HiRez Poll Chicago - QUADIO [BluRay Audio]

QuadraphonicQuad

Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Rate the BDA of Chicago - QUADIO

  • 6:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 5:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1: Poor Fidelity, Poor Content, Poor Surround

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    151
I'm just too lazy to go through and review these discs album by album (besides, I generally agree on the details as outlined by rtbluray)... but as a set, this is essential for any surround music fan. Outstanding quad mixes, outstanding fidelity, and Chicago's music is just fantastic in every respect (you get rock, jazz, pop, even some kind of proggy stuff!). Even if you're not into Chicago, there WILL be enough music to your liking to make it worth the bargain price. Oh, and the packaging with the mini-LPs is just too cool. 10. A must buy.
 
10 from Baggy. Rhino gave us exactly what so many of us wanted. Hi-res surround, suitable packaging and no absurd extras.
The only drawback of this set, for Baggy, is some of the music, occasionally. Like the noodley, unaccompanied guitar passage from CTA. But don't let that stop ya. The awesome music here far outweighs the fluffy stuff. Quite impressive, given the number of double-albums included in this set. Baggy so glad to discover more of this great band's music!

:banana:
 
10 from Baggy. Rhino gave us exactly what so many of us wanted. Hi-res surround, suitable packaging and no absurd extras.
The only drawback of this set, for Baggy, is some of the music, occasionally. Like the noodley, unaccompanied guitar passage from CTA. But don't let that stop ya. The awesome music here far outweighs the fluffy stuff. Quite impressive, given the number of double-albums included in this set. Baggy so glad to discover more of this great band's music!

:banana:

Even if some of the music is not your style the sheer volume of music usually means the average music lover can find something they like...this set dwarfs most hi rez sets...especially in this genre...I never thought I would see this much surround music in one set that wasn't progressive music...and the bonus for me is no books...marbles..condoms..umbrellas...just the music baby(y)
 
I have not played anything but this set since it arrived,and I don't think I will before the Laura Nyro disc arrives....
Gave it one of my rare 10's :banana:
 
Now I've moved on to "Chicago (II)". I have never heard the 5.1 mix so I cannot compare how this remastered Quad sounds in comparison to the 5.1, but what I can say is that it starts off in a very discrete fashion with "Movin' In". I would have preferred that the horns stay in surround the whole time, but it's still a good mix nonetheless.
"The Road" is another great track that features a very good discrete mix, then we come to "Poem for the People", which sounds like it has a strong Blood Sweat & Tears influence to it, especially in the horn section right before the full band comes in. This is another mix that I wish had the horns in the surrounds the whole time, but it's a minor nitpick.
"In the Country" is another very discrete mix and fantastic song before moving on to Side 2, which thankfully is a discrete mix, unlike the stereo on this disc, which is actually mono…
"Wake Up Sunshine" is pleasant enough, but then we get to the best suite of music Chicago has ever composed IMHO, the "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon". It starts off with the incredible "Make Me Smile". In the middle of the suite, the bass drum sounds a little strange coming from the back, plus it would be lovely if the horns were in the surrounds for their breakdown section. "To Be Free" has a particularly good mix after the mellow "Colour My World" before the suite ends with "Now More Than Ever". That was just great!
Next up is "Fancy Colours" and "25 or 6 to 4". The tinkly atmosphere of the former gives way to the horns in the surrounds to great effect. Cetera's voice is also passed around the surround channels too for the echo effect. It's certainly one of the most unique tracks on the album, that's for sure.
Following the rocking "25 or 6 to 4" is Chicago at their most gentle with the "Memories of Love" suite. It reminds me a lot of the Prelude on the King Crimson album "Islands". The strings really do sound lovely in the surrounds. This could have been the soundtrack to a 1950s or 60s Romantic movie.
But the Romance doesn't last that long cause then it's on to the final suite "It Better End Soon". (But I don't want it to!) This is a funky rocker with Kath on one side and Lamm on the other. Lots of good music in all three suites.
So "Where Do We Go From Here"? (as the last song asks).
Well I'm headed to "Chicago V", but before I do that, here's my vote:

Music: 3/3; Surround Mix: 2.5/3; Fidelity: 3/3; High-Res Disc: 1/1. That's a 9.5 which rounds up to 10! :)
 
I have listened to them twice, and am starting my third listen. Awesome. This set is more than i ever could have hoped or dreamed would happen. This was most definately at the top of my wish list for hi rez quad to get made. Super. A 10 all the way. What a great year for quad releases, between this super set, and all of AF's releases, WOW. Happy happy.
 
Now I'm finishing up my reviews with "Chicago V". This is the Chicago album I know the best having owned the 5.1 SACD for several years.
"A Hit by Varese" could have a better mix. Yes, it's discrete on all sides, but I would have preferred the horns in the surrounds for this one.
"All's Well" has a good mix with the horns in the surround and the same goes for "Now That You've Gone".
"Dialogue" sounds great with Kath on the left and Lamm on the right, a popular panning scheme in this set. The backing vocals in the surrounds would have been nice on the acapella coda, but at least they placed the horns in the surrounds, cause they really rock!
"While the City Sleeps" has one of the best mixes on the album, and "Saturday in the Park" is the same mix that's also on IX. Just great!
"State of the Union" is another funky, discrete mix with the horns in the surrounds, but the fidelity is lacking on this one for some reason.
Next we're on to "Goodbye", one of my favorites, but it's another one that I wish had the horns in the surrounds the whole time. At least the congas sound lovely in the back right corner.
"Alma Matter" closes things out in a lovely fashion, and that concludes my journey into the Chicago Quadio set.
Here's my rating for V:
Music: 3/3; Surround Mix: 2.5/3; Fidelity: 2.5/3; High-Res Disc: 1/1
That's a well-deserved 9. :)
 
Chicago.jpg

Started this morning with X, working my way backwards...Some of these tracks are jaw-droppingly specfreekingtacular! :yikes
 
Holy Macaroni, the horns just shout at you...They say the women love Cetera, well this is Cetera in Quad so play this and see what happens;)

The discreteness is over the top. Some of these modern surround mixers need to take a lesson from the old Quad mixers...:mad:@:
giphy.jpg
 
Holy Macaroni, the horns just shout at you...They say the women love Cetera, well this is Cetera in Quad so play this and see what happens;)

The discreteness is over the top. Some of these modern surround mixers need to take a lesson from the old Quad mixers...:mad:@:
View attachment 26569

My sentiments EXACTLY. And except for the original engineers who mixed and mastered the Master QUAD tapes, we are hearing them for the first time in a way that the SQ Vinyl/decoders/prepros/amps at the time could only 'minutely' HINT at their excellence.

As I said before: TEXTBOOK QUAD recordings FINALLY re~awakened from their slumbers...with some purchasers paying as little as $12 per disc, DELIVERED!
 
After I figured out how to get the 4.0 mix to play with my slimline PS3, I was in business and wow! I love these discs.
 
There is a review on Amazon that says "The Ballet Suite" (that contains "Make Me Smile") on the stereo layer is in mono, not stereo. Can any of you that own this collection confirm that? (I wouldn't be buying this set for the stereo layers anyway.)
 
There is a review on Amazon that says "The Ballet Suite" (that contains "Make Me Smile") on the stereo layer is in mono, not stereo. Can any of you that own this collection confirm that? (I wouldn't be buying this set for the stereo layers anyway.)

Yep, technically it's all of Side 2 on "Chicago (II)", which includes "Wake Up Sunshine", followed by "The Ballet Suite".
But according to another user on here who has already alerted Rhino about the issue, they are aware of it and are working on getting replacement discs pressed up. :)
 
I'll be brief...I don't need charts or waveforms or to round up the decimal points...this is not just a 10...it's something nobody saw coming...and I have to believe that long time quad fans from the 70's who listened to this music back then never thought they would ever hear that music some 40 years later in a modern tech format...I wasn't one of those people...but I can certainly appreciate how they feel now..I can imagine the flashbacks some of them experienced when they heard this modern application of their beloved quad format....to me that is what music is all about...it lets us dream...it's lets us go back to a time in our lives when we weren't very sure of ourselves or what paths we were going to take in our lives...for some it was joy and for others it was heartbreak...the right kind of music makes me emotional...it's my pipeline to my memories..it takes me from my somewhat mundane life and makes me smile....I'm not sure if we will see something like this in the future...but I can dream...and as much as the naysayers keep telling me that the disc medium is dead...this box set sends a defiant message...not so fast...we are still here...as someone on here often states...hope springs eternal...and things like this make me confident that the end is NOT near(y)
 
I'll be brief...I don't need charts or waveforms or to round up the decimal points...this is not just a 10...it's something nobody saw coming...and I have to believe that long time quad fans from the 70's who listened to this music back then never thought they would ever hear that music some 40 years later in a modern tech format...I wasn't one of those people...but I can certainly appreciate how they feel now..I can imagine the flashbacks some of them experienced when they heard this modern application of their beloved quad format....to me that is what music is all about...it lets us dream...it's lets us go back to a time in our lives when we weren't very sure of ourselves or what paths we were going to take in our lives...for some it was joy and for others it was heartbreak...the right kind of music makes me emotional...it's my pipeline to my memories..it takes me from my somewhat mundane life and makes me smile....I'm not sure if we will see something like this in the future...but I can dream...and as much as the naysayers keep telling me that the disc medium is dead...this box set sends a defiant message...not so fast...we are still here...as someone on here often states...hope springs eternal...and things like this make me confident that the end is NOT near

That was beautiful man.
 
OMG - Perfect doesn't even seem good enough for this set. The selection of albums is perfect. All the Terry Kath albums and nothing else. The packaging is a gift from God. The fidelity is amazing. The surround is immersive. There is no way to improve this set. How in the hell did someone give this a nine?
 
Back
Top