose voices have failed them in their later years, she's still the REAL DEAL!

I voted a 9.

 

[Franklin]

It's the only Aretha album I own in any format.

 

[rtbluray]

I could NEVER understand all the negatives hurled at this second RHINO Quadio release because, IMO, it sounds fabulous and hey, it's ARETHA!

I've so many comments saying that they should not have released it, but I am happy they did.

The negative comments associated with this release have less to do with the release itself and more to do with the fact that Rhino could have chosen a better title as the followup to the CTA DVD. A lot of people think that because this title didn't sell as well as CTA, that's what made Rhino fold their Quadio program until just recently.
I think most wanted a followup like "Billion Dollar Babies" by Alice Cooper, "Late for the Sky" by Jackson Browne, "Tres Hombres" by ZZ Top, or any of the Quad mixes by the likes of James Taylor, the Doobie Brothers, or the Eagles.
We'll see if they decide to follow the Chicago box with more Quadio releases and if so what they choose as the followup. They certainly have many good titles to pull from, that's for sure!