Mine just arrived!!!
HiRez Poll Santana - ABRAXAS [SACD-JAPAN]
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Mike, do a review of Santana Abraxas quad please!
Nyad
Well-known Member
Had to play mine again just hearing you have yours (can't believe the slow boat from Japan beat yours in arriving!)
I love it, pity her indoors doesn't, last time I played it she left the building
Yes and I love gimmicks, but I think it was mixed to sound right via SQ decoding, so too discrete = too gimmicky, it seems jump from speaker to speaker, perhaps a bit annoying. That would be my only criticism of this otherwise fantastic disc!
OK - After fixing my silly machine and giving the disc a spin in the car this afternoon - I have to say I'm impressed. I'm going to assume CBS/Columbia/Sony has maintained their tape stocks well. Even turned up loud in the car, during the silent periods, I can't hear any print-through or excessive tape noise. The album in it's entirety seems to have no glitches. Oh, how I wish they could do a bit of revisionist history and crank up the "RRRRRRRRRRRRRR - Sabor!" during the opening of "Oye Como Va", or fly in that part from the stereo track..... but that would be revisionist history. Maybe I'll do that on my own time just to see what I can do.
As far as I'm concerned, now that my machine is putting channels where it's supposed to.... this is a great sounding disc. Blows the old DTS CD out of the water. Very noticable right off the bat in the opening notes of "Singing Winds". The tinkling is bright, but not distorted and there's no artifacting. It's pure, clean sound.
Yeah, it's got a few gimmicks; drums in criss-cross channels, echo/delay, whirling instruments but.... dare I say the music is playful enough that it almost warrants a little bit of cheekiness? It's not terribly overdone - not like some of the Guess Who albums where EVERY SINGLE SONG has stuff spinning out of control. Here, it's tasteful and warranted like Santana himself is giving you that impish wink and a smile.
This music sounds great in my Tiburon. Sometimes, a tight space can really bring Quad alive. I received a few funny looks today driving around - I think I had the volume up just a little too much.
I really can't find any faults in this - not with the music, anyway. The disc design is awesome. I suppose I could gripe about the packaging.... lots of excessive stuff that is more-or-less useless to me. Posters and books and the black plastic disc holder and sleeve to make it look like an LP.... Lots of the cost could be cut by eliminating this packaging. I'm sure it makes sense for those in Japan who can read this stuff. But, that's just my opinion and doesn't reflect on my score for the music or the transfer.
Getting Quad on a modern format 50 years later?? Gotta be worth a 10. This is one of those albums you MUST have if you like Quad.
As far as I'm concerned, now that my machine is putting channels where it's supposed to.... this is a great sounding disc. Blows the old DTS CD out of the water. Very noticable right off the bat in the opening notes of "Singing Winds". The tinkling is bright, but not distorted and there's no artifacting. It's pure, clean sound.
Yeah, it's got a few gimmicks; drums in criss-cross channels, echo/delay, whirling instruments but.... dare I say the music is playful enough that it almost warrants a little bit of cheekiness? It's not terribly overdone - not like some of the Guess Who albums where EVERY SINGLE SONG has stuff spinning out of control. Here, it's tasteful and warranted like Santana himself is giving you that impish wink and a smile.
This music sounds great in my Tiburon. Sometimes, a tight space can really bring Quad alive. I received a few funny looks today driving around - I think I had the volume up just a little too much.
I really can't find any faults in this - not with the music, anyway. The disc design is awesome. I suppose I could gripe about the packaging.... lots of excessive stuff that is more-or-less useless to me. Posters and books and the black plastic disc holder and sleeve to make it look like an LP.... Lots of the cost could be cut by eliminating this packaging. I'm sure it makes sense for those in Japan who can read this stuff. But, that's just my opinion and doesn't reflect on my score for the music or the transfer.
Getting Quad on a modern format 50 years later?? Gotta be worth a 10. This is one of those albums you MUST have if you like Quad.
musicmemorabiliashoppellc
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
When is the new SURROUND POLL supposed to be updated?! Still looking for this and a few other releases to show up.....It's been over a month.....lets get at it!! 
popshop
800 Club - QQ All-Star
Every time I see this thread I can't help but think of this wonderful scene in this wonderful movie:
"I didn't listen to Santana Abraxas!"
Highly recommended if you were alive in 1967 and/or like Jefferson Airplane. I love the Coens and place this near the top.
"I didn't listen to Santana Abraxas!"
Highly recommended if you were alive in 1967 and/or like Jefferson Airplane. I love the Coens and place this near the top.
Goona
800 Club - QQ All-Star
AgreedWhen is the new SURROUND POLL supposed to be updated?! Still looking for this and a few other releases to show up.....It's been over a month.....lets get at it!!
When is the new SURROUND POLL supposed to be updated?! Still looking for this and a few other releases to show up.....It's been over a month.....lets get at it!!
I guess the administrators still need to “certify“ the results.
You know I've been looking for this thread for weeks and couldn't find it. Used the search function, etc. Now here it is with posts going back to October, hmmm.... Anyway, a 9. Real good, but not quite on the level of the first album in quad. Looking forward to Santana III now!
If this is not a 10, I don't know what is.
Only trouble is I gave 10 to the first one as well, and this one is better
Only trouble is I gave 10 to the first one as well, and this one is better
- Joined
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Glad you are loving it! It seems I am in a minority here, but doesn’t the very weak mix of the otherwise sublime Samba Pa Ti drag the release down a point or two? I do tend to get hung up on long time favorite tracks, e.g. Watchtower on Ladyland, that sound worse in surround than the stereo. And I hate to dock points on these amazing releases - but I can’t escape the fact that those songs have been part of my personal soundtrack for decades now. And sound so disappointing on the surround versions - when i expected them to be stunners.If this is not a 10, I don't know what is.
Only trouble is I gave 10 to the first one as well, and this one is better
I love Samba Pa Ti on the SACD.
I've also had the DTS surround since ever, so I can compare.
There are of course strong subjective elements involved, it is all about taste and old memories weaved with the LPs, so differences may strike us as 'heresy!'
I'd put this version of Abraxas next to Bitchez
I've also had the DTS surround since ever, so I can compare.
There are of course strong subjective elements involved, it is all about taste and old memories weaved with the LPs, so differences may strike us as 'heresy!'
I'd put this version of Abraxas next to Bitchez
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2013
- Messages
- 197
Great! Subjective? Of course.... Taste and old memories indeed.
Following up on the post above, earlier today I had a chance to relax and listen to the whole album from beginning to end a couple of times, finally!Abraxas arrived earlier today. Of course, the first thing I did was ripping the disc. I'm one of those, I can't resist
I've only sampled four tracks so far, and I like what I'm hearing. Fidelity is great compared to the previous rip I had, even though it's not great in absolute terms. I find the bass to be tighter on the stereo mix. For the mix itself, panning is extreme on this one. It's not the first time I listen to it, but I'm not sure I like such an extreme panning. The entire solo in Samba Pa Ti comes from the FR channel, and I would have preferred it more centred (or not so extremely panned on the right). The beginning of Black Magic Woman is great. Se Acabó is also great. I'll have to listen to the entire album a few times before casting a vote, but I'm happy so far. Packaging is also great.
I was also surprised by the stereo remaster (the SACD layer). I have the 1991 MFSL as my go-to version. I am aware there are other favourite versions amongst members at SHF, but I'm very happy with that CD. The stereo remaster on this SACD doesn't differ too much to be honest, even though it's a tad warmer (fewer mids/highs). I think I prefer the MFSL, but this stereo remaster is a great alternative (from a quick A/B comparison.
More soon
Overall, I enjoyed the quad mix a lot, but I stand with what I previously said. The first two tracks are an amazing intro to the album - Singing Winds, Crying Beasts to Black Magic Woman - then, things get a bit more problematic for me. Nothing wrong with Oye Cómo Va, that's a decent mix. Incident at Neshabur sounds a bit veiled, and the quad mix is nothing special in my opinion. Se Acabó is great and very energetic, but I have problems again with Samba Pa Ti. That's the most disappointing mix of this album, I just think it doesn't work: instrument placement is skewed, with the guitar in the FR channel, hard-panned. I've read some comments about the mix being bass shy. That might be very apparent when listening to stereo and quad in parallel, but I didn't feel it lacked in the bass department at first.
Have I enjoyed the quad mix overall? Yes. Have I enjoyed it more than the original stereo mix? Yes and no. Yes for three/four tracks, no for the others, which have been a disappointment. I feel bad being the first one to vote a 7 (haven't voted yet, still thinking about it), but I don't have any nostalgic feelings for the quad mix finally being released in a digital format. Given my age, I started listening to surround music in the digital realm, so I can't weight in some old memories. So, 7 for now, but let me sleep on it before casting my vote.
Sleep well and dream of hot sweaty nights and conga rhythms!
That one is a perfect mix in my book, the best mix on the album for me, go figure. The whole record is something of a mixed bag mix wise, but I think it is clearly better than the later reviews are indicating.
I suppose the score partly reflects if the individual is a "Glass Half Full" or "Glass Half Empty" one. Can't please everybody. The fact that these Santana Quads have even been released at all is cause for celebration. I'm just waiting for the loner, who likes to wind everyone up, to give a 1 and say, "Far too much congas. I wish someone would release (insert very obscure and experimental Finnish death metal jazz-fusion experiment here).
I've slept on it. I'm voting 8!
You know I need to go back and listen to this one again, because I also remember not liking the hard panned guitar in the FR on Samba Pa Ti. From what I remember of the stereo version, shouldn’t it stand out in the tune more dominantly?
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