New SACD 5.1 from Audio Fidelity

[bmoura]

I'm not talking about artist involvement or approval.. what I'm getting at is, how many 5.1's were physically remixed by the artists themselves rather than an engineer? Not many I'll bet.

It's one of the things that points to B,S & T or Super Session. Al Kooper himself remixed them both into 5.1, in DSD (he insisted on staying in the analogue domain as much as possible throughout the mixing process) which he did for SACD release.. which got cancelled (as Jon here said, it's a release that got shelved from back in the SACD heyday).

There are other examples - in some cases the artist is listed as the Surround Sound "Producer" or "Supervisor". Certainly Richard Carpenter comes to mind as someone who was in the studio with Al Schmitt and his assistant recording engineer during the 5.1 Surround Mix for the Carpenters Multichannel SACD. Now, who "did the mix" and moved the sliders? Was it Schmitt, his assistant, Carpenter or all of the above? You would need to be at the session to really know.....

 

[warp2600]

I certainly hope that all QQ members will support these releases when they appear, and show Audio Fidelity and other labels that there is support in the marketplace for 5.1 releases, no matter what the titles may end up being.

To me, it does matter what the titles will be. I only buy products that I think I will enjoy using. Why should I spend money on music I will not enjoy playing? Especially when it comes to $40+ shipped. Just to let the company know I like high-rez surround music? There is an easier way to do that.

Still, I hope the titles will be attractive.

 

[Brett]

I'm not talking about artist involvement or approval.. what I'm getting at is, how many 5.1's were physically remixed by the artists themselves rather than an engineer? Not many I'll bet.

It's one of the things that points to B,S & T or Super Session. Al Kooper himself remixed them both into 5.1, in DSD (he insisted on staying in the analogue domain as much as possible throughout the mixing process) which he did for SACD release.. which got cancelled (as Jon here said, it's a release that got shelved from back in the SACD heyday).

Al Koopers "Super Session" would be a good release.

 

[DennisMoore Jr.]

How many 5.1's were physically remixed by the artists themselves rather than an engineer? Not many I'll bet.

It's one of the things that points to The Alan Parson's Project. Perhaps a gem such as Pyramid or I Robot...

@fredblue:

I hope you are right. An Alan Parson's Project in 5.1 would be fabulous! :banana: :banana: :banana:

 

[keenly]

Facebook update from SH..

"People have been asking me for more details, sorry, not allowed to say much yet, a lot of pre-production stuff to figure out. Audio Fidelity is going to do a few 5.1 SACD's to test the market, see if they sell. There are very vocal fans but are they the same 100 fans all over the internet yelling about this? AF isn't sure but when they release one of these surround SACD's, all will be known. If it sells, makes its money back, more will be done, of course. I think the first one will be an artist mixed 5.1 version in DSD plus the CD section will have the original stereo mix remastered by me from the vintage analog stereo mix so non-SACD people can have a great reason to buy the disk for their CD players as well. As soon as I'm allowed to talk more about it, I will."

OK we have to support this even if it is a title we do not want. Investment for future titles!

 

[fredblue]

@fredblue:

I hope you are right. An Alan Parson's Project in 5.1 would be fabulous! :banana: :banana: :banana:

haha! if only.. I really think it'll be either one of the Al Kooper 5.1's.. though AF better have something else to test the waters with too, Super Session won't be enough to make these surround birdies fly.. off the top of my head I could think of a dozen shelved 5.1's (other than the blindingly obvious EJ & Steely Dan's!) I'd rather hear right off the bat, that I think would be bigger sellers.. but again rather than canvas a selection and gauge serious interest in advance from the poor sods like us who shell out for this stuff, we'll probably get what we're given and lap it up or piss off -- and all 100 of us vocal surround nuts can crawl back under our stones! @:

 

[cupboy]

OK we have to support this even if it is a title we do not want. Investment for future titles!

If it's Aretha Franklin Greatest Hits I will have to pass on it regardless.

 

[Blrac]

Any idea on what this will cost? $40+ a disc is more than I have paid for titles that are out of print and really wanted, so hoping these will be reasonably priced. If the cost is too high it will definitely be prohibitive, which doesn't necessarily mean we don't like it or want it, but just can't justify the expense. How does a record company differentiate between lack of interest and cost prohibitiveness (if that is a word)? Hopefully it won't be an issue and this whole post is mute, but based upon the recent Japan reissues, it won't be cheap, since they are ~$35. I am not sure what I would be willing to invest but I will admit the title will certainly influence that. I will also admit I will seriously considering buying anything just to send the message that there is a market.

 

[blue.monk]

This is very exciting, particularly if it means surround titles mastered by Steve Hoffman and/or Kevin Gray.

 

[Robert van Diggele]

To me, it does matter what the titles will be. I only buy products that I think I will enjoy using. Why should I spend money on music I will not enjoy playing? Especially when it comes to $40+ shipped. Just to let the company know I like high-rez surround music? There is an easier way to do that.

Still, I hope the titles will be attractive.

Agree with that. I rather pay a bit more for a title I will really enjoy than buy a few titles that I will never play just to support 5.1. Having said that, if the price is right, I might give some unknwon to me title a change, as it can give some positive surprise.

 

[milt]

The companion thread to this one on SH is a total fuster cluck even by the standards there.
How can something as positive as this announcement get so twisted.

 

[ssully]

basically, it looks like Hoffman or Gray will take things already mixed to surround, and re-master them for release. Maybe some mixes never released in digital form before, or maybe not? Big whoop.

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

Big whoop.

Or, may turn out to be a big oops! :yikes

Though, I'm with many others that have stated they won't be purchasing something unless they plan on actually listening to the damn thing. I can see these costing no less than $40.00 a pop and I normally don't spend more than $30.00 and any surround release. The XTC release was an exception and I still have not purchased either Yes release. Until they're both out for a while and the price drops. Or, perhaps, I'll pick up a used copy.

 

[bmoura]

Or, may turn out to be a big oops!

Or they will return to Stereo SACD releases if the sales of the Multichannel SACDs are below expectations.

 

[bmoura]

Today's update from Steve Hoffman's Twitter feed.....

Audio Fidelity multichannel SACDs will have 5.1 plus vintage 2 track mix for stereo DSD and stereo CD section. Something for everyone.

https://twitter.com/SteveHoffmanTV/status/470680358212476928

 

[ProgRules]

Or, may turn out to be a big oops! :yikes

Though, I'm with many others that have stated they won't be purchasing something unless they plan on actually listening to the damn thing. I can see these costing no less than $40.00 a pop and I normally don't spend more than $30.00 and any surround release. The XTC release was an exception and I still have not purchased either Yes release. Until they're both out for a while and the price drops. Or, perhaps, I'll pick up a used copy.

They can both be had for less than $30 from waysidemusic.com. TYA dvd-a $21; BR $26 and CttE dvd-a $20; BR $25. They're both stellar mch mixes, do yourself a favor and stop waiting...

 

[wheeler98]

There is MORE grousing about these releases than excitement. Everyone here WANTS 5.1....please put off your MANY beefs concerning what it is or isn't until an ACTUAL title is announced. I get that many of us are jaded....be patient grasshoppers...there are more titles coming this year from a host of bands and labels.

Here's a thought....people could try listening to some of the titles they already own TWICE.

 

[Which_One_Is_Pink]

Well I for one look forward to this, I have many of the AF (and MOFI) 2 channel disks on CD and SACD Hybrids they have put out and I love them even if the are just in stereo because they sound great. I would really love to see AF succeed with these multichannel releases, just no super deluxe box sets to get the 5.1 and I will buy, I have already bought more of the box sets than I financially should have as 5.1 is my drug of choice!

If I had my say for a new multichannel release on SACD my choice would be for Boston's debut as that was one of my biggest disappointments of a disc without multichannel when it was released on SACD, that one could have sounded so good in 5.1. Having said that Super Session would be a good choice too

 

[JonUrban]

DAMN! I just read through the monster thread over at SHF about this announcement, and it brought back so many flashbacks as to why that place made me nuts! That thread clearly states that AF is going to try 5.1 SACD releases, and the shit storm starts. Almost every thread that appears in that forum about 5.1 or 4.0 is thread crapped in by the anti-surround thugs and they are relentless. Over and over they reiterate their point and turn any criticism against them into a reverse attack.

I used to visit that place every day at one time and really enjoyed it. Those days sadly are through for me, and have been for some time. However, regardless of their bickering, it appears that this will be the real deal. As much as I would like to get those Al Kooper mixed titles, I do not think that they will set the world on fire. They are almost 50 years old, and their popularity was never great when they were new. Sure, they're worthy, but not to be the flagship release of a product.

I am hoping that the first few releases will indeed be modern 5.1 mixes of popular selling titles that would continue to sell as a Gold Disc or 180g LP. We have all seen the list of the WB and Sony announced DVD-A and SACD titles that never appeared, and if they could license those, be it something like "Graceland", "Deja Vu", etc., that would make news in Sound and Vision and other surround supportive press around the world.

While some can afford to experiment with a 5.1 title they do not know, or even like, others cannot. We cannot expect every one of us to purchase a title that is not something we might want to listen to. We've been through this many times over the past 30 years. We want to show support, but we need to have a product that we enjoy supporting.

Rhino stumbled on a home run with the CTA Quadio disc, I would guess purely by accident. They chose a title that still had legs, plus it was released in a matrix LP and on a Q8 tape, never on a quad reel, and never in such quality. They got an instant sell-out. Their choice of Aretha might have been survivable had the company not been gutted by the parent. When Aretha did not sell out, the program was easily dismissed as "not cost effective".

Marshall is a very good man and a good judge of his market and has done this for many years. I am sure he will select a title that will allow him to succeed. Why wouldn't he? Let us hope it's a great title and we all get fired up and get it. In this market where surround discs are relegated to high priced deluxe box sets, a 5.1 stand alone disc is something we've been asking, and waiting for.

We are in good hands with Steven Wilson with regards to DVD-A's and BluRay audios, so if Marshall gets us going with 5.1 SACD product, all I can say is - WOO HOO!

 

[LizardKing]

I see that the AF SACDs are numbered "Limited Edition"s.

Does anyone know how many they do for a release?