Jeff Beck Group & Birds of Fire - Audio Fidelity 4.0 Multichannel SACDs (August 2015)

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I ordered (and paid) for this one months ago, still waiting. I'm all for supporting independent record shops but this place, wrong orders sent, over long waiting times, I'll stick with them but they are not going to get as much business from me as they would if they were prompt and did not send out wrong items, ie A DVD instead of a CD and a DVD instead of a Blu-Ray (I've kept them even though I don't want them). I live in hope that one day this 'Orange' will drop on my doormat.
 
I ordered (and paid) for this one months ago, still waiting. I'm all for supporting independent record shops but this place, wrong orders sent, over long waiting times, I'll stick with them but they are not going to get as much business from me as they would if they were prompt and did not send out wrong items, ie A DVD instead of a CD and a DVD instead of a Blu-Ray (I've kept them even though I don't want them). I live in hope that one day this 'Orange' will drop on my doormat.

Well, I think we would all be curious where you are from and who you ordered from.
 
Well, I think we would all be curious where you are from and who you ordered from.

To be fair to 'x' others may not have had the same experience as I have so all I will say is 'X' is somewhere in England, as I am.
 
To be fair to 'x' others may not have had the same experience as I have so all I will say is 'X' is somewhere in England, as I am.

OK, I just thought (as example), if you say you bought from X, others could chime in and relieve your concerns. Or possibly tell you that "yeah, they are damn slow and just be patient". Anyway - I'm sure it will come in eventually. :)
 
I ordered (and paid) for this one months ago, still waiting. I'm all for supporting independent record shops but this place, wrong orders sent, over long waiting times, I'll stick with them but they are not going to get as much business from me as they would if they were prompt and did not send out wrong items, ie A DVD instead of a CD and a DVD instead of a Blu-Ray (I've kept them even though I don't want them). I live in hope that one day this 'Orange' will drop on my doormat.

I have a similar issue and had it with Birds Of Fire, so I queried why. The e-mail said "I'm afraid we have no news, was supposed to be released 21/08/15 however the re:advised date has been left blank on the industry database we use. As soon as we do we will upload to our site". It seems a lot of UK independents use a particular database and if its not on that database they can't/don't order it until it appears.
 
OK, I just thought (as example), if you say you bought from X, others could chime in and relieve your concerns. Or possibly tell you that "yeah, they are damn slow and just be patient". Anyway - I'm sure it will come in eventually. :)
I agree, there is at least 2-3 years before they are all gone from the regular retail market, prices skyrocket, and ebay is your last resort.
 
The Jeff Beck Group Multichannel SACD from Audio Fidelity is now in Limited Stock at Acoustic Sounds ($29.98) and Elusive Disc ($49.99).
Looks like it's going out of print. Grab a copy soon if you are still interested.

afsam219.jpg

http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/107563/Jeff_Beck_Group-Jeff_Beck_Group-Hybrid_Multichannel_SACD
http://www.elusivedisc.com/The-Jeff...lti-Channel-Stereo-SACD/productinfo/AFSAM219/
 
I agree, this is a great disc, one of the many incredibly pleasant surprises that has come out of AF's quad reissue series.

I think if you've collected quad albums for any length of time, you've probably seen many copies of this album on vinyl and 8-track for sale on various auction and vinyl sales sites. Being issued in 1972 (the first year of Columbia's quad program) it was probably one of the titles that was in print the longest. I always felt, however, that the Q8 of this album was pretty sonically underwhelming (it was issued before Columbia started Dolby encoding their tapes in mid-1973) so it wasn't one that I gave a lot of play to. The SACD presentation of the quad mix really changed my opinion of this album (from 'average' to 'very good'), and I think the mix itself is particularly effective. I love the way the instrument placement varies wildly from track to track - it feels like the quad remix team (Steve Cropper & Don Young) really took some time to think about what type of mix would most benefit each individual track, and as a result you get a really engaging listen that keeps your attention right to the end. Contrast that with something like the 5.1 mix of Steely Dan's 'Everything Must Go', which someone once (very appropriately) referred to as having a 'set it and forget it mix', ie. the instrument placements are the same from beginning to end. I know it's a slightly apples and oranges (no pun intended) comparison, but the songs on that album tend to blur together a bit, partially as a result of the mix.

So in a nutshell, if you like early 70's hard rock (with a hint of the jazz fusion that would characterise Beck's subsequent albums) and wild quad mixes, you can't go wrong purchasing this disc.
 
Under normal circumstances I would suggest picking up an additional copy of this one as an investment or as trade bait later on. Hot artist with legendary resume, and it is selling out without having had to go on sale for $10.

However, the Japanese issue from Sony Japan kinda ruins that idea.

I still think that BS&T, and a few other (when they go OOP) hard copies are going to be in demand for generations to come.

I like to wheel and deal and make a little spending money for more music, I have been doing it for 15 years. I'm pretty good at turning still sealed Ray Conniff and Mantovani LPs into $20 bills. Take those $20s, and buy extra 4.0 SACDs, and flip the SACDs for $50 to $100. That is the idea anyway. The Beck title has been pushed to back burner due to the Japan issue.

It's too bad my parents didn't tell me years ago about real estate, and how to flip commercially potentially profitable vacant lots.
 
"Birds of Fire" is the latest quad SACD to evaporate at online retail. Hope everyone that wanted this got one, because I have a feeling it's going to be a "must have" for certain collectors who missed out on it.


Jeff Beck Group quad SACD is getting very low with one retailer (that still has it in stock) jacking the price up to $49.99. But the Japan import might keep the price down on this one for a while, 2 - 3 more years.
 
"Birds of Fire" is the latest quad SACD to evaporate at online retail. Hope everyone that wanted this got one, because I have a feeling it's going to be a "must have" for certain collectors who missed out on it.

I got mine when it first came out. Love this disc.


Jeff Beck Group quad SACD is getting very low with one retailer (that still has it in stock) jacking the price up to $49.99. But the Japan import might keep the price down on this one for a while, 2 - 3 more years.

It's a classic, but for me not JBG's best work. Nonetheless some very decent material on this disc and the sonics are great. But really.... Sugar Cane? What were they thinking?
 
I did a critical listen of this 4.0 version vs the 5.1 Japanese version. Without doubt the 5.1 Japanese version in the 7" packaging is far superior. My vote for this AF version is a 7. The 5.1 is much more open, all levels bass, midrange and treble are great, whereas the 4.0 is subdued, flat if you will. The mix is exactly the same on both but 5.1 is really used in a positive way instead of phantom fronts. This completely opens up the other 4 speakers in the 5.1.
Just ordered the Japan 5.1 version.
 
I just ripped this (AF version) and it shows as 5 channels for me in foobar. Is it the original quad but with some audio added to the center or LFE channel?
 
Thanks, so this is essentially a 4.1 mix?
It's just a 4.0 mix, there's no derived center or LFE channel. I'm not sure if it's a completely flat transfer of the '70s quad master, but it sounds like very little mastering EQ was used. The silent center is there because the SACD M/C specification appears to require a minimum of five channels.
 
It's just a 4.0 mix, there's no derived center or LFE channel. I'm not sure if it's a completely flat transfer of the '70s quad master, but it sounds like very little mastering EQ was used. The silent center is there because the SACD M/C specification appears to require a minimum of five channels.

Makes sense, thanks!
 
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