HiRez Poll Wakeman, Rick - JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH [DVD-A]

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Rate the DVD-A of Rick Wakeman - JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH

  • 6:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 5:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1: Poor Fidelity, Poor Surround, Poor Content

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    13

JonUrban

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Rate the DVD-A of Rick Wakeman's 1974 release JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, which includes the original quadraphonic mix.

Available in a deluxe set as well as a 2 disc CD/DVD-A package.

wakeman_journey-480x449.jpg
 
I voted a 7 for the RBCD/DVD~A 2 disc set.

Considering it [4.0] was mastered from a Q8 of Journey, the fidelity of the tape moving @ 3/34 ips was admirable and seamless with good use of surrounds.

As I did mention in another post, the high resolution stereo track [presumably from the original masters] was better, IMO, as it should be.

Considering the rather low price of this set, it comes with a hearty recommendation. http://www.deepdiscount.com/journey-to-the-centre-of-the-earth-deluxe-edition/600753634561
 
My favorite RW quad, music 10, quad mix 10, quality very good for the source, but does bring the overall score down to a 9. Love it.
 
Last edited:
Is this a needle drop quad like the other two Wakeman albums, or is it off the masters?
 
Q8 drop. Fostex conversion done by me. Unfortunately, when asked, the folks at Abbey Rd. seem to not recall what source they went with, so no official confirmation is forthcoming....but it aligns perfectly with my source files I sent. It's a bummer the master tapes seem to be lost.
 
Q8 drop. Fostex conversion done by me. Unfortunately, when asked, the folks at Abbey Rd. seem to not recall what source they went with, so no official confirmation is forthcoming....but it aligns perfectly with my source files I sent. It's a bummer the master tapes seem to be lost.
You are one of the lasting legends of quad excavation and restoration and deserve the credit where due. Rotten of them to not remember your effort.

I find it hard to believe all masters and copies of that quad album are gone for good. It might just be some expense nobody wants to pay for in order to find them.
 
Ordered. More or less to honor AoQ's contribution. I'm not usually crazy about albums with narraration, but I can see putting thus on once in a blue moon. It's fun enough.
Thanks for the heroic efforts AoQ.
 
Needledrop

Thanks. That is a DEFINITE pass then. I got suckered into buying Myths and Legends and Henry VIII and I won't make that mistake again. Lousy mixes, lots of distortion and low dynamic range. If I buy a DVD-A, I expect it to sound better than an old 1970s LP. Henry VIII is the absolute worst sounding surround album I own.
 
Thanks. That is a DEFINITE pass then. I got suckered into buying Myths and Legends and Henry VIII and I won't make that mistake again. Lousy mixes, lots of distortion and low dynamic range. If I buy a DVD-A, I expect it to sound better than an old 1970s LP. Henry VIII is the absolute worst sounding surround album I own.

You did see the clarification that this quad is sourced from q8, right? While that isn't the master tape, my guess is it doesn't feature some of the annoying artifacts of LPs.
 
You did see the clarification that this quad is sourced from q8, right? While that isn't the master tape, my guess is it doesn't feature some of the annoying artifacts of LPs.

Personally I reckon that an old Quad tape or record in the hands of someone like AoQ, Bob Romano, etc who
i.) really knows what they're doing,
ii.) has quality equipment, properly setup
and iii.) has a real talent for it..
..can be a most wonderful thing to behold.

I've always had a lot of time for those people but since I started screwing around with old Quad records myself recently (and learned first hand how long-winded a hassle the whole process can be even to turn out the kind of mediocre stuff I've done) my respect for what they do has gone onto a whole other level.

Their wonderful work preserving those vintage Quads, including those that are missing from the labels' archives like these Rick Wakeman albums but also those Quads, too numerous to mention, that are still not available in a modern-day format, shouldn't be underestimated imho :)

Edit: I'll add a iv.) to that list of criteria = tapes or discs in the best condition you can find is a must..!
Fwiw I've had to accept old Quad records in the kind of shape i'd never have lived with if just stereo but some of these old Quad records are rather thin on the ground plus not being based in the States has been and continues to be a real pita, many times international shippings been more expensive than the records.! :D
 
What is Q8? Were the other two Rick Wakeman albums done differently?

Q8 is tape. The other two releases sourced the surround mixes from LP.
It's consumer-grade tape, not the master. So it's still "buyer beware." One of our members supplied the Q8 tape from his collection and did a great job on the transfer too.
 
What is Q8? Were the other two Rick Wakeman albums done differently?

Q8 = Discrete 4-channel 8-track tape.

afaik, AoQ (and others) occasion to disassemble these carts and run them thru a modified reel to reel unit for increased stability, fidelity, etc., from what I've gleamed its quite a procedure but it can pay off quite some dividends. Even without that process a Q8 in great nick handled by someone who knows their onions can sound excellent.

It has been suggested in the months since its release that the Six Wives was from an SQ-matrixed LP (there have been several conflicting reports but I'm not prepared to go into the details, I was one of the beta testers on the projects and I'm under an NDA as it is) and King Arthur was said to be from a CD-4 vinyl conversion.
 
A commercial 8 track tape like my brother used to have in his Barracuda? Yikes. I would have to hear that before I trusted it. 3 3/4ips mass manufactured at 15ips with each channel on the same tape area as an audio cassette isn't exactly an audiophile format. And to do quad, they would have had to use the thinner tape stock that always ended up jamming that they used on extended length 8 tracks. I could see a four track quarter inch commercial tape at 7 1/2, like the ones I use with my Akai R2R sounding good, but 8 track was a kludgy format from the very beginning.

Are there any samples of this process for download or at YouTube?

Six Wives sounded abysmal. Myths and Legends was only marginally better. I would rather just listen to the CD than either of them.
 
A commercial 8 track tape like my brother used to have in his Barracuda? Yikes. I would have to hear that before I trusted it. 3 3/4ips mass manufactured at 15ips with each channel on the same tape area as an audio cassette isn't exactly an audiophile format. And to do quad, they would have had to use the thinner tape stock that always ended up jamming that they used on extended length 8 tracks. I could see a four track quarter inch commercial tape at 7 1/2, like the ones I use with my Akai R2R sounding good, but 8 track was a kludgy format from the very beginning.

Are there any samples of this process for download or at YouTube?

Six Wives sounded abysmal. Myths and Legends was only marginally better. I would rather just listen to the CD than either of them.

I have a Q8 to DVD-A conversion of Six Wives (I just double checked how it sounds rather than rely on memory and it is incomplete for some reason, I'll look into that in the morning) but the 30-odd mins approx that is there absolutely kills any other version I've heard, it is stunning in every way imaginable.
As outlandish as it sounds (8-track was a flawed format from the outset imho) you'll just have to trust me on this, I've heard hundreds of old Quads (gotta be in the region of 500 now, though I've long stopped counting) and when a Q8 conversion's done really well the results can be impressive.
 
A commercial 8 track tape like my brother used to have in his Barracuda? Yikes. I would have to hear that before I trusted it. 3 3/4ips mass manufactured at 15ips with each channel on the same tape area as an audio cassette isn't exactly an audiophile format. And to do quad, they would have had to use the thinner tape stock that always ended up jamming that they used on extended length 8 tracks. I could see a four track quarter inch commercial tape at 7 1/2, like the ones I use with my Akai R2R sounding good, but 8 track was a kludgy format from the very beginning.

Are there any samples of this process for download or at YouTube?

Six Wives sounded abysmal. Myths and Legends was only marginally better. I would rather just listen to the CD than either of them.

Don't quote me on this, but I'm assuming the Stereo DVD~As of all three Wakeman releases were mastered from the original analogue masters and DO sound SIGNIFICANTLY better.

I also agree with you on the SQ of 8 track. When the majors started releasing Open Reels at 3 3/4 ips it was THE nail in the coffin for that format. I never forgave Capitol when they released Sgt. Pepper in 3 3/4 ips on Open Reel.....to save tape, of course!
 
My Akai R2R plays all four channels in one direction, but I never ran across a commercial tape in that format. Were many albums released that way? I never really looked though because until home theater, I had no way to play surround.

The main reason to buy a "deluxe" version of these albums is for the surround mix. If they are just going to remix and remaster the stereo, they should just issue a CD.
 
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