Quad LP/Tape Poll Black Sabbath: Paranoid [CD-4/Q8/QR]

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Rate "Paranoid"

  • 10: Great Sound, Great Mix, Great Content

    Votes: 9 22.0%
  • 9

    Votes: 8 19.5%
  • 8

    Votes: 12 29.3%
  • 7

    Votes: 10 24.4%
  • 6

    Votes: 2 4.9%
  • 5

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1: Bad Sound, Bad Mix, Bad Content

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    41
The clarity and sheen on the percussion hi-hat, cymbals, etc. tells the story on sound quality for me. It’s very nicely recorded and mixed. Any murky sludge is intentional.

I’ve probably already written this same thing years ago about the album and the quad mix as it appears on CD-4 and Q4.
 
The clarity and sheen on the percussion hi-hat, cymbals, etc. tells the story on sound quality for me. It’s very nicely recorded and mixed. Any murky sludge is intentional.

I’ve probably already written this same thing years ago about the album and the quad mix as it appears on CD-4 and Q4.

As you might guess...according to my avatar...

Love this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Wow. I had no idea something like this existed. One of my favorite Black Sabbath albums. Sure would love to listen to this.
Really? You should comb the entire listings here of every quad release from the 70s, and read the reviews of the ones you like. There’s likely to be others missed if you missed this one.

I’m always amazed at how many great classic albums actually got a quad mix. Add in the ones that later got a 5.1 mix, and there is an exceptional catalog of surround for the pop and rock fan. Many of them can fall under the radar. The quad “reel” releases rarely fall under the radar. Those holy grail / lost sea scrolls of the 4.0 world of surround, just love them all.
 
The alternate non-sped up ending to War Pigs is a fun treat.

This was one of the first quads I ever bought, so I'm probably biased.... but I love it. And I can't tell you how many Sabs-loving friends completely freaked out when they heard "War Pigs." I made so many cassette copies of that for people....
 
Really? You should comb the entire listings here of every quad release from the 70s, and read the reviews of the ones you like. There’s likely to be others missed if you missed this one.

I’m always amazed at how many great classic albums actually got a quad mix. Add in the ones that later got a 5.1 mix, and there is an exceptional catalog of surround for the pop and rock fan. Many of them can fall under the radar. The quad “reel” releases rarely fall under the radar. Those holy grail / lost sea scrolls of the 4.0 world of surround, just love them all.
As you suggested I took a quick look at the Quad LP/Tape polls and you are right. There is a veritable collection of titles in there. Most of the titles fall into one of three categories for me :
1) Totally unknown
2) Known well, but released on some other digital format in surround
3) Known but do not care much for.

There are a few sprinkled here and there that I would like/love to have that aren't available otherwise, however it is unlikely ( I wont say never, because I am often proven wrong on that !) I will ever own the equipment to play these tapes or LPs. But for people who have lived with a lot of these bands and this era of music (60-70's), I can see how it is huge treasure.
 
It may be worth mentioning that -rumour has it- enthusiasts have made the effort to transfer a few of these titles to digital (often DVD-A 4.0) , so some .iso files can be found floating around.

I have a 5.1 surround PARANOID on DVD which is probably bootleg, but very well-produced with interesting video (even if repeating). I once saw their 4th album in such a 5.1 package on eBay for an outrageous amount, then, after reconsidering, went back to get it and it had already been snatched. Haven't seen it since.
 
After reading the terrible reviews of the DTS/DD DVD official release I decided to seek out a Q4 transfer that is supposed to be far superior.
The one I found was labeled BLACK SABBATH DQR. It has a file Paranoid_DQR.iso. It has a 24/96 lossless 4.0 version of the album. The first
thing I noticed was that the quad version was 2 minutes longer than any official stereo version. I thought maybe there were longer versions
of some songs on the quad album but after comparison to the official 24/96 stereo I found that all the quad tracks were running slow.
After speed correction I listened to the quad version and found that most of the bass and percussion was in the front channels which I
really don't prefer. To my ears it sounds much better with the front and rear channels swapped. I just wonder if whoever did the transfer
messed up or if it was meant to be that way. Does anyone out there have a different Q4 transfer that runs at the correct speed and can
confirm that the channels don't need to be swapped.
 
My CD-4 pressing of this album was outstanding , at least I thought so.

This album Pretty much established Black Sabbath as THE true heavy metal gods. Bar none !

One of the best quad mixes and performance I own.

Back in the 70's shortly after it's release me and my buddies were absolutely wowed by their sound.
And the quad album lives up to it's stellar reputation . This and their first album are the best in my opinion.

High marks for this.

TEN.
 
After speed correction I listened to the quad version and found that most of the bass and percussion was in the front channels which I
really don't prefer. To my ears it sounds much better with the front and rear channels swapped.

It sounds like your copy might be reversed--I'm hearing drums almost entirely in the front channels on the title track and "Iron Man". The intro to the latter does have the kick in all four speakers (while the guitar moves counter-clockwise around the room), but there's barely any drum sound in the rears once the full band enters. There are a few moments in "War Pigs" and "Rat Salad" where the drum fills trade off front-to-back or move around the room. Another good reference for channel assignment is at the beginning of "Paranoid"--it should start with the signature riff moving from left rear to right rear before the drums come in upfront.
 
Huge Sabbath fan seen all the major incarnations and have multiple copies of most releases and while I think this album is a masterpiece the quad mix I have heard is mediocre at best a bit of reverb some slight panning nothing really great , sound is good content is great mix is eh
 
If I didn't mention it already, I think I did. The quad mix of this album has more clarity, like a less veiled sound, as if better mixing board, or some EQ applied. It just sounds cleaner but not too clean. The quad mixing works for me on all tracks other than the title track. That one has odd reverbs and distracting panning.

Love these in stereo as well. Machine Head, B$B, Aqualung, as well as this one are amazing quad mixes, and even if one plays them in stereo they deliver (I think). CD-4 LPs were in my top ten list.
 
Huge Sabbath fan seen all the major incarnations and have multiple copies of most releases and while I think this album is a masterpiece the quad mix I have heard is mediocre at best a bit of reverb some slight panning nothing really great , sound is good content is great mix is eh

What format? What type of setup?
 
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