Dutton Vocalion: Taking a Break or Done with Quad?

[sjcorne]

While other QQers fiddle with their output levels to achieve the perfect balance when playing certain, shoddily mastered*, 5.1/4.0 discs,the quality control achieved by Michael Dutton is second to none. And that ain't faint praise!

*for instance: "Fixing" the Jeff Beck Group's Rough and Ready quad (Sony SACD)

No offense to @Jim the Oldbie (great detective work!), but I don't think that's really a fair instance of a defective disc because tracks 1 & 2 are sped up on all versions of the quad mix (the old SQ LP and Q8 tape)- All Sony Japan did was reissue the quad mix, exactly as it originally appeared. It's not their job to actually go in and fix 40 year old errors on the quad master tapes (like the missing keyboard solos in "Come Dancing" on Wired, these speed issues, etc).

To me, "shoddy mastering" is more like the poor EQ on the original issue of SW's Thick As A Brick 5.1 mix or the flipped fronts/rears on Ten Years After's A Space In Time.

 

[DuncanS]

My credit card is kind of relieved that there are pauses between D-Vs excellent batches of Quad SACDs

 

[sjcorne]

bearing in mind we're 'overdue' another batch of Easy/Light DV SACDs (and there are certainly more Quads they could release from Henry, Percy, Hugo, Ray, that kind of artist/thing)

I'm actually really surprised we haven't got more of that stuff sooner- the last 3 release batches (April, July, September) were all pop/rock. At the end of the day D-V is still an easy listening label, so we're very lucky they're branching out stylistically with this quad program.

I personally could not be happier with all these gems they're pulling from the CBS/Sony vaults. My top requests right now are the Dave Masons, later BS&T, and some O'Jays- all seemingly plausible!

 

[The Rang]

My credit card is kind of relieved that there are pauses between D-Vs excellent batches of Quad SACDs

Me too.
I do have extra money in the budget now that AF is gone but I’ve been spending most of that catching up on other things (Various MoFi odds and ends, BJH, XTC, Japanese Doobies SACDs etc.)

 

[4-earredwonder]

No offense to @Jim the Oldbie (great detective work!), but I don't think that's really a fair instance of a defective disc because tracks 1 & 2 are sped up on all versions of the quad mix (the old SQ LP and Q8 tape)- All Sony Japan did was reissue the quad mix, exactly as it originally appeared. It's not their job to actually go in and fix 40 year old errors on the quad master tapes (like the missing keyboard solos in "Come Dancing" on Wired, these speed issues, etc).

To me, "shoddy mastering" is more like the poor EQ on the original issue of SW's Thick As A Brick 5.1 mix or the flipped fronts/rears on Ten Years After's A Space In Time.

Your partly correct, Jonathan.

Kind of Blue also had either sped up or slowed down master tapes and it WAS finally corrected after years of faulty releases in the 90's. http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/miles-davis-kind-of-blue-mono-speed-issues.232772/

The Ten Years After A Space in Time is IMO, THE absolute travesty. That release [as good as it sounds when fronts and rears are switched] was in DIRE NEED of a REPLACEMENT DISC! And it should've been LOSSLESS!

 

[Ninecats]

Taking a break?? I’m having a hard time catching up with their speed.