Chicago Quadio - 9 Quad Albums on Blu-ray Audio.

[skherbeck]

Say it aint so.

I've always held Darkside (quad) as the standard by which all surround mixes are compared, but I have to say... if I lived in a universe where I was faced with the choice between two discs/sets to listen to for the rest of my life, I'd take the Chicago Quadio over the Darkside Blu-ray!

 

[4-earredwonder]

A VERY positive review of the Chicago Quadio box from blu~ray.com. At least it's getting exposure: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Chicago-Quadio-Blu-ray/155246/#Review

 

[rtbluray]

I think the CONTENT is legendary and that is what garners all of the praise...NOT necessarily the MIX...let's not forget that the band opted for the Guthrie mix over AP's mix when it came time to release it

For me, content is king for most of these surround releases, including this Chicago set. I didn't know all of this material before owning this set, but I knew enough of it to know that I wanted it in my collection.
There's only certain releases for me where the surround mix definitely trumps the actual content contained therein, like the recent Audio Fidelity SACDs for "Spectrum" (Billy Cobham) and "Winelight" (Grover Washington Jr.) Both are good enough albums as is, but it's the surround mixes for these albums that really push them over the top.
That's why I think it's important when voting to weigh content, mix, and fidelity equally, and this Chicago set is an example of a release that excels in all areas!

 

[Clint Eastwood]

]]For me, content is king[/B][/B] for most of these surround releases, including this Chicago set. I didn't know all of this material before owning this set, but I knew enough of it to know that I wanted it in my collection.
There's only certain releases for me where the surround mix definitely trumps the actual content contained therein, like the recent Audio Fidelity SACDs for "Spectrum" (Billy Cobham) and "Winelight" (Grover Washington Jr.) Both are good enough albums as is, but it's the surround mixes for these albums that really push them over the top.
That's why I think it's important when voting to weigh content, mix, and fidelity equally, and this Chicago set is an example of a release that excels in all areas!

Yep...content is king for me...if it wasn't the case I could just buy a disc with test tones on it and get superb sound quality and it would be immersive but what's the point if you don't like it...even though I was around when Chicago was at its peak I wasn't really familiar with all their songs and like you many are being heard for the first time by me as well....I'm a guy that loves the hits and for ME Chicago ceased to exist after Peter Cetera left the band...they went from a national band to a regional one..but this collection has made me more appreciative of all their songs

 

[rtbluray]

Yep...content is king for me...if it wasn't the case I could just buy a disc with test tones on it and get superb sound quality and it would be immersive but what's the point if you don't like it...even though I was around when Chicago was at its peak I wasn't really familiar with all their songs and like you many are being heard for the first time by me as well....I'm a guy that loves the hits and for ME Chicago ceased to exist after Peter Cetera left the band...they went from a national band to a regional one..but this collection has made me more appreciative of all their songs

Yep, Chicago is a perfect example of a band that tried to keep laying golden eggs after their golden goose flew the coop, but what I love about these albums (I-X) is that throughout this entire time, Chicago was a band of equals! Nobody shone brighter than anyone else, and that's what makes these albums so unique and varied. The combination of the horns, Terry Kath's blistering guitar work, Peter Cetera's soaring voice, and Robert Lamm's sharp, pointed songwriting created so many memorable moments that sound even better when broken out like this in discrete, quadraphonic sound! It really doesn't get much better than this!

 

[fredblue]

For me, content is king for most of these surround releases, including this Chicago set. I didn't know all of this material before owning this set, but I knew enough of it to know that I wanted it in my collection.
There's only certain releases for me where the surround mix definitely trumps the actual content contained therein, like the recent Audio Fidelity SACDs for "Spectrum" (Billy Cobham) and "Winelight" (Grover Washington Jr.) Both are good enough albums as is, but it's the surround mixes for these albums that really push them over the top.
That's why I think it's important when voting to weigh content, mix, and fidelity equally, and this Chicago set is an example of a release that excels in all areas!

So true Ryan.. I realise it probably makes me sound kinda ignorant/narrow-minded in my music choices but I would never have picked up an album like "Winelight" unless it had been in Surround.. and oh my would I have been missing out on an absolute Surround Music gem if I hadn't taken the plunge.

This Chicago set continues to amaze me.. I'd already started to get to know the Quads of II, VI, VII, VIII, IX & X throughout my SQ LP consuming mania last year and beginning of this year.. but none of that truly prepared me for the joy, the riches, the sheer 'pump your fist, get up and dance and smile like a loon' feelings of euphoria this Quadio set are providing.. its an absolute epic monster of a Surround Music release - the kind that several Quad experts, chief among them Jon Urban himself, were suggesting as just the kind of ideal Quad reissue.. and wow, Rhino must have listened to Jon U because they have delivered BIG TIME.

 

[fredblue]

GREAT New **** & 1/2 Review from Jeffrey Kauffman over at Blu-ray.com... :upthumb :upthumb

Chicago Quadio Blu-ray.com Review Jun 29 2016

 

[fredblue]

Chicago Quadio Discussion thread over @Blu-ray.com makes for interesting reading..

Chicago: Quadio - 9 album Quadraphonic|Stereo Blu-ray Audio set June 17 pre-order

 

[JonUrban]

Both DSOTM and CHICAGO QUADIO are in fact Box Sets. The DSOTM box does include the Guthrie 5.1 mix which gets forgotten with all of the love for the original AP mix around here. The Quadio has multiple titles so it's a bit heavier in the content but remember the voting is not on the individual titles included in the boxes, it's for the entire package. (As is the voting for the BRICK and the Bjork Box and others I can't remember off hand)

 

[Tornado Red]

GREAT New **** & 1/2 Review from Jeffrey Kauffman over at Blu-ray.com... :upthumb :upthumb

Chicago Quadio Blu-ray.com Review Jun 29 2016

It was a nice review. I've been a fan of JK reviewing BD concerts and audio for a few years now, and rarely do I ever disagree with his findings.

 

[rtbluray]

OT: is it too early to start submitting cover design ideas for future Quadio releases? The great thing about a Quadio box set with four albums is that you can do a design like this:



(NOTE: This is not a design for a real release! Just me messing around…)

(UPDATE: made it look a little better with the wood background.)

 

[quicksrt]

OT: is it too early to start submitting cover design ideas for future Quadio releases? The great thing about a Quadio box set with four albums is that you can do a design like this:

View attachment 26618

(NOTE: This is not a design for a real release! Just me messing around…)

(UPDATE: made it look a little better with the wood background.)

I like this a lot. Cool idea and design. A few more tweaks are needed. Some kind of integration of a quad or four speaker logo is needed and important imo. Like branded into the wood a 4-Chan logo at top, bottom and left and right. Simple and small but classy - burned into the wood look.

 

[rtbluray]

I like this a lot. Cool idea and design. A few more tweaks are needed. Some kind of integration of a quad or four speaker logo is needed and important imo. Like branded into the wood a 4-Chan logo at top, bottom and left and right. Simple and small but classy - burned into the wood look.

I'd leave the cover as is, but I would do like the Chicago set and put "The Doobie Brothers QUADIO" on the sides of the set with the album titles listed.
Then on the backside, I would have the same Quadio diagram and blurb that is also on the Chicago set.
Finally, I would have the Quadradisc logo in the top corner of every album sleeve as well as on every Blu-Ray disc itself, just like they appeared on the original CD-4 vinyl releases.
Who knows? Maybe someone from Warner Music/Rhino will see this and run with it! Couldn't hurt, could it?

 

[himey]

I went over to avs forum to see what the consensus was about this release and only one person has given their opinion and it wasn't a good one. I guess most people go there for hardware stuff and video. That was the first forum I ever joined over a decade ago, but I rarely have returned there over the last several years. If I was looking for a new tv or a reciever I would check it out but not for much more these days. That used to be the best place for PC audio info...

 

[fredblue]

I went over to avs forum to see what the consensus was about this release and only one person has given their opinion and it wasn't a good one. I guess most people go there for hardware stuff and video. That was the first forum I ever joined over a decade ago, but I rarely have returned there over the last several years. If I was looking for a new tv or a reciever I would check it out but not for much more these days. That used to be the best place for PC audio info...

What was their problem with it? Don't tell me, the video contents in 1080i not 1080p.. LMFAO..

..actually I'd be interested to read that review (morbid curiosity usually gets the better of me!) do you have a link to it at all please, himey?

 

[himey]

What was their problem with it? Don't tell me, the video contents in 1080i not 1080p.. LMFAO..

..actually I'd be interested to read that review (morbid curiosity usually gets the better of me!) do you have a link to it at all please, himey?

Boosted upper end treble. One second and I will link it...here: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/112-surround-music-formats/2439586-chicago-9-disc-quad-blu-ray-box-set.html

 

[Clint Eastwood]

What was their problem with it? Don't tell me, the video contents in 1080i not 1080p.. LMFAO..

..actually I'd be interested to read that review (morbid curiosity usually gets the better of me!) do you have a link to it at all please, himey?

One of the problems for many videophiles(and especially those on the AVS forum) is coming to terms with no center channel for audio....I know as I came from the video world...trying to get them used to no center channel is like trying to get someone off of crack...most of the time they are in denial...and I'm not talking about the river in Egypt..it is so ingrained in their thought process that listening to quad just sounds like a muddled mess(to them)..and the ones that aren't distracted by no center channel have these smallish surround speakers that were designed for video applications...not for the demands of discrete surround mixes in the quad discs...

 

[JonUrban]

Hey y'all. Can we get back on track here? This thread is so big now that if I try and edit it I am afraid the same thing that happened to Tim will happen to me and we'll lose a bunch of posts again, then you guys will all get back on the conspiracy bus, which you'll instantly throw us under!

So, everyone has their own tastes, let's not belittle anyones as it's totally subjective.

And of course, reality turns into falsehood, the Aretha Quadio did not kill Quadio. Corporate downsizing killed Quadio. If you guys don't remember, the Rhino exec in charge of Quadio upon it's birth joined and posted here and was all fired up for the program. However, IIRC, right after the Aretha, WEA pulled the rugs out from most of their employees and they cut back staffing across their company, including Rhino. I believe John Hughes got swept out in that purge and that probably is what did Quadio in. Let's leave Aretha alone, K?

Here's a link to John Hughes original thread: https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?13176

 

[ar surround]

...And of course, reality turns into falsehood, the Aretha Quadio did not kill Quadio. Corporate downsizing killed Quadio. If you guys don't remember, the Rhino exec in charge of Quadio upon it's birth joined and posted here and was all fired up for the program. However, IIRC, right after the Aretha, WEA pulled the rugs out from most of their employees and they cut back staffing across their company, including Rhino. I believe John Hughes got swept out in that purge and that probably is what did Quadio in. Let's leave Aretha alone, K?

Here's a link to John Hughes original thread: https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?13176

Jon, I accept that you have more insight into the matter than me. Unfortunately, the Aretha title was bombed out at $17.99; and at other times with other large discounts. So even if the sales figures for the Aretha title did not affect the original Quadio program, my concern remains that companies such as Warner et al will want to see big sales numbers for items like this Chicago Quadio box in order to maintain interest in the format. So all I ask is that they choose their future titles carefully no matter who the artist.

Also, no dislike whatsoever on this end for Aretha or Streisand. Both super-great talents.

 

[JonUrban]

Please note that this thread has been "cleaned up". Nothing has been deleted. I moved posts that did not reference the Quadio Chicago release, or suggested releases of non-WEA titles and speculation. Those thoughts and scribblings can continue in the off-shoot thread located here:

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...ff-Topic-Posts-from-the-Chicago-Quadio-Thread

Please continue here to discuss the Quadio Box set, including when you ordered it, when you got it, who you got it from, the status of any replacement discs, dealing with Rhino, playing the discs properly, discussions from other internet forums and web sites, and anything else directly related to the box or Quadio past and present.

If you want to discuss potential box sets from other companies or artists not signed to WEA/Rhino, either start a new thread or post in the new thread.

This will keep this thread on topic and readable for future members and guests going forward who do not want to wade through posts having nothing to do with this box or Quadio.

Thanks for understanding