DVD/DTS Poll Chicago - Chicago Transit Authority [DTS 96/24 DVD]

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Rate the DTS DVD of Chicago - CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY


  • Total voters
    102

Bob Romano

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Please post your comments on Chicago - Chicago Transit Authority (DTS/DD DVD)
Should be released 3/23/2010
 

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Let's save this thread for actual reviews and leave the "mine shipped!" and "yay!" posts for the other thread. Thanks
 
Listening right now to this its certainly QUAD tastic, Never having been a fan of Chicago untill i got II on DVDA this is all new to me and nothing like the commercial chicago I so did not like.

It profiles as 4.0 DTS on my player sounds very good (Though not as it would if it was completely mixed from original tapes) the bass is a bit 'dull' though teh playing is supurb.

Altogether glad I have it though it was a tad expensive shipping (You shoudl see the siz e of teh box use what a complete and utter waste.

Will mark it after a couple of listens
 
I agree on the bass a bit flat, but still sounds pretty good with the dts 96/24. Arrived well packaged for such a small disc. Not much in the way of extras. But that's ok. It's the sound and transfer quality we're concerned about. The mix is what it is, the quad mix and the sound is decent but not spectacular. So I must rate this for what it is, a good transfer from a quad source with no extras. How much do you up it to due to the paltry number of surround releases? I give it an 8. I applaud Rhino for putting this out and hope they do more.
 
Just got mine.

Mini LP cover, paper inner sleeve, removeable wrap.

I think this is as good as a flat transfer from a Quad mix, delivered via DTS, can be. Horns and vocals are nice and cutting, yes, bass is dull (which probably fit the mix in stereo) but accurate. I suppose we'll never hear a 5.1 mix from the multitracks...Sell me more Quad DTS! Offer them as downloads! I have broadband!
 
I don't have any complaints on this except it's a little expensive for what you get. I guess they learned that these have to be treated as niche products and thus high priced for them to make money.

Also they incorrectly label this as a dvd audio. There isn't even an empty audio_ts folder on the disc. I undrstand they don't want calls from people who say "there's no video on this dvd/it's not a dvd, etc, etc." but still, don't they have to be technically correct on what it is-- a dvd video?
 
Also they incorrectly label this as a dvd audio.

I saw that, too, when I got mine. Both the blue paper strip and the disc itself. I was hoping for a DVD-A surprise, but figured it wasn't since somebody else would've posted about that by now.

Anyway, I think the sound is good enough, especially if I just sit and let myself enjoy the wonderful brass sounds, the extremely active surrounds, the music itself; and don't try to focus on the negatives too much---like the lackluster 'deep bass' or the fact that it's DTS and not DVD-Audio. Honestly, I don't know how quickly I'd have picked up on the lack of really deep bass had it not been mentioned. But the bass is a little bit light or dull or what have you, I'll begrudgingly admit.

I'll add that I'm glad to see that Rhino included a 'floating' (as opposed to static/stationary) CTA logo that veeerrrrry slowly moves from left to right so as to help reduce any chances of burn-in on my plasma television.

So in short? Very good treble. Quiet bass. I figure an 8. Or maybe a 9, we'll see. (What I do know is that the quiet bass keeps it from being a 10, in my opinion.) Still fairly happy with the release, though. Let's have more of these "QuadTastic" releases, Rhino!
 
Love Chicago, glad to have this in MC. Sounds pretty darn good for what it is and I'd take more in a heartbeat.
Granted, the bass is a bit "quiet" but it's better than getting it from an 8-Track or SQ disc.
I give it a 9.
Good job Rhino! Keep 'em coming!
 
I wonder how many folks will get this who own the 5.1 systems with little speakers in the corners and a big sub-woofer which will not get any info from this disc if their receiver does not do the bass management.

It will probably sound really tinny to them. In this case, it probably would have been a good thing if they created a .1 channel from the 4 quad channels just to compensate for those with little speakers
 
My vote was a composite 8, driven by 8 for the content, 7 for the sound and 10 for the effort to release it. Album shows how inventive the band was from the beginning, before the pop glaze overtook them at times later. Poem58 showcases what a surprisingly great improvisational guitar player Terry Kath was.

The quad mix is surely what we expected; it doesn't stray much from a stock mixing strategy for a few songs, then it becomes a little more surprising and inventive. The fidelity is certainly not bad; if you want the 1970's type of dynamic range this is exactly what you're getting. Without the previous Chicago DVD-A 5.1 releases to gauge with, this DTS DVD could've ranked higher, but they do exist after all.

Nice touch with the reproduced quadradisc graphics on the inside sleeve and the ricepaper sleeve inside. These touches and the "Now listen to some quadio!" printed banter tell me that they really put some thought into this. It leads me to believe there will certainly be more; lot of trouble to just make a single release.

The album is at least a minor classic, which merits owning. It's a 21st century digital Quadradisc, which merits purchasing! Enjoy
 
My vote was a composite 8, driven by 8 for the content, 7 for the sound and 10 for the effort to release it. Album shows how inventive the band was from the beginning, before the pop glaze overtook them at times later. Poem58 showcases what a surprisingly great improvisational guitar player Terry Kath was.

The quad mix is surely what we expected; it doesn't stray much from a stock mixing strategy for a few songs, then it becomes a little more surprising and inventive. The fidelity is certainly not bad; if you want the 1970's type of dynamic range this is exactly what you're getting. Without the previous Chicago DVD-A 5.1 releases to gauge with, this DTS DVD could've ranked higher, but they do exist after all.

Nice touch with the reproduced quadradisc graphics on the inside sleeve and the ricepaper sleeve inside. These touches and the "Now listen to some quadio!" printed banter tell me that they really put some thought into this. It leads me to believe there will certainly be more; lot of trouble to just make a single release.

The album is at least a minor classic, which merits owning. It's a 21st century digital Quadradisc, which merits purchasing! Enjoy

Couldn't have said it better....(y)
But I am giving the audio a 8, sounds better than I expected.
Makes my new speakers sound real good. :smokin
 
Anybody notice the mistracking? They have Prologue which plays all the way through Someday.... then with Someday on the screen you actually hear the beginning section of Liberation. When Liberation breaks down the slide changes to Liberation. As far as the sound goes I dont really have quiet bass. I think it sounds way better than the conversion I have from Q8 so I am really happy with my purchase!
 
Well, let me start by saying that I love the way the bass sounds on my system, but I guess it's just a matter of taste. Also, I like this much better than the two Chicago DVDAs because the mix is much more discrete. I don't think I could be happier with this.

I love the way the mix will change within the song - I noticed several times when the horns were in the left rear for part of the song, then across the front for a different part of the song. Same with the guitar and keyboard. I also like the hand claps move from speaker to speaker in "Listen" and the words "I do love you" move from speaker to speaker in "Poem 58". I love that when the instruments come in one at a time, they're each in a different speaker. I love the way about 2:24 into "Poem 58" the guitar wraps around to the rear speakers for a while then goes back.

I love the packaging, too. It's such a faithful reproduction of the original gatefold cover, it just makes you feel like you've got something special in your hands.
Now, if I'm honest, I've always believed this album could have been a single rather than a double. There are several VERY self-indulgent moments, not the least of which is "Free Form Guitar".

I'm giving this a 9, because in my book it is a "must have" disc. Not a 10 because of the self-indulgent content that I usually skip through.
 
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Absolutely not. Bass management is a speaker system issue, not a mix delivery issue. Crafting an LFE channel from the bass content of others and delivering it on a separate disk channel is an almost sure way to screw up the playback on 99% of the systems it will reach.

I can't imagine anyone with a Bose-equivalent system not running it without bass management - they would think the speaker system is broken. It's much more likely that someone with speakers that go down to 60 Hz or 40 Hz will make the assumption that they don't need to integrate the subwoofer with bass management.

Rhino is surely misguided when they went to the effort to include a bass management option on the disk.


I wonder how many folks will get this who own the 5.1 systems with little speakers in the corners and a big sub-woofer which will not get any info from this disc if their receiver does not do the bass management.

It will probably sound really tinny to them. In this case, it probably would have been a good thing if they created a .1 channel from the 4 quad channels just to compensate for those with little speakers
 
Mine arrived today, and I'm listening to it right now ("Poem 58" is just beginning). Too soon to rate it, but what I've heard so far sounds great. I've got small little satellites and a sub, and it sounds like plenty of bass to me. Of course, my receiver has the the sub output set to +8, but it sounds full and powerful none the less.

I'm puzzled as to why the percussion section at the end of "Beginnings" is all front center. Was that recorded onto only one track of the multitrack tape?

J. D.
 
Well, let me start by saying that I love the way the bass sounds on my system, but I guess it's just a matter of taste.

Indeed, everyone's differing tastes might could be a factor. And, although I can only speak for myself, I worry that my comments about the bass make it sound extremely flawed. It's not; I can definitely hear the deep bass notes. I just would've preferred a little bit more 'oomph!' down low, if I were to have given it a perfect '10'. I ended up giving it an 8, which to me still ranks it as one of the better surround albums out there.

It's good to see that lots of folks are really digging Rhino Handmade's "Quad-Tastic" release. We've got some nice comments about it here, of course. And there are also some nice comments about it in the CTA thread over at SH's, too. Hope to see more releases like it in the future!
 
Absolutely not. Bass management is a speaker system issue, not a mix delivery issue. Crafting an LFE channel from the bass content of others and delivering it on a separate disk channel is an almost sure way to screw up the playback on 99% of the systems it will reach.

I can't imagine anyone with a Bose-equivalent system not running it without bass management - they would think the speaker system is broken. It's much more likely that someone with speakers that go down to 60 Hz or 40 Hz will make the assumption that they don't need to integrate the subwoofer with bass management.

Rhino is surely misguided when they went to the effort to include a bass management option on the disk.

You're right. I hate when classic mixes are futzed with by doing things like creating a fake .1 channel. I was only thinking along the lines of people with crappy systems trashing the release because they did not know how to use their receiver. Along the lines of the early days of SQ, when folks brought home an SQ LP and their crappy non-logic matrix receiver would basically do nothing to the signal. That turned off a lot of potential quad fans who heard no quad from their quad system.
 
Mine was in my mailbox this morning as I backed down the driveway for my first Saturday errand. Perfect timing for a full day of errands. I must give this a 10 -- admittedly due partially to nostalgia. Chicago III was the very first LP I puchased with my hard earned paper route money, but I was naive then and thinking of the songs on TA and II when I bought it. In succeeding months, I bought Chicago Transit Authority and II as well and they have been part of me ever since.

There are several VERY self-indulgent moments...

Yes there are -- and I love every second of it -- it *was* 1968 after all. I can imagine it might be a bit tiresome without the memories to go along with it, but the memories are there; so I'll keep it and play it the way it is. And what a treat to have that indulgent guitar in its own discreet channels in all its glory :D

As it is DTS, I have no problems with the bass. Now if it were DVD-A, I would not be able manage the bass and would have an issue. At home it is less of an issue because of full range speakers at each corner and/or a bass management option, but 80% of my listening happens in the car; so I'm a big fan of a .1 channel. Is it fake if it is the full sum of all 4 channels? (Probably the wrong question for this forum, so just consider it rhetorical and I'll ask elsewhere.)
 
You're right. I hate when classic mixes are futzed with by doing things like creating a fake .1 channel. I was only thinking along the lines of people with crappy systems trashing the release because they did not know how to use their receiver. Along the lines of the early days of SQ, when folks brought home an SQ LP and their crappy non-logic matrix receiver would basically do nothing to the signal. That turned off a lot of potential quad fans who heard no quad from their quad system.

I'll add that, considering this release is (I think) only sold via Rhino Handmade's own webstore, I should think 4.0 is just fine (for DTS, at least). In contrast to the first go-round of quad, where albums were probably readily available at Kmart and Sears, I figure this new Quad DVD release of CTA is such a niche product that anyone who bothers to acquire it is a hi-fi enthusiast and has probably already configured their receiver's bass management settings.
 
As it is DTS, I have no problems with the bass. Now if it were DVD-A, I would not be able manage the bass and would have an issue.

I wonder if this played a part in Rhino's decision to not include DVD-A? (And, if so, how large of a part?)

Currently, I can do fairly flexible DVD-A bass management in my receiver thanks to HDMI. Prior to that I had a couple of players that could do bass management inside the DVD-A, but the crossover was not adjustable. But, before those players, was one that lacked bass management for DVD-A completely.
 
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