HiRez Poll Bowie, David - ZIGGY STARDUST [SACD]

QuadraphonicQuad

Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:

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

Rate the SACD of David Bowie - ZIGGY STARDUST


  • Total voters
    111

JonUrban

Forum Curmudgeon
Staff member
Admin
Moderator
Since 2002/2003
Joined
Mar 2, 2002
Messages
17,681
Location
Connecticut
Please post your comments, thoughts and observations.......(y) (n)


Ziggy Front.jpg
Ziggy Back.jpg
 
It's a classic deserving a full 10/10 despite some flaw on the surround mix.
 
This is one of my all-time favorite albums. The surround mix is very, very good but something about it just doesn't draw me in as strongly as it should, or at least as much as I would want. This is unlike the "Tommy" surround release, which, again, is an all-time fave with a very, very good surround mix, but it totally reeled me in, whereas "Ziggy" just seemed to be missing... something... and I can't for the life of me put my finger on it!

How's that for a definitive summary? :mad:@:

Despite my feeling that something is missing, it is still an incredible release. I gave it an 8.
 
I cannot fairly vote in the poll, as I do not have the actual SACD but a DTS copy instead.
Having said that, the version I have heard I simply do not like at all. I think the mix is very poor, and like Cai - there is something missing here.
I think that the problem for me is that it is uninspired in execution. It sounds flaccid and lifeless.

But as I say - I do not have the SACD, but a DTS made from the outputs of the SACD player. So it might have lost something in the transfer.
But the mix just sounds, well - boring.
And this from a lifelong fan of the man.
 
Starts out great, but then the hits are so compressed, it is very disapointing.
Sounds great on AM Radio
 
Cai hit it on the head, I think it sounds good but not great and the mix could have sounded more aggresive.
 
Near-great Bowie effort, one of his best, and the mix serves the music very, very well....the only complaint is that the mix is held hostage to the recording situation, and there is a lack of intensity and power that I would have expected from the album, as the stereo mix is more than workable enough.

But, an '8' here....just not the slam-dunk I'd hoped it would be.

ED:)
 
I found that this is one release where VOLUME had the most dramatic in listening pleasure. I too was a bit disapointed at first by this release. The mix was serviceable at best and the music lacked the punch of previous versions. One evening when the wife was out of the house I put it on and crank the volume to dangerous levels....much higher than I have ever cranked my amp before. Everything came alive...bass was perfect, no problem with punch and I enjoyed the surround mix much better as well and I found that there was no harshness or anything shrill so playing at ridiculously loud levels was quite comfortable to listen to...I was thrilled! So at normal levels I give it an 8....cranked, a definite 10!
 
GaryW said:
I found that this is one release where VOLUME had the most dramatic in listening pleasure. I too was a bit disapointed at first by this release. The mix was serviceable at best and the music lacked the punch of previous versions. One evening when the wife was out of the house I put it on and crank the volume to dangerous levels....much higher than I have ever cranked my amp before. Everything came alive...bass was perfect, no problem with punch and I enjoyed the surround mix much better as well and I found that there was no harshness or anything shrill so playing at ridiculously loud levels was quite comfortable to listen to...I was thrilled! So at normal levels I give it an 8....cranked, a definite 10!

Cranked isn't normal? That's the way I listen to everything.
 
I gave it a 6.
The music is great, no question about that.
But I think the surround mix is very boring. Just the usual cliché, Normal Stereo, Vocals in the Center and some ambience and little effects in the back.
That could have been more creative.
The day before I heard this SACD the first time, I got some 70s quad-mixes (Sabbath: Paranoid, Tull: Aqualung, Wish you were here, Doors best of...) and I was amazed of these creative mixes and full usage of all 4 channels. With that kind of mixes, who needs a center channel anymore?
I wish more of today's surround mixes would have been like in the old days.
I played Ziggy Stardust to my girlfiend (she nows the record very well) and she said, what is the difference? Then I played Paranoid to her and she was amazed like me about the voices, guitars and drums changing the speaker all the time. She said: "Now I got it, that you are so mad, getting all these surround mixes"
 
neil wilkes said:
I cannot fairly vote in the poll, as I do not have the actual SACD but a DTS copy instead.
Having said that, the version I have heard I simply do not like at all. I think the mix is very poor, and like Cai - there is something missing here.
I think that the problem for me is that it is uninspired in execution. It sounds flaccid and lifeless.

But as I say - I do not have the SACD, but a DTS made from the outputs of the SACD player. So it might have lost something in the transfer.
But the mix just sounds, well - boring.
And this from a lifelong fan of the man.

Me too, I don´t know if we have the same DTS version but the one that I have, it blows my mind. Thanks to the DTS I know finally can appreciate what an incredible record Ziggy is. I give it an 8, because I haven´t heard the SACD.
 
GaryW said:
I found that this is one release where VOLUME had the most dramatic in listening pleasure. I too was a bit disapointed at first by this release. The mix was serviceable at best and the music lacked the punch of previous versions. One evening when the wife was out of the house I put it on and crank the volume to dangerous levels....much higher than I have ever cranked my amp before. Everything came alive...bass was perfect, no problem with punch and I enjoyed the surround mix much better as well and I found that there was no harshness or anything shrill so playing at ridiculously loud levels was quite comfortable to listen to...I was thrilled! So at normal levels I give it an 8....cranked, a definite 10!

I agree... when listening at lower levels (75db on my sound level meter) the mix has a slight echo on a few songs. But when the volume is increased the effect disapears. On Suffragette City I needed to boost the level to 89db.(not a dangerous level, but loud.) Sounds great, you just don't want to listen at that level all day.There is a great article in this month's Rolling Stone magazine, page 11 about acceptable listening levels. I too crank it once in a while but I monitor the levels (not higher than 95db) and duration. This is David Bowie's finest recording IMO and Ziggy just needs to be heard! I give it an 8.
 
Last edited:
The one I really would love to hear in 5.1 is STATION TO STATION...plays interestingly in DPLII, as some of Bowie's albums do. Would be great fun!

ED :)
 
I ran accross this at Virgin in NYC yesterday - they had 3 copies - typically non classical SACD is a rare find there. I resisted this for a long time but took a chance and I', glad I did - I think the mix is fine - even at "normal" listening levels - of course tracks like "Suffragette City" were not meant to be heard at normal listening levels - it sounds great with the volume cranked - a 9(y)
 
"Ziggy" just seemed to be missing... something... and I can't for the life of me put my finger on it!

How's that for a definitive summary? :mad:@:

Despite my feeling that something is missing, it is still an incredible release. I gave it an 8.

What it is missing is LFE. Its another SACD that i need to crank my 15" Sub up to max to get a tonal balance that just meets the minimum level and I don't like big boofy bass . I don't seem to get this problem with any DVD-A but 1/2 of my SACD collection ( including DSOTM) need a lot of extra bass. Avalon is just fine with the sub setting at about the 4 setting. Anybody else have this issue with SACD?.

The surround effect and overall album is quite good, not a bad effort. 7
 
I have now acquired the SACD and still think the mix is dreadful.
It sounds to me as if it was knocked up in an afternoon by someone that doesn't know the music, and has no liking for it.
I am reminded of the crappy Peter Mew 30th Anniversary Remasters, as these are also badly overcompressed & lifeless in execution.
I am probably one of Bowie's biggest fans - my bootleg collection nuimbers over 300 live shows - but this is bad.
My upmix sounds better.
 
I have now acquired the SACD and still think the mix is dreadful.
It sounds to me as if it was knocked up in an afternoon by someone that doesn't know the music, and has no liking for it.
I am reminded of the crappy Peter Mew 30th Anniversary Remasters, as these are also badly overcompressed & lifeless in execution.
I am probably one of Bowie's biggest fans - my bootleg collection nuimbers over 300 live shows - but this is bad.
My upmix sounds better.

Didn't Ken Scott do the mix? He was the original producer.
 
Back
Top