HiRez Poll Kooper, Al, Mike Bloomfield, Stephen Stills - SUPER SESSION [SACD]

[fredblue]

Thanks Jon, that's fantastic!

So the 4th track down in your screen grab is the .1 channel, right? Doesn't look like its a sub-bass heavy mix to me.. I cannot wait to hear the surround on this one -- at last..!!!

 

[JonUrban]

Thanks Jon, that's fantastic!

So the 4th track down in your screen grab is the .1 channel, right? Doesn't look like its a sub-bass heavy mix to me.. I cannot wait to hear the surround on this one -- at last..!!!

Yes, and you should be pleased when you get it.

 

[georgeshannon]

I will NEVER play the stereo side. Why should I? Give me one good reason why I would want to listen to the stereo track. @:

Because you only have two ears. Hahahahahaha!

 

[wavelength]

Because you only have two ears. Hahahahahaha!

Them's fightin' words in these parts, cowboy! Just kidding.

 

[ChristopherLees]

the screen grab says it all...

 

[John Svensson]

"Give me one good reason why I would want to listen to the stereo track." Because SH mixed it. Because SH mixed it. Because SH mixed it. Because SH mixed it. Because SH mixed it.............
Keep repeating until the meaning of life is revealed, or you fall asleep, whichever comes first.

 

[Plan9]

"Give me one good reason why I would want to listen to the stereo track." Because SH mixed it. Because SH mixed it. Because SH mixed it. Because SH mixed it. Because SH mixed it.............
Keep repeating until the meaning of life is revealed, or you fall asleep, whichever comes first.

He didn't mixed it, he did the mastering on the original mix.

 

[bmoura]

He didn't mixed it, he did the mastering on the original mix.

Right. Steve Hoffman took the original 2-Channel master tapes of Super Session and remastered them for the SACD Stereo and CD Stereo tracks on the new 5.1 SACD from Audio Fidelity.
And they sound excellent.

 

[John Svensson]

Sorry, I stand corrected, always a risk when the disc is not released to the general public....but, I also will probably never hear the stereo mastering effort either. If it is not in surround, I synthesize it to surround, haven't heard a music "straight" stereo source in years.

 

[bmoura]

This post and others like it could be moved to another thread, if need be.

I'm still waiting on my preorder to be filled, so I haven't heard the SACD. According to Al Kooper when I spoke with him several years ago, he created new 5.1 mixes for BOTH Super Session and BS&T's Child is the Father. My understanding is that this SACD is NOT the Quad mix repurposed.

Brian also refers to the 5.1 mix in his post above.

Wow, a lot has been going on last week while I was on vacation. Back now, so some comments.

1. Quad Linda is correct. The Super Session 5.1 SACD has the famed Al Kooper 5.1 mix of Super Session that I've been hearing about from industry insiders since it was done for Sony Music in 2002. It's very different - and much better - than the 4.0 Quad Mix done by the Staff Producer and Engineer at Columbia Records in my opinion. One example: on Track 7 "Season of the Witch", the 4.0 Columbia mix has the drums and bass in the Surround Channels. On the new Al Kooper 5.1 mix, the drums and bass are up front with the vocals. The Kooper 5.1 mix also opens with some panning and sounds much more full range than the older 4.0 Quad mix on my system.

2. Al Kooper describes his goals with the new 5.1 mix in the liner notes included in the Audio Fidelity SACD release. You'll enjoy his comments. I'm glad that Marshall Blonstein at Audio Fidelity was able to convince Al Kooper to write new liner notes for the reissue. They help make the SACD package in my view.

3. I'm puzzled by the comments on the SH Forum about excessive volume and bass. I'm not hearing that on my system. Some possible reasons: 1. I'm not using bass management here (that can alter bass levels and balances) and 2. I don't try to play all of my SACDs, DVD-As and CDs at the same level as one of the posters on the SH Forum apparently does. I find that there is too much difference from disc to disc to do that. So I always raise or lower the overall volume (on all channels) depending on how it was mixed. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

As Jon noted, it's an excellent 5.1 mix. When you add that to the excellent Stereo SACD and Stereo CD tracks remastered by Steve Hoffman, it's a very worthy launch of the 5.1 AF Series in my view. Thumbs up!

 

[JonUrban]

I listened to this disc again today to see if I was missing something. In my past listens, I did not specifically listen for the bass, so this time I did. Through the whole album. Yes, there is bass. It's full and it's there. Is it too much? Not on my two systems, but maybe for others it may sound strange. My conversion for the car sounds terrific, mostly because of the ELS system I would guess, as all I did was record it in straight to PC and make a DVD-A from the wav files. No reason to mess with them.

At home I have a fairly decent surround audio system with full range speakers all around (including the center) and a subwoofer. Again, the bass is clear and up front in the mix (not in the sound field), and I hear it well, but it is in no way overpowering. This is a full range recording and the entire frequency spectrum is used. I would guess that what you hear will really depend on your playback equipment (esp speakers), as the LFE track as you can see in my JPEG is full ranged, and maybe that messes with some people's systems.

I really don't know. However, if you are interested in this material and the 5.1 mix by Al Kooper, do not be swayed by someone else's opinion (including mine), judge it for yourself and post your findings here. If you hear too much bass, let us know. We want honest opinions from people who actually are experiencing them, not some second hand findings that cannot be substantiated.

I was cranking "Season of the Witch" in the RDX on the way home, Volume was at '33' (which is high), and it sounded great. The 5.1 mix is remarkable!

 

[Guy Robinson]

Sorry, I stand corrected, always a risk when the disc is not released to the general public....but, I also will probably never hear the stereo mastering effort either. If it is not in surround, I synthesize it to surround, haven't heard a music "straight" stereo source in years.

Same here. Stereo is always being produced in 7.2 in my sound room. Sounds great most of the time. Opens the music right up. Can't wait to get this disc to hear it in 5.2, as realistic well balanced bass is usually what sets my system apart from others that I have heard.

 

[John Svensson]

Anyone know the newest official release date for this? I thought it was Aug 26 from the last postings about it....but the website stills states "Coming Soon". Did I miss a slipped date or is it indeed in the mail as we speak?

 

[Quad Linda]

It was pushed back to September. My guy Joe preordered it for me. He advised me of it being pushed back twice, although I don't recall the exact date. September 18th perhaps. "Expect it just before Christmas." - Joe

 

[oxenholme]

I think a month or more is far too long a wait for the rank and file to be able to get a disc after preliminary issue to the chosen few. Will this be happening with all the AF 5.1 titles?

 

[Clint Eastwood]

I forgot about this thread...I posted this on the "other thread"

 

[PK]

I think a month or more is far too long a wait for the rank and file to be able to get a disc after preliminary issue to the chosen few. Will this be happening with all the AF 5.1 titles?

Initially I was fired up but now I've lost interest. Plus I think I got whacked on the AF pre-order price...this month, next month, whatever... :zzzzz:zzzzz:zzzzz

 

[cupboy]

I think a month or more is far too long a wait for the rank and file to be able to get a disc after preliminary issue to the chosen few. ....

I disagree. This gives time for the chosen few to offer their disks for sale. I've been unable to unload a sealed Breezin' however.

 

[Bob Romano]

I listened to this disc again today to see if I was missing something. In my past listens, I did not specifically listen for the bass, so this time I did. Through the whole album. Yes, there is bass. It's full and it's there. Is it too much? Not on my two systems, but maybe for others it may sound strange. My conversion for the car sounds terrific, mostly because of the ELS system I would guess, as all I did was record it in straight to PC and make a DVD-A from the wav files. No reason to mess with them.

At home I have a fairly decent surround audio system with full range speakers all around (including the center) and a subwoofer. Again, the bass is clear and up front in the mix (not in the sound field), and I hear it well, but it is in no way overpowering. This is a full range recording and the entire frequency spectrum is used. I would guess that what you hear will really depend on your playback equipment (esp speakers), as the LFE track as you can see in my JPEG is full ranged, and maybe that messes with some people's systems.

I really don't know. However, if you are interested in this material and the 5.1 mix by Al Kooper, do not be swayed by someone else's opinion (including mine), judge it for yourself and post your findings here. If you hear too much bass, let us know. We want honest opinions from people who actually are experiencing them, not some second hand findings that cannot be substantiated.

I was cranking "Season of the Witch" in the RDX on the way home, Volume was at '33' (which is high), and it sounded great. The 5.1 mix is remarkable!

I just finally hooked up the new Oppo and got a chance to pop this in and I 100% agree with Jon. This is a great sounding disc! Bass is deep but not overpowering and the mix is nice and immersive.

 

[bmoura]

I just finally hooked up the new Oppo and got a chance to pop this in and I 100% agree with Jon. This is a great sounding disc! Bass is deep but not overpowering and the mix is nice and immersive.

Is that another "9" rating?!