Mobile Fidelity reissuing Michael Jackson's "Thriller" on SACD

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The old SACD has some glitches (funny little spikes that actually put it out of SACD spec with regard to some peak levels. It can be cleaned up with a tool like Audacity, but it is the only SACD I've seen with those bizarre spike in the wave form.
How odd...

Out of interest, what method did you use to extract the DSD bit-stream?
 
Honestly, there are occasional situations where I find the monetary issues regarding SACD releases to be a head scratcher. I’m guessing that Intervention Records wasn’t hit with exorbitant fees regarding their recent stereo SACD release of “The Fantastic Expedition Of Dillard & Clark.” I have no inside information, however, I can’t see there being a huge market for this release which also tops out somewhere in the 35 minute range. “Thriller,” OTOH, is such a slam dunk that I could easily imagine MoFi making good on their investment even with a MCH release. In fact, MCH would make it shoot up even further to the top of any list of highly coveted collectors items.

I just hope that MoFi’s “Thriller” actually makes it to a release date and within our lifetime.
 
Can anybody remember which company was offering this album as a DSD and FLAC download?

EDIT: Just found that it was HDtracks. And it's still available.

I bought my 24/176.4 FLACs from Qobuz. Can't remember exactly when it was--sometime in the early/mid teens?--but also still available. These FLACs reportedly came from the 2006 SACD (which was based on the 1999 remaster) and converted to PCM using the "SARACON" system.
 
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How odd...

Out of interest, what method did you use to extract the DSD bit-stream?

I just reconverted using DSDMaster (Mac app) but had previously done it with Saracon.

Specifically there are a bunch near the beginning of Billy Jean, and one about 2/3 into The Girl Is Mine.
 

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The old SACD has some glitches (funny little spikes that actually put it out of SACD spec with regard to some peak levels. It can be cleaned up with a tool like Audacity, but it is the only SACD I've seen with those bizarre spike in the wave form.

Doesn't Super Session have the same issue (or something similar) in "Season of the Witch"?
 
Now is the time to sell the OOP Thriller SACD before the prices sink like a rock. I can’t imagine that the MFSL version won’t top it.


That would be difficult. Audibly, the old SACD is pretty near perfect.

As mentioned, technically it's got a handful of instantaneous 'overs' on three tracks* -- something that should not have happened during SACD authoring -- that you can see logged as warnings if you convert DSD-->PCM with foobar2000's plugin and monitor the process in the Console window. Also quite visible in waveform view. But as they are so brief, they aren't audible to me in normal listening (and I haven't tried 'abnormal' listening to hear them).


*The Girl Is Mine (2), Beat It (3) , and Billie Jean (20)
overs.png
 
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Well.... 'details' are crucial.

Such as... How was the DSD stream obtained. Was it extracted from an SACD or was it downloaded from HDtracks?

That's an interesting question, though I doubt there would be a crucial difference. If there was, it would certainly raise questions.

Mine was extracted from the SACD to an ISO file with the usual ripping software + an amenable player.

If the DSD stream was converted to LPCM. How was it done. And at what sampling rate and bit depth?

Beyond 44/16, it would hardly be 'crucial' to human ears. Bats maybe. (My own are converted from the ISO at 88/24, just because. I don't imagine it's crucial for them to be.) It is more crucially important to monitor level when converting from DSD, and I do that as described.
 
Mine was extracted from the SACD to an ISO file with the usual ripping software + an amenable player.
Indeed, I've backed-up all my SACD's using my old OPPO BDP-103. And re-encoded many of them to LPCM at 88.2KHz/24-bit. I experimented with 176.4KHz/24-bit but was unable to hear any difference between the two.

But more often than not, I opt to play the extracted DSD64 bit-stream...
 
Is MFSL anti-Multichannel - or are they anti-extra costs and challenges and limited return on Mch?

My sense is MFSL is pro-“making money”.

I do know Intervention Records is on the record about not being interested in Mch.
Tomato tomato, the point is they don't do them.
 
I'm confused... You converted what from what? What was your source?

ISO ripped with a hacked PS3. If you want me to do it again with my Oppo, I'll be glad to. Are you implying that something was wrong with my methods (that don't show up on the 200-300 other SACD rips I've done?
 
Yup, visible and "instantaneous 'overs'", but nothing I would notice.

They show up as weird max levels and maybe affect DR number on those tracks.

Just weird glitches on an otherwise fine SACD, but IMHO worth mentioning.

That would be difficult. Audibly, the old SACD is pretty near perfect.

As mentioned, technically it's got a handful of instantaneous 'overs' on three tracks* -- something that should not have happened during SACD authoring -- that you can see logged as warnings if you convert DSD-->PCM with foobar2000's plugin and monitor the process in the Console window. Also quite visible in waveform view. But as they are so brief, they aren't audible to me in normal listening (and I haven't tried 'abnormal' listening to hear them).


*The Girl Is Mine (2), Beat It (3) , and Billie Jean (20)View attachment 78913
 
preordered yesterday. this one came out of the blue from MFSL as I did not see it on the 2022 release calendar. I have the original SACD also. Will be interesting to compare
 
The old SACD has some glitches (funny little spikes that actually put it out of SACD spec with regard to some peak levels. It can be cleaned up with a tool like Audacity, but it is the only SACD I've seen with those bizarre spike in the wave form.
I'm not sure what that has to do with how good the original SACD sounds, but...ok. Regardless it's probably just an artifact of converting from DSD to PCM. And can you hear them? I can't.
 
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