Billy Joel's "52nd Street" 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Coming in Oct. '18

[marpow]

Very dissapointed. The 5 speakers are all firing hard, but the mix is 100% frontloaded Like a ginat stereo with rear loudness. Best if you sit on side between a front and a rear speaker, then at least you can hear the rears. I know there will be tweakers after me saying turn down this and turn up that, but that is not my style.

If you don't like my ears then use your own.

 

[edisonbaggins]

Very dissapointed. The 5 speakers are all firing hard, but the mix is 100% frontloaded Like a ginat stereo with rear loudness. Best if you sit on side between a front and a rear speaker, then at least you can hear the rears. I know there will be tweakers after me saying turn down this and turn up that, but that is not my style.

If you don't like my ears then use your own.

This set has an alternate surround mix?

 

[quicksrt]

Very dissapointed. The 5 speakers are all firing hard, but the mix is 100% frontloaded Like a ginat stereo with rear loudness. Best if you sit on side between a front and a rear speaker, then at least you can hear the rears. I know there will be tweakers after me saying turn down this and turn up that, but that is not my style.

If you don't like my ears then use your own.

You left the all-stereo button engaged?

 

[4-earredwonder]

My copy from CDJapan arrived today, got home, grabbed a beer and some Corn Nuts, a splash of Jack Daniels, turned on the rig, and I have a McIntosh Firmware update, yes or no? I went with yes and have about 26mins to go. In the meantime I have Chicken Pot Pie in the oven and ripping more DVD-Audio's. Oh, yes and talking to you mug's.

The original SONY mch SACD sounded nothing like that Markie........Try again!

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Thought I would mention some discount coupons at cdJapan

 

[Nova]

My copy from CDJapan arrived today, got home, grabbed a beer and some Corn Nuts, a splash of Jack Daniels, turned on the rig, and I have a McIntosh Firmware update, yes or no? I went with yes and have about 26mins to go. In the meantime I have Chicken Pot Pie in the oven and ripping more DVD-Audio's. Oh, yes and talking to you mug's.

So in a Nutshell ....... LIFE IS GOOD !

 

[skherbeck]

Very dissapointed. The 5 speakers are all firing hard, but the mix is 100% frontloaded Like a ginat stereo with rear loudness. Best if you sit on side between a front and a rear speaker, then at least you can hear the rears. I know there will be tweakers after me saying turn down this and turn up that, but that is not my style.

If you don't like my ears then use your own.

Wow, the original SACD has a decent surround mix... I thought this would have the same mix...

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Wow, the original SACD has a decent surround mix... I thought this would have the same mix...

I was under the same impression about the mix but this one has a 2011 remastering by Ted Jensen...

 

[marpow]

This set has an alternate surround mix?

I have never seen an SACD with alternate surround mixes. It is either one layer multi channel or one layer stereo.

To clarify, the sound coming out of all my speakers is very powerful, nothing weak in front 3 or 2 rears. When I sit and listen I just hear a room filling stereo, obviously better than stereo. Do I hear, a sax solo separate, a guitar solo separate, drums mixed between speakers, any type of rhythm section moving around, NO, NONE OF THAT, and vocals through out are locked dead center.
At this point in my surround listening experience I am confident in what I heard, but of course if somebody has the same new disc I am welcome to being wrong.

Ralphie, I'll try again. But my machine is perfect, I am pretty good, but.............................

 

[Strilo]

I definitely want to hear what others think of this mix...

 

[fredblue]

I definitely want to hear what others think of this mix...

there are quite a few opinions in the QQ Poll thread for the original release;

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/index.php?threads/joel-billy-52nd-street-sacd.4064/

(unless the surround mix is different on this new Japanese release of course and then we're in uncharted territory!)

 

[Strilo]

Yeah that's the question. Seems like marpow is not a fan...

 

[fredblue]

Yeah that's the question. Seems like marpow is not a fan...

hmm.. now i wonder if Markie has the old version to compare?

just before i go and switch my brain off for the next few hours with a bevvy of soap opera's, I thought I'd report on my having briefly blitzed thru the old 52nd Street disc.. skipping thru to the tracks I used to play most.. and blow me down but this might just nudge upto a QQ "10"..!

its a lot better than I remember - and I'd already rated it a "9" on that basis...plus i'd forgotten how much fun it is to shut off the Centre channel and go all BJ karaoke on those tracks that are mixed with his lead vocal hard in the Centre only...

"oooooh-ooooooh-ooooooohhh.. its just a half a mile awaaayyy..."

ok.. i may not sing as well as Billy but I bet I do a better BJ! HA!!

thank you and goodnight..!!

 

[Strilo]

To my ears the surround mix of 52nd Street is top notch. I love it so much.

So what other Billy Joel albums are in 5.1 surround? I know about 52nd Street and The Stranger. Anything else I should hunt down?

 

[Clint Eastwood]

To my ears the surround mix of 52nd Street is top notch. I love it so much.

So what other Billy Joel albums are in 5.1 surround? I know about 52nd Street and The Stranger. Anything else I should hunt down?

Here is a chance on a used one...well worth the money if you can get it for a decent price..

 

[Strilo]

I dunno... I've never been a fan of that album. His albums really start with Turnstiles for me.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

I dunno... I've never been a fan of that album. His albums really start with Turnstiles for me.

I grew to like the songs....there aren't any other audio only surrounds from Billy Joel...

 

[key_wiz]

To my ears the surround mix of 52nd Street is top notch. I love it so much.

So what other Billy Joel albums are in 5.1 surround? I know about 52nd Street and The Stranger. Anything else I should hunt down?

Audio Fidelity released the 70s quad mix of "Streetlife Serenade" a couple of years ago. Pretty good quad mix.

Joel is definitely on my short list of artists for which I would like to much more of their catalog mixed to surround. I'd love to have Glass Houses, Nylon Curtain and Innocent Man in 5.1!

 

[Strilo]

Nylon Curtain and Storm Front would top my list of ones to get next.

 

[key_wiz]

I dunno... I've never been a fan of that album. His albums really start with Turnstiles for me.

One of my favorites albums of his. Would love to hear someone do a 5.1 of this one, especially since I've always thought this one wasn't mixed very well in the first place. Always has sounded 'flat' to me.

There is a quad mix of this one out there from the 70s which maybe we will see get released on disc someday? But apparently there are a lot of problems with that mix. Missing instruments on some tracks and such.