HiRez Poll Loggins and Messina - LOGGINS AND MESSINA [SACD]

[JonUrban]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this September 2015 release from Audio Fidelity of the 1972 album "Loggins and Messina" featuring "You're Mama Don't Dance" and other songs in newly remastered stereo and original quadraphonic mixes.
The Quadraphonic mix is also available to stream in Dolby Audio via Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/us/album/loggins-and-messina/178062711


PRE-RELEASE DISCUSSION THREAD: Loggins and Messina - Self-Titled - Audio Fidelity 4.0 SACD (September 2015)

 

[elinter]

I'm a little afraid to be the first to post, but here it goes. Excellent recording all around. The fidelity is great, its wonderfully discrete, and the music engaging. The diversity of style song to song keeps you interested - a little country, singer songwriter, classic rock, and jam band. Angry Eyes has to be one of my all time favorite L&M songs and this mix just gave me chills! Ratings: Sound quality (fidelity) - 8; Surround Soundness (discreteness) - 10; Music (evoke emotion)- 9. Overall - 9 and definitely worth buying.

 

[ar surround]

It arrived from Amazon this morning. Yet another winner from Audio Fidelity. Full Sail remains my favorite L&M album, but this one has some real gems. One of the better quadraphonic presentations from the early '70's; albeit it's somewhat strange placing the bass guitar in the rears considering that most people back then had smaller rear speakers than fronts and no subwoofers. 8+

 

[Quad Linda]

8. Mine arrived yesterday. Of their five studio albums of new material, this is my least favorite. My favorite is the one album they didn't do in Quad: Motherlode. Great Quad mix. Music has some great moments. A better album than many artists' best. Whiskey, Thinking of You, Long Tail Cat and Angry Eyes are all killer tracks. I own this on SQ, Q8, CD and this 4.0 SACD. Quad is the best way to listen to this album. AF SACD is the best quad pressing of this title.

 

[quicksrt]

I've always thought that their eyes on the cover photo looked like they had just smoked a nice fat joint of Maui Wowie, and are feeling no pain! This in spite of the fresh clean clothes and good makeup job they display.

 

[Quad Linda]

They look FAR OUT!

I've always thought that their eyes on the cover photo looked like they had just smoked a nice fat joint of Maui Wowie, and are feeling no pain! This in spite of the fresh clean clothes and good makeup job they display.

 

[skherbeck]

I came to this album with absolutely no sentimental bias, and if anything was actually biased against it having never liked the only song I had heard on the radio, "Your Mama Don't Dance"... Well, such is the power of surround and fidelity that I actually like the entire album now (although the aforementioned song is still my least favorite track!) This recording has a clear, full, & dynamic analog sound and the mix is very discrete, tasteful, & conservative (which fits the music). "Angry Eyes" is by far the best song, and I would give this a 10 if the rest of the album had the same rocking groove. However, since most of the songs tend to wander a little too far into "singer songwriter country" for my taste, I give it an 8.

 

[elroy]

Yep, Angry Eyes is worth the price of admission all by itself! I remember this being a staple of FM radio in the 70s. Where now would you ever hear an 8-minute rock song with 1 minute of vocals at the beginning, 1 minute at the end, and an almost 6-minute instrumental break?

Not everything is up to that level content-wise, but it is a very nice quad mix. 10 for Angry Eyes and 8 overall for the rest of the album.

And I also liked the fact he went by "Ken" Loggins at that time...

 

[atrocity]

Am I the only one who can't stop playing "Golden Ribbons"? I've loved that song ever since it was the jarringly different B side of "Your Mama Don't Dance".

 

[ar surround]

After listening again in quad, I played a few tracks in stereo enhanced to 7.1 surround. The SACD stereo mix/fidelity/mastering is also excellent...you can hear all the details clearly which isn't often the case when compared to a multichannel mix. Good Friend, has gotten into my head and now I can't get it out; which in this case is a good thing as opposed to when a jingle/pop drivel tune gets in there!

 

[bktouchstone]

Definitely worth the money. Mids and bass are very good, higher frequencies are a little subdued, but when you crank the volume, it really shines. Very good songs. A strong 8.

 

[MIDIQ]

I vote 8. Good music and real good quad. I like it.

 

[quicksrt]

Definitely worth the money. Mids and bass are very good, higher frequencies are a little subdued, but when you crank the volume, it really shines. Very good songs. A strong 8.

Is the high end missing on this disc, or at least the first three songs sounding dull? Are they rolling off the treble a tad? I'm trying to read into what is being said, and I sense this is a dull sounding disc. One comment on that other forum says the sound is poor, like a 2nd gen master or something. Most are saying stellar sound all the way around, but not everyone.

 

[ar surround]

Is the high end missing on this disc, or at least the first three songs sounding dull? Are they rolling off the treble a tad? I'm trying to read into what is being said, and I sense this is a dull sounding disc. One comment on that other forum says the sound is poor, like a 2nd gen master or something. Most are saying stellar sound all the way around, but not everyone.

My only complaint is the that mix has the bass guitar in the rears, otherwise I would have rated it a 9. Regardless, these AF releases are well mastered and any tonal preference modifications are easily achieved with the bass and treble controls.

 

[oxenholme]

Tonally very nicely balanced. The mix is spot on - I love the placement of the bass in the rear speakers. I've never heard it before - I think one or both of them had something to do with You'd Better Think Twice by Poco? Still getting used to it material wise - Holiday Hotel is a clear favourite so far.

I'm thinking like 10 for the mix, 9 for the tonality and maybe 8 for the material, but I'll hold off in case it grows on me a little more.

 

[fredblue]

Tonally very nicely balanced. The mix is spot on - I love the placement of the bass in the rear speakers. I've never heard it before - I think one or both of them had something to do with You'd Better Think Twice by Poco? Still getting used to it material wise - Holiday Hotel is a clear favourite so far.

I'm thinking like 10 for the mix, 9 for the tonality and maybe 8 for the material, but I'll hold off in case it grows on me a little more.

It's great isn't it! :upthumb

I'm hoping Audio Fidelity can locate the Quad masters for the other Loggins & Messina albums that got the 4-channel treatment back in the day ("Full Sail" and "Native Sons") they're just as good as this one in terms of mix and sound quality, with some nice material in there too.

Another reason why I love these old Quads, I'm constantly discovering artists like this that were not only before my time but also had scant presence in the UK back then from what I can gather so it's really all brand new multichannel music.

 

[John Svensson]

I'll hold off on the vote since I just received my copy yesterday, but...music-wise I've heard several of the songs on here and generally like them, though not as strong as Full Sail taken in total.....8-ish? (IMHO) Angry Eyes and Holiday Hotel are favorites of mine also. Mix wise I would probably give it a 9, no issue with the bass in the rears...to be a quad mix "something" has to go back there, and I'd rather that its not just a doubling of the fronts or some ambience! Admittedly, percussion seems to be everyone else's fave. The top end is slightly muted I think, but I find that little warmer sound to my liking, or am I just compensating for the high registers in my hearing the Navy took away from me....yuk, yuk. A 9 minus or 8 plus depending on the day I'd think. I will listen to this mucho because I liked L&M even back in the day, much to my older brother's annoyance.

 

[quicksrt]

Not voting until I've lived with a given disc for a while, and listened to the respective mix at least six times.

But one thing I think that I am noticing is the front channels seem warmer, where rear channels brighter if ever slightly so.

I would prefer all channels to be same EQ wise unless the mix is intended that way.

As I said in previous posts, I enjoy listening to rear chans singled out sometimes, and the fronts singled out as well, just to hear isolated parts and to analize the mixes that way.

I am sensing that these SACDs are being EQ'd on these AF discs warmer in front channels than rears or surrounds (whatever they are referred to). Anyone else hear this, or is it just me?

 

[fredblue]

Not voting until I've lived with a given disc for a while, and listened to the respective mix at least six times.

But one thing I think that I am noticing is the front channels seem warmer, where rear channels brighter if ever slightly so.

I would prefer all channels to be same EQ wise unless the mix is intended that way.

As I said in previous posts, I enjoy listening to rear chans singled out sometimes, and the fronts singled out as well, just to hear isolated parts and to analize the mixes that way.

I am sensing that rears or surrounds (whatever they are referred to) are being EQ'd on these AF discs warmer in front channels than rears. Anyone else hear this, or is it just me?

Very interesting.. I've not noticed this on the AF SACDs but I have so much fine tuning to do with the system since moving I'm loathe to say either way at this stage.

A few thoughts occur, have you tried swapping RCAs for front L&R and rear L&R/vice versa so the rear channels are coming out of your front speakers and front channels out of the rear speakers? Just in case the speakers are not all closely voice matched? Maybe that's academic as all 4 of your speakers are identical (I would love this for the old Quads but space @home does not permit) Are the speakers run w/global crossover so all @80hz. or somwthing, so it's not a case of Fronts running as Large and so getting a Full range signal/receiving more low end content than rears set to Small and crossed over at, say, 120hz..?

I'll stop rabbiting, sorry Mods.. I'm now conscious this is a Poll.

 

[quicksrt]

Very interesting.. I've not noticed this on the AF SACDs but I have so much fine tuning to do with the system since moving I'm loathe to say either way at this stage.

A few thoughts occur, have you tried swapping RCAs for front L&R and rear L&R/vice versa so the rear channels are coming out of your front speakers and front channels out of the rear speakers? Just in case the speakers are not all closely voice matched? Maybe that's academic as all 4 of your speakers are identical (I would love this for the old Quads but space @home does not permit) Are the speakers run w/global crossover so all @80hz. or somwthing, so it's not a case of Fronts running as Large and so getting a Full range signal/receiving more low end content than rears set to Small and crossed over at, say, 120hz..?

I'll stop rabbiting, sorry Mods.. I'm now conscious this is a Poll.

So far, I have listened to both F & Rs normally, and the R chans played back to both F & R speakers. Front and rear speakers seem to be tonally very close if not exact. So I don't think it's my speakers which are not the same model btw, but close enough.

I have noticed this on L & M, and Mahavishnu Orch. Next I'll play the front chans through all four speakers. I expact to hear the warmer sound compared to rear chans.