Sly & the Family Stone Greatest Hits - 4.0 Audio Fidelity Multichannel SACD (October 2015)

[Clint Eastwood]

It's so odd... On one hand, people are complaining that the mono mix is off center, while on the other hand people are begging for surround-only releases of all the rare quad recordings!@:

(By the way, you only need one speaker to hear a mono recording!)

I know...I'll just stay off this thread...there will be more knee jerk reactions on here than in a chiropractor's office

 

[milt]

Hey, I'm still waiting for mine. But if there is an issue it's not unreasonable to raise it right?
I get that some people are only interested in the 4.0 but what if it was the 4.0 layer that was affected?
I have 2 systems and one isn't surround capable. I'd like to be able to hear the mono layer as it was intended.
After all there was a huge discussion as to what should be included on the disc, mono or stereo, and the mono was the "original" artist intent so to speak.
The correct decision was made to go with mono, imo.
Something got f'd up. Wouldn't be the first or the last.
Brian stated AF is aware and will provide replacement discs.
Until then I'll set the balance on my pre-amp to compensate.
I had to check that it had a balance control.

 

[quicksrt]

I wasn't going to jump into this discussion, but that's just too ridiculous of a suggestion.
Brian has said time and time again on here that SACDs are Audio Fidelity's main form of business and that the main crowd that they cater to are those who want well-mastered Stereo SACDs. Now, they try to cater to that crowd and surround sound fans by releasing titles that will benefit both groups of listeners.
None of us would like it on here if there were issues with the surround mix on the Multichannel layer leading some (on other sites and forums) to suggest that it may be best to drop the surround mixes altogether, would we?

I thought I was being funny, I mean with the recent discussion on this exact topic and all I figured all forum member readers would be in on the joke.

 

[rtbluray]

I thought I was being funny, I mean with the recent discussion on this exact topic and all I figured all forum member readers would be in on the joke.

Your post didn't come across as a 'joke', but if that's what your intention was, then fine by me. A little wink at the end can sometimes go a long way…

 

[cupboy]

I believe that what is called the mono SACD layer is actually DUOPHONIC. I get all sorts of musical output from the surrounds and rears using PLIIx which should not happen with a pure mono source.

I think mono is usually recorded on 2 tracks rather than just one so there's going to be slight differences in the channels due to head alignment or head design mismatches.

 

[Franklin]

I thought mono was recorded on one (broad?) track, and then played back using a mono head. Playback with a stereo head is where problems can occur.

 

[blue.monk]

My copy arrived today. Fun, old school quad mix to be sure! Great music (of course) and excellent sound given the source. I’m not a big fan of the drums and bass hard-panned to either side in rears but I can understand the choice as it echoes the placement found on the original stereo mixes.

 

[bmoura]

My copy arrived today. Fun, old school quad mix to be sure! Great music (of course) and excellent sound given the source. I’m not a big fan of the drums and bass hard-panned to either side in rears but I can understand the choice as it echoes the placement found on the original stereo mixes.

The early Columbia Quad Mixes were done this way in large part to help the early SQ Matrix decoders which used "SQ Logic" to turn up the volume of the predominant channel and reduce the volume in the other channels. As matrix decoders became more sophisticated, so did the Quad mixes.

 

[jefe1]

Well I just got my copy in and had the chance to listen to it a couple of times.
Great great fidelity, just superb sounding. Great bass, I don't hear any distortion, these tapes must have been in very good shape to sound this good.
I enjoy the active placement and can really hear what is going on. When I vote this will probably be a nine from me.

The above pertains to the quad mix. When it comes to the mono something is not quite right but I don't know what is is.
There is a great loss of fidelity when switching from the quad to mono and less bass. Mono can sound very good, Im thinking of a John Coltrane sacd I have of an early mono album that sounds fabulous.

I like how the vocals are more prominent and centered in the mono, gives me the feeling of driving a convertible in the mid 60s listening to these songs on your dashboard AM radio speaker (not that I was driving then...).
I did not do a headphone test to check the centering of the mono mix, didn't seem bad over the front speakers but again something seems wrong with the mono.
Im grateful to have this and thank AF but wondering what happened with the mono mix and wondering if they know there is a problem they are going to rectify why are they still distributing this and not at least making an announcement. Surely their regular customer base is buying it for the mono hits not the quad.

 

[bmoura]

I'm grateful to have this and thank AF but wondering what happened with the mono mix and wondering if they know there is a problem they are going to rectify why are they still distributing this and not at least making an announcement. Surely their regular customer base is buying it for the mono hits not the quad.

Audio Fidelity has been informed about the problems with the SACD Mono tracks drifting to the left.
A new pressing is due out in 3-4 weeks from what I've read on QQ. You can send Audio Fidelity an email if you'd like to get the corrected SACD when it is ready.

 

[quicksrt]

Well I just got my copy in and had the chance to listen to it a couple of times.
Great great fidelity, just superb sounding. Great bass, I don't hear any distortion, these tapes must have been in very good shape to sound this good.
I enjoy the active placement and can really hear what is going on. When I vote this will probably be a nine from me.

The above pertains to the quad mix. When it comes to the mono something is not quite right but I don't know what is is.
There is a great loss of fidelity when switching from the quad to mono and less bass. Mono can sound very good, Im thinking of a John Coltrane sacd I have of an early mono album that sounds fabulous.

I like how the vocals are more prominent and centered in the mono, gives me the feeling of driving a convertible in the mid 60s listening to these songs on your dashboard AM radio speaker (not that I was driving then...).
I did not do a headphone test to check the centering of the mono mix, didn't seem bad over the front speakers but again something seems wrong with the mono.
Im grateful to have this and thank AF but wondering what happened with the mono mix and wondering if they know there is a problem they are going to rectify why are they still distributing this and not at least making an announcement. Surely their regular customer base is buying it for the mono hits not the quad.

You mean you've read nothing about a problem with the mono on the SACD layer, nothing at all? You just found it sounded odd by yourself?

Let us know if the CD player in mono is ok? I'd like your opinion of that.

 

[jefe1]

quiksrt, I've only listened to the sacd layers not the cd layer. I read here that the mono layer had a balance issue that's what my first post on this subject addressed. I understand from comments on the internet that the cd layer is good so I will take a listen to that, probably in my car.
I also understand that if you email AF they will put you on a list for a repressed corrected disc, that is what I have done. But their web site does not state this, only Steve Hoffman in one of his posts.

 

[John Svensson]

Received my disc yesterday and immediately thought it sounded "off" as I wasn't being sent into quadraphonic nirvana.....oh yeah, my left back speaker had blown one of its fuses and gone off-line. I guess I will see if the local Radio Shack store is still operational and maybe stock up on a couple, otherwise I understand the Walmart auto section carries a good selection. Will rate when I get 4 channels back!

 

[GOS]

This was the second Quad LP I ever owned, purchased from the local Woolworth's store but the LP never sounded this good! I love every song, I don't think that the vocals are centered on any track, they weren't afraid to experiment in the early Quad days! Could be that they didn't have a lot of master tracks to mix from. I haven't listened to the mono tracks yet but there are times that you like to hear the original hit without pulling out an old scratchy 45. This is not for the stereo only crowd! I have to give this a 10!

Woolworths! There's a blast from the past. I used to buy nearly all my music from Woolworths....wow!

 

[fredblue]

Woolworths! There's a blast from the past. I used to buy nearly all my music from Woolworths....wow!

You know, they very nearly made it to 100 years in business here before their UK operation went into administration.. such a shame I loved them, I bought my first ever records there over 30 years ago, happy memories.. our local Woolies is now a Poundland (yep.. everything's £1... some of it is worth that or more.. though some of the stuff is, to be frank just total garbage - but can we rightfully expect, lets say 8 x AA batteries for just a pound, are really gonna be anywhere approaching the prowess of the duracell bunnies double A's? )

 

[quicksrt]

You know, they very nearly made it to 100 years in business here before their UK operation went into administration.. such a shame I loved them, I bought my first ever records there over 30 years ago, happy memories.. our local Woolies is now a Poundland (yep.. everything's £1... some of it is worth that or more.. though some of the stuff is, to be frank just total garbage - but can we rightfully expect, lets say 8 x AA batteries for just a pound, are really gonna be anywhere approaching the prowess of the duracell bunnies double A's? )

We call those stores "Dollar Stores" here in the states. The big chain in the western US is ".99 Only" stores. This store has saved my budget a few times or more on items costing 3 to 4 times more elsewhere. But Woolworth's had hit 45 singles for 3/ $1.00 in the late 60s and early 70s, and I stocked up on those magical hit songs still so dear to me. It's all so clear to me now.

 

[ar surround]

We call those stores "Dollar Stores" here in the states. The big chain in the western US is ".99 Only" stores. This store has saved my budget a few times or more on items costing 3 to 4 times more elsewhere. But Woolworth's had hit 45 singles for 3/ $1.00 in the late 60s and early 70s, and I stocked up on those magical hit songs still so dear to me. It's all so clear to me now.

Here on the east coast, we called Woolworth's "The 5 and 10" as in 5 and 10 cents. Always was a great day when Mom said that we were going to the 5 and 10!

 

[GOS]

Here on the east coast, we called Woolworth's "The 5 and 10" as in 5 and 10 cents. Always was a great day when Mom said that we were going to the 5 and 10!

Oh boy - back in the late 60's to early 70's, in my small town (850 folks) we had a little store called Pennies. Man, I loved that store. They had creaky old wooden floors and they had the small candies down the aisles in those plastic bins with the lids you had to open. Whoa...those were such wonderful days.

 

[quicksrt]

Here on the east coast, we called Woolworth's "The 5 and 10" as in 5 and 10 cents. Always was a great day when Mom said that we were going to the 5 and 10!

"Five & Dime" I think they were called. Not as common in the western states.

 

[quicksrt]

You know, they very nearly made it to 100 years in business here before their UK operation went into administration.. such a shame I loved them, I bought my first ever records there over 30 years ago, happy memories.. our local Woolies is now a Poundland (yep.. everything's £1... some of it is worth that or more.. though some of the stuff is, to be frank just total garbage - but can we rightfully expect, lets say 8 x AA batteries for just a pound, are really gonna be anywhere approaching the prowess of the duracell bunnies double A's? )

Fred, our .99 Only store has HDMI, mini USB, standard USB, iPhone car chargers, S-Video, mini-headphone, RCA to Mini, etc cables for $1.00. That's right even parallel printer cables I bought there for a buck many years ago.

This cheap Chinese junk is not supposed to work right? You should be able to hear the loss of soundstage, dynamics, etc. with cheap cables right??? Let me tell you about those cheap .99 USB cables vs. the high priced USB audiophile USB with gold connectors and sexy snake skin shielding - no never mind, we need not go there. But I will say my printed pages look vibrant and crystal clear and sharp with that .99 cable. I would master a Japanese CD-4 of Marvin Gaye with a set of those dollar store cables if it was what I had to work with. LOLOLOL