SPOTLIGHT Sony Japan 7" Mini-LP Hybrid SACD Series - Comprehensive List of Multichannel Titles

[quicksrt]

Will be interesting if they get the channels right too.

They may have been printed in wrong assignment on the 4-chan tape. I suspect that to be the case since other masters have things screwy (differently) as well. Was the SQ LP and Q8 as should be and / or expected?

 

[sjcorne]

They may have been printed in wrong assignment on the 4-chan tape. I suspect that to be the case since other masters have things screwy (differently) as well. Was the SQ LP and Q8 as should be and / or expected?

To recap - the front channels of the SACD are reversed in comparison to the SQ LP & Q8. The LP & tape have the violin in the left channel, guitar in the right channel, and keys in the 'phantom' front center (matching the original stereo mix). There's also a swirling drum solo at the beginning of "One Word" that moves in a circle clockwise around the listener. The AF SACD has the guitar on the left, violin on the right, and keys in the center. The "One Word" drum solo now moves in a "X" pattern instead of a circle.

 

[FunHouse1970]

Toto IV 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition [Cardboard Sleeve (7 inch)]

Release Date : 2022/08/03
Number : SICP-10139
EAN : 4547366562927

 

[FunHouse1970]

Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles Live! SACD 4.0/2.0ch [Limited Edition] [Cardboard Sleeve (7 inch)]​

Release Date : 2022/09/21
Number : SICP-10141
EAN : 4547366571844

 

[Rickenbacker]

Wowsers!
I had no idea these were a thing until today.

I love the packaging, too.
I guess I need to see what I can hunt down on discogs.

 

[quicksrt]

Wowsers!
I had no idea these were a thing until today.

I love the packaging, too.
I guess I need to see what I can hunt down on discogs.

Do you like classic rock and legendary albums, and 70’s quad done really well?

Then I suggest you grab first Jeff Beck “Wired” all three Santana titles especially III, and Miles Davis “Bitches Brew” for starters.

Those are exclusive quad mixes to the Japanese 7” series of SACDs. “Some” of the other titles offered are found on other issued discs in quad and 5.1.

Sony is imo issuing the best quad titles right now for quality and choice titles. Best packaging in the industry too. And the most expensive discs as well.

They are slow to release each one but that’s fine, it makes them easier to budget for.

The next Santana disc is going to be quadraphonic reissue of the year. Stay tuned.

 

[Rickenbacker]

Do you like classic rock and legendary albums, and 70’s quad done really well?

Then I suggest you grab first Jeff Beck “Wired” all three Santana titles especially III, and Miles Davis “Bitches Brew” for starters.

Those are exclusive quad mixes to the Japanese 7” series of SACDs. “Some” of the other titles offered are found on other issued discs in quad and 5.1.

Sony is imo issuing the best quad titles right now for quality and choice titles. Best packaging in the industry too. And the most expensive discs as well.

They are slow to release each one but that’s fine, it makes them easier to budget for.

The next Santana disc is going to be quadraphonic reissue of the year. Stay tuned.

Funny you should say that - Santana III is the one that intrigues me.

I wonder why Sony didn't release these quad mixes when the SACD format was launched. Perhaps it would have helped it catch on.
I'm curious if it was considered, or if it was just an oversight.
Oh well. At least they're doing it now.

 

[quicksrt]

Funny you should say that - Santana III is the one that intrigues me.

I wonder why Sony didn't release these quad mixes when the SACD format was launched. Perhaps it would have helped it catch on.
I'm curious if it was considered, or if it was just an oversight.
Oh well. At least they're doing it now.

Well, they were not able to release everything at once. And they did look at what they had in quad format and choose a bunch of them, and get several good ones on the SACD format. Jeff Beck, Isleys, O'Jays, and some others were quad mixed and then released on SACD. Perhaps they had Santana in mind for a later batch once the format caught on and more titles were demanded by the public. But the format did not catch on right away enough for them to do that.

Once you grab your favorites from the Japan series, you need to run (and not walk) over and grab a nice handful of the Audio Fidelity SACDs that were issued from older quad tapes as well, if you have not yet looked around at that series (all out of print, but available on the used market). Billy Cobham "Spectrum" is one of the collector's favorites and it fetching higher than normal prices. Alice Cooper "Muscle of Love", Loggins & Messina "Full Sail", Blue Oyster Cult, Sly and the Family Stone "Hits" a couple of Earth Wind and Fire albums that define what quad can do at its best. I guess it depends on if you like Rock, R&B, and Jazz / Rock Fusion which titles you might want to get. I like all of those genres. Then also for quad on SACD you must get some of the Dutton Vocalion titles as well. My favorites for quad mixing and overall top sound quality from D/V would be both their Return to Forever and Earth Wind and Fire SACDs (still in print I believe).

I'm a big fan of older quad, and 70s artists. So I like these titles a lot, and feel we were very lucky to eventually get them.

 

[FunHouse1970]

Santana - Caravanserai :​

• RELEASE DATE : 2022/11/30
• NUMBER : SICP-10142
• EAN : 4547366577266

 

[vegas]

I think we need to update the first post with the titles list.

 

[vegas]

I'm shocked these superb Santana Quad SACD's are still available from CDJapan! I wonder what number of copys of each album were produced, considering they are limited?

 

[quicksrt]

I'm not surprised at all. They are all fairly recent, price tags are exceptionally high, MFSL did some of them on SACD, and US retailers did not get some of them at all. Without some US sellers stocking them, sales will be slower.

 

[par4ken]

I don't think that the prices are high at all. Back in the seventies Quad albums were selling for about $8.00 each a dollar more than the stereo version. Convert that to todays money $34.00 each has got to be a bargain for sure!

 

[quicksrt]

I don't think that the prices are high at all. Back in the seventies Quad albums were selling for about $8.00 each a dollar more than the stereo version. Convert that to todays money $34.00 each has got to be a bargain for sure!

Japanese SACDs at $50+ a pop is not $34 last time I compared. But if they are only $34, I’ll take Live Evil and Lotus please!

 

[par4ken]

Japanese SACDs at $50+ a pop is not $34 last time I compared. But if they are only $34, I’ll take Live Evil and Lotus please!

Live Evil is $38.40. Lotus is sold out. Lotus has only audience in the rear so not really worth it anyway. Copies of Lotus on Discogs $50 and up. Shipping tends to be the killer!

 

[Owen Smith]

I don't think that the prices are high at all. Back in the seventies Quad albums were selling for about $8.00 each a dollar more than the stereo version. Convert that to todays money $34.00 each has got to be a bargain for sure!

They're considerably cheaper for me than anything from specialist US sellers like Acoustic Solutions, since US sellers double the price with shipping to the UK.

 

[Petr Kropotkin]

Lotus has only audience in the rear so not really worth it anyway...

But it's the only (to my knowledge) physical format that has the complete set list over the two nights, and it's an extra c.35 minutes of the Caravanserai tour done live (not to mention the incredible packaging). I've loved the original Lotus release since my (then) girlfriend's brother got the vinyl when it first came out (getting "Japanese-only" releases seemed to be easy in Oz back in the 70s, if you knew the right import stores). Plus, I must say that the Involve SM.v3 gives a brilliant rendering of a quad mix, and the rears come alive with just as much happening as the fronts.

I regard this album as a masterpiece of jazz fusion, and don't tell Sony, but I would have happily paid triple what they asked for this 3-SACD release.

 

[newslane]

I'm shocked these superb Santana Quad SACD's are still available from CDJapan! I wonder what number of copys of each album were produced, considering they are limited?

View attachment 88033

Thanks for this heads-up! I ordered Abraxas and III today.

 

[par4ken]

I must say that the Involve SM.v3 gives a brilliant rendering of a quad mix, and the rears come alive with just as much happening as the fronts.

The decoded SQ does sounds better than the discrete with more sound from the rear. Involve (QS mode) should throw even more to the rear.
Just a thought but with the discrete mix you could decode the fronts and add the decoded rear channels to the back. Or listen with front and sides decoded plus the original backs to the rear.

 

[FunHouse1970]

Live Evil is $38.40. Lotus is sold out. Lotus has only audience in the rear so not really worth it anyway. Copies of Lotus on Discogs $50 and up. Shipping tends to be the killer!

Copies of Lotus on Amazon Japan :
https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/サンタナ/...a4-a551-7eeeff069fad&pd_rd_i=B01MV3SPLJ&psc=1