October 2023 D-V SACD Releases (Isley Bros, O’Jays, Enoch Light, Tony Mottola, Henry Mancini)

[Owen Smith]

I can't disagree more strongly. Dutton's sticky-backed cardboard accordion packaging is barely adequate at best, and wholly inadequate at worst, at least for international transit to the U.S. All the proof you need is here on this forum, with countless reports of crushed cases. The recently added "double packaging" option is a slight improvement, but laughable compared to how orders are packed by Burning Shed or CDJapan.

I'm in the UK, the Dutton packaging is more than sufficient to go through Royal Mail and way better than Amazon's loose disc sliding around in a card envelope approach.

 

[Dynamic Editor]

I can't disagree more strongly. Dutton's sticky-backed cardboard accordion packaging is barely adequate at best, and wholly inadequate at worst, at least for international transit to the U.S. All the proof you need is here on this forum, with countless reports of crushed cases. The recently added "double packaging" option is a slight improvement, but laughable compared to how orders are packed by Burning Shed or CDJapan.

I'm confused. Are we referring to a different set of releases? All mine were standard jewel cases.

 

[JediJoker]

I'm confused. Are we referring to a different set of releases? All mine were standard jewel cases.

We're talking about the packaging for shipping, not the disc cases.

 

[RustyStatic]

Alright, I have another OC question for those who have this particular edition. When playing this through my Sony UBP-X700 straight in to my Marantz SR8015, there are a lot of little clicks in the non-musical, sound effects intro for the song "Ship Ahoy" that are driving me nuts. They're not there on the 5.1 version, but they are here—and then I ripped the disc in 4 different formats as well to test and it was present in every one of them. The quickest check might be, when you're playing that song, is there a fairly loud and prominent click just before 0:20 in the back left? That's just once instance and one of the more prominent, but they're all over the place in this intro, and happen in the same places consistently. I'm not experiencing this with other discs, titles, or files so I'm just wondering what's up here?

 

[mandrix]

Alright, I have another OC question for those who have this particular edition. When playing this through my Sony UBP-X700 straight in to my Marantz SR8015, there are a lot of little clicks in the non-musical, sound effects intro for the song "Ship Ahoy" that are driving me nuts. They're not there on the 5.1 version, but they are here—and then I ripped the disc in 4 different formats as well to test and it was present in every one of them. The quickest check might be, when you're playing that song, is there a fairly loud and prominent click just before 0:20 in the back left? That's just once instance and one of the more prominent, but they're all over the place in this intro, and happen in the same places consistently. I'm not experiencing this with other discs, titles, or files so I'm just wondering what's up here?

All I hear are the sounds of timber creaking, such as on an old wooden ship, then the sound of a whip. All sounds right to me....and I do have the earlier SACD.

 

[RustyStatic]

Thanks for giving it a spot-check; I just don't get it. Will have to keep fiddling I suppose.

 

[steelydave]

I don't have any clicks on my disc, or rip. I'd reccomend first just listening to the ISO (if you have it) on headphones via foobar or something - if the clicks aren't there on the ISO, re-rip to flac from there. If the clicks are there, re-rip the ISO from disc again.

 

[RustyStatic]

I don't have any clicks on my disc, or rip. I'd reccomend first just listening to the ISO (if you have it) on headphones via foobar or something - if the clicks aren't there on the ISO, re-rip to flac from there. If the clicks are there, re-rip the ISO from disc again.

Appreciate that - the weird thing is that the clicks are there on the disc itself when I play it in the UBP-X700. Seems really weird that I would have gotten a bum disc from DV, but maybe?

 

[mandrix]

Appreciate that - the weird thing is that the clicks are there on the disc itself when I play it in the UBP-X700. Seems really weird that I would have gotten a bum disc from DV, but maybe?

If you're sure the disc is defective, I'd reach out to DV. It happens rarely, but happens.

 

[steelydave]

Appreciate that - the weird thing is that the clicks are there on the disc itself when I play it in the UBP-X700. Seems really weird that I would have gotten a bum disc from DV, but maybe?

It is certainly possible that you have a disc that's been mispressed (at worst) or is just a tough read for the laser in your player. D-V will definitely replace the disc if you get in touch with them - Simon, who runs the orders and shipping department is a great guy and cares deeply about customer satisfaction.

One thing I would suggest, if possible, before you do is that you try playing the disc on another SACD player and see if it exhibits the same 'clicks' just to rule out your X700 as the source of the problem. It would be a shame to waste all that time and money sending you another copy just for it to exhibit the same behaviour on your system.

 

[GOS]

It is certainly possible that you have a disc that's been mispressed (at worst) or is just a tough read for the laser in your player. D-V will definitely replace the disc if you get in touch with them - Simon, who runs the orders and shipping department is a great guy and cares deeply about customer satisfaction.

One thing I would suggest, if possible, before you do is that you try playing the disc on another SACD player and see if it exhibits the same 'clicks' just to rule out your X700 as the source of the problem. It would be a shame to waste all that time and money sending you another copy just for it to exhibit the same behaviour on your system.

I was thinking along the same lines. I even wondered if there were a QQ member near him who could check it out on their system.

 

[ssully]

Alright, I have another OC question for those who have this particular edition. When playing this through my Sony UBP-X700 straight in to my Marantz SR8015, there are a lot of little clicks in the non-musical, sound effects intro for the song "Ship Ahoy" that are driving me nuts. They're not there on the 5.1 version, but they are here—and then I ripped the disc in 4 different formats as well to test and it was present in every one of them. The quickest check might be, when you're playing that song, is there a fairly loud and prominent click just before 0:20 in the back left? That's just once instance and one of the more prominent, but they're all over the place in this intro, and happen in the same places consistently. I'm not experiencing this with other discs, titles, or files so I'm just wondering what's up here?

I don't understand ...you say they are NOT in the 5.1 SACD mix (which is really just the quad mix, repurposed) but they ARE in the Dutton/Vocalion?

All of the 'clicks' you hear are the sound of the ship's timber creaking in the waves. They are there in the original stereo mix, and the 5.1 SACD surround .

 

[RustyStatic]

I don't understand ...you say they are NOT in the 5.1 SACD mix (which is really just the quad mix, repurposed) but they ARE in the Dutton/Vocalion?

All of the 'clicks' you hear are the sound of the ship's timber creaking in the waves. They are there in the original stereo mix, and the 5.1 SACD surround .

I completely understand what you are saying, but the clicks are definitely not the intended timber sound effects - they're like little electrical pops/clicks (almost like clipping or something). I don't understand it at all because it's ONLY the beginning of this song, on this disc; I can't reproduce it with anything else—either songs on this disc, or anything else that I play (even other versions of this song in 5.1, stereo). And I hear it whether it's files coming from JRiver from my Mac, or from the disc itself when played through a Sony UBP-X700. I asked a friend to let me sample their rip, which was done on a totally different system (it didn't occur to him that this was happening on his rip but upon re-listening he confirms he can hear these imperfections as well, in these same places, though not as prominently as my system), and I'm hearing it with that file as well.

So now I'm looking at the Marantz and going "WTF, I have this issue with ONE track and can't replicate it anywhere else?" It makes no sense to me.

 

[mandrix]

I completely understand what you are saying, but the clicks are definitely not the intended timber sound effects - they're like little electrical pops/clicks (almost like clipping or something). I don't understand it at all because it's ONLY the beginning of this song, on this disc; I can't reproduce it with anything else—either songs on this disc, or anything else that I play (even other versions of this song in 5.1, stereo). And I hear it whether it's files coming from JRiver from my Mac, or from the disc itself when played through a Sony UBP-X700. I asked a friend to let me sample their rip, which was done on a totally different system (and he has no issues with), and I'm hearing it with that file as well.

So now I'm looking at the Marantz and going "WTF, I have this issue with ONE track and can't replicate it anywhere else?" It makes no sense to me.

I'm going to make a stupid suggestion. Take the (ripped) song before and Ship Ahoy and concatenate them in a DAW and play and see if you hear the clicks.
Actually I believe MMH will do that.

 

[RustyStatic]

Here's me holding my phone up to it, so you know I'm not crazy - there's a very prominent click right when it starts, that is always in this exact same place, and then you can hear tiny versions of that in the background the whole way through, another kinda prominent one around 16 seconds... and they're always in the same exact place. The files I have are DSF so I have to figure out what I can load that up in to to check waveforms and such, it's just so weird.

 

[mandrix]

Here's me holding my phone up to it, so you know I'm not crazy - there's a very prominent click right when it starts, that is always in this exact same place, and then you can hear tiny versions of that in the background the whole way through, another kinda prominent one around 16 seconds... and they're always in the same exact place. The files I have are DSF so I have to figure out what I can load that up in to to check waveforms and such, it's just so weird.

It's not we don't believe you, guy! I suggested joining/concatenating the files to try and figure out if there's something going on with your AVR, if the Ship Ahoy track was combined with the prior track (don't remember what it is) and played back on your system.

 

[mandrix]

The fact that files from your friend exhibit the same problem indicates to me something is going on with your system.

 

[RustyStatic]

The fact that files from your friend exhibit the same problem indicates to me something is going on with your system.

Yeah, that's my thought too. I'm just stumped by the fact that I don't hear it anywhere else other than just on that little sound effects interlude on this one song. Maybe because I'm not hearing it anywhere else I 1) should be greatfeul and 2) can just kinda hang up my OCD and not be wound up that 30 seconds of sound effects, in my entire library, doesn't seem to be playing right.

But it wouldn't have been the first time someone on QQ knew the switch to flip and magically everything was fixed!

 

[RustyStatic]

So yeah, I'm just going to chill out here. Upon repeated listening to that album in quad (which is just a monster and so, so fabulous), for those issues to be isolated to just that one section... could it be that, like so many other records of the time, they sourced those sound effects from vinyl SFX libraries at the studio and what I'm hearing are artifacts from the vinyl they used, that are just being exacerbated by my particular EQ or something? They happen so consistently in all speakers, and then when the sound effects are faded out, they're gone and don't come back... I feel like that almost HAS to be the story here. Maybe I can/will be proven wrong, but that's enough for me to spend my energy elsewhere. But, it's always fun to go down a rabbit hole with y'all and I appreciate it when you join me, so thanks! Now back to our regular programming.

 

[ssully]

I completely understand what you are saying, but the clicks are definitely not the intended timber sound effects - they're like little electrical pops/clicks (almost like clipping or something). I don't understand it at all because it's ONLY the beginning of this song, on this disc; I can't reproduce it with anything else—either songs on this disc, or anything else that I play (even other versions of this song in 5.1, stereo). And I hear it whether it's files coming from JRiver from my Mac, or from the disc itself when played through a Sony UBP-X700. I asked a friend to let me sample their rip, which was done on a totally different system (and he has no issues with), and I'm hearing it with that file as well.

So now I'm looking at the Marantz and going "WTF, I have this issue with ONE track and can't replicate it anywhere else?" It makes no sense to me.

Your phone recording (which I presume is of the left rear channel only) has tics at 2 and 16 sec that aren't in the SACD LR channel. They aren't in any stereo version I can access either. As the Dutton-Vocalian (which I do not own) is from the same quad source as the SACD, I must assume one of the following

1) the tics are on the quad master tape, but were edited out for SACD
2) they are not on the master tape, but are errors in the mastering of the D-V
3) they are ripping errors
4) something is wrong in your system


If either 1 or 2 are true, then others who own the D-V should be able to hear/reproduce them, assuming (2) isn't just a bad run of discs