Select Your "Must Have" Audio Fidelity Surround SACDs

[Beefalo]

My picks were all in the middle of the pack.
Really surprised to see Grover Washington so low

30 - BILLY COBHAM - SPECTRUM 27 - LOGGINS & MESSINA - LOGGINS & MESS. 22 - MAHAVISHNU ORCH. - BIRDS OF FIRE 19 - JEFF BECK GROUP - JEFF BECK GROUP 12 - GROVER WASHINGTON - WINELIGHT

 

[admsh]

My picks were all in the middle of the pack.
Really surprised to see Grover Washington so low

30 - BILLY COBHAM - SPECTRUM 27 - LOGGINS & MESSINA - LOGGINS & MESS. 22 - MAHAVISHNU ORCH. - BIRDS OF FIRE 19 - JEFF BECK GROUP - JEFF BECK GROUP 12 - GROVER WASHINGTON - WINELIGHT

Well the fidelity on that one is so so I think, and it was available before so not unique... I'm surprised Supersession and Child is Father to the Man don't take up the top spots. Two of the best surround releases of all time IMO.

 

[bmoura]

My picks were all in the middle of the pack.
Really surprised to see Grover Washington so low

30 - BILLY COBHAM - SPECTRUM 27 - LOGGINS & MESSINA - LOGGINS & MESS. 22 - MAHAVISHNU ORCH. - BIRDS OF FIRE 19 - JEFF BECK GROUP - JEFF BECK GROUP 12 - GROVER WASHINGTON - WINELIGHT

Agreed. Especially since the Audio Fidelity version of Winelight is much more punchy and has more low end on it than the earlier DVD-A release.
Oh well.

 

[The56Kid]

Agreed. Especially since the Audio Fidelity version of Winelight is much more punchy and has more low end on it than the earlier DVD-A release.
Oh well.

Wow, and here I thought my Winelight DVD-A had plenty of punch and low end!

 

[bmoura]

Wow, and here I thought my Winelight DVD-A had plenty of punch and low end!

I have both versions and the Audio Fidelity is definitely punchier.

 

[MrSmithers]

Here's the tally on May 19, the year of the lockdown (2020)

Sadly, you can see the titles at the bottom are the titles we were concerned about from the beginning.
I really had a bad feeling about the Dylan, mostly because it was a live recording - never a good thing for a surround release.

That title does seem an odd choice... Considering they could have put out Dylan's Nashville Skyline?! I guess they had access to the master tape in order to put on 'Lay Lady Lay' for The Collection?

It's one of his most popular albums, I'm sure it would have sold very well - even if Mofo put out a boring stereo SACD...

Ah well, I'm thankful for the albums we got. I'd defo add 'Spectrum' to my list now. A real blast in quad!

 

[ar surround]

I finally voted on these. Two titles that didn’t make it on my list are The Best Of The Guess Who and BS&T second album.

I now have all of the DV albums which contain the tracks on The Guess Who compilation, which makes it redundant...Thank you Michael!

Regarding the BS&T album, after hearing the Robin Reel version I never listen to the AF. As I’ve said in other threads, the edited versions of the three hit singles along with the deballed EQ on these tracks are a letdown.

 

[clhboa]

I really wish I wouldn't have drug my feet on the "Spectrum" disc. Snooze you lose. I have 15 titles on the list but not that one.

 

[par4ken]

I didn't give "Supersession" my vote because it's not the original Quad, the new mix falls short IMHO. Another one of those releases in which the elements of the mix that should predominate are buried in the mix.

 

[sjcorne]

I didn't give "Supersession" my vote because it's not the original Quad, the new mix falls short IMHO. Another one of those releases in which the elements of the mix that should predominate are buried in the mix.

Which parts did you feel were buried? I think both surround mixes have their pluses and minuses. The hard four-corner soundstage of the quad is fun on the Bloomfield instrumentals, but "Season Of The Witch" is much more interesting to me on the 5.1--having the rhythm section upfront and guitars in the back works a lot better than the quad approach of guitars upfront and hard-panned drums & bass wandering between the rears. The ending with the guitar solo bouncing between the rear speakers is great! It's a shame Al Kooper hasn't had the opportunity to do more 5.1 mixing...

 

[4-earredwonder]

There's a song from Bob Fosse's spectacular movie ALL THAT JAZZ "You're Going to Miss Me When I'm Gone!" In a few brief Years, Audio Fidelity did manage to put out some spectacular 24K Gold RBCDs [some HDCD encoded], Stereo SACD reissues and more recently 29 QUAD/5.1 Multi~CH SACDs, some from the elusive Warner/Rhino label in what I consider sparkling sonics and unlike MoFi/AP Stereo reissues, usually available at generous discount prices from vendors Deep Discount/ImportCD. IMO, CEO of AF, Marshall Blonstein did a yeoman's job of transitioning from 24K Gold RBCD to hybrid Multi~CH SACD in a move which surprised a lot of us at QQ Forum and although some consider his choices at times questionable I personally can report I was tickled pink with ALL of them...even the Dylan Bootleg 2 SACD set!

Most fortuitously, Dutton Vocalion miraculously took up the slack in the wake of AF's bankruptcy and continues to delight us with QUAD reissues from a diversity of labels at prices which U.S. Company AF could never compete with but those golden slipcased AF discs which have a prized space on my shelves, most way OOP and only available at cut throat prices, will always be a reminder that Marshall and AF DID JUMPSTART THE SURROUND RENAISSANCE which we are experiencing to THIS VERY DAY.

R.I.P. AF .... YOU MAY BE GONE BUT YOU'LL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN!

MARSHALL BLONSTEIN Former CEO of AUDIO FIDELITY

 

[par4ken]

Which parts did you feel were buried? I think both surround mixes have their pluses and minuses. The hard four-corner soundstage of the quad is fun on the Bloomfield instrumentals, but "Season Of The Witch" is much more interesting to me on the 5.1--having the rhythm section upfront and guitars in the back works a lot better than the quad approach of guitars upfront and hard-panned drums & bass wandering between the rears. The ending with the guitar solo bouncing between the rear speakers is great! It's a shame Al Kooper hasn't had the opportunity to do more 5.1 mixing...

Actually I just listened to my SQ quad vinyl rip via the S&IC two days ago and was again blown away by the sound quality and by the mix; it sounded discrete with no noticeable artifacting. I'll have to give the 5.1 another listen to properly answer your question but what I remember was that the guitars were not as prominent, other sound elements were more noticeable in the 5.1 but that didn't make up for what was lacking.

 

[esimms86]

I really wish I wouldn't have drug my feet on the "Spectrum" disc. Snooze you lose. I have 15 titles on the list but not that one.

I snoozed on the Doors and Guess Who. I suppose the moral of the story is, don’t let the sun catch you crying.

 

[himey]

I snoozed on the Doors and Guess Who. I suppose the moral of the story is, don’t let the sun catch you crying.

Don't most people like the Doors blu-ray better anyways and it is cheap. Or are you just being a completist?

 

[Clement]

And Dutton-Vocalion has given us the Guess Who on the original albums in killer fidelity! But my completist aspect understands the obsession to accumulate! I do own them ALL, and i balk at voting on the poll because they ALL strike me as MUST HAVES . . . can such a thing be possible or am i only justifying?

 

[J. PUPSTER]

And Dutton-Vocalion has given us the Guess Who on the original albums in killer fidelity! But my completist aspect understands the obsession to accumulate! I do own them ALL, and i balk at voting on the poll because they ALL strike me as MUST HAVES . . . can such a thing be possible or am i only justifying?

As Quincy would say:
“You Got It Bad (place gender here!)”

 

[marpow]

Don't most people like the Doors blu-ray better anyways and it is cheap. Or are you just being a completist?

Ugh, I am a completist and I am missing, three.
Billy Joel
Laura Nyro
New York Voices

 

[marpow]

I have 29 of the stereo SACD's, not sure what the total list is on those.

 

[Clement]

Ugh, I am a completist and I am missing, three.
Billy Joel
Laura Nyro
New York Voices

You HAVE this! I believe in you! I enable you! Just follow the @edisonbaggins patented Life in Surround method; seek and ye shall find! Stay Surrounded, Comrade!
EDIT: Just saw your post about stereo SACDs--i'm not even gonna look, lest i get hooked and start collecting those as well!

 

[edisonbaggins]

Ugh, I am a completist and I am missing, three.
Billy Joel
Laura Nyro
New York Voices

IMO, those are all very good. Happy hunting!