No. I have a Yamaha receiver with YPAO, but I use my own EQ settings.
HiRez Poll Joel, Billy - STREETLIFE SERENADE [SACD]
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No. I have a Yamaha receiver with YPAO, but I use my own EQ settings.
Here is what I wonder...not just about this release, but other Quad releases....
Those of us who didn't grow up listening to Quad, may not be used to some of these active Quad releases. I mean, many of them beg to be listened to in the middle of the 4 speakers and I'm pretty sure most of us who spent most of our time listening to a more traditional 5.1 surround setup are sitting closer to the rears than the middle.... (rightfully so)
I admit that many Quad SACD's I've heard take me a while to adjust to the aggressive sound coming from the rears....
Regardless of all that....I love the Quad stuff and would never consider turning down the rears.
I absolutely agree, and advertising from the past told the listener to sit in middle, walk around, and have fun with all the sounds coming from 4 speakers. The traditional 5.1 sweet spot sitting is not as good as sitting in the middle. I have Audessy correction, set for the sweet spot in 5.1 listening, but it is no big audiophile deal to move my chair, still sounds great in 4.0 listening. I am guessing, that what some see/hear as the overbearing rears was just the technology of the day adding 2 speakers was a big experiment at that time, and as we know never really took off.
Here is what I wonder...not just about this release, but other Quad releases....
Those of us who didn't grow up listening to Quad, may not be used to some of these active Quad releases. I mean, many of them beg to be listened to in the middle of the 4 speakers and I'm pretty sure most of us who spent most of our time listening to a more traditional 5.1 surround setup are sitting closer to the rears than the middle.... (rightfully so)
I admit that many Quad SACD's I've heard take me a while to adjust to the aggressive sound coming from the rears....
Regardless of all that....I love the Quad stuff and would never consider turning down the rears.
I think there is a lot of sense to that. I sit closer to the rears, but I THINK I have it fairly balanced. I even moved way up to the front while listening to "Streetlife" and the rears sounded way loud. For reference, I put on "The Stranger" afterwards (which I feel is a very well-balanced mixed 5.1) and I reset the levels back to where I have them and the rears sounded fine.
But I think everyone's system/setup/room will respond differently as well and I, by no means, will claim to have a perfect setup. So adjust-to-my-taste I will!
The ideal for 5.1 positioning is equidistance between all speakers. The difference between quad and 5.1, ideally, is angle, the addition of the center channel and a sub to beef up bottom-end or compensate if satellites are small.
I guess in practice many of us sit closer to the rears. In my case, on my main system I'm only a smidge closer to the rears than any other speaker and on my secondary system I'm almost dead center of the circle the speakers all sit on. Again, the big difference is angle though. Instead of 45 and 135 degrees to either side, my speakers are at 30 and 110 or whatever.
Assuming a proper setup, I'm not sure the angle differences would make that much of a difference, but moving away from the proper angle would (for those scooching way forward for quad listening). Instead of getting directed highs and mids, you're getting them skewed, more so for the rears than the fronts, but for all the corner speakers nonetheless.
To me, the mix is more important, as to why old quad might sound weird, than speaker positioning. Many of those mixes are super-discrete, for the sake of being discrete. Drums in one corner, bass in another corner. Stuff like that is going to sound weird for those used to more typical stereo and surround mixes, where drums pan across the fronts (or ever the rears), bass is dead-center, main vocal is dead center most of the time, guitars to the sides in front, etc.
I guess in practice many of us sit closer to the rears. In my case, on my main system I'm only a smidge closer to the rears than any other speaker and on my secondary system I'm almost dead center of the circle the speakers all sit on. Again, the big difference is angle though. Instead of 45 and 135 degrees to either side, my speakers are at 30 and 110 or whatever.
Assuming a proper setup, I'm not sure the angle differences would make that much of a difference, but moving away from the proper angle would (for those scooching way forward for quad listening). Instead of getting directed highs and mids, you're getting them skewed, more so for the rears than the fronts, but for all the corner speakers nonetheless.
To me, the mix is more important, as to why old quad might sound weird, than speaker positioning. Many of those mixes are super-discrete, for the sake of being discrete. Drums in one corner, bass in another corner. Stuff like that is going to sound weird for those used to more typical stereo and surround mixes, where drums pan across the fronts (or ever the rears), bass is dead-center, main vocal is dead center most of the time, guitars to the sides in front, etc.
The thing is, if your levels are right you should be set up for 5.1 and 4.0 without any need for alteration. A lot of modern 5.1 seems to be mixed with the rears more like satelites with nowhere near as much material mixed at the back as there is at the front (and perhaps rightly so for the common/lowest denominator setup) so maybe more action in the rears is giving the impression of it being back heavy, when it is just what it is.
Wow, I'm shocked to read my review........uh.......this title is now easily one of my favorites. And, the mix and fidelity have easily grown on me over the last few years. I initially voted 7. Damn. I'm raising it to a 9. I mean, I just love this title. I think it cries to be cranked up, and when I do, it just sparkles!
Audiowannabee
1K Club - QQ Shooting Star
Just getting around to rating this one...a 9 cuz the mix is pretty active love these Quad recordings REALLY do
Fidelity is damn good clear maybe not his most popular album but very good sonics...great album...get it
Fidelity is damn good clear maybe not his most popular album but very good sonics...great album...get it
Scott65
1K Club - QQ Shooting Star
I bought this a few years ago, played it a few times and did not think much of it. I have revisited it over the last few days and now really like it overall (it is a bit hit and miss in places). Los Angelinos has become one of my favourite Billy Joel songs. I give it a '9'.
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