"Eat a Peach" SACD ?

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Bob R

Well-known Member
Since 2002/2003
Joined
Aug 7, 2003
Messages
173
Location
Rhode Island
Anyone pick up the Allman Brothers "Eat a Peach" SACD yet? I can't find it at my local stores but it was supposed to be released this past Tuesday. It's listed on Amazon for $15.

I'm really waitng for The Fillmore Concert but I'll try this while I'm waiting. :D
 
Bob R said:
Anyone pick up the Allman Brothers "Eat a Peach" SACD yet? I can't find it at my local stores but it was supposed to be released this past Tuesday. It's listed on Amazon for $15.

I'm really waitng for The Fillmore Concert but I'll try this while I'm waiting. :D

Correct. It was indeed released last week. See the article on High Fidelity Review at http://www.highfidelityreview.com/news/news.asp?newsnumber=17452983 for more details.
 
And it is quite a sonic upgrade -- at least in the discrete placement of the instruments and vocals -- from the redbook CD we all know and used to love. Worth the price, and more.
 
mrindenver said:
And it is quite a sonic upgrade -- at least in the discrete placement of the instruments and vocals -- from the redbook CD we all know and used to love. Worth the price, and more.

I agree. Well worth the purchase if you like the title. Good discrete use of the surrounds.
 
mrindenver said:
And it is quite a sonic upgrade -- at least in the discrete placement of the instruments and vocals -- from the redbook CD we all know and used to love. Worth the price, and more.

It's an interesting one.

If you have the Eat A Peach SACD, check the SACD Stereo layer as well. It has more low end bass than the SACD Surround Sound layer.
 
So, I'm starting to hear a thumbs up, here?

Cool, now I just have to find it. So far Best buy & Newbury Comics do not have it. :rolleyes:
 
Bob R said:
So, I'm starting to hear a thumbs up, here?

Cool, now I just have to find it. So far Best buy & Newbury Comics do not have it. :rolleyes:
There's not many of them around. Circuit City may have 1. They had only received 1 on the day it came out, at the local store. Best Buy is just a waste of time lately.
 
narcopolo said:
There's not many of them around. Circuit City may have 1. They had only received 1 on the day it came out, at the local store. Best Buy is just a waste of time lately.

Don't forget Tower Records. They are carrying the Eat A Peach SACD.
 
I saw three copies at Best Buy. I have the quadradisc, so I didn't immediately pick it up. The quadradisc is a very good recording, and decodes smoothly. However, a recording without the pop and click record noise would be nice. I might just get it anyway. I normally resist getting recordings I already have in quadradisc, because I would rather spend the money on something I don't have, but there hasn't been much come out lately that I like.

The Quadfather

MacDaddy said:
It is also available at Best Buy, but it is $1.50 cheaper at A&B Sound.
 
I picked up the "Eat A Peach" SACD and gave it a listen. Right off the bat the new surround mix just didn't sound right to me. I've listened to the original quad CD-4 LP so many times that I was quite shocked at how different the SACD surround mix is. I then spun up my CD-4 LP to do a side-by-side comparison. There is no comparison. The SACD sounds muddy and dull against the CD-4 LP. While the original quad mix was a wholly discrete, equally weighted surround mix, they’ve pushed most everything to the front for the SACD. I read reviews of the SACD and everyone says it is a “middle-of-the-band” mix. Hah! Obviously they’ve never heard the original quad mix. Now THAT’S a middle-of-the-band mix!

Once again another great classic quad mix has been compromised. They’ve sacrificed discreteness and individual channel quality, resolution and tonality for a somewhat muddled mix that is but a shadow of its former self. I am very, very disappointed. If they were to mangle the classic stereo mix in such a manner, you’d never hear the end of it. Oh, but this is just lowly quad… go ahead and hack away. :(

Personally, I don’t mind a new mix as long as the end result is as good, if not better than, the original. On its own, the "Eat A Peach" SACD surround mix is nice, and yes, even discrete in a lot of ways. It's a "stereo friendly" surround mix. They played it safe, just like they did with DSOTM, and we're left with something definitely different. Is it better? Is it worse? That's an individual determination. Personally, I think it is worse. Actually, in some ways I think it is much worse.

But hey, I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade. It’s a fantastic disc on its own. Just don’t spoil the excitement of the new mix by tracking down and listening to the real, original surround mix. FWIW, after doing my comparison, I shut off the SACD player and listened to the rest of the CD-4 set. (y)
 
Cai Campbell said:
Once again another great classic quad mix has been compromised. They’ve sacrificed discreteness and individual channel quality, resolution and tonality for a somewhat muddled mix that is but a shadow of its former self. I am very, very disappointed. If they were to mangle the classic stereo mix in such a manner, you’d never hear the end of it. Oh, but this is just lowly quad… go ahead and hack away. :(

It's a "stereo friendly" surround mix. They played it safe, just like they did with DSOTM, and we're left with something definitely different.

You know, that hacks me off as well. For the most part I don't mind a remix of something if I can still acquire a copy of the original, but as you were saying it should be as good as or better than the original or what's the point? If they were tampering with the original stereo mix this way and perhaps substituting something muddier or "less stereo" (duophonic?), other folks would be calling for blood...

I'm sad when anyone shies away from delivering full-resolution "quadness", be it a preference for more stereo/front-speaker-based remixes or a reliance on not-fully-discrete or even compressed technologies (see the "Circle Surround on CD" thread elsewhere on the board, or the majors' reported preference for DVD-V over DVD-A/SACD). I kinda see it as an opportunity lost...

Certainly everyone does have their preferences and that's fine. Ultimately I'd like to see the material dictate what kind of presentation works best, and even present several different options if available (see: "Stop Making Sense" DVD). A man can dream, can't he...? ;)
 
Thanks, Cai. I will consider myself fairly warned. I suspect they don't recognize that the original quad mix even exists in some cases.

The Quadfather
 
"Peach" and "Fillmore" are two of my all time favorities. And while some have problems with the new mixes, you don't miss what you haven't heard. So I am happy with "Peach" until I hear better.

That said, I'm still trying to learn something about the upcoming "Live At Fillmore East" SA-CD release. It has been reported to now be a 2 disc set with an appropriate price increase.

Why? OK, it was originally a 2 LP vinyl release, but the DTS version fits nicely on one CD.

My hope is that it will include the complete "Fillmore Concerts" tracks, including the redundancies from "Eat A Peach" and several extra tunes not on either of those releases.

The track listing for the "Fillmore Concerts" redbook CD is:

Disc: 1
1. Statesboro Blues*
2. Trouble No More***
3. Don't Keep Me Wonderin'**
4. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed*
5. One Way Out***
6. Done Somebody Wrong*
7. Stormy Monday*
8. You Don't Love Me*

Disc: 2
1. Hot 'Lanta*
2. Whipping Post*
3. Mountain Jam***
4. Drunken Hearted Boy**

* = on original "Live at Fillmore East" release

** = not on original "Live At Fillmore East" release

*** = on "Eat A Peach"

I will gladly pay twice for *** to get * and ** in SA-CD. I hope this is the configuration that will be released next month.

Otherwise, why the 2 discs and the $28 price?

Anybody else know anything? Or wish to speculate?
 
mrindenver said:
"Peach" and "Fillmore" are two of my all time favorities. And while some have problems with the new mixes, you don't miss what you haven't heard. So I am happy with "Peach" until I hear better.

That said, I'm still trying to learn something about the upcoming "Live At Fillmore East" SA-CD release. It has been reported to now be a 2 disc set with an appropriate price increase.

Why? OK, it was originally a 2 LP vinyl release, but the DTS version fits nicely on one CD.

My hope is that it will include the complete "Fillmore Concerts" tracks, including the redundancies from "Eat A Peach" and several extra tunes not on either of those releases.

I will gladly pay twice for *** to get * and ** in SA-CD. I hope this is the configuration that will be released next month.

Otherwise, why the 2 discs and the $28 price?

Anybody else know anything? Or wish to speculate?

According to Universal Music, the list price will be $24.98. So I'm not sure who is charging $28. See http://www.highfidelityreview.com/news/news.asp?newsnumber=16328217
 
mrindenver said:
That said, I'm still trying to learn something about the upcoming "Live At Fillmore East" SA-CD release. It has been reported to now be a 2 disc set with an appropriate price increase.

Why? OK, it was originally a 2 LP vinyl release, but the DTS version fits nicely on one CD.


Anybody else know anything? Or wish to speculate?

Is it because they can not get the DSD and Redbook layers complete on one Hybrid disc ? :rolleyes:
Does anyone know what the maximum time is for a Hybrid disc with each layer ?
 
So, I guess I'm answering my own question. After a little research, J&R is offering pre-orders for this release, listing the tracks that were on the "Fillmore Concerts" 2 disc version I cited above.

I am really looking forward to this one!
 
rusinurbe said:
Is it because they can not get the DSD and Redbook layers complete on one Hybrid disc ? :rolleyes:
Does anyone know what the maximum time is for a Hybrid disc with each layer ?

It has nothing to do with the SACD/redbook layers or being a hybrid, it has to do with trying to put both the m/c and stereo mixes on the SACD layer. I don't know the specifics in terms of how much time is allowed, but I seem to recall this is the reason why the Dylan "Blonde on Blonde" hybrid had to be two discs, when the single layer stereo-only SACD (and the stereo-only redbook CD) managed to fit on one disc.
 
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