Nektar - Remember The Future hybrid SACD

[sspsandy]

Just received this in the mail today, so listened to the 5.1 mix. As far as I can determine, it is the original quadraphonic mix, just sharper separation and wider dynamic range. The center channel contains low volume sound, essentially complementing the front channels. The difference is that where the quad decoder struggled to keep up with the quad mix, here the sound moves back and forth effortlessly, and you can hear what the band was originally intending. The blends of the vocal harmonies are really nice, and the placement of the vocals is unique to this record. Where many quad mixes maintained the main vocal parts up front, here they are all around you, sometimes coming from the rears with the keyboards and drums coming from the front. The lead guitar solo at the end of side one is still located in the left rear channel, but you can hear it moving between the front and back speakers, the reverb changing places with the main solo. This kind of nuance was tough to reproduce in matrix quad, even with a Tate. From a longtime fan's standpoint, that they didn't attempt to create a totally new mix appeals to me, the original sound is damn near perfect, so by preserving it in a sonically superior format they've made a statement that engineers working on other classic 'gem' albums would be wise to heed. The surround layer only contains the original record, the bonus cuts are on the SACD and CD stereo layers. Another good choice in my book, since when listening to multichannel versions of fave records, I rarely want to hear the extras, they tend to be distracting, at least to me. To sum it up, one of the true pioneering quad releases reproduced in the modern SACD format with class and reverence for what made it great to begin with. :worthy :sun :brew

 

[timw]

Sandy, Thanks for the review. It sounds like they did a nice job on the surround mix of this classic. I'm hoping to pick it up soon.
BTW, I really like the job they did on the "Journey to the Centre of the eye" sacd. I believe you had mentioned this album was originally recorded using only 8-tracks. Pretty amazing surround mix for only 8-tracks!!!
Tim

 

[Malcolm2010]

Sandy,
does the stereo layer still have the SQ encoding as in the remaster cd?. It would be a huge bonus to have it on the cd as well as the "new" 5.1 mix.

Malcolm

 

[sspsandy]

Yes indeed, the cd layer and the SACD stereo layer still contain the original quad encoding.

 

[texquad]

This sounds great and is very discreet! Although it says 5.1 on the label, there is limited center and no sub channel. I wonder why? Also on direct A-B comparison with the 2002 Bellaphon re-master this one sounds like the EQ is flatter. One minor complaint, what's the deal with having to switch to the redbook layer for the bonus tracks? I guess that held down the cost, but that's the first time I've encountered that! Overall I must say it's a much richer experience that listening to on the Tate!
By the way sspsandy I will probably be selling my old re-master on Amazon or ebay, even though you said it's now a collectors item.

 

[Cai Campbell]

Sandy, your comments are right on the money. I received this in the mail yesterday and gave it a spin. I have listened to the SQ LP many times through my Tate and I was delighted to hear the SACD is the original quad mix. The best part was being able to listen to it for the first time without any decoding artifacts!

Some people will probably want to throw tomatoes at me for saying this, since I'm a squeaky wheel on the topic, but I do find there is too much noise reduction for my tastes. The SACD is a bit muddy compared to the air and dynamics offered by the LP. It isn't bad, though, so this is only a minor complaint. A true, discrete multichannel offering more than outweighs the slight reduction in fidelity.

I also received the multichannel SACD of Nektar's "Journey To The Centre Of The Eye". This one wasn't originally released in quad but has been remixed for 5.1 from the original multitrack tapes. I really enjoyed the mix, and obviously the tapes are in much better shape than the quad tapes used for "Remember The Future". The fidelity is quite good and the surround mix is aggressive and satisfying.

All-in-all I'm quite pleased with these releases! I hope they will be releasing "Down To Earth" on multichannel SACD as well.

 

[zabble]

]


I finally got this SACD in the mail last week (and I pre-ordered it!). It is nice to hear the original quad mix at its most discrete. Upon a casual first listening, the sonics didn't jump out at me as they do on some of my favorite SACDs and DVD-As. After reading Cai's post, it now occurs to me that perhaps overzealous noise reduction usage indeed is the culprit. I've listened again with a little bit of a high end boost, and it seems much better. I always prefer a little bit of hiss in exchange for the retaining the "air" of the music. Nonetheless, this certainly a welcome addition to my collection! Keep 'em coming Nektar!

 

[timbre4]

My rig is Denon (bright) and CSW speakers (neutral) and I found it quite solid, open, airy (bright), even enveloping given the source material. I could recommend this SACD release to anyone without hesitation.

I'll buy many more releases as they become available.