King Crimson in 5.1?!

[simonwagstaff]

Well, alrighty then. I was a little confused. Amazon has the 2 disc set listed, pre-order all three for $68.00. I think I will hustle right over there and put in my pre-order. when they all show up I think my brain might explode, a risk I am willing to take.

 

[neil wilkes]

This will be all for this year too - it's not worthwhile releasing after October with what is essentially a specialist product.
I think the Box Set might be 5CD/DVDA too - not totally sure though.
All editions will have CD/DVDA versions.
Quite a lot will also have new stereo mixes too - Court is one of these - and in these cases you will always get the "definitive" master of the original mix.

Prepare to be blown away!

 

[Quadzilla]

Are the CD disks HDCD encoded like the previous remasters?

 

[neil wilkes]

I have absolutely no idea.

 

[simonwagstaff]

the one that I pre-ordered on Amazon was the two disc set of ITCOTCK. I think that is all they had listed.

Lark's Tongues and Islands are the two I am most anxiously awaiting. Release them in December, I will buy them!

 

[Quadzilla]

I have absolutely no idea.

I wasn't asking you specifically. I know you are only involved in the MC disks. I wondered if anyone had that information. The HDCD remasters are excellent, and as 2-channel formats go, I would like to see it survive as well.

 

[simonwagstaff]

HDCD has merit. I have a Pioneer DV79i player and tsx59i receiver connected via firewire. I have the option of upsampling and using the Legato Link. I know it is not manufacturing any new data but in my system it sounds better than HDCD. The difference is not huge, of course, and both sound very good.

Bring on Lark's Tongues!!

 

[Quadzilla]

Universal players are fine for what they are, but if you want to appreciate fine CD and HDCD playback, a DVD player won't get there. I have a Denon DVD-5900 Universal player, but my more modestly-priced Pioneer PD-D6-J SACD/CD player sounds better. I don't use a receiver, so I can't comment on that side of it; I have always used a dedicated Theta HDCD DAC.

 

[simonwagstaff]

I agree that the analogue outputs of universal players may or may not "get you there" The DACs in my pioneer receiver are quite good and in stereo mode switch to a balanced mode. It also eliminates the analogue interconnect and removes any potential issues with output and input impedance. The firewire connection is as good as a digital connection can be. It is another high quality feature that has been discontinued.

 

[Quadzilla]

I have a DV-47Ai in my bedroom. It is a half-decent player, and a LOT better sounding than my old DV-45A. The Denon was a nice upgrade from the 47 though. That's why it is in the bedroom now.

 

[wavelength]

It seems as though there are a number of people (myself included) who are not very familiar with KC's body of work. Thus there is some uncertainty about which of the 5.1 releases to get. For what it's worth, I found a site that provides in-depth and honest reviews of all of the KC albums. There is readers' comments as well. Maybe you will find it helpful.
http://starling.rinet.ru/music/king.htm

 

[G E]

It seems as though there are a number of people (myself included) who are not very familiar with KC's body of work. Thus there is some uncertainty about which of the 5.1 releases to get. For what it's worth, I found a site that provides in-depth and honest reviews of all of the KC albums. There is readers' comments as well. Maybe you will find it helpful.
http://starling.rinet.ru/music/king.htm

I looked through the reviews and found myself rarely agreeing with the reviewer's assessment. Crimson has gone through many iterations and long time followers have their favorite era. I really like the 73-74 era spanned by Larks Tongues, Starless & Bible Black and Red, but there is much to like with the later iterations of the band in the 80, 90's and 00's. The double trio work from the mid 90's is amazing - check out the DVD Deja Vroom - monstrously good. I am not so crazy about the earliest years but these recordings are still worth having (and I will buy the 5.1 releases) if for no other reason than they shaped my musical growth in my formative years. Once I heard Crimson I could never really listen to the Moody Blues any more. I still can't for more than 10 minutes or so.

So, where to start? ItCotCK, Red, and Discipline would be my starting recommendation. One could substitute LTiA or S&BB for Red, either of which *I* prefer, Red may be somewhat more accessible..... Plus it is available shortly.

If you are new to Crimson, give the music some time to seep in. The music isn't easy, there is a lot there and its impact will grow with time and repeated listenings. I found it to be worth the effort, I hope you will too.

ge

 

[wavelength]

Great feedback. Thanks.

New music (for me); 5.1; DVD-A; SW mix - it just feels like it could all fall into place.

 

[Almen]

They are well worth the wait - trust me on this one!
Anyone who thinks they already know these albums are in for a surprise.

Thanks for the heads up, Neil! Feel better now.

 

[Almen]

HDCD has merit.

Like "smart marketing"? HDCD is imo the most annoying and unnecessary format we've had.

 

[Quadzilla]

Like "smart marketing"? HDCD is imo the most annoying and unnecessary format we've had.

A worthwhile post would give a bit of insightful reason. Otherwise, it is just a fart in a crowded room ... annoying, but useless.

 

[Almen]

OK, here goes:

1) An HDCD compatible player is needed, and they are quite hard to find (if you want one for all).
2) When played on a non HDCD compatible player, it is worse than red book CD.
3) When coding in HDCD, the peak extension is often not used.
4) Here is another discussion about this: When is hi-res overkill?

Now, are there any valid arguments for HDCD?

PS It might be a good idea to continue the discussion in the aforementioned thread.

 

[simonwagstaff]

Um, if you have a player, and they were not that hard to find, then the HDCD encoding was free?



Like I said, I prefer upsampling and legato link but HDCD is hardly something to get all worked up about, especially on this forum where in theory we should be talking about how wonderful DVD-A sounds, which is does.

 

[Almen]

...we should be talking about how wonderful DVD-A sounds, which is does.

Well, yeah, but it just seems very unnecessary to store any music in HDCD, also on the KC releases. Red book is fine for stereo, DVD-A is wonderful for surround.

 

[Quadzilla]

PS It might be a good idea to continue the discussion in the aforementioned thread.

That is only if I cared to debate you. Your "reasons" are lame, and I realize that you are basing them solely on European factors ... the rest of the world makes no difference to you. I understand that. I simply asked a question about a forthcoming CD/DVD-Audio release. I did not invite your debate. Goodbye.