Audio Fidelity Platinum Slipcovers

QuadraphonicQuad

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I think it looks better without the red circle, which may in fact have scared away prospective buyers who were not quite sure just what the heck it meant. We knew, but others could be clueless.

This looks much more professional, and less K-Tel.

It does look cleaner without the loud red circle I agree. However, I liked having the surround mentioned boldly on the product. The ideal way would be for it to be stickered on the shrink, so you get the notice loud and clear, but the slipcase looks classier being without it.

Or perhaps a silver foil sticker, nice and mirror shinny. The quad, 4-channel, or 4.0 mix being included is historical, and something very special. I want the world to know that this disc features something one cannot get anywhere else.
 
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It does look cleaner without the loud red circle I agree. However, I liked having the surround mentioned boldly on the product. The ideal way would be for it to be snickered on the shrink, so you get the notice loud and clear, but the slipcase looks classier being without it.

Or perhaps a silver foil sticker, nice and mirror shinny. The quad, 4-channel, or 4.0 mix being included is historical, and something very special. I want the world to know that this disc features something one cannot get anywhere else.

Yeay! I LOVE STICKERS!! :banana:
(If I can't cleanly peel them off the shrink to proudly stick them onto the jewelcase it really gets on my titty tit tits!)
 
The artwork mock-up for this showed up on Amazon today - it scared me for a second because it doesn't have the usual red circle proclaiming quad or 4.0 or anything, but you'll notice on the disc itself it says 'Hybrid Multichannel' and has an AFZ5 catalog number. Tentative cause for celebration?

View attachment 26651

That's correct. As Jon noted the addition of information like "4.0", "Quad", "Multichannel", etc. led to some confusion among buyers and in some cases a decision to take a pass on Multichannel SACDs from Audio Fidelity.
So there were instances where Stereo SACDs from Audio Fidelity were outselling the Multichannel SACDs due to the added information on the cover.

Starting with the August releases from Audio Fidelity, the emphasis on the cover will be to inform people that these are indeed SACDs that they have requested from Audio Fidelity.
There will be information elsewhere that shows the SACD has Multichannel tracks when it is a Stereo + Multi Channel SACD release. Similar to what other record companies do with their Multichannel SACD packaging.
 
That's correct. As Jon noted the addition of information like "4.0", "Quad", "Multichannel", etc. led to some confusion among buyers and in some cases a decision to take a pass on Multichannel SACDs from Audio Fidelity.
So there were instances where Stereo SACDs from Audio Fidelity were outselling the Multichannel SACDs due to the added information on the cover.

Starting with the August releases from Audio Fidelity, the emphasis on the cover will be to inform people that these are indeed SACDs that they have requested from Audio Fidelity.
There will be information elsewhere that shows the SACD has Multichannel tracks when it is a Stereo + Multi Channel SACD release. Similar to what other record companies do with their Multichannel SACD packaging.

Will they keep this colour for the slipcase to help us know it's Quad or will they eventually revert to the one they use for stereo? I think that by removing the circle and keeping this colour, they have the perfect combination.
 
Will they keep this colour for the slipcase to help us know it's Quad or will they eventually revert to the one they use for stereo? I think that by removing the circle and keeping this colour, they have the perfect combination.

I think the new layout will tell the story. And not scare off the Stereo SACD & CD fans.
 
I think the new layout will tell the story. And not scare off the Stereo SACD & CD fans.

The stereo fans were confused and frightened...... They know about SACD format, and understand the various layers I would hope, yet a special feature is added, and they get their panties into a twist, and they state that they ain't buying due to this confusion.

I think that some of them just hate surround, and resent it that AF gave that market some product. Surround haters will often say that they don't like it even done for that market, as if time and effort on the stereo mix has been shortchanged.

I recall the haters started an early rumor that the SACD of Tapestry, the issue without the surround layer had better "stereo" mastering than the second issue which included surround. Yes, they did in fact start this. Then one of the Sony mastering guys stepped into the conversation and stated that they are one and the same stereo mastering. Just weird.

Now who would an AF customer be who buys their product normally, sees an album that they are interested in, yet gets cold feat (or terminally confused) because it contains a (red sticker) 4.0 mix? I think they are just starting B.S. for the sake of it, just like the Tapestry SACD multi-chan haters who claimed it sounded worse with that added layer.

The reason some folks can't get into quad is because it requires a brain that can listen to additional various parts of a recorded program (separated) at the same time. Not everyone listens like this. It feels to some like 3-D movies with the glasses on, you get a headache after a while. I have a friend with ADHD, and has a hard enough time concentrating on a stereo recording for more than a song or two (it's sad), and multi-channel is like a nightmare to him, he can't listen like that.

But imo listening to multi-channel recordings is a privileged position, like sitting listening to a playback in the recording studio while additional vocal over-dubs are being performed. The sound is less "mixed" and more separate, and for me like an in-studio playback. To not be able to appreciate that at all is a drawback I think. But to state that (they are) not sure it will play on your stereo equipment, and you won't buy it, seems to me kind of weird. I would think that SACD buyers at this point all know about the format, and are hardly confused. But I can easily see quad haters expressing their disapproval, it has happened previously as I cited.
 
There is some misinformation bandied about on that site. It has a poor signal to noise ratio, if you like.
 
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