The Dreaded Saturation Point? (aka The QQ Support Group?)

[ar surround]

Have I reached the dreaded Saturation Point? It's a question I've been asking myself for the last several months. I lack zest for new surround sound releases of unfamiliar material. For example, the box set of The Band's Cahoots is being dumped by Amazon for $58, but I have no interest. I bought Moby Reprise for the Atmos mix. That was a one-and-done listen although I found it impressive. Ditto with the new Tull album. For whatever reason, stuff that wasn't embedded in my brain during my younger years just doesn't make an imprint because my music brain is saturated. All I really care about are what may be the next DV classic quads and Who's Next.

I'd rather listen to some familiar tunes upmixed to multi-channel by the Surround Master or whatever.

Anyone else go through this? Does it go away? Perhaps it's just old fart syndrome.

 

[Marplot]

It goes away ... you'll catch the strains of an artist you haven't heard before and their passion will be infectious.
But yeah, I have gone through chunks of time where if I didn't hear it as a teen, I don't want to hear it now.

 

[gene_stl]

Definitely related to the issues in this thread.

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...does-it-make-you-sad.32366/page-2#post-626276

 

[Scott65]

I'm feeling the same way. But I remind myself that I did discover the brilliant Yes Steve Wilson mixes by taking a chance and buying them. The prices were reasonable. Prior to that the only Yes song I was familiar with was Owner of a lonely heart.

For me price is starting to be a factor. I will happily buy all DV SACDs that get released (other than Classical, I do like some classical music but DV has too many discs for me to buy) but I am becoming fussy on super expensive sets that have a lot of things I don't need. For example, I did not buy the Kiss Destroyer set because it was way too expensive in my opinion and I would only have bought it for the surround mix.

I haven't heard any of the songs on it, but I bought the second edition of Tears for Fears 'The tipping point' because the price was reasonable.

I still live in hope that there will be more XTC 5.1 albums and new DV rock/easy listening discs though.

 

[gene_stl]

I am sometimes put off by the prices of things. It curbs your enthusiasm if you are buying something and it is expensive and it may not live up to your expectations. I like to buy things that people here have raved about. Of course being new to multichannel I have a long way to go before I lose enthusiasm.

 

[ar surround]

Definitely related to the issues in this thread.

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...does-it-make-you-sad.32366/page-2#post-626276

To an extent. I'm more talking about having only so much "bandwidth" in one's brain to absorb anymore music. Or perhaps it's like Lennon said in his Rolling Stone interview of 1971:

"That’s the music that inspired me to play music. There is nothing conceptually better than rock and roll. No group, be it Beatles. Dylan or Stones have ever improved on “Whole Lot of Shaking” for my money. Or maybe I’m like our parents: that’s my period and I dig it and I’ll never leave it."

 

[MTB Vince]

...I bought Moby Reprise for the Atmos mix. That was a one-and-done listen although I found it impressive...

Hmmm... After recently turning 58, I'm proud to say that I'm still very much open to great new music. So while I can empathize with what you are going through @ar surround, I don't identify with it fortunately. I do find that as I've aged I've become less tolerant of the "catchy pop fluff" trends. These days my music consumption tends

Addressing one of your specific comments, I too was a little disappointed with the Atmos Blu Ray and accompanying CD of Moby's Reprise. I expected a blind-buy of this title would be a no-brainer. I like the bulk of the material he covered, user reviews were generally good, and I really enjoy most of MTV's "unplugged" concert series releases where the band has been replaced or augmented with clever arrangements by a live orchestra. But instead it was a bit of a let down. The Atmos mix really didn't do as much to create an authentic sense of being in the conceert hall as I expected and I wasn't that impressed by the recording quality either. It wasn't terrible (like the studio surround mix of Marillion's latest ), but I was really hoping for better than the 7/10 Reprise merited in my opinion. I added the following critique to my Discogs entry as I catalogued this title in my collection:

"25 years of Moby's songs rearranged & played with an orchestra and guest vocalists. Musically good but not as amazing as one might have expected. Blu Ray audio Atmos disc isn't as airy sounding as the CD but the CD gets congested on the loudest bits."

 

[gene_stl]

When Sonik Wiz posted a list of albums that were 50 years old in 2021 I realized that by 1971 I was substantially done with Rock and Roll. I was 20 years old and had selected my wife and vice versa. I was not trying to be hip nor get a date.
There are a lot of late sixties albums I really liked alot and still do. But then I developed an inability to become aroused by record albums.
Of course everyones taste and trajectory iare different.

Even with the Beatles. Aside from their early sixties stream of hits, they had Rubber Soul , Revolver , Sgt Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine. I for some reason have a very distinct recollection of the day Abbey Road came out. I went to the record store and got it and brought it back to my apartment and played it. I was underwhelmed , by comparison to the aforementioned.. (I am still looking forward to obtaining a multi channel version of it) I like Let It Be even less. (Which is not to say that I didn't buy a spensive version. When I say I like it less , does not mean I don't like it.)

I have similar experience with Jimi, the Doors, Jefferson Airplane and others too. I think it is your age , and the music available ,during your rumspringen.

I was a freshman at Mizzou and met a guy at a party who was a "rock guitarist" . (Fall 1968) He asked me if I had heard the new Jimi Album "Electric Ladyland" "No I haven't" , Come on he said. We went back to his dorm room and very late at night he played it for me. It was unbelievable. But I never got very excited over anything he released subsequent to that. I still have a tendency to collect all the concert vids they keep releasing from Jimi's estate especially if they have mch.

I never have any trouble finding new to me and very interesting classical and world music. When I would see the new and current rock groups on Letterman I would think to myself. "Yawn , it's been done before" because it almost always had. Porkpie hats and sunglasses are so 19xx.

 

[perzon57]

Have I reached the dreaded Saturation Point? It's a question I've been asking myself for the last several months. I lack zest for new surround sound releases of unfamiliar material. For example, the box set of The Band's Cahoots is being dumped by Amazon for $58, but I have no interest. I bought Moby Reprise for the Atmos mix. That was a one-and-done listen although I found it impressive. Ditto with the new Tull album. For whatever reason, stuff that wasn't embedded in my brain during my younger years just doesn't make an imprint because my music brain is saturated. All I really care about are what may be the next DV classic quads and Who's Next.

I'd rather listen to some familiar tunes upmixed to multi-channel by the Surround Master or whatever.

Anyone else go through this? Does it go away? Perhaps it's just old fart syndrome.

What's your age? I'm 64 and I don't feel that way.

 

[ar surround]

What's your age? I'm 64 and I don't feel that way.

I'm a little older. I think that one of the issues is that I'm too fascinated with equipment. I spend an inordinate amount of time revisiting old favorites to see if I can make them sound better via Logic7, Surround Master, Auro3D, Dolby Surround or whatever. @Sonik Wiz has shown me how applying a judicious amount of phase blending can yield even more impressive result from stereo recordings played through the Surround Master. Heaven help me if I get into something like Penteo or Specweb.

Oh, and I spend too much time on this forum.

 

[barfle]

For me, it comes and goes. I was really impressed with Catherine McPhee’s voice while I was watching “Bombshell,” and I boight her Christmas CD. I liked it, and bought a few more, but the music on those didn’t do anything for me. That was maybe five or six years ago.

Modern popular music seems like it’s not music, and I don’t really bother trying to find an artist I like by listening to the radio. I have a lot of music to listen to already (see my avatar), so I don’t feel all that hungry for more. Occasionally I’ll see a recommendation on this forum or other sites I participate in, and spend a hundred bucks or so on a new experience, but it’s been a long, long time since I found something I wanted to listen to enough to be able to hum later.

Yeah, I figure it’s “old fart syndrome.” I fit the description, and I figure I have for forty years or more.

 

[~dave~~wave~]

For example, the box set of The Band's Cahoots is being dumped by Amazon for $58, but I have no interest.

No interest in buying more box sets, or no interest in even listening to it?

This would be considerably more depressing to me if it were not available to stream on Apple Atmos.

If someone who was seriously following rock music 50 years ago has no interest in ever hearing surround versions of 4% Pantomime with Van Morrison and Richard Manuel or When I Paint My Masterpiece sung by Levon, that's a bit of a shame IMHO.

 

[ar surround]

No interest in buying more box sets, or no interest in even listening to it?

Well it would depend on the album / set. If it's an unfamiliar album, then it comes down to recommendations, like The Tipping Point which has gotten rave reviews. (Thank goodness they issued a rerun.) It seems that there are enough other folks with no interest in an expensive box set of Cahoots among others. Otherwise, Amazon would not be dumping them at huge discounts. Yeah, I'd say that price point is also significant factor when it comes to new or unfamiliar music.

This would be considerably more depressing to me if it were not available to stream on Apple Atmos.

If someone who was seriously following rock music 50 years ago has no interest in ever hearing surround versions of 4% Pantomime with Van Morrison and Richard Manuel or When I Paint My Masterpiece sung by Levon, that's a bit of a shame IMHO.

You know, the other problem with reaching The Dreaded Saturation Point is how much time one wants to spend sitting among 11 speakers listening to music...as fantastic as it may sound. Too many other interests.

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

Modern popular music seems like it’s not music, and I don’t really bother trying to find an artist I like by listening to the radio.

At one point I thought I had reached the dreaded saturation point but then I just realized there's a lot more bad music out there these days.
If you dig hard enough, there's some cool gems. But it takes a LOT of digging.
My rule of thumb these days is that if someone I know has heard of an artist, they make bad music.

 

[erebus]

I know the feeling. I usually just buy surround releases now of music I know and love and don't take chances on material I'm not familiar with. Thank you for mentioning that Cahoots is in the $50 range, because I've been waiting for a price drop. My copy arrives tomorrow.

 

[ar surround]

I know the feeling. I usually just buy surround releases now of music I know and love and don't take chances on material I'm not familiar with. Thank you for mentioning that Cahoots is in the $50 range, because I've been waiting for a price drop. My copy arrives tomorrow.

Erebus, you should watch this thread for Sales and Coupons:

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...t-codes-megathread.22716/page-116#post-627112
Also, this new surround sound album from our own @Mr. Afternoon is HIGHLY recommended:

https://mrafternoon.bandcamp.com/album/the-golden-bonana

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

Also, this new surround sound album from our own @Mr. Afternoon is HIGHLY recommended:

https://mrafternoon.bandcamp.com/album/the-golden-bonana

Huh, I forgot about that...

 

[kfbkfb]

I moved from AT&T dial-up to AT&T fiber in 2020-08, since then I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos (and lately audios) and listening with my default DPL2 music mode surround sound creator.

FM radio doesn't play a lot of the older songs (I started listening to WHB-AM in 1970), it's been entertaining to listen to individual songs again in created surround sound since in many cases I heard the stereo FM broadcast in mono.

Maybe make yourself some year by year playlists with YouTube videos/audios (possibly with notes about how well each song sounds in created surround sound and share them with QQ).


Kirk Bayne

 

[FooBarFoo]

It goes in waves. The amount of new multichannel content on Apple Music makes me smile.

However, the way we experienced content has changed, and a key element of the nostalgia is missing. Part of the joy has always been around the hunt for discs. Basking in the thrill of finding something in the used bin at store where they didn't even realize it was the 5.1 sacd you were looking for.

Sure, most of it is enjoying the music, but a crucial part for me is the hunt itself. Nothing beats the feeling of looking for something for 3,4,5 years or more and then... there it is, in your hand.

Some of my best moments were an afternoon in Rasputin Music in the Bay Area, finding Depeche Mode SACD for $8. Or an estate sale with some high end AV gear and a stack of 10 dvd-a's. Or a shop ditching dual discs for $4 because no one wanted them. Part of that is woven into the history of my collection, but I fear those days are gone. I love getting a bargain online and thanks so much to everyone who posts when something comes up... but... it's just different now. It's not the same as stalking the used bins at a record store for a gem- feeling like an audiophile multichannel Indiana Jones...

We have lived our lives in a golden age of physical media (think about all the formats available in your lifetime, vs your parents or grandparents), and it will soon end. Despite the vinyl resurgence, physical media releases will inevitably shrink each year- movies, music, etc.

streaming- no scratches, no bit rot, etc. Edit- It's not perfect when compared to higher resolution physical content, but give it time. We now have lossless stereo streaming- how long before we get lossless multichannel?

The key is to psychologically transition from hunter of bins to farmer of streaming services, because many more titles will show up on streaming that will never make it to ANY form of physical media.

I'm still looking for Roxy Music Avalon and Metallica Black Album (at a reasonable price, lol). One day I will get them, but my bet is they will simply show up in Apple Music with new Atmos mixes, if I can learn to be a patient farmer.

 

[NYMo]

The only " new " band I've been listening to (since I only got into surround a year ago) is Opeth !
( Yeah...I know they have been around for 20 years ... I'd seen the name but never heard...call me impressed !)
Otherwise, it's the same bands I've been listening to for 50 years !
( Which never disappoint )