Mobile Fidelity Hybrid Stereo (and Mono) SACDs

[fredblue]

Having just received the new 2017 catalog from Music Direct in the mail, these are the MoFi SACD titles that MoFi announced:

Ry Cooder - Boomer's Story, Paradise and Lunch, Chicken Skin Music
Supertramp - Breakfast in America
Derek & the Dominos - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs

No Quadblockers there, mercifully..

 

[rtbluray]

There goes any hope to finally hear Elliot Scheiner' (supposedly) astounding surround mix of this album anytime soon...

(I know it's been released. But only in a big box set that is OOP and crazy expensive)

And it's only release was as a lossy DVD-V disc! For shame!
Universal screwed up big time by not including the 5.1 mix of the album on their 2013 HFPA Blu-Ray release, but that was back when they thought that no one really wanted surround sound on these HFPA Blu-Ray discs. Boy, were they wrong…

 

[François]

Let's petition MOFI to include this award winning surround mix!

 

[4-earredwonder]

Let's petition MOFI to include this award winning surround mix!

You're wasting your time. In the past, every time I petition MoFi to include a surround mix on their SACDs their reply is the same: WE DON'T DO SURROUND.

 

[François]

You're wasting your time. In the past, every time I petition MoFi to include a surround mix on their SACDs their reply is the same: WE DON'T DO SURROUND.

"Only the fools never change their minds"

 

[4-earredwonder]

"Only the fools never change their minds"

While I somewhat agree with your philosophy, Francois, I was told that MoFi prefers to do everything 'in house' and their mastering facilities are stereo/mono only. The few multichannel SACDs which MoFi produced were outsourced and the higher cost of licensing the multichannel layer is another deterrent.

While we can expect a few more mch titles from Audio Fidelity and the occasional multichannel release from Analogue Productions, our present hope is England's Dutton Vocalion......who I hope in the future releases more popular titles other than easy listening but again, they are catering to their customer base and based on [robust?] sales of their upcoming Tower of Power and Main Ingredient QUAD SACDs, hopefully more popular fare will be on the horizon.

 

[rtbluray]

Boy, I really hate MOFI. I really do.
Here's another missed opportunity (like "Layla"):
http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/120490/Richard_Thompson-Rumor_And_Sigh-Hybrid_Stereo_SACD

Like many of you know, this album has an amazing surround mix that has been out of print for quite some time.
This would have been a perfect opportunity to reissue and include the surround mix on this new SACD, but alas, I guess some things will never change, will they?

 

[François]

You're wasting your time. In the past, every time I petition MoFi to include a surround mix on their SACDs their reply is the same: WE DON'T DO SURROUND.

They don't know what they're doing! :yikes

 

[bmoura]

They don't know what they're doing! :yikes

As mentioned before, the 4 Classical Surround SACDs were mastered by Paul Stubblebine Mastering in San Francisco for Mobile Fidelity, not by Mobile Fidelity itself.

Mobile Fidelity's mastering studios are setup for Stereo and Mono mastering, not Surround Sound mastering.
That is a big reason why Mobile Fidelity does not release Surround SACDs.

 

[marpow]

My new Hybrid SACD stereo only of Miles Davis, Jack Johnson is fantastic. Love the performance, the fantastic sonic quality is just a bonus.

 

[4-earredwonder]

My new Hybrid SACD stereo only of Miles Davis, Jack Johnson is fantastic. Love the performance, the fantastic sonic quality is just a bonus.

Thanks for the heads~up on JJ, Markie. Always was a BIG fan of that album. MoFi is releasing a lot of great upcoming Stereo SACDs* and I agree, even though they're stereo, they do sound fantastic!

*https://www.hraudio.net/music.php?page=3

 

[ssully]

This album is already very well done on CD, *and* got its own comprehensive boxed set. Not sure what the point is of yet another release.

 

[4-earredwonder]

This album is already very well done on CD, *and* got its own comprehensive boxed set. Not sure what the point is of yet another release.

It's called HIGHER RESOLUTION and if you have the proper playback equipment AND a good set of ears, it really does make a VAST difference!

I recently compared the RBCD of the Cowboy Junkies with the newly remastered AP SACD of the Trinity Session which was originally recorded with a single calrec mike direct to R~DAT (16/44.1). I normally don't spring for $27 for an upgrade from 16/44.1 to SACD but I love this album and it does sound markedly more refined on the SACD. Wishful thinking......nah, it's there IN SPADES and the RBCD playback was via my Meridian SooLoos which is no slouch in the RBCD department........it has the exact guts of Meridian's 808.2 Reference RBCD player.

http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/106913/Cowboy_Junkies-The_Trinity_Session-Hybrid_Stereo_SACD

 

[ssully]

It's called HIGHER RESOLUTION and if you have the proper playback equipment AND a good set of ears, it really does make a VAST difference!

Riiight.

Or maybe it's just different EQ.

 

[fredblue]

As mentioned before, the 4 Classical Surround SACDs were mastered by Paul Stubblebine Mastering in San Francisco for Mobile Fidelity, not by Mobile Fidelity itself.

Mobile Fidelity's mastering studios are setup for Stereo and Mono mastering, not Surround Sound mastering.
That is a big reason why Mobile Fidelity does not release Surround SACDs.

Could MFSL not hire Paul Stubblebine again (or somebody of his ilk) to master some Surround material for them, so they could stop (whether inadvertently or not) Quadblocking all this stuff in future..?

 

[milt]

This album is already very well done on CD, *and* got its own comprehensive boxed set. Not sure what the point is of yet another release.

I really must ask why you are member of and post on this forum?
This forum is about surround and hi-res recordings.

I don't have an issue with whether you think CD is good enough or whatever but it's like a vegan posting of meat lover's forum.

 

[rtbluray]

I really must ask why you are member of and post on this forum?
This forum is about surround and hi-res recordings.

I don't have an issue with whether you think CD is good enough or whatever but it's like a vegan posting of meat lover's forum.

Back off, will ya?
I will admit that I have my disagreements at times with ssully, but he definitely loves surround and has as much right to post on this forum as anyone else.
And I don't want to see another post like this again, understood?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[4-earredwonder]

Could MFSL not hire Paul Stubblebine again (or somebody of his ilk) to master some Surround material for them, so they could stop (whether inadvertently or not) Quadblocking all this stuff in future..?

Adam, I always thought the same but since Brian dissected the process of licensing for a US multichannel release (RBCD/Stereo/Mch layers) I finally understood the rather intense rigmarole these American reissue companies traverse to make these much SACDs transpire. Apparently, Dutton Vocalion is not subjected to such expense and pressure and Michael Dutton, again, must be congratulated for doing these transfers IN HOUSE versus the ADDITIONAL expense of having MoFi subcontract another source to just do the multichannel transfers.

To this day I still grit my teeth when MoFi or AP release Stereo SACDs that do have existing QUAD or 5.1 masters but have learned to take it 'somewhat' in stride.

And as I've cautioned before.........of the thousands of Rock, Jazz, Classical and other genres that have been released on QUAD vinyl, even with D~V and now Sony Japan [to a much lesser extent] 'slowly' releasing these titles, we're still not likely to even scratch the surface before the plug is yanked on the manufacture of physical 5" discs.

Off Topic: Since I took possession of my OLED TV and have been watching my backlog of 3D BD~Vs in absolute brilliant resolution and almost lifelike splendor, I wish ALL movies were released in 3D but we ALL know that's a fallacy. 3D isn't even part of the 4K launch but now I'm on a roll to buy as many as I can (at least the ones I'm interested in). It's like your quest for SQ/QS/CD~4 vinyl. Most of these 3D films weren't even shot in native 3D but are uncannily realistic UPCONVERSIONS. Imagine the possibilities? I can but it just ain't gonna happen.

LIVE with IT, my UK Amigo. Enjoy and savor the ones you have and look forward to those 'crumbs' we are promised in the near future....because that's as good as it's gonna get!:yikes

 

[ssully]

I really must ask why you are member of and post on this forum?
This forum is about surround and hi-res recordings.

According to whom?

I don't have an issue with whether you think CD is good enough or whatever but it's like a vegan posting of meat lover's forum.

And you're like...no, I won't go there.

Instead, explain to me how, when there's a CD version and a 'hi res' version, with different mastering, you know exactly what part of the difference is due to 'hi res'.

 

[marpow]

There are a lot of MOFI's coming up and are at pre order status.
Interesting to me are:
Bob Dylan's (7 0f 9 mono), Derek and the Dominoes (I have so many versions already), James Gang Rides Again, and Billy Joel's Vol I&II.

Not interesting are the 4 Dire Straits and the 1 Supertramp, my SHM SACD's are good enough.

Not sure are Procol Harum A Salty Dog, Linda Ronstadt, Richard Thompson, The Knack, Two Ry Cooder's, Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle.

Pass: Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach, Ricki Lee Jones