Spectrum - Billy Cobham & Thrust - Herbie Hancock - Audio Fidelity Quad SACD (Feb 2016)

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Looks like Acoustic Sounds is the way to go for people who are still trying to acquire the "Spectrum" SACD.
I wouldn't trust Amazon when they say it "Usually ships within 1-2 months".


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Spectrum on Multichannel SACD is showing as In Stock at Amazon and Acoustic Sounds.
So there are copies still available.

https://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Billy-Cobham/dp/B019RVUF3Y
http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/112244/Billy_Cobham-Spectrum-Hybrid_Multichannel_SACD

Yes, I saw that, and thank you. It is a little hard for me to pay $29.99 and then $10.25 for shipping one disc. Not sure if they bill sales tax to folks in my state. But I do feel ripped on shipping.

So I would need to spend more money to get free shipping. :(

- - - Updated - - -

Spectrum on Multichannel SACD is showing as In Stock at Amazon and Acoustic Sounds.
So there are copies still available.

https://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Billy-Cobham/dp/B019RVUF3Y
http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/112244/Billy_Cobham-Spectrum-Hybrid_Multichannel_SACD

Yes, I saw that, and thank you. It is a little hard for me to pay $29.99 and then $10.25 for shipping one disc. Not sure if they bill sales tax to folks in my state. But I do feel ripped on shipping.

So I would need to spend more money to get free shipping. :(
 
I think that Acoustic Sounds and Amazon are now the only game in town for it. Many online stores have removed the listing since it has been out of stock so long.

Not sure if AF is letting this go OOP, but I would grab one from Amazon if I had not already gotten it. I wonder what's going on with these out of stock items from Audio Fidelity?
 
Looks like Acoustic Sounds is the way to go for people who are still trying to acquire the "Spectrum" SACD.
I wouldn't trust Amazon when they say it "Usually ships within 1-2 months".


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Amazon.ca has a few copies of Spectrum in stock. I ordered one, and it should be here in a couple of days ... less than $40 CDN with tax.
 
Amazon.ca has a few copies of Spectrum in stock. I ordered one, and it should be here in a couple of days ... less than $40 CDN with tax.

Mine arrived today, but it looks like they are out of stock now ... unless you want to pay $100+ to some third-party dreamer.

I hope someone here picked up the other few copies.


EDIT: Hey! This disk is WILD, maybe my new go-to disk for discrete channel separation. It doesn't hold anything back. I don't have the quad LP or the DVD-Audio version, but this AF SACD is great. I can't wait to try it on my Marantz 2-channel SACD-only player on my main system to hear its true fidelity. Get it if you can find it, especially if it is a reasonable price. If you are a Zappa fan, Tommy Bolin's guitar will give you flashbacks.
 
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Am I the only one frustrated with the large number of Audio Fidelity MC SACDs that are out-of-stock? I keep checking periodically, but the ones that are OOS seem to remain so perpetually. I even wrote AF and received the following response, which seems pretty lame (to me at least):

You are right. We make limited runs and they seem to sell out very fast so when a title comes out that's the time to purchase it.

Thanks for your interest.

Marshall Blonstein - President
Audio Fidelity-Morada Music

There are some discs that AF states on their site are "retired" which means sold out and out of print. Then the newer ones just say "out of stock" and not a mention of being out of print and gone, when they are in fact gone for good.

The only reason (That I can think of) AF does not want to state "retired" on these sell-outs is because they could get a shipment of returns in and need to reopen sales on that title. But I have not seen this happen yet. Or, they are still in stock elsewhere and AF hopes those copies sellout as well and soon.

The BS&T second album ran out on the site and at most all online retailers, and then came back in stock just about everywhere. This makes me think that they did a secret remaster / repress with corrected 2-channel layer.

Billy Cobham Spectrum is the odd one here in regards to being "out of stock" or more accurately "retired". In less than 60 days after this one hit the online retail market, the AF site was out of stock on it as well as several of the online sellers. Not one site that ran out of it ever got more in stock later. This SACD got a limited run and that was it. How sad being one of the more desirable titles in quad.
 
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There are some discs that AF states on their site are "retired" which means sold out and out of print. Then the newer ones just say "out of stock" and not a mention of being out of print and gone, when they are in fact gone for good.

The only reason (That I can think of) AF does not want to state "retired" on these sell-outs is because they could get a shipment of returns in and need to reopen sales on that title. But I have not seen this happen yet. Or, they are still in stock elsewhere and AF hopes those copies sellout as well and soon.

The BS&T second album ran out on the site and at most all online retailers, and then came back in stock just about everywhere. This makes me think that they did a secret remaster / repress with corrected 2-channel layer.

Billy Cobham Spectrum is the odd one here in regards to being "out of stock" or more accurately "retired". In less than 60 days after this one hit the online retail market, the AF site was out of stock on it as well as several of the online sellers. Not one site that ran out of it ever got more in stock later. This SACD got a limited run and that was it. How sad being one of the more desirable titles in quad.

Thanks for the info, Quicksrt - it makes complete sense. Fortunately, being a lover of Cobham's Spectrum when it first came out on vinyl in the 70s, I snapped up a copy of the AF SACD as soon as I heard it was available. So glad I did; the quad mix sheds a new light on the amazing interplay between Hammer and Bolin!
 
There are some discs that AF states on their site are "retired" which means sold out and out of print. Then the newer ones just say "out of stock" and not a mention of being out of print and gone, when they are in fact gone for good.

The only reason (That I can think of) AF does not want to state "retired" on these sell-outs is because they could get a shipment of returns in and need to reopen sales on that title. But I have not seen this happen yet. Or, they are still in stock elsewhere and AF hopes those copies sellout as well and soon.

The BS&T second album ran out on the site and at most all online retailers, and then came back in stock just about everywhere. This makes me think that they did a secret remaster / repress with corrected 2-channel layer.

Billy Cobham Spectrum is the odd one here in regards to being "out of stock" or more accurately "retired". In less than 60 days after this one hit the online retail market, the AF site was out of stock on it as well as several of the online sellers. Not one site that ran out of it ever got more in stock later. This SACD got a limited run and that was it. How sad being one of the more desirable titles in quad.

We're told; "Surround music doesn't sell".. but they can only sell as many as they manufacture and distribute.. one main logical reason can think of why Spectrum's not been kept in print is possibly Warner withdrawing their 5.1 and Quad titles from licensing opportunities to Audio Fidelity?
 
We're told; "Surround music doesn't sell".. but they can only sell as many as they manufacture and distribute.. one main logical reason can think of why Spectrum's not been kept in print is possibly Warner withdrawing their 5.1 and Quad titles from licensing opportunities to Audio Fidelity?

I thought of that, or the artist said that the quad was rejected in the 70s, and never changed their mind, not approved.

AF likes to run out of every title's stock before the sales die off and not after. No waste, no cutouts, no grind-ups.
 
AF likes to run out of every title's stock before the sales die off and not after. No waste, no cutouts, no grind-ups.

Every reissue label does that.
Once sales of a reissue fade, it doesn't make sense to do another run of 500 or 1,000 optical discs and be stuck with unsold discs in the warehouse if there are only two or three potential orders.

Again, in these days of shrinking optical disc sales and manufacturing runs of 2,000 discs only (Mobile Fidelity, for example), it's wise to buy the SACDs, CDs, etc. you want when they are first released.
Then you don't have to worry about a second pressing.
 
Every reissue label does that.
Once sales of a reissue fade, it doesn't make sense to do another run of 500 or 1,000 optical discs and be stuck with unsold discs in the warehouse if there are only two or three potential orders.

Again, in these days of shrinking optical disc sales and manufacturing runs of 2,000 discs only (Mobile Fidelity, for example), it's wise to buy the SACDs, CDs, etc. you want when they are first released.
Then you don't have to worry about a second pressing.

"Spectrum" is its own story in the AF run out 4.0s. It was "retired" very quickly before sales had a chance to slow down. I monitored that one all the way to Amazon third party sellers. It's an "untold story" I should stay. Never to fear, I'll get to the bottom of it.
 
I got Spectrum on vinyl a few months ago and it quickly is part of my top ten favorite fusion albums. The more capsule reviews I see, I want to order the SACD more. So now it is not available. This hobby feels suddenly disappointing.

Must be that storage cost eats up potential profit of additional sales. Except, in the off-chance predictions were wrong, they could press more and make more money and also come off as the good guy. Or do they really believe that gold stamped numbers increase sales by enough that they would lose most future sales by violating the "Limited Edition"? To me that sounds like a myth, something that would apply to picture discs or marbles, but certainly doesn't apply to a great sounding mix of good music. How long was Best of the Doors in print? Just me, but I'd play Spectrum more often, so I'd rather buy that. Maybe they don't want to take time to think about that, although a small-ish label doesn't seem the type to do that, more likely such decisions are made in committee and written in stone.

I didn't buy it at first because I bought into some lesser titles. I can't buy every one I'm not familiar with, just in case one is a surprise favorite.

Dang.
 
I got Spectrum on vinyl a few months ago and it quickly is part of my top ten favorite fusion albums. The more capsule reviews I see, I want to order the SACD more. So now it is not available. This hobby feels suddenly disappointing.

Must be that storage cost eats up potential profit of additional sales. Except, in the off-chance predictions were wrong, they could press more and make more money and also come off as the good guy. Or do they really believe that gold stamped numbers increase sales by enough that they would lose most future sales by violating the "Limited Edition"? To me that sounds like a myth, something that would apply to picture discs or marbles, but certainly doesn't apply to a great sounding mix of good music. How long was Best of the Doors in print? Just me, but I'd play Spectrum more often, so I'd rather buy that. Maybe they don't want to take time to think about that, although a small-ish label doesn't seem the type to do that, more likely such decisions are made in committee and written in stone.

This is exactly how I discovered Spectrum. What an amazing set of music. is it my reference SACD along with Birds of Fire. You're right, it's out of print. But I see 1 copy (new) available on Amazon.ca. If you're in the US, exchange rate gets you a deal...

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/offer-listing/B019RVUF3Y/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1493858447&sr=8-1&keywords=billy+cobham+spectrum+SACD
 
This is exactly how I discovered Spectrum. What an amazing set of music. is it my reference SACD along with Birds of Fire. You're right, it's out of print. But I see 1 copy (new) available on Amazon.ca. If you're in the US, exchange rate gets you a deal...

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/offer-listing/B019RVUF3Y/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1493858447&sr=8-1&keywords=billy+cobham+spectrum+SACD

A deal? Um yeah I guess so....

How much is that in US dollars?

I have noticed that it's very VERY often Japanese dealers who by up the soon to be OOP titles, and jack the prices through the roof.
 
A deal? Um yeah I guess so....

How much is that in US dollars?

I have noticed that it's very VERY often Japanese dealers who by up the soon to be OOP titles, and jack the prices through the roof.

hahaha - no, that is not a deal. That is thievery. Nothing else. Jeez....
 
A deal? Um yeah I guess so....

How much is that in US dollars?

I have noticed that it's very VERY often Japanese dealers who by up the soon to be OOP titles, and jack the prices through the roof.

Just over $80 US, maybe not such a deal but it's sealed and it's out of print.
 
Yeah some deal. Someone I trust who was working for a label confirms that increased sales with limited edition is worth it to them vs. selling some more. I've been involved with having leftover records pressed so I understand that part, although in those days if something sold out that quickly it would be pure joy to press more. But bad judgment written in stone by the "Limited Edition" pact is unfortunate. What I mean is a buyer culture that places more importance on exclusivity by gold-stamped numbers than the enjoyment by more people is unfortunate. Perhaps human nature, enjoying something more just because others can't have it, I've been there. Sorry for the rant. Just disappointed.
 
Every reissue label does that.
Once sales of a reissue fade, it doesn't make sense to do another run of 500 or 1,000 optical discs and be stuck with unsold discs in the warehouse if there are only two or three potential orders.

Again, in these days of shrinking optical disc sales and manufacturing runs of 2,000 discs only (Mobile Fidelity, for example), it's wise to buy the SACDs, CDs, etc. you want when they are first released.
Then you don't have to worry about a second pressing.

It's wise if you have the money and it's not coming out of cat food or gas for the car expenses.

You can't spend what you ain't got (unless you use a credit card), and you can't lose what you never had.

I double dipped on the six titles I felt most likely to be in demand in one year after they go OOP. And I actually triple dipped on two titles I thought were exceptional and sold out or went OOP rather early. I'll get my investment back and hopefully break even when all is said and done.
 
Yeah some deal. Someone I trust who was working for a label confirms that increased sales with limited edition is worth it to them vs. selling some more. I've been involved with having leftover records pressed so I understand that part, although in those days if something sold out that quickly it would be pure joy to press more. But bad judgment written in stone by the "Limited Edition" pact is unfortunate. What I mean is a buyer culture that places more importance on exclusivity by gold-stamped numbers than the enjoyment by more people is unfortunate. Perhaps human nature, enjoying something more just because others can't have it, I've been there. Sorry for the rant. Just disappointed.

In this case, the gold sticker is just a number of the item in order that the buyer bought. If a title is in demand and it's selling like hot cakes - nobody is going to stop the presses right there and then. The limited part is simply that the item will not stay in print forever. I used to think two years was about how long to expect availability, now I know that it could be only two months and it's being phased out.
 
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