Good SACDs???

Danny Tse

Polkatese,

The link you posted is to a deluxe remastered CD of "True"; it's not the SACD. The SACD cost about US$31.00 on the Amazon UK website, so it's about a couple of dollars more than the remastered CD. As far as packaging, the SACD of "True" is very bare bones. The track notes of the deluxe remastered CD, written by Gary Kemp, is available at Spaudau Ballet's official website. Kind of funny that Gary Kemp mentioned the Doobie Brothers in the track notes.

polkatese

Got it! thanks...

EDIT: Order went out, 17.24 GBP = $32.23 USD

Look forward to this one!

Danny Tse

I posted this over at HomeTheaterForum.com several days ago. I didn't see this coming since it was not mentioned in High Fidelity Review or listed as upcoming releases at sa-cd.net. I was browsing through yesasia.com looking for a new DSD-remastered Nat "King" Cole compilation when I came across these Sarah Brightman titles.....

Time To Say Goodbye (multi-channel hybrid SACD)

La Luna (multi-channel hybrid SACD)

Eden (multi-channel hybrid SACD)

All released by EMI....and according to JimChan at HTF, these are released by EMI of Hong Kong. I will keep an eye out for the 2nd Nora Jones album on SACD.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Originally posted by Danny Tse
I posted this over at HomeTheaterForum.com several days ago. I didn't see this coming since it was not mentioned in High Fidelity Review or listed as upcoming releases at sa-cd.net. I was browsing through yesasia.com looking for a new DSD-remastered Nat "King" Cole compilation when I came across these Sarah Brightman titles.....

Time To Say Goodbye (multi-channel hybrid SACD)

La Luna (multi-channel hybrid SACD)

Eden (multi-channel hybrid SACD)

All released by EMI....and according to JimChan at HTF, these are released by EMI of Hong Kong. I will keep an eye out for the 2nd Nora Jones album on SACD.

Way cool, I've been waiting for some of her stuff to come out on SACD...

Danny Tse

Actually, here're 2 more titles released by EMI....

The Piano Player - Maksim

The Vionlin Player - Vanessa Mae

Both are multi-channel hybrid SACDs. The Sarah Brightman titles and these 2 generally reflect the musical taste of Hong Kong, if these were indeed released by EMI of HK.

On the other hand, Hong Kong Arista also released "Kenny G Live" and "Air Supply: The Ultimate Collection" on SACDs.

mesquitehead

All the Nickel Creek stuff sounds great...very good "coustic" sound.

F1nut

In addition to many of the fine recordings already listed......

Amiee Mann - Bachelor No.2
Amiee Mann - Lost In Space
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
Roxy Music - The Best Of Roxy Music
Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan - In Session
Patricia Barber - all of them
The Rolling Stones - `Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!
The Rolling Stones - Though The Past Darkly
The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
The Who - Live At The Royal Albert Hall
The Who - Tommy......in 2 channel!!!
George Harrison - Live In Japan
Man Of The World - Reflections On Peter Green
Billy Joel - The Stranger
The Police - Every Breath You Take
George Thorogood and the Destroyers - Move It On Over
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
Hilary Hahn - Bach Concertos
Empire Brass Quintet - Baroque Music
Ravel - Bolero
Handel - Music for the Royal Fireworks Water Music
Handel - Messiah
Gliere - Symphony No.3 Op.42
Beethoven - Symphonies Nos.5&7
Beethoven - Symphony No.9

HBombToo

great list!

Danny Tse

At my local Best Buy, "George Harrison - Live In Japan" can still be purchased for $13.99. This is for a 2 disc hybrid SACD set.

Also, the "Top Gun" soundtrack SACD is available on Best Buy's website for $9.99 w/ no shipping.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=594924&skuId=3740143&type=product

Today, I located a now out-of-print SACD of Weather Report's "Heavy Weather" for $11.99 at Best Buy. It was found mixed in with the regular CDs in the jazz section. Sometimes you need to check in the regular CD section to find Bob Dylan, Sam Cooke, Rolling Stones, and Michael McDonald SACDs.

Second Nickel Creek. Heard great things about the Dolly Parton SACDs as well.

Danny Tse

OK, just received my SACD to Sarah Brightman's "Time To Say Goodbye". Haven't listen to it yet. This title was indeed released by Hong Kong EMI as a multi-channel hybrid SACD. No technical info was provided other than the original info from the CD. The SACD was made in Germany.

Hmmm....just think....maybe Hong Kong EMI will see fit to release other EMI titles....

AsSiMiLaTeD

Originally posted by Danny Tse
OK, just received my SACD to Sarah Brightman's "Time To Say Goodbye". Haven't listen to it yet. This title was indeed released by Hong Kong EMI as a multi-channel hybrid SACD. No technical info was provided other than the original info from the CD. The SACD was made in Germany.

Hmmm....just think....maybe Hong Kong EMI will see fit to release other EMI titles....

Report back here and let us know how it sounds...

Danny Tse

OK, I was able to listen and compare a couple of tracks from Sarah Brightman's "Time To Say Goodbye" SACD (released by Hong Kong EMI) and CD (released by Angel, purchased from BMG Music Service). I listened in 2 channel since I don't have a surround setup.

I don't want to say there's a night and day difference, since this was a digital recording of recent vintage. I noticed on both the CD layer and the SACD layer that the shrillness, to me at least, of the original CD release has been eliminated for the most part. The SACD is very smooth-sounding, with higher resolution....and I hate to use the phrase, but "as if a thin veil has been lifted". The sonic imagery is definitely more realistic and much fuller sounding. I also noticed that the bass response on the SACD is a little bit better.

If you have never purchased this title before, it's well worth the $20.00 I paid. Even if you do have this title already, it's definitely a sonic upgrade. Plus, you can always sell the redbook CD off.

BTW, for those who have never purchased from yesasia.com before, this is one of those class act e-tailers. Although they sell mostly Asian-related products, they are headquartered in San Francisco. I have ordered from them for many years and they are always very good.

Kpt_Krunch

I know this is a SACD thread - but by far the best multchannel music I've heard is from these guys -
AIX Records

Warning - once you've heard any of their recordings - everything else mentioned here will not sound very good. If you even kind of like acoustic guitar - I highly recommend Laurence Juber's Guitar Noir - and you get a free sample disk from them when you buy one disk - a great deal!

And no, I am in no way affiliated with this guys.

Danny Tse

This could be good....5 new Elton John SACD titles added to Universal's release schedule

http://consumers.umusic.com/sacd/future.html

plus new SACD titles from Toby Keith and Lee Ann Womack

Phil Dawson

Originally posted by Frank Z
I just checked my DVD-A's and found only 1 disc that contains a DVD-A and DTS tracks. Tchaikovsky 1812 Overature (telarc #DVDA-70541).

DVD-A and DTS can get a bit confusing. The one thing to keep in mind is that DVD-a is a Hi-rez format, but DTS is not. It is nothing more than a 5.1 channel disc encoded with the DTS specs. That's the simple explanation.

If you already knew that, well lets just leave it out there for those that didn't.;)

I've been trying to find a link to a comparison chart between SACD, DVD-A, DTS, but I seem to have lost/erased the bookmark. I'll try to find the link and post it here. It was an interesting read with lots of techno-babble.:D

On a side note, anyone else having a hard time going back to Redbook CD's after spending some quality time with SACD/DVD-a?

You are incorrect. Although DTS uses a standard CD and it is sampled ade 44.1kHz it can use 24 bit resolution which is a significant improvement over 16 bit CD sound quality. DTS is not as high resolution as DVD-A or SACD but it still sounds better than CD and is 5.1. Source: 5.1 Surround Sound Up and Running by Tom Holman - he is one of the fathers of surround sound and the TH in THX. This is a great book for anyone wanting to find out about the nuts and bolts of surround sound.
Phil

Bonnie Raitt has a 2 disc DTS set called Road Tested on DTS for about $16 that is great.

therockman

Originally posted by Phil Dawson
You are incorrect. Although DTS uses a standard CD and it is sampled ade 44.1kHz it can use 24 bit resolution which is a significant improvement over 16 bit CD sound quality. DTS is not as high resolution as DVD-A or SACD but it still sounds better than CD and is 5.1. Source: 5.1 Surround Sound Up and Running by Tom Holman - he is one of the fathers of surround sound and the TH in THX. This is a great book for anyone wanting to find out about the nuts and bolts of surround sound.
Phil

Bonnie Raitt has a 2 disc DTS set called Road Tested on DTS for about $16 that is great.

This is incorrect. DTS is a compressed file that compresses the musical information (data) into a file that contains 384,000 bits per second for all 6 channels, (5.1). A compact disc is a much higher resolution medium that contains a PCM data stream of 1,411,200 bits per second for 2 channels. There is no such thing as 24 bit DTS because 24 bit refers to a PCM data stream, whereas DTS is a compressed file.

Rocky Bennett

Phil Dawson

DTS is a encoding decoding system that does use mild compression. It does sound better than the regular CD format. The data rate for DTS CD can be as high as 1.411 M per sec (see the source given above). What are your sources of information? In my talking with the mastering engineer at DTS he informed me that they can and like to start with 24 bit source material for encoding.
Phil

Danny Tse

From the official Genesis website....

November will be a busy month for Genesis fans with three releases in the month. First up comes the SACD version of 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' which has been re-mixed by Nick Davis at The Farm and is the first of several studio albums to be released in this format.

therockman

Originally posted by Phil Dawson
DTS is a encoding decoding system that does use mild compression. It does sound better than the regular CD format. The data rate for DTS CD can be as high as 1.411 M per sec (see the source given above). What are your sources of information? In my talking with the mastering engineer at DTS he informed me that they can and like to start with 24 bit source material for encoding.
Phil

Regarding DTS, my sources of information are 2 textbooks I have around the house:

The Principles of High_end Audio by Robert Harley
Principles of Digital Audio by Ken Pohlman

I think you are right about the 24 bit part, they are sourced from a 24 bit digital source and then compressed. It is compressed digital infomation, not a very good thing.

As regards the sound quality, I think that 9 out of 10 audiophiles would choose CD quality sound over a compressed DTS source in a double blind test everytime.

Rocky

F1nut

More good news from Universal, two Eric Clapton SACD's are on the release list.

http://www.highfidelityreview.com/news/news.asp?newsnumber=12035586

What the hell took them so long?

Danny Tse

Derek & The Dominos' "Layla" just got added to Universal's 10/26/2004 release list. Same goes for Michael McDonald's "Motown 2" SACD.

But the Carpenters SACD has been moved back.

Toxis

I know I'm probably just being a bit lazy here and don't want to read through this entire thread, but do any of you know of a good SACD with beautiful female vocals and great surround effects? I need one for a demo. The only good DVD-a I have right now is a Linkin Park Reanimation disk which sounds awesome but it doesn't really appeal to the masses.

Toxis

ok, after reading all this and doing more research all over the 'Net, I still can't seem to find any good recommendations on disks.

I'm looking for great vocals and surround effects. Anyone? Beuller?

Danny Tse

That's right, the multi-channel hybrid SACD of Beyonce's debut solo album is 50% off at yesasia.com. The price can change at any time, but I am thinking it will be available at the reduced price until next Monday.

http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1003453519/code-w/section-music

For those not familiar with the story, this album was ready for SACD release in the US as of April 2004. However, due to royalty issues -- see story below from highfidelityreview.com

http://www.highfidelityreview.com/news/news.asp?newsnumber=12618871

it was pulled from the release schedule by Sony. It was about this time that the Harry Fox royalty issue began as a heated topic revolving around Sony's SACD releases (at least in the US) and its committment towards its own audiophile format.

Frank Z

I'm looking for great vocals and surround effects.

For sound effects try:
DR. CHESKY'S MUSICAL 5.1 SURROUND SHOW
by Dr. Chesky & His Band of Maniacs
(www.chesky.com)

A few more SACDS that you might like

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (Hey it's Pink Floyd!!)

Natalie Merchant - Tiger Lilly (Excellant Vocals)

Chris Botti - Night Sessions (Jazz, no vocals but worth it!!)

Mark Levinson - Live Rcordings at Red Rose Music ( Good Demo Material)

Alison Krauss & Union Station Live (BlueGrass with great sound and vocals)

Sting - Sacred Love (Some good tracks, couple of near misses as well.)

James Taylor - Hourglass ( JT never sounded so good!)

Danny Tse

Elvis 30 #1 Hits ( Say what you will, He's The King, and all of you Hosers sing along when you hear his stuff on the radio!! )

You mean DVD-A, right? Unless the Sony/BMG merger has quietly produced one of the most sought-after titles to be released on SACD.

Frank Z

DAMN!! Elvis moved from the DVD shelf to the SACD shelf without me noticing. sorry about that!!

therockman

As everybody here knows, I am mostly involved with mastering of music as a hobby, and I am involved with several non-profit organizations that aim towards preserving different aspects of our musical legacy. Consequently my SACD preferences aim more towards well mastered reproductions of classic music titles. That said, the big scoop in SACD collecting are the very original Sony single layer SACD titles. These original Sony SACD releases are all very awesome sounding and they all represent the state-of-the-art in mastering techniques and high rez audio reproduction. Of course these original Sony titles are all most all stereo only and they are ALL SINGLE LAYER SACDs, they can not be played on a CD player. There are a couple of original Sony SACDs with a 5.1 mix, but that is not the selling point of these titles. The selling point of these titles is the fact that they are flat transfers from the original master tapes and represent the highest quality DSD music reproduction. For a real thrill check out:

Santana ABRAXAS
Boston debut self-titled album BOSTON
Cyndi Lauper SHE'S SO UNUSUAL
Stevie Ray Vaughn COULDN'T STAND THE WEATHER and also TEXAS FLOOD
The Bangles GREATEST HITS
Journey GREATEST HITS
Michael Jackson THRILLER
Meat Loaf BAT OUT OF HELL



There are over 100 of these old original Sony single layer SACDs and they are all so clean and beautieful sounding that you will play them over and over. These discs have been out of print since 2000, so they are all very collectable and they are becoming harder and harder to find and they are going up in price. My favorite of these Sony SACDs is THE BANGLES GREATEST HITS. You will never believe that recorded music could sound this good.

Rocky Bennett

Danny Tse

I agree with therockman. But did you forget Carole King's stereo only SACD of "Tapestry"?

If anyone is interested in collecting these Sony single-layer SACDs, I strongly urge you to choose the version with the cardboard slipcase. The cardboard slipcase is unique to that particular "edition" of the disc and is not available anywhere else. Subsequent "edition" of the same title may come with the plastic slipcase, but these are generic and not unique to the title.

I will also recommend "The Best of John Denver Live"....great performance from a very underrated singer/songwriter. It's available only in stereo but it's no longer available directly from Sony, although there are still some floating around at Best Buy or Tower. I'm not a fan of John Denver, but this is a "Must Buy" SACD.

therockman

To expand on what Danny said in his last post, there are 2 different versions of Carole King's TAPESTRY on SACD, the stereo only and the 5.1 surround. (As a note there are 2 different versions of BAT OUT OF HELL on SACD as well.) The original stereo only SACD of TAPESTRY is preferred because it has the original mix, whereas the 5.1 SACD has re-mixed the stereo track of TAPESTRY. I own the 5.1 SACD of TAPESTRY and I am quite happy with it. The difference between the 2 mixes is very subtle and is only apparent if you are a huge TAPESTRY fan. As for BAT OUT OF HELL, get the 5.1 mix because they used different tapes for the stereo version, and the 5.1 mix of PARADISE BY THE DASHBOARD LIGHT is just awesome.

Rocky