HiRez Poll Kaukonen, Jorma - BLUE COUNTRY HEART [SACD]

[sjcorne]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this 2002 SACD release from Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna guitarist Jorma Kaukonen entitled "Blue Country Heart".
The 5.1 surround mix is currently available to stream in "Dolby Audio" on Apple Music.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/blue-country-heart/192490841

 

[fredblue]

hmm.. tbh i don't recall the Surround mix being upto much on the ol' SACD but now the 5.1's handily on Apple Music in Dolby Audio i'll merrily revisit it and post back here with a few wee thoughts and perhaps a wee vote.

 

[~dave~~wave~]

Listening on Apple Music from iMac display adapter via HDMI, sensed by AVR as 5.1 48/24 PCM.
Visually on meters appears front-heavy, tame rears, little center or LFE.

A listen reveals a wide spread across the front mains.
Dobro isolated RR, rhythm mando LR, lead vocal C bleeding across all 3 fronts, plenty of bottom on the stand-up bass.
Wonderful soundstage, like sitting with these guys all around your living room.

Highest Nashville production values & fidelity.

So anything from 6-10 depending on whether one likes the genre, material or has a clue who these musicians are: Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas.

Three current offers on discogs, USA only, $50-$75.
Credits: Jorma Kaukonen - Blue Country Heart

This kind of stuff is what will keep me an Apple Music customer when my free trial expires.
I respectfully abstain from recording a vote, or as they say in the legislature "Present, Not Voting."
But this stays on my playlist.

 

[4-earredwonder]

A superbly recorded slice of pure Americana. Jorma is playing on a 1936 Gibson acoustic guitar with superb backing from, among others, Jerry Douglas and Bela Fleck. As Dave asserts there is little going on in the surrounds and center but all in all I vote a strong 9.

Note: This is a single layered Multi~CH SACD.

 

[jhw59]

I've listened to it once non critically. Need another session before voting.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Will need to give this another listen also before voting, but I seem to remember enjoying it well enough. I do believe I raised the rears a couple dBs and that may have done the trick; and with some time between listening, will probably help me determine if it was the right amount or not.
And then I’m thinking, what if my balance preferences have changed over time

 

[doctors11]

Will need to give this another listen also before voting, but I seem to remember enjoying it well enough. I do believe I raised the rears a couple dBs and that may have done the trick; and with some time between listening, will probably help me determine if it was the right amount or not.
And then I’m thinking, what if my balance preferences have changed over time

If you don't mind me asking, which receiver do you have that allows you to raise the surrounds? My Marantz does not.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

If you don't mind me asking, which receiver do you have that allows you to raise the surrounds? My Marantz does not.

Sorry I wasn't clearer here.

I don't always listen direct from disc. I'll rip the SACD to dsf/flac files then open them in a DAW like Audacity and adjust the rears to taste and resave as 5.1 flacs on a 2TB SSD; then play the files via the front port of my oppo 205 "analog" to my Marantz AVR. So far I have one SSD for stereo SACD rips and one for multi-channel SACDs; and others for stuff like DVD-A, BD etc.
@HomerJAU's excellent MMH software can adjust channel amplitude easily also.

 

[hafquark]

I bought a copy of the SACD about 12 years back. This is not modern "Bro" country, more like gin & tonic western with a heavy helping of the blues and a strong dose of bluegrass. All the players are consummate musicians. Blue Country Heart is a perfect descriptive title -- the quintessence of Americana good-time music.

The sound is stellar with an okay surround sound that's more ambient than discrete. Highly recommended to anyone into these particular musical genres.

A quick amendment: I didn't mean to imply the music was "ambient" in the sense of being doubled stereo. As a couple of posters pointed out, there are discrete instruments in the rear speakers (and I thought they sounded loud enough without a volume boost.) I just felt that the mix was enveloping without over-emphasizing the surround sound, more of an "immersive" experience -- which seemed proper to me for this recording. I voted a 9 by the way.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Just listened to this one again, and yes a great listen with plenty of discrete sounding instruments in the rears. Only slight variable rear adjustments up, so I went with a 9 on this one, YMMV.

Recognized a couple tunes done previously by other artists I love like "Blues Stay Away From Me" The Notting Hillbillies (but probably from the 1940's) and "Waiting For A Train" Boz Scaggs (Jimmie Rodgers from the 1920's.)

 

[~dave~~wave~]

...As Dave asserts there is little going on in the surrounds and center...

Sorry I wasn't clearer in this regard.

Waveform analysts & meter-watchers won't see the surround / center/ lfe channels banging.
"Tame" rears & center, perhaps, but I hear plenty, not "little," going on. (YMMV)
Wonderfully balanced sound stage from my sweet spot for this drummer-less acoustic music.

I don't consider the mix "ambient" in the usual definition of "nothing in the rears but room & reverb."
I hear discrete elements in each rear channel wrapping around from a wide-panned location in the corresponding front.

Bluegrass pickers have an admirable but perhaps unusual to our heavily prog & rock-leaning crowd of laying back.
I mean, waay back. In this case, in the back speakers.
They are politely but solidly supporting the vocalist & soloists, until called on to take a chorus or three.

If you've ever been fortunate to see a live traditional bluegrass band like Del McCoury's, even in this age of unlimited microphones and mixer channels, they pooh-pooh that over-amplified rock-star nonsense.
They have no drummer or electric bass, they don't need to turn up be heard over them.

They stick a single old-fashioned 1930s Bing Crosby-looking omnidirectional microphone on a chest-high stand in front of the stage.
They adjust their picking intensity and choreography so every note is heard.

When called on to solo, the singer steps aside and the picker steps up to the mic.
The mandolin player has to get right on top of it, the naturally louder banjo or guitar, not so much.
Every player is listening to each other, and not in their Personal In Ear Monitors.

In other words, they do their own mix on the fly. In glorious MONO.
The front-of-house sound engineer has nothing to do but mind the master volume fader.

 

[Guy Robinson]

I haven't listened to this one for almost 20 years but from what I remember it sounded excellent. Maybe it's time to get it out again.

 

[Quad Linda]

10 Great performance and fidelity. Very good mix, too.

Like much of my collection, this hasn't been played enough. However it is one of my most played multichannel SACD's.

 

[wrat]

Finally listened to this one and its a TOUGH call the sq is GREAT (9) the content is real real good (8) but the surround mix is at best eh (4) a bit of ambiance at best , so 7 I guess, but it really is a good disc

 

[Sal1950]

If you don't mind me asking, which receiver do you have that allows you to raise the surrounds? My Marantz does not.

Which receiver do you have?
Do you use Audyssey? You should be able to go into the Audyssey settings and raise the rears by any amount you wish.

 

[jhw59]

I've listened to it once non critically. Need another session before voting.

Listened to it a few times now. Gave it a 9-nice surround mix and overall excellent performance.

 

[doctors11]

Which receiver do you have?
Do you use Audyssey? You should be able to go into the Audyssey settings and raise the rears by any amount you wish.

Marantz NR-1403. When I go Options, Audio, I can only adjust the center channel and subwoofer.