Deep Purple - MACHINE HEAD [DVD-A]/[SACD-JAPAN]

[JonUrban]

Post your thoughts and comments on the 2002 5.1 Mix of this classic album, originally issued by WB/Rhino as a DVD-A, and subsequently released in Japan as an SACD in August 2011.

Comments on the UK SACD containing the original quadraphonic mix should be made in the dedicated thread for that release, linked below.

http://www.quadraphonicquad.com/foru...Quad-Mix)-SACD

THANKS

[soesbeout]

Whenever I have someone over who has never heard quad before,this is one of the Lps I let them hear.Maybe I have been spoiled by listening to the CD4 version,I don't play the DVD-A much.I prefer the way the Lp sounds versus the DVD-A,havn't heard the SACD yet. But the old concert footage is interesting to see.I gave it a 7.

[ChristopherLees]

once you hear the quad mix on the sacd, there is no way you will want to hear this mix again.

[GaryW]

I love the SACD version of this, gave it a 10 all the way. That being said, I am probably the only person I know who prefers the DVD-A to the SACD. It's all personal preference, but I prefer the main riffs of songs such as Smoke On The Water and Space Truckin' to come at me from the front instead of the rears as is the sacd There are some mixes on the sacd I prefer over the dvd-a so it's a mixed bag. I never got into surround sound before 5.1 so I have no excitement nor nostalgia for "original quad mixes". I think Kellogg did just fine on this mix and as I said earlier he shares my preference of putting the main riffs in front of the listener. What I also prefer about the dvd-a is that the sacd is much "warmer" sounding that the dvd-a. The dvd-a is much "crisper" sounding which is how I like my hard rock. The snare has much more snap and the cymbals are a little brighter. Most importantly to me, Blackmore's guitar is brought out more and is much more piercing on the dvd-a which is more to my preference for rock 'n roll. The whole recording just sounds more open on dvd-a and I know some will say it sounds thinner, etc. Anyway, I am happy to be the only one to slightly prefer the dvd-a though the sacd gets pretty much equal playing time as well. Love 'em both!

[john e. bogus]

"I have no excitement nor nostalgia for "original quad mixes" "

It's NOT about 'nostalgia'! It IS about enjoying a work as it was originally meant to be heard by the original artist and producer. As an analogy, photos of famous paintings have appeared in art texts for years.....imagine the outrage if they were repainted by a contemporary artist for presentation as a jpg in a modern digital format! Why is musical art any different?

I guess I will have to eventually buy the DVD-A in addition to the SACD (which I already own), just to get the video content.....

Yours Truly,
john e. bogus

[JonUrban]

True, John, but we have seen how little regard is paid to these '70s quad mixes. They are usually bashed quite liberally in the media, and get no respect except from us old die hards, re - DSOTM.

[GaryW]

"I have no excitement nor nostalgia for "original quad mixes" "

It's NOT about 'nostalgia'! It IS about enjoying a work as it was originally meant to be heard by the original artist and producer. As an analogy, photos of famous paintings have appeared in art texts for years.....imagine the outrage if they were repainted by a contemporary artist for presentation as a jpg in a modern digital format! Why is musical art any different?

I guess I will have to eventually buy the DVD-A in addition to the SACD (which I already own), just to get the video content.....

Yours Truly,
john e. bogus

I definitely didn't mean to offend or put down anyone. I mainly wanted to state that I had no prior experience with quad or surround until recently so my judgements are based entirely on new experiences. I had no idea, for instance that Deep Purple and the producer had made this lp with quad in mind and that this is how they want you to hear it. I just assumed that it was like today's remixing of classics into 5.1. That sheds a whole new light on things.

[bizmopeen]

Lump me in with the "old die hards". I do prefer the CD-4 mix, but this'll do fine until I pick up the SACD. For me as well it's about sonic preferences rather than nostalgia; I'm too young to be nostalgic (ha!)...

[Ed Bishop]

Overall, an '8' here....being familiar with both mixes, while I find myself preferring the old Quad--the SACD was a real surprise, how many times will we get two multi-channel mixes for one album on disc?--there is much to like here. The only debit is this mix lacks the playfulness and sheer verve of the original, which is truly discrete and uncluttered(back in the day, when I played my kid brother the opening of "Highway Star," with Gillan's vocals starting in one back channel, then another, and then moving to the fronts, man was he in heaven! So was I...). But it does have its positives and overall, I like it a lot, it just can't quite replace the original.

ED

[mcherdering]

I give it an 8. Good production, instruments and vocals are clear. Well mixed, mostly presented up front with good ambiance and the occasional guitar in the surrounds. Decent bass on Smoke On The Water. Even the video for Highway Star was OK, I expected it to be extremely grainy, like the video on Brain Salad Surgery. This disk was a pleasant surprise.

[MIDIQ]

Great album, fair mix. I much prefer the SACD mix.

[analogdemon]

Great album. Nice hard rockin' guitar. I've never heard the quad mix so I am basing this purely as someone who has heard the stereo and 5.1 mix. I'll take the 5.1 over the stereo any day. A solid 8.

[YmSeb]

I love the SACD version of this, gave it a 10 all the way. That being said, I am probably the only person I know who prefers the DVD-A to the SACD. It's all personal preference, but I prefer the main riffs of songs such as Smoke On The Water and Space Truckin' to come at me from the front instead of the rears as is the sacd There are some mixes on the sacd I prefer over the dvd-a so it's a mixed bag.

No, you're not the only one ! I do prefer the DVD-A as well overall, but as far as the surround mix is concerned, as you perfectly said, it's a mixed bag. Just like the DSOTM Guthrie's mix vs. the Parson's mix. There are good things in both.

However, the DVD-A sounds MUCH BETTER in my opinion than the SACD. Mainly for the reasons you also brought here. However, as we have all different expectations about how this style of music should sound like, of course there can't be any consensus, otherwise life would be sad

I'm just glad that the DVD-A and SACD exist both...

[timbre4]

Always a favorite in vinyl then Q8 then DTS, really have enjoyed the DVD-A. Still tracking down the SACD at a fair price.....

[budlyte]

I much prefer the SACD quad version to the DVD-A. The bass is lacking on the 5.1 mix. Great album, but not one of my favorite DVD-As.

[PossumPete]

All I get is stereo when I ask for the surround mix. Must be defective. Looks like I'll try for the SACD. Very disappointing!

[Ed Bishop]

All I get is stereo when I ask for the surround mix. Must be defective. Looks like I'll try for the SACD. Very disappointing!

Who are you asking?

ED

[PossumPete]

Obviously not the right person!

I just scored the SACD on ebay for $25. Not great but it won't kill me either. Now if I can just find a sucker to buy the DVD-A...

[etzeppy]

All I get is stereo when I ask for the surround mix. Must be defective. Looks like I'll try for the SACD. Very disappointing!

Out of curiosity, is your player the Oppo 980 and is it connected via HDMI? If so, there is a bug that causes some DVD-A discs to output stereo only via HDMI. I thought it only impacted 4.1/4.0 discs but maybe your problem is related.

[Ed Bishop]

I just scored the SACD on ebay for $25. Not great but it won't kill me either. Now if I can just find a sucker to buy the DVD-A...

More likely you'll find someone who needs a copy and can play it without hassles--most folks, I would imagine.

What you don't explain is what deck you're using for playback. Different players behave in different ways(which I know, since I have a JVC DVD-A and the universal Pioneer DV-45A, and the menu setup is very different for each). I find it unlikely there is anything *wrong* with the disc itself. But maybe we can figure out what's up if you tell us your setup.

ED

[Chris Gerhard]

Out of curiosity, is your player the Oppo 980 and is it connected via HDMI? If so, there is a bug that causes some DVD-A discs to output stereo only via HDMI. I thought it only impacted 4.1/4.0 discs but maybe your problem is related.

I have the "Machine Head" DVD-A and it plays fine in all players I have tried including the Oppo DV-980H.

Chris

[surroundophile]

Have some time on my hands, so I went back to compare all four format groups, that being the US Quad CD-4/Q4/Q8, European/Austrailian Quad SQ,
US DVD-A, European SACD.
The two European Quad versions are identicle. The US Quad and European Quads were released around the same time. The CD-4 was first on Warners. When they decided to release it in quad in Europe, it was on EMI, an SQ label, so they decided to do a different mix to accomodate the strong points of SQ matrixing. Both are different, and personally I like them both, but give the edge to the CD-4 mix because the mix is more active.
Then came the DVD-A. And for some reason, Warner decided to remix it again, ruining the original Quad intentions, making it very front-centric. After doing a comparison, the DVD-a goes to the bottom of the pile.
Lastly came the SACD. Thank goodness it's the same as the SQ mix unaltered!
Needless to say, I won't be playing the DVD-A often.
I've notice several DVD-as from Warners remixed the Quad version, ruining them and making them front-centric. No Secrets by Carly Simon is another one that dissapoints.

[filper]

I don't have the SA-CD to compare the DVD-A mix, but this disc kicks.

I played the LP to death way back when.

I guess I should have picked up the SA-CD when I found a copy a few months ago for comparison, but this disc is just fine.

I give it a 7.

[DennisMabry]

I don't have the SA-CD to compare the DVD-A mix, but this disc kicks.

I played the LP to death way back when.

I guess I should have picked up the SA-CD when I found a copy a few months ago for comparison, but this disc is just fine.

I give it a 7.

The DVD-A is fine and the sound is a bit more polished but IMO the SACD with the original quad mix blows this one away! I could be biased because this title was one of the first Q8's that I bought (in 1974) and now I just think that is the way it should sound. Perhaps if I would've had the Q8 of "Dark Side Of The Moon" back in the day I would feel the same way about it. But in that particular case I like them both equally albeit for different reasons.

Dennis

[shokhead]

Just got it. A solid 8