Listening to Now (In Surround) - Volume 2

[Clint Eastwood]

I don't know what to tell you Gos...I can say one thing..it's getting harder to find surround versions of both titles...and of course the price is always going up..I bought those discs 2 years ago and I paid $50 for 52nd street(like new)and $42(very good) for The Stranger....which included shipping..

 

[Simon A]

I don't know what to tell you Gos...I can say one thing..it's getting harder to find surround versions of both titles...and of course the price is always going up..I bought those discs 2 years ago and I paid $50 for 52nd street(like new)and $42(very good) for The Stranger....which included shipping..

Yep, that's about what I paid for mine a week ago. I'm glad I got them though.

Now playing:

Björk - Medulla - SACD (That's quite a change of mood let me tell you... )

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Yep, that's about what I paid for mine a week ago. I'm glad I got them though.

Now playing:

Björk - Medulla - SACD (That's quite a change of mood let me tell you... )

So you liked the stranger?...I love most of BJ's catalog...I especially liked the use of the center channel on the stranger and 52nd street...but ironically a lot of people didn't like the mix because it was too front channel oriented...I suspect some of these complaints originated from people without a center channel...I'm glad I bought both of those surround discs..wouldn't part with either one...

 

[Simon A]

So you liked the stranger?...I love most of BJ's catalog...I especially liked the use of the center channel on the stranger and 52nd street...but ironically a lot of people didn't like the mix because it was too front channel oriented...I suspect some of these complaints originated from people without a center channel...I'm glad I bought both of those surround discs..wouldn't part with either one...

Yes I liked it quite a bit actually. My favourite is Movin' Out but I also really loved the way She's Always A Woman sounds in Multichannel. Scenes was also excellent! Can't wait for the other two discs to arrive!

 

[fredblue]

Yep, that's about what I paid for mine a week ago. I'm glad I got them though.

Now playing:

Björk - Medulla - SACD (That's quite a change of mood let me tell you... )

Did your Medulla SACD come in a slim card slip wallet thing or the more usual super jewel case?

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Did your Medulla SACD come in a slim card slip wallet thing or the more usual super jewel case?

my medulla in it's case

 

[fredblue]

Yes I liked it quite a bit actually. My favourite is Movin' Out but I also really loved the way She's Always A Woman sounds in Multichannel. Scenes was also excellent! Can't wait for the other two discs to arrive!

The BJ Quads are really cool.. Did you get the AF SACD of Streetlife Serenade yet?
The SQ LP of Turnstiles is for the most part a beaut, that really should get a true discrete release somehow on SACD or DVD or whatever. The different presentation in the Quad mix approaches takes some getting used to (as is so often the case with old Quad as we all know) especially jarring initially on the most familiar numbers but give it a few tries and its charms start to really reveal themselves.. and there are many. Crying shame it's seemingly stuck in 70's SQ limbo.

 

[fredblue]

my medulla in it's case

ha! that's the special ultra deluxe edition in biodegradable packaging..!

 

[Clint Eastwood]

ha! that's the special ultra deluxe edition in biodegradable packaging..!

Trust me...mine has "degraded" a LOT:ugham:

 

[Simon A]

Did your Medulla SACD come in a slim card slip wallet thing or the more usual super jewel case?

Slim card. I ordered it from a UK vendor.

 

[fredblue]

Slim card. I ordered it from a UK vendor.

Ah thanks, that's the UK/Euro Limited Edition with sticker and poster.. which is, believe it or not, more common than the version in the more common jewel case packaging (similar story with Sting's Sacred Love SACD iirc..)

 

[Simon A]

Ah thanks, that's the UK/Euro Limited Edition with sticker and poster.. which is, believe it or not, more common than the version in the more common jewel case packaging (similar story with Sting's Sacred Love SACD iirc..)

Yeah, I got that one because of the low price. I don't need a jewel case to enjoy the music.

I'm giving Billy Joel's The Stranger another spin 'cause I like it a lot.

Next up, Madman Across The Water SACD by Elton John.

 

[JerseyEd]

[/QUOTE] Have you heard of that "fan" project in DTS called: Monkees - "Quarters"? It was sync-ups plus some extractions to create a Monkees quadraphonic 2CD set. This is going back 10 or 12 years. It likely used the Rhino Headquarters Sessions 3CD set for much of the source materials. It caused quite an internet stir because it was indeed discreet 4-chan. However, my opinion is that the fidelity was less than stellar, and the sync-up was not exact either. However, the set got pressed up eventually on silver pressed discs by some entrepreneur and was seen for sale as if a rare Japanese import, color artwork and all.

Anyway, I plan on recording the 3 CD set to 24/96 with all takes in sync (as much as possible), and further tweaking each track until it's as good as it can get, and mixing to 4-channels myself. So I am not going to try to recreate the Headquarters album in quad, but simply mix some of the Monkees "sessions" disc set for quad playback in the highest quality possible. I'll down-sample to 24/48 at the end. I think I can do something more interesting than what the Quarters set did. But I'm not sure. Just an interesting demo it might be. The Tascam unit is a good machine for the initial recording to 24/96. The reason for going to this high bit rate is because time stretching of music files often results in quality loss, this loss will be less when working in a higher resolution. I think that to get the best sync some time altering will be needed. I may be syncing different takes of songs together, so they are really going to need work. Just ideas I have gotten since buying this unit. [/QUOTE]

Hi Quicksrt,
I really wish that at least Pisces..., Headquarters, Birds & Bees, and Head would have 5.1, or at least Quad, releases.

 

[quicksrt]

Hi Quicksrt,
I really wish that at least Pisces..., Headquarters, Birds & Bees, and Head would have 5.1, or at least Quad, releases.

I think that all the multitracks are there for most of the albums. It could be done. Maybe there will come a time soon when they have nothing else left to do.

 

[Simon A]

I think that all the multitracks are there for most of the albums. It could be done. Maybe there will come a time soon when they have nothing else left to do.

Well, I think the best thing would be to get in touch with Andrew Sandoval. He's been involved with most of the Monkees reissues. If anyone knows how to get in touch with him. I would buy Multichannel release of their albums from the 60's.

 

[skherbeck]

 

[quicksrt]

Dave Mason (1974 self-titled album in SQ LP form thru the Surround Master)...

This is so lovely... what a mix.. and fidelity is sublime.. it wraps around you like a warm furry coat on a cold old day...

.. so, come on AF, stick yer neck out and honour this one with a Surround SACD release.. it may not be a big hitter but the quality is undeniable. I'm sure if more people were exposed to it now they would love it today.

View attachment 22414

But what does it do in quad? Surely it's not like the Earth Wind and Fire SACD, not like S. Wilson's Yes or Tull remixes. Not like Slys Hits, nor any Pink Floyd Quadraphonie release.

So what is going on? Separate parts played out of each speaker like a band around you? Or some echo on the rears and every now and then some percussion and bits of keyboards?

Tell us a little more please about these stunners you keep showing us. I often would find quad mixed LPs to be too safe and too little going on in real surround. But I was only listening to Q8, and never a really good well decoded LP.

Could Dave Mason on Columbia in this era be that hot really? As good as Loggins and Messina S/T album mix wise?

 

[fredblue]

View attachment 22425

The QS LP (with the sticking plaster censoring the birth bit!) of this is great thru the Surround Master with the circus/funfair type stuff at the beginning and end, sound quality's nice too.. RIP Mr 3 Dog
(though not to take away from this one, the best sounding QS LP I've got so far is Rufus Ft. Chaka Khan's "Rufusized", sound quality is absolutely bloody fluccckinggg amazing...!!)

 

[fredblue]

But what does it do in quad? Surely it's not like the Earth Wind and Fire SACD, not like S. Wilson's Yes or Tull remixes. Not like Slys Hits, nor any Pink Floyd Quadraphonie release.

So what is going on? Separate parts played out of each speaker like a band around you? Or some echo on the rears and every now and then some percussion and bits of keyboards?

Tell us a little more please about these stunners you keep showing us. I often would find quad mixed LPs to be too safe and too little going on in real surround. But I was only listening to Q8, and never a really good well decoded LP.

Could Dave Mason on Columbia in this era be that hot really? As good as Loggins and Messina S/T album mix wise?

To me yes, the mix is full and active...
when these old SQ records work out so well thru the Surround Master,
you just know the discrete masters must be absolutely amazing..

There's no crazy round the room pans, its not a flashy old Quad for sure.. but there are many nice touches on this one,
for example in the opener "Show Me Some Affection", there's some brief but very pretty flute playing (courtesy of Tim Weisberg, no less..)
in the instrumental break, which rather than just being plonked static in one channel flurries about the channels as it flutters away..
in track 2 ("Get Ahold On Love") there's horns and vocals in the rear mixed not just as accents but both beautifully harmonising with other horns and vocals up front, its very effective and enveloping..
in "Every Woman" string swells in the rear are simple and subtle but v.nice..
"All Along The Watchtower" has various bits of electric guitar work and effects ping ponging about the front and rear channels..
the acapella intro of "Bring It On Home To Me" is very effective in Quad and throughout the whole song different vocal parts pop up in each of the different channels..
even in songs where there's not a huge amount going ("Relation Ships") the various layers of vocals and instrumentation is always spread about to lovely immersive effect.. this is every bit as well-mixed as the Loggins and Messina Quads imho.

 

[Simon A]

Hi everyone!

Just received this and giving it my first spin: Elton John - Captain Brown and the Fantastic Dirt Cowboy - SACD (which sadly is only in a regular Jewel Case and not a SACD case)