HiRez Poll Bernstein, Leonard & NY Philharmonic - HOLST: THE PLANETS [SACD]

[sjcorne]

Please post your thoughts and comments on the 2022 Dutton-Vocalion SACD release of this classical album from the quadraphonic era, originally released in 1973 by Columbia on SQ matrix-encoded LP and Quadraphonic 8-Track (Columbia MQ 31125, MAQ 31125).

As a bonus, this SACD also includes an additional Columbia SQ classical release, "A Tribute To Benjamin Britten", which was originally Columbia M 34259.

NOTE: "Holst: The Planets" (MQ 31125) was released by Sony in 2002 as a 5.1 SACD (SS 87981), but it was NOT the original quadraphonic mix. For some bizarre reason, it was more of a 3-channel remix - totally destroying the original intent of the recording!

This poll is ONLY for the 2022 Dutton-Vocalion SACD with the original quadraphonic mix, as shown below.



Pre-release thread for all shipping/ordering queries and non-poll related posts:
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...-and-soundtrack-quad-sacds-feb-16-2022.31896/

 

[4-earredwonder]

An extraordinary performance by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic of Holst's warhorse THE PLANETS in stunning Discrete state of the art sonics.

By filling out this disc with Benjamin Britten's Four Sea Interludes, Op 33a from Peter Grimes and Passacaglia, Op 33b, again, from Peter Grimes, Dutton Epoch has afforded us over 76 minutes of world class Quadraphonic performances!

A 10!

 

[dadregga]

This is considerably superior to the older Sony SACD release (which I also own) - it has the proper, original quad mix (quite aggressive - almost to the point of being rear-biased), and it doesn't have the bad/obvious tape edits present in previous digital releases of this performance (Jupiter, around 2:33).

That being said the quad mix has *a lot* of tape hiss that sometimes gets quite loud - this might be my speakers/setup but it's more noticable in the quad mix IMO.

 

[sjcorne]

That being said the quad mix has *a lot* of tape hiss that sometimes gets quite loud

I noticed that too, but I think it's unavoidable due to the extreme dynamics of the quad mix. Better to have it left alone than lose some of the high-end response from noise reduction processing. The noise floor is considerably lower than the old quad 8-track, where the quieter passages in "Neptune" nearly disappear beneath a sea of hiss.

 

[artwwweb]

Mix: 5/5: Not as discrete or showy as the very best 'rock' mix, but it's plenty discrete with all-over action. Different groups of instruments from all around, with their relevant reverb filling the room. If you don't normally like classical recordings and their 'ambient' mixes, have no fear, this will satisfy you.
Sound: 4/5: Seems very good. (I possibly need my ears de-waxed so it might be even better than that!)
Music: 4/5: Seems like a good version - the dramatic is dramatic, the subtle is subtle, etc. Genuinely exhilarating to listen to. The foreboding of Mars, the pleasure of Jupiter, etc.

I'm not going to vote due to my limited knowledge of classical (e.g. is this a good version) and my present inability to be sure on the sound. But based on the mix and the fact that the sound is at least very good, I highly recommend this disc even to people (like me) who rarely buy classical. But of course simply being a DV release is a guarantee of quality as long as you like the music.