Exactly the same mix, from the same quad master.
I don't think the DTS CD sounds great by any means, but I think the hate for it here is a bit over the top. I remember waiting for months for it to come out in 1999 or whenever it was, and getting years of enjoyment out of it (despite its shortcomings) until the Robin reel emerged. At the risk of overstating things, I don't think the quality of this disc is a million miles away from some of the quad titles that have shown up on Tidal and Apple Music (in a similarly slow data bitrate), the main difference is that with this album we have a better source to compare it to.
EQ-wise the DTS CD's lack of bass is actually more faithful to the original SQ and Q8, which (like all the early Santana quads, and most of the 1972 CBS SQ releases) are very bass-shy by virtue of the way they're mixed. Do I like (and prefer) the extra bass on the SACD? Absolutely, but it's not historically accurate to the sound of the original release...but sometimes a bit of revisionism is a good thing.
The main downfall of the DTS CD is the noise reduction used on the disc has had its levels set to 'stun'. The result is a lot of the subtle details and reverb trails are eaten up in a sea of artifact-y digital burbling. Digital noise reduction was in its infancy in the '90s, and this kind of problem mars a lot of CD releases of the era too, so Brad Miller and HDS weren't alone in doing this kind of thing.
I don't think the DTS CD sounds great by any means, but I think the hate for it here is a bit over the top. I remember waiting for months for it to come out in 1999 or whenever it was, and getting years of enjoyment out of it (despite its shortcomings) until the Robin reel emerged. At the risk of overstating things, I don't think the quality of this disc is a million miles away from some of the quad titles that have shown up on Tidal and Apple Music (in a similarly slow data bitrate), the main difference is that with this album we have a better source to compare it to.
EQ-wise the DTS CD's lack of bass is actually more faithful to the original SQ and Q8, which (like all the early Santana quads, and most of the 1972 CBS SQ releases) are very bass-shy by virtue of the way they're mixed. Do I like (and prefer) the extra bass on the SACD? Absolutely, but it's not historically accurate to the sound of the original release...but sometimes a bit of revisionism is a good thing.
The main downfall of the DTS CD is the noise reduction used on the disc has had its levels set to 'stun'. The result is a lot of the subtle details and reverb trails are eaten up in a sea of artifact-y digital burbling. Digital noise reduction was in its infancy in the '90s, and this kind of problem mars a lot of CD releases of the era too, so Brad Miller and HDS weren't alone in doing this kind of thing.