I assume this topic has been covered before, but a couple of searches revealed nothing terribly comprehensive.

Since getting a universal player, I've been on a quest to buy SACDs and DVD-As to test my system and experience the best of high rez and surround sound. A lot of my purchases have been favorite albums from when I was a kid (Tommy, Days of Future Passed, Layla, Remain In Light, Highway 61 Revisited, Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy) since the only copies I'd ever owned were the original LPs.

Anyway, while researching the availablity of some discs in surround and/or high rez, I've been surprised to discover that some good albums suffer from poor mixes (eg Bat Out of Hell). So, realizing the incredibly subjective nature of this question, I'd like to know everyone's personal Top Ten Surround/High Rez Discs.

I'm going to assume that the music itself is pretty good for you to have purchased it in the first place, so I'm thinking more in terms of the quality of high rez and/or surround mix. What records feature the best use of the technology and/or benefit the most from the improved fidelity and surround mix?

I'm more of a rock and pop guy, but feel free to include classical and jazz discs if you think they represent really excellent examples of the technology.

Pink Floyd, DSOTM (SACD Hybrid)

NIN in DVD-A (dual disc) or SACD, assuming you like NIN (; Downward Spiral. Aggressive mix

Flaming Lips, Yosimi Battles the Pink Robots, another aggressive mix.

For Classical and maybe Jazz recommendations, check out Kal's reviews:

http://www.stereophile.com/musicintheround/

1. Elton John "Honky Chateau" - This one just continues to amaze me. I have two others by Elton, but this one is the best for the surround sound. I like "Madman Across the Water" better for material, but not for the surround sound.

I don't have time to list more than that right now, but I also like Fleetwood Mac "Rumors" quite a bit.

Just read through some older threads here and you will get quite a bit of information. It's all subjective though.

Some really like DSOTM in surround. Personally I think the stereo CD is better.

My personal favorites as far as sound quality goes (in no particular order):

1) Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
2) Eagles - Hotel California
3) Doobie Bros - Captain & Me
4) R.E.M. - Automatic For the People
5) Queen - A Night at the Opera
6) Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
7) Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
8) Elton John - Honky Chateau
9) Eric Clapton - 461 Ocean Blvd
10) Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms

Honorable mention:

ELP - Brain Salad Surgery
Who - Tommy

Here's my top 10 favorites:

1. Laurence Juber - Guitar Noir (DVD-Audio) AIX records has outstanding stuff and a free demo disc
2. Beck - Sea Change(SACD/DVD-Audio) I love this mix
3. Flaming Lips - Yoshima Battles the Pink Robots (DVD-Audio) very aggressive mix
4. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (SACD)
5. Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (SACD) All the Elton John discs I have are excellent.
6. Roxy Music - Avalon (SACD)
7. Porucupine Tree - Stupid Dream (DVD-A) All the Porcupine Tree albums are excellent.
8. Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (SACD) Crank it up
9. Steely Dan - Gaucho (DVD-A/SACD)
10. Linkin Park - Reanimator (DVD-A) when you want something loud with bass.

I have nine out of 10 of the ones on Gillcup's list, all but R.E.M., and I concur with his choices, but I think that the best one I have is Elton John's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. His others are fantastic, to be sure, but this one is stellar.

For Classical and maybe Jazz recommendations, check out Kal's reviews:

http://www.stereophile.com/musicintheround/Thanks for the plug. I often feel like a fish out of water when there are threads about favorites, top ten or WAYLTN.

Kal

In no particular order:

Flaming Lips - Yoshimi
Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
Queen - A Night At The Opera
Grateful Dead - American Beauty
Porcupine Tree - "In Absentia" (if your tastes run toward heavier rock)
Porcupine Tree - "Stupid Dream" (if your tastes run toward softer rock)
Porcupine Tree - "Deadwing" (if your tastes are somewhere in the middle)
Steely Dan - "Everything Must Go"
Elton John - "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Captain Fantastic"
Beethoven - 6th Symphony from AIX Records (even if you're not into classical it's worth the premium price)

I don't really have enough to list 10 that have blown me away, but here's my favs off the top of my head:

1. Roxy Music Avalon
2. Depeche Mode Violator
3. Depeche Mode Music for the Masses
4. Beck Sea Change
5. Pink Floyd DSOTM
6. Bjork Vespertine (what an awesome DVD-A!!!)

Pink Floyd - "Dark Side of the Moon" SACD
Bob Dylan - "Blood on the Tracks" SACD
Elton John - "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" SACD
Diana Krall - "The Girl in the Other Room" DualDisc DVD-A
Nnenna Freelon - "Shaking Free" SACD
Natalie Cole - "What a Girl Knows" SACD
Marvin Gaye - "Collection"
Steely Dan - "Gaucho" DVD-A
Porcupine Tree - "In Absentia" DVD-A
Donald Fagen - "Morph the Cat" DVD-A

No particular order and really there about 30 that I would consider very near equal and doubt that particular 10 would be picked next time I chose 10. I have 3 each by Porcupine Tree and Donald Fagen and could just as easily eat 6 spots with only those two artists.

Chris

Foreigner: Four - the whole disc, but the two accoustical bonus tracks are incredible.
Steely Dan: Gaucho
Bon Jovi: (2) This Left Feels Right, Slippery When Wet
Diana Krall: Love Scenes
Elvis Costello: North
Mozart/Requiem: The Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert Von Karajan
George Strait: Honkeytonkville
Elton John: Elton John - top 1 or 2 pick, fantastic sounding disc
ELP: Brain Salad Surgery
DSOTM DVD-A

Fagan's "The Nightfly"
Toy Matinee

I may be the only one, but I dig Dishwalla's "Opaline".

In no particular order...

Bucky Pizzarelli - Swing Live
Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Steely Dan - Gaucho
Faith Hill - Cry (not a big fan of the music, but the recording is outstanding)
Frank Sinatra - Sinatra at the Sands
Al Green - Greatest Hits
Linda Ronstadt - What's New?
Diana Krall - The Look of Love
Bach: Organ Spectacular - Ton Koopman
Grateful Dead - American Beauty

Thanks for the plug. I often feel like a fish out of water when there are threads about favorites, top ten or WAYLTN.

Kal

Yeah, I think it'd be best to categorize them not only for type of music (Classic Rock, Alternative, Pop, Classical, Jazz, etc) but also presenentation...

Some people prefer a grounded front stage with ambiance from the surrounds, where others prefer the very aggressive mixes taking advantage of the discrete channels.

So we should have categroies like top 10 5.1 presentations with "lead vocal from center channel only" etc (;

With all of the great input that people are providing, I thought I would share. Although people's taste in music varies, I higly reccomend anything in the top five as they show off their medium and your equipment very well.

Highnine


01: Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" JAZZ SACD
A jazz masterpiece performed by one of the jazz masters that now breathes new life in high definition with subtle surrounds that enhance the experience.

02: Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" ROCK SACD
Every element of the band's performance is exposed in a new way with a well done surround mix that does not compromise the original stereo mix.

03: Pink Floyd "Dark Side Of The Moon" ROCK SACD & DVDA
A classic rock album that comes alive in both its stereo and multi-channel renditions.

04: Mickey Hart "Best of: Over the Edge and Back" WORLD/PERCUSSION DVDA
Mickey Hart takes some of his best songs over the years and personally creates an excellent surround mix that opens them up to another level.

05: Depeche Mode "Violator" ELECTRONIC SACD
Brings out the subtleties present in these songs that would otherwise make them sound flat, with a well made surround mix that expands the music without changing it.

06: Kraftwerk "Minimum-Maximum" ELECTRONIC SACD
A clear recording of a live concert with a clean produced quality and a playful surround mix to boot from the granddaddy of elektronik musik.

Lots of great recommendations here. Here's my favs in no particular order:

Porcupine Tree- In absentia
Porcupine Tree- Deadwing
Lawrence Juber- Guitar Noir (Wow!)
Dire Straits- Brothers In Arms
Steve Stevens- Flamenco a Go-Go
Miles Davis- Kind of Blue
Queen- Night at the Opera
Pink Floyd- DSOTM
Beck- Sea Change
NIN Downward spiral

Honorable mentions

Linkin Park Reanimator- not my style of music but undeniably a great mix- something to make your neighbours hate you.

Hiromi- Brain-

Joe Satriani- Strange Beautiful Music

Flaming Lips- Yoshimi

I just got a copy of T. Rex's Electric Warrior (DVD-A) and I was very impressed on first listening. I CD and LP copies I have sounded OK, but nothing special so I was pretty surprised at how good this one sounds. Great album too.

Of course I second all the Porcupine Tree on these lists. I tried to think of some others not so oft-mentioned:

1. Jorma Kaukonen - Blue Country Heart
2. Junior Wells - Come on in My House
3. Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues
4. Carl Verheyen Band - Rumor Mill (check this one out, it's really grown on me with repeated listenings. AIX Records)
5. Grateful Dead - American Beauty (absolutely timeless classic)
6. Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection ( His unsung classic. Purely on the basis of sound quality, this one is a notch above the others.)
7. Chick Corea - Rendevous in New York (a lot of fun and well-recorded too!)
8. Hiromi - Brain (jazz pianist who likes to get funky on occasion)
9. Allman Brothers - Eat a Peach
10. BT - Music for the movie "Monster" (some very erie stuff, DTS only)

I'll echo the plugs for Toy Matinee and Laurence Juber:Guitar Noir. It may be that I'm a fan, but Yes: Fragile is immersive. I wish they did Close to the Edge.

Fagan's "The Nightfly"
Toy Matinee

I may be the only one, but I dig Dishwalla's "Opaline".

I love all three of those and often mention "Opaline" in recommend threads. I also have the live DualDisc DVD-A from Dishwalla although it is not nearly as good.

Chris

I've got to second the Talking Heads DualDiscs (DVD-Audio). I have purchased both the "Speaking in Tongues" and "Little Creatures" discs recently, and both sound incredible. The bass on these is just outstanding (even on CD side).

These can either be purchased separately (as I did), or as part of the 10-disk "Brick."

Vivaldi's La Stravaganza (http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=6029859&style=music&cart=321300638&frm=lk_allspin) on Channel Classics (SACD) is a doozy. Still is the best recording of a violin I've heard so far. Rachel Podger's performance is also divinely executed. Truly something to behold and it's a great addition to anyone's music library, whether you're into "classical" or not.

I saw a previous post supporting NIN. I just bought the NIN dual disc "Teeth" I think it is called. In my opinion, the Dolby Digital (AC-3) mix exposes the lack of depth in Reznor's instruments.

The two best sounding DVD discs I have are The Police DVD Audio (this mix is awesome) and the Blue Man Group Concert Audio (very good).

I have other titles as well, some which are average (Bee Gees One Night Only), and some that are undeniably bad (e.g. Ice Cubes Video collection).

Dolby Digital is not High Rez. Although I agree that Electronic music can sometimes lack "depth" . Oh yea it is "With Teeth"

At least there are 20 people here who buy hi-rez. I'd be interested to know if they were DVD-Audio or SACD.

I'd bet most of these favorites started out as excellent recordings. I'd buy some of my old favorites if they could be opened up and cleaned up. Two oldies come to mind, Journey's Infinity and Police Synchronicity. Horrible sound on both.

Steely Dan, Diana Krall obviously take great interest in good recording. Name a cleaner sound than Gaucho, it's almost too analytical.

Flexx, thanks for the violin recommendation. I sometimes buy music on a tip from Stereophile or others.

Hey Kal, I think it was 1976 when I started reading Stereophile. Was it Stereo Mag in the beginning?

Drives my Wife crazy when I want to save every issue. After 23 years of marriage, that's a lot of magazines!

Peter Gabriel - Up (Favorite Demo Track - Signal to Noise)

Beck - Sea Change (Favorite Demo Track - Lonesome Tears)

Elton John - Yellowbrick Road (Favorite Demo Track - Funeral for a Friend)

Bob Belden - Black Dahlia (Favorite Demo Track - Zanzibar)

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (Favorite Demo Track - Time)

Ray Charles - Genius Loves Company (Favorite Demo Track - Here We Go Again) I don't really like this album a lot, but it's mic'ed so well, I spin it anyway.

Joe Satriani- Strange Beautiful Music
I just got this SACD. It's pretty sweet.

I don't really have a top 10, but this one is good. So is Everlast - White Trash Beautiful.

At least there are 20 people here who buy hi-rez. I'd be interested to know if they were DVD-Audio or SACD.
I've been buying both DVD-A and SACD. I don't look at it as buying "hi-rez". I look at it as buying multi-channel (5.1) music. I won't buy 2 channel DVD-As or 2 channel SACDs.

I saw a previous post supporting NIN. I just bought the NIN dual disc "Teeth" I think it is called. In my opinion, the Dolby Digital (AC-3) mix exposes the lack of depth in Reznor's instruments.

The two best sounding DVD discs I have are The Police DVD Audio (this mix is awesome) and the Blue Man Group Concert Audio (very good).

I have other titles as well, some which are average (Bee Gees One Night Only), and some that are undeniably bad (e.g. Ice Cubes Video collection).


I have to disagree with your impression of NIN-With Teeth...This Dual Disc sounds great! Have only listened to the 5.1 uncompressed portion (not sure of the resolution) It's an agressive mix. Listen for the analog drums. Dave Grohl's drumming is awsome on this disc.

My other favs are

Flaming Lips-Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (DVD-Audio)
Very Very agressive mix which I am almost always in favor of. Unbelievable
Bass. Dynamic range out the ying yang!


Pink Floyd-DSOTM (DVD-Audio)
I perfer the agressive AP mix over the SACD. SQ is not quite as "clean or
dynamic" as the SACD but the mix is just better 90% of the recording IMO.


Depeche Mode-Violator (SACD)
Extremely Agressive in a good way. In one part, the sound in the rears
are "clicking" back and forth very quickly and it's like it is right in your head
and not coming from the speakers. Very Sweet!


Fleetwood Mac-Rumors (DVD-Audio)
Overall SQ is not as good as other discs however the mix is nice. Not overly
agressive. The rears are used when needed and not just for ambience.


Beck-Sea Change (SACD)
Very dynamic! Agressive mix. Overall great sounding disc (newer recording).


Who-Tommy (SACD)
My favorite Who album in 5.1. Pretty agressive (not overly). Great cleanup
job on an older recording.


ALL THE Steely Dan/Donald Fagan RECORDINGS!!!

The only 2 Live discs I care for is Heart-Live in Seattle and Frank Zappa-Halloween.
The Heart I like for the overall SQ and the FZ for the performance as well.

Since you mentioned Fleetwood Mac, did you notice the extra instruments in the DVD-Audio that are not present in the cd?

I was curious technically why they were absent in the vinyl and cd and I was guessing that they were put back in the DVD-Audio because you could actually distinguish the instruments.

I haven't listened to it in awhile, but I think you can tell on one of the first few songs.

As for live, is The Eagles Hell Freezes Over on DVD-Audio or Sacd? That is one clean recording on DVD-Video! Cream's not bad either.

Since you mentioned Fleetwood Mac, did you notice the extra instruments in the DVD-Audio that are not present in the cd?

I was curious technically why they were absent in the vinyl and cd and I was guessing that they were put back in the DVD-Audio because you could actually distinguish the instruments.

I haven't listened to it in awhile, but I think you can tell on one of the first few songs.

As for live, is The Eagles Hell Freezes Over on DVD-Audio or Sacd? That is one clean recording on DVD-Video! Cream's not bad either.

I do have the Fleetwood Mac CD...I will check out the differences and report back. I didn't notice but I only very recently purchased the DVD-Audio version.

I don't have HFO on DVD-Audio or SACD however it does sound great on the DTS DVD...I'm not quite as impressed with Hotel California as many on this forum. I just think the mix could be more agressive for the musical content. It still sounds much better than the CD though.Eric

Hell Freezes over has never been released on DVD-A or SACD as far as I know. It has been released as DVD-V, CD and DTS-CD.

Chris

Hell Freezes over has never been released on DVD-A or SACD as far as I know. It has been released as DVD-V, CD and DTS-CD.

Chris
I wonder how this one (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/eagles_liveinmelbourne.html) is going to be. It's The Eagles: Farwell Tour 1 - Live in Melbourne being releasen on HD-DVD. If it has Dolby TrueHD as the audio track it should have dvd-a quality capabilities.

I must have listened to Rumours a thousand times and the first time I listened to the DVD-Audio I noticed it immediately.

Track three, "Never going back again" just under one minute into the song there is an extra lead guitar part. Check it out.

I would love to know if this was there in the original master tapes or added when the DVD-Audio was made. I don't beleive it was on the LP or the cd.

Tell me what you think.

I must have listened to Rumours a thousand times and the first time I listened to the DVD-Audio I noticed it immediately.

Track three, "Never going back again" just under one minute into the song there is an extra lead guitar part. Check it out.

I would love to know if this was there in the original master tapes or added when the DVD-Audio was made. I don't beleive it was on the LP or the cd.

Tell me what you think.


No doubt! The guitar sounds added and also another instrument either a snare drum or macaracca type instrument...sweet. I was suprised how good the cd sounded. I listend to the track once in stereo and once in PL2x and was suprised how much seperation it had. Then the DVD-Audio blew it away though.Eric

Another recommendation: The DVD (video) that comes with BT's This Binary Universe CD has a 5.1 DTS mix (768kbps stream) of the entire album (with some trippy video synced to it) that is outstanding. It's not "high res", but it's really captivating and well mixed.

I am surprised no one mentioned Santana Supernatural DVD-A.

My favourites:
Eagles Hotel California
Santana Supernatural
Blue Man Group Complex
Pink Floyd DSOTM

As for Eagles Farewell Tour, I can't say about the HD-DVD relaease but the DVD version was highly disapointing compared to Hell Freezes Over. One possible explanation is that the former is a real live concert and the latter is recorded in a more "control enviroment'. HFO DTS is the DVD closest to DVD-Audio that I have heard.

FW

I wonder how this one (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/eagles_liveinmelbourne.html) is going to be. It's The Eagles: Farwell Tour 1 - Live in Melbourne being releasen on HD-DVD. If it has Dolby TrueHD as the audio track it should have dvd-a quality capabilities.
It is supposed to have a TrueHD track. It just seems stupid to me to release a concert (or any film for that mater) HD-DVD/BD without lossless sound. The DTS track already sounds great so lossless 5.1 will be that much better and add to that the increase in PQ. Also Heart - Alive in Seattle is coming to HD-DVD with True-HD track. So it should have about the same SQ as the SA-CD.

Iwongf, I totally agree! With the standard set so high on Hell Freezes Over, it was a letdown on Farewell Tour.

Iwongf, I totally agree! With the standard set so high on Hell Freezes Over, it was a letdown on Farewell Tour.
You are comparing apples and oranges. HFO was a studio album recorded before a small selected grope of fans. Many of the songs were stop, started, repeated from deferent points then edited to get the best recording which can't be done in a live concert. Farewell Tour is a traditional large venue concert recording.

What's a "Grope of Fans"?

Just making fun, I misspelll too.

I've only watched Farewell once and not even all the way through. I agree, live concerts are very difficult to get good sound. But there are many talented engineers/sound people who work very hard to make it the best they can. Diana Krall, Live in Paris was good. Is that one out on DVD-Audio or Sacd?

When I like a DVD concert a lot I extract the audio and put it on cd to listen to in the car

What's a "Grope of Fans"?....

....Diana Krall, Live in Paris was good. Is that one out on DVD-Audio or Sacd?

Fans that can touch you. :) :).

No but I would also love to see Live in Paris on HD-DVD/BD with TrueHD.

Her voice does things to me I can't talk about...

What's a "Grope of Fans"?

Just making fun, I misspelll too.

I've only watched Farewell once and not even all the way through. I agree, live concerts are very difficult to get good sound. But there are many talented engineers/sound people who work very hard to make it the best they can. Diana Krall, Live in Paris was good. Is that one out on DVD-Audio or Sacd?

When I like a DVD concert a lot I extract the audio and put it on cd to listen to in the car

No, "Live in Paris" is not available on SACD or DVD-A. Diana Krall does have several DVD-A's and SACD's. I have "When I Look in Your Eyes" on SACD and "The Girl in the Other Room" on DualDisc DVD-A. I also own the DVD-V concert from Montreal. I like all of them really well.

Chris

How would you compare Montreal to Paris as fara as sound quality?

Live in Paris was my first exposure to Diana and I was hooked. I have the Look of Love SACD dual disc. I'm not a fan of every song she does, but I love the talent.

Wow - this took a lot of thought. I'm not used to that! :p Let me count down backwards with an explanation where appropriate:

10: Donald Fagen - The Nightfly (DVD-Audio)
This is one of two DVD-Audios on my list but it's my favorite 5.1 mix of any of the Steely Dan/Fagen releases (although Gaucho is reeeeeeal close). New Frontier gives me goosebumps.

9. Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (SACD)

8. Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Boy Named Charlie Brown (Stereo SACD)
This is a fantastic performance plain and simple, and when you consider that it's over 40 years old, it is just astonishing as to the resolution, the warmth, and clarity. What is it about piano that reproduces so wonderfully in SACD?

quick note: I don't have A Charlie Brown Christmas on SACD (or the Monster Super-Duper Disc version for that matter) so maybe one of those would replace this entry? I've been struggling with which one to get and my indecision is getting the best of me. Anyone have any insights? Did Monster nail it?

7. Oscar Peterson (SACD Stereo) Exclusively For My Friends Vol I-VI
This six disc collection has to be bought individually which is unfortunate, but well worthwhile if you're a Peterson fan. Again, we're talking about recordings from the 60's, but it feels like it could have been recorded yesterday. It's like getting a private concert, which was basically the venue for the recording.

6. Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed (DTS Audio)
Immersive orchestral-pop recording with great 5.1 Surround Mix.

5. Boys II Men - II (DTS)
Ok, there goes my street cred right out the virtual window. :rolleyes: This is a guilty pleasure to be sure, but let me frame it properly. This was one of the first DTS Surround Sound mixes/releases ever made. I remember playing this oh-so-many years ago on this ridiculously expensive Sherwood Newcastle receiver that I bought back in the day that was the first to offer BOTH DTS and Dolby Digital playback!! This was the demo disc that Sherwood used with DTS reps in the room to introduce the receiver. I was blown away then, and it's still a great demo disc because of the incredibly aggressive surround mix. Those that have heard it will understand. Drums stereo separated in the back surrounds; harmonies isolated vocal by vocal and sent to individual speakers; an unbelievable effort.

4. Queen - A Night at The Opera (DVD-Audio)
Need I say more? Great 5.1 mix.

3. Toy Matinee - Toy Matinee (DTS)
Cult pop fave with fantastic 5.1 playback. I wouldn't expect anything less from a pop band co-fronted by well known producer Patrick Leonard. The lead singer Kevin Gilbert died way too young and I just feel sooo lucky that I was able to see him live a couple of times before the end. This album is a great testament to his talents although I heartily recommend searching out his internet-only released posthumous album The Shaming Of The True or his incredible cover of Kashmir if you can find it. One more DTS-related tangent would to recommend Patrick Leonard's soft jazz release Rivers which also has a gorgeous soundstage in 5.1.

2. Beck - Sea Change (SACD)

This is about as defining an SACD release as I have ever heard. It is both state of the art (with original production by Nigel Godrich) and completely immersive. Kudos to those that have also placed it on their list because it is certainly not the most commercial, or accessible of Beck's catalog and yet is so rewarding for those that don't mind a more introspective, quieter Beck. Wow.

1 Talk Talk - Spirit Of Eden (SACD)

This is the reason that I decided to come out of the woodwork to post. This album was not on a single list, and I would either venture that it's because people didn't know it was available on SACD (it's a hard to find European only pressing along with The Colour of Spring) or because you all think Talk Talk was just that 80's band that sang the new-wave hit "All you wanna do is Talk Talk...Talk Talk Talk Talk.etc". For those of you in the latter camp, please look at the rest of my list and understand that I take this seriously and wouldn't put an 80's pop group as my #1. These guys took a redefining left turn when they were at their most successful and lost their recording contract with EMI as a result of this release! While this was an "Alternative" CD in only the most technical sense, it is the most beautiful, poetic, and challenging soundscape I have ever heard. To underline a point, their eventual followup (Laughing Stock) was released on Verve (although that was also an odd pairing)!

A psychedelic, organic, swirling 6 song opus that goes on for about 45 minutes with one song blending into the next, this has a very Dark Side of the Moon feel to it, and highly recommended for those that love that album or Sea Change. It's the perfect album to play from beginning to end on a quiet night with the lights out, candles lit and no distractions.

This is one of those rare recordings that takes the listener to another place and the elitest secrecy of knowing you're one of the few that know about this treasure makes it all the more special. Seek this out.

Cheers (and while I'm hiding under my desk, I welcome your comments) :eek:

Robb

P.S. As one quick aside, I would certainly have placed Pink Floyd's DSotM on the list but I have to be honest, I don't have a multichannel mix of it as yet so I didn't think it fair to include something I haven't heard. I have a Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs Gold CD version of it from many moons ago, and that has been the recording I have treasured of it thus far. I'm sure I will pick up the SACD eventually and especially with the validation now of seeing it appear on so many other's lists!!

Nice thread !

Diana Krall live in Montreal is not really a good one. She looks tired. Live from Paris also have the additional orchestra, so no contest.

2. Beck - Sea Change (SACD)


I noticed that Sea Change is available in both SACD and DVD-A. Is there any difference in the multichannel mixes? On the off chance that somebody's heard both, is one superior to the other?

1 Talk Talk - Spirit Of Eden (SACD)


Spirit of Eden is indeed a classic, groundbreaking, incredibly influential album, the spiritual forebear of bands like Radiohead and Sigur Ros. I was working at a college radio station back when it came out and I remember doing an interview with Sarah McLachlan in which she raved about the then just-released LP. If I recall, it was kind of an underground, college radio hit at the time and then it faded away from the mainstream, but it made a lasting impression on serious music people--writers, artists and fans.

I listened to a CD version for the first time in 15 years recently and I thought it sounded a little dated, but I think that's only because I was unconsciously comparing it to all the state-of-the-art contemporary recordings that have followed in its wake. If any album was made for multichannel, Spirit of Eden is it.

I noticed that Sea Change is available in both SACD and DVD-A. Is there any difference in the multichannel mixes? On the off chance that somebody's heard both, is one superior to the other?

I have just the SACD and understand the mix is the same on the DVD-A. It is funny to think someone would own both but you might find somebody with both that can do a comparison. The SACD is excellent in my opinion.

Chris

I have just the SACD and understand the mix is the same on the DVD-A. It is funny to think someone would own both but you might find somebody with both that can do a comparison. The SACD is excellent in my opinion.

Chris


Probably th emost likely would be a reviewer, many of which frequent these forums, would own, or at least have listend to both versions... Getting them to respond might be another issue (;

RobbW, I have the SACD version of DSOTM and prefer the older stereo version much more. Something about the SACD version that just does not appeal to me. When I listen to the stereo version there are parts that make me literally jump like when all the clocks are chiming, but the SACD version does not have that impact at all. I still like WYWH better than DSOTM too for some reason. JMO.

Looks like I really need to Beck "Sea Change". It's been on my list for quite some time, but I haven't got it yet.

These are my top choices with my favorite being at the top but the rest are in no specific order.

1. Seal DVD-A greatest hits set. My favorite track on this is without a doubt the song called "Future Love Paradise" as I think this mix is a pure work of art. I think I enjoy this disc more than all the others. Also Human Beings and Crazy are also very very good mixes as well.

2. PF DSOTM SACD and Time is my favorite song.
3. Nine Inch Nails Closer album on DualDisc is also great IMO.
4. I also love Heart: Alive in Seattle and my favorite song is "These Dreams".
5. Elton John: GBYBR and Peachtree Road are great as well.
6. I also got a Gloria Estefan on SACD I'm really liking it.
7. Eagles: Hell Freezes over DTS is also very very good for DTS.

These are my favs off the top of my head but I wanted to talk about one music DVD that IMO is great great great considering its just DD5.1 and DTS 5.1. This DVD is about 10 bucks at Wal-Mart and its Bon Jovi This Left Feels Right Live. On the back of the DVD it says it was filmed on November 14 and 15, 2003 at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The surround mix for Bed of Roses and Bad Medicine are just mind blowing IMO.

I do plan to buy the Talking Heads Little Creatures disc though which I did find at my local Best Buy but started looking at something else and forgot lol.

Thanks for the validation Rye...the 5.1 mix of Spirit of Eden is absolutely breathtaking. When you consider how many different instruments were used (I believe the credits showed almost 20), it was perfect for the SACD treatment because now you can really hear all the detail to the soundstage, and each instrument is clearly defined without being done in a gimmicky way.

It's funny, I decided to have a peek at Amazon to see if they had music clips for those that were curious, and they do. However, because each song is so extended and has such dramatic changes from instrumental, to soft vocal, to forceful and cathartic, it's almost impossible to listen and get anything out of a 30 sec clip. In fact, the album almost sounds instrumental if just gauged by the clips online. hehehe Oh well, the customer reviews tell the story of how special an album this is. I hope others will find this out for themselves.

Jim, you'll love Sea Change and apparently it doesn't matter which version you get. It's just a great, great mix and an excellent album as well. You'll dig it.

Best,

RobbW

Just wanted you to know I picked up the Talking Heads Little Creatures dualdisc at Best Buy and I'm really liking it. I also picked up a Billy Joel: The Essential Video Collection DVD and so far I think the sound is quite good. All songs are Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound which is the best I'll get as Billy Joel doesn't have any SACD, DVD-A, DTS or DualDiscs so I take what I can get. The first song Piano Man is a NY live concert video with pretty good sound but not much LFE action. The rest of the vidoes I've seen have been the music videos and not live feeds. I feel the sound IMO is much better with the videos with a few songs really standing out. Also you must know that if you get this DVD your getting it for sound as the video is just horrid horrid horrid.

Uptown Girl IMO is by far the best sounding son I've heard. I also like My Life, The Longest Time and Allentown. I won't deny that things could be much much better but I just love Billy Joel music so any 5.1 DVD that had all of these songs had to at least be tried by me and thus far I have no regrets about paying the 15 bucks for it. Best Buy at two locations (Salem and Manchester, NH) has an entire section near the music section (not the DVD movie section) that says Music DVDs with tons of artists and I've found many gems in this section such as Bon Jovi that has great sound and even better video. I've looked and many of them do have 5.1 mixes but some could be very bad so I wouldn't spend much money just trying them unless its an artist you really really like that doesn't have any SACD titles etc.

Just wanted you to know I picked up the Talking Heads Little Creatures dualdisc at Best Buy and I'm really liking it. I also picked up a Billy Joel: The Essential Video Collection DVD and so far I think the sound is quite good. All songs are Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound which is the best I'll get as Billy Joel doesn't have any SACD, DVD-A, DTS or DualDiscs so I take what I can get. The first song Piano Man is a NY live concert video with pretty good sound but not much LFE action. The rest of the vidoes I've seen have been the music videos and not live feeds. I feel the sound IMO is much better with the videos with a few songs really standing out. Also you must know that if you get this DVD your getting it for sound as the video is just horrid horrid horrid.

Uptown Girl IMO is by far the best sounding son I've heard. I also like My Life, The Longest Time and Allentown. I won't deny that things could be much much better but I just love Billy Joel music so any 5.1 DVD that had all of these songs had to at least be tried by me and thus far I have no regrets about paying the 15 bucks for it. Best Buy at two locations (Salem and Manchester, NH) has an entire section near the music section (not the DVD movie section) that says Music DVDs with tons of artists and I've found many gems in this section such as Bon Jovi that has great sound and even better video. I've looked and many of them do have 5.1 mixes but some could be very bad so I wouldn't spend much money just trying them unless its an artist you really really like that doesn't have any SACD titles etc.

Billy Joel has a couple SACD's floating around...not sure if they are still making them but they are around.

I am surprised no one mentioned Santana Supernatural DVD-A.

As for Eagles Farewell Tour, I can't say about the HD-DVD relaease but the DVD version was highly disapointing compared to Hell Freezes Over. One possible explanation is that the former is a real live concert and the latter is recorded in a more "control enviroment'. HFO DTS is the DVD closest to DVD-Audio that I have heard.

FW

I agree that Supernatural is a good DVD-A but disagree that the Farewell Tour is less enjoyable than HFO. I like both, but prefer the former to the latter. YMMV. :cool:

With all of the great input that people are providing, I thought I would share. Although people's taste in music varies, I higly reccomend anything in the top five as they show off their medium and your equipment very well.

Highnine


01: Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" JAZZ SACD
A jazz masterpiece performed by one of the jazz masters that now breathes new life in high definition with subtle surrounds that enhance the experience.

02: Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" ROCK SACD
Every element of the band's performance is exposed in a new way with a well done surround mix that does not compromise the original stereo mix.

03: Pink Floyd "Dark Side Of The Moon" ROCK SACD & DVDA
A classic rock album that comes alive in both its stereo and multi-channel renditions.

04: Mickey Hart "Best of: Over the Edge and Back" WORLD/PERCUSSION DVDA
Mickey Hart takes some of his best songs over the years and personally creates an excellent surround mix that opens them up to another level.

05: Depeche Mode "Violator" ELECTRONIC SACD
Brings out the subtleties present in these songs that would otherwise make them sound flat, with a well made surround mix that expands the music without changing it.

06: Kraftwerk "Minimum-Maximum" ELECTRONIC SACD
A clear recording of a live concert with a clean produced quality and a playful surround mix to boot from the granddaddy of elektronik musik.


I wanted to weigh in on "Kind of Blue"....excellent. Others that are very good are Mozart's "Requiem" (already mentioned) and Hiromi's "Brain" and "Spiral". Also, Dredg's "El Cielo" is awesome if you like their music.

All of these are very listenable both intently and as background (with the exception of Dredg, not really a background type sound).

Buck

........Mozart/Requiem: The Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert Von Karajan.........Eh. There are much better performances and better-sounding modern recordings than that oldie. For example:
Concentus Musicus Wein/Harnoncourt/DHM-RCA (SACD)
Scottish Chamber Orch/Mackerras/Linn (SACD)
Netherlands Bach Society/van Veldhoven/Channel Classics (SACD)

Eh. There are much better performances and better-sounding modern recordings than that oldie. For example:
Concentus Musicus Wein/Harnoncourt/DHM-RCA (SACD)
Scottish Chamber Orch/Mackerras/Linn (SACD)
Netherlands Bach Society/van Veldhoven/Channel Classics (SACD)


Thanks Kal,

Do you have a preference for one of the above mentioned recordings? Do you own one or all of them?

Thanks,
Buck

Thanks Kal,

Do you have a preference for one of the above mentioned recordings? Do you own one or all of them?

Thanks,
BuckI own all these and more (including the von Karajan)! I think the Channel Classics is the best recording but the Linn is the best modern performance. The RCA with Harnoncourt is the M-O-R selection and is quite good. Mind you, these descriptions are with respect tol mch recordings only.

How would you compare Montreal to Paris as fara as sound quality?

Live in Paris was my first exposure to Diana and I was hooked. I have the Look of Love SACD dual disc. I'm not a fan of every song she does, but I love the talent.

Diana Krall "Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival" is only Dolby Digital 5.1 with no DTS track like "Live in Paris" but I like the two equally well. Both are excellent.

Chris

For anyone considering the SACD of DSOTM, I strongly recommend they get hold of the Alan Parsons DVD-A mix (not commercially available AFAIK, but downloadable via the torrents). It is quite different, and in my opinion, a more enjoyable mix.

Just found this thread. Re Fleetwood Mac's "Never Goin' Back Again": The added "lead" guitar is, IMO, one of the better arguments for keeping artists from tampering with a finished work. To me (as a guitarist) Buckingham's "lead" is nothing more than what we pickers call "noodling"--truly lame notes that are completely unnecessary and needlessly distracting in a song whose genius lies in its stark simplicity.

Once it's released it's done. Remix carefully for surround, OK, but otherwise keep the artist's aging paws off! (It's very hard to believe this was done without LB's permission.)

There are two Nickel Creek SACDs that are mind-blowing for acoustic instruments

There are two Nickel Creek SACDs that are mind-blowing for acoustic instruments

I really like acoustic music in high resolution 5.1 but I'm not a big fan of bluegrass (I should give Nickel Creek a chance, though, because as I understand it they're not bluegrass in the Bill Monroe sense).

Can anyone recommend a few good acoustic music SACD or DVD-A discs? For example, I'm a big fan of John Fahey, Richard Thompson and Nick Drake, so I guess I veer more toward the folk and rock side of the spectrum than the country/bluegrass or jazz fusion end (I absolutely hate Bela Fleck).

Any suggesions?

You won't be disappointed with Nickel Creek's "This Side" on SACD--it's not bluegrassy at all an the sound quality is amazing. Chris Thile, mandolinist extraordinaire with the group, has a fantastic SACD release entitled "Not All Who Wander Are Lost."

FWIW, Bela Fleck doesn't resonate with me either. I mean, it's a five string banjo fer cryin' out loud!

I really like acoustic music in high resolution 5.1 but I'm not a big fan of bluegrass (I should give Nickel Creek a chance, though, because as I understand it they're not bluegrass in the Bill Monroe sense).

Can anyone recommend a few good acoustic music SACD or DVD-A discs? For example, I'm a big fan of John Fahey, Richard Thompson and Nick Drake, so I guess I veer more toward the folk and rock side of the spectrum than the country/bluegrass or jazz fusion end (I absolutely hate Bela Fleck).

Any suggesions?

Negative ones: Avoid the Silverline releases of Fairport's "Close to the Wind" and RT's "The Old Kit Bag." They're horrible, fake-echo-in-the-surrounds mixes inferior to the standard CDs in every way. I'm sure you already have "Brothers in Arms." You might like Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio "In Full Swing" (surround SACD), if you like acoustic jazz.

RichC

I really like acoustic music in high resolution 5.1 but I'm not a big fan of bluegrass (I should give Nickel Creek a chance, though, because as I understand it they're not bluegrass in the Bill Monroe sense).

Can anyone recommend a few good acoustic music SACD or DVD-A discs? For example, I'm a big fan of John Fahey, Richard Thompson and Nick Drake, so I guess I veer more toward the folk and rock side of the spectrum than the country/bluegrass or jazz fusion end (I absolutely hate Bela Fleck).

Any suggesions?

Consider the two David Elias SACD's at $9.99 plus shipping each. You can listen and buy here:

http://cdbaby.com/group/davideliascd

Chris

1 Talk Talk - Spirit Of Eden (SACD)

This is the reason that I decided to come out of the woodwork to post. This album was not on a single list, and I would either venture that it's because people didn't know it was available on SACD (it's a hard to find European only pressing along with The Colour of Spring) or because you all think Talk Talk was just that 80's band that sang the new-wave hit "All you wanna do is Talk Talk...Talk Talk Talk Talk.etc". For those of you in the latter camp!


Put me in the latter camp. I moved overseas about when this came out.
I saw it for sale at Tower last week but didn't buy it. Then I read this thread, went back to Tower and of course it's gone.
So the moral of this story (not this thread) is go to your local, Tower going out of business sale. Everything was 50% off today.

Patricia Barber- "Modern Cool", is a very nicely re-mastered 2-channel SACD mix with great material. What really stands out (to me) is how "real" and "natural" the bass comes across.

Patricia Barber- "Modern Cool", is a very nicely re-mastered 2-channel SACD mix with great material. What really stands out (to me) is how "real" and "natural" the bass comes across.

I bought this SACD a couple of years ago. It is truly reference quality sonically, but Barber's music just didn't do it for me, so I didn't buy any of the other Barber SACD's, of which there are a few more.

I bought this SACD a couple of years ago. It is truly reference quality sonically, but Barber's music just didn't do it for me, so I didn't buy any of the other Barber SACD's, of which there are a few more.yeah, Patricia Barber's music is definitely different, has a very obvious mood of sorts.
However, the arrangements are very nice. Seems most all of her hi-rez releases are some the most expensive I've seen (anywhere from like $18.00 to $32.00).

yeah, Patricia Barber's music is definitely different, has a very obvious mood of sorts.
However, the arrangements are very nice. Seems most all of her hi-rez releases are some the most expensive I've seen (anywhere from like $18.00 to $32.00).

I bought 3 of her CD's since I wasn't willing to pay the price for the SACD and I like her really well but I am surprised she is so popular here since she is so different. Her live CD, "A Fortnight in France" is the one I play the most.

Chris

I bought 3 of her CD's since I wasn't willing to pay the price for the SACD and I like her really well but I am surprised she is so popular here since she is so different. Her live CD, "A Fortnight in France" is the one I play the most.I'll have to check that "live" one out.

It's funny, I don't know much about Patricia Barber, but how is it that someone of her lesser-known stature is able to have a music catalog with so many "special format" versions available (SACD's, etc.,...)? You'd think someone, especially from the pop world, would have more hi-rez versions available- ie. Mariah Carey, Christina Auguilera, Madonna, or Whitney Houston, etc.,.. (I don't believe any of whom have any such products on the market- that I've seen).

James Taylor- "Hour Glass" (SACD), is absolutely one of the most beautifully sounding things I've heard. Almost perfectly mixed.

I saw a Ricky Martin SACD yesterday. Any comments on this one? Anyone.....? :D

I'll have to check that "live" one out.

It's funny, I don't know much about Patricia Barber, but how is it that someone of her lesser-known stature is able to have a music catalog with so many "special format" versions available (SACD's, etc.,...)? You'd think someone, especially from the pop world, would have more hi-rez versions available- ie. Mariah Carey, Christina Auguilera, Madonna, or Whitney Houston, etc.,.. (I don't believe any of whom have any such products on the market- that I've seen).

MFSL licenses and tries to sell artists that will appeal to audiophiles. I don't know that the other artists you mention are going to have many fans willing to pay the crazy price some people are willing to pay for MFSL SACD releases. It is strictly a low quantity, high profit per unit approach to the business. It is a tiny niche market that is being served. Mainstream popular artists are better served by the major labels but once in a while MFSL will get a popular album and sell minuscule quantities of it as well. Patricia Barber is an artist with a small but loyal fanbase including upscale purchasers. I am glad her music is available on CD, that works for me since her CD's sound good as well. I would say she is a serious musician, with no chance of mainstream success and she is not for everybody nor does she attempt to be.

Chris

I saw a Ricky Martin SACD yesterday. Any comments on this one? Anyone.....? :D

My only comment on that is...it's a good thing SACD doesn't support video. :rolleyes:

I saw a Ricky Martin SACD yesterday. Any comments on this one? Anyone.....? :D

ha! I ran across a Jennifer Lopez SACD at BB yesterday. Funny stuff. :D

Britney Spears on DVD-A!!!!!!

1. Roxy Music - Avalon
2. Bryan Ferry - Boys and Girls
3. Talking Heads - Remain in Light
4. Talking Heads - Speaking In Tounges
5. Simple Minds - New Gold Dream
6. Dire Straits - Bothers in Arms
7. Diana Krall - All
8. REM - Document
9. Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow
10. The Church -

i agree with most of the recommendations here but would add Ryan Adams' Gold CD. The Elton John discs are really amazing. the James Taylor discs are also exquisitely produced. I just wish hi-res would live on. I really want some Led Zepplin on hi-res along with things like Tori Amos, Pinback, well just more, more, more.

The Elton John discs are really amazing. the James Taylor discs are also exquisitely produced.you're exactly right! I enjoy playing, both, my Elton John and James Taylor SACD's more than most because they're produced so well. That James Taylor "Hour Glass" is un-believeably nice sounding.

I have to thank those that recommended the Nickle Creek - This Side SACD. It isn't my usual type of music, but this selection really is amazing. The music is pleasant and lively, and the SQ is top notch. It is the best SACD I own to date. Great recommendation,and as others have said, it is not Bluegrass.

I picked up the Beatles LOVE DVD-A and it is terrific.
Eagles HFO - DTS is well done.
Toy Matinee DVD-A - Nice

Those are the stand outs that I have heard, so far.

Darrell

Wow - this took a lot of thought. I'm not used to that! :p Let me count down backwards with an explanation where appropriate:

10: Donald Fagen - The Nightfly (DVD-Audio)
This is one of two DVD-Audios on my list but it's my favorite 5.1 mix of any of the Steely Dan/Fagen releases (although Gaucho is reeeeeeal close). New Frontier gives me goosebumps.

9. Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (SACD)

8. Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Boy Named Charlie Brown (Stereo SACD)
This is a fantastic performance plain and simple, and when you consider that it's over 40 years old, it is just astonishing as to the resolution, the warmth, and clarity. What is it about piano that reproduces so wonderfully in SACD?

quick note: I don't have A Charlie Brown Christmas on SACD (or the Monster Super-Duper Disc version for that matter) so maybe one of those would replace this entry? I've been struggling with which one to get and my indecision is getting the best of me. Anyone have any insights? Did Monster nail it?

7. Oscar Peterson (SACD Stereo) Exclusively For My Friends Vol I-VI
This six disc collection has to be bought individually which is unfortunate, but well worthwhile if you're a Peterson fan. Again, we're talking about recordings from the 60's, but it feels like it could have been recorded yesterday. It's like getting a private concert, which was basically the venue for the recording.

6. Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed (DTS Audio)
Immersive orchestral-pop recording with great 5.1 Surround Mix.

5. Boys II Men - II (DTS)
Ok, there goes my street cred right out the virtual window. :rolleyes: This is a guilty pleasure to be sure, but let me frame it properly. This was one of the first DTS Surround Sound mixes/releases ever made. I remember playing this oh-so-many years ago on this ridiculously expensive Sherwood Newcastle receiver that I bought back in the day that was the first to offer BOTH DTS and Dolby Digital playback!! This was the demo disc that Sherwood used with DTS reps in the room to introduce the receiver. I was blown away then, and it's still a great demo disc because of the incredibly aggressive surround mix. Those that have heard it will understand. Drums stereo separated in the back surrounds; harmonies isolated vocal by vocal and sent to individual speakers; an unbelievable effort.

4. Queen - A Night at The Opera (DVD-Audio)
Need I say more? Great 5.1 mix.

3. Toy Matinee - Toy Matinee (DTS)
Cult pop fave with fantastic 5.1 playback. I wouldn't expect anything less from a pop band co-fronted by well known producer Patrick Leonard. The lead singer Kevin Gilbert died way too young and I just feel sooo lucky that I was able to see him live a couple of times before the end. This album is a great testament to his talents although I heartily recommend searching out his internet-only released posthumous album The Shaming Of The True or his incredible cover of Kashmir if you can find it. One more DTS-related tangent would to recommend Patrick Leonard's soft jazz release Rivers which also has a gorgeous soundstage in 5.1.

2. Beck - Sea Change (SACD)

This is about as defining an SACD release as I have ever heard. It is both state of the art (with original production by Nigel Godrich) and completely immersive. Kudos to those that have also placed it on their list because it is certainly not the most commercial, or accessible of Beck's catalog and yet is so rewarding for those that don't mind a more introspective, quieter Beck. Wow.

1 Talk Talk - Spirit Of Eden (SACD)

This is the reason that I decided to come out of the woodwork to post. This album was not on a single list, and I would either venture that it's because people didn't know it was available on SACD (it's a hard to find European only pressing along with The Colour of Spring) or because you all think Talk Talk was just that 80's band that sang the new-wave hit "All you wanna do is Talk Talk...Talk Talk Talk Talk.etc". For those of you in the latter camp, please look at the rest of my list and understand that I take this seriously and wouldn't put an 80's pop group as my #1. These guys took a redefining left turn when they were at their most successful and lost their recording contract with EMI as a result of this release! While this was an "Alternative" CD in only the most technical sense, it is the most beautiful, poetic, and challenging soundscape I have ever heard. To underline a point, their eventual followup (Laughing Stock) was released on Verve (although that was also an odd pairing)!

A psychedelic, organic, swirling 6 song opus that goes on for about 45 minutes with one song blending into the next, this has a very Dark Side of the Moon feel to it, and highly recommended for those that love that album or Sea Change. It's the perfect album to play from beginning to end on a quiet night with the lights out, candles lit and no distractions.

This is one of those rare recordings that takes the listener to another place and the elitest secrecy of knowing you're one of the few that know about this treasure makes it all the more special. Seek this out.

Cheers (and while I'm hiding under my desk, I welcome your comments) :eek:

Robb

P.S. As one quick aside, I would certainly have placed Pink Floyd's DSotM on the list but I have to be honest, I don't have a multichannel mix of it as yet so I didn't think it fair to include something I haven't heard. I have a Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs Gold CD version of it from many moons ago, and that has been the recording I have treasured of it thus far. I'm sure I will pick up the SACD eventually and especially with the validation now of seeing it appear on so many other's lists!!
Holy cow - I just picked up the DVD-A of The Beatles - Love and I'm sitting here amazed. What a complete surprise!!! Add this to my list into the middle third somewhere and we'll call it a tie so I don't have to pull Donald Fagen off! ;)

Highly recommended!!

RobbW

Is Violator really worth it on SACD?

We bought the SE with regular CD and DVD with 5.1 mix and it lacks just about everything. No matter how loud you turn it up it has no feeling to it at all.

I have DSOTM SACD and its the first one I ever bought and only listened to it once, found it to be more gimic than anything.

My personal favorites are all the Porcupine Tree DVD-A's, Beck's Sea Change on DVD-A, and REM's Around the Sun in DVD-A. They all show off high quality engineering especially REM which to me is one of the cleanest recordings I've heard. Wife loves the Eagles Hotel California too.

NIN's With Teeth is excellent also but it really helps if you have larger rears for this one. I can hear where my smaller Deftech BPX2's are lacking in definition, with a bigger and more full rear I suspect this would sound even better. This is a money spender for me, it points out a lot of things in my system I could improve.

We have Diana Krall's SACD(forget the name) and it also is a very clean cut...she only has one SACD correct?

Guess its time for me to get DSOTM out again for a listen. I did listen to it before I got my ICBM so I'll take it for another spin.

This is a pretty good list, going to cost me some more money :)

[EDIT]

I just sat through the first couple of tracks on DSOTM on SACD. I never listened to it again after I hooked up my ICBM but its a huge improvement. Now the house shakes as it should :)

I also bought Bjork's Vespertine and although I like Bjork this DVD is just grating to me...am I missing something with it?

One to stay away from, Glenn Phillips Albulum(or something to that effect), I bought it because we're big TTWS fans but its terrible.

We have Diana Krall's SACD(forget the name) and it also is a very clean cut...she only has one SACD correct? .

Diana Krall has 4 surround sound high resolution discs:

"Love Scenes"
"The Girl in the Other Room"
"The Look of Love"
"When I Look in Your Eyes"

I believe all 4 were released in DVD-A and SACD although I can't guarantee you can find them all in either format. Her two concert DVD-V's are as good as the high resolution releases in my opinion when you factor in getting to watch her. I have read reports that "The Girl in the Other Room" SACD sounds better than the DualDisc DVD-A.

Chris

We have "Look of Love"

I'll have to dig up the rest.

Thanks

We have "Look of Love"

I'll have to dig up the rest.

Thanks

I just picked up "Love Scenes" from Buy.com. Buy.com has $20 off $50 purchase and that works out to about $11 if you can find $50 worth. The Beatles "Love" CD/DVD-A works out to about $12 after discount.

Chris

My favorites in order...

1) The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (DVD-Audio) :D

2) Beck - Sea Change (SACD)

3) The Beatles - Love (DVD-Audio) :D

4) The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed (SACD)

5) Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (SACD)

Other great discs (no order)

Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde (SACD)
Yes - Fragile (DVD-Audio)
The Doors - L.A. Woman (DVD-Audio)
All the Diana Krall discs (SACD)
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (SACD)
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (SACD)
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (DVD-Audio)
Queen - A Night at the Opera (DVD-Audio)
R.E.M. - Automatic for the People (DVD-Audio)
R.E.M. - The Best of R.E.M. (DVD-Audio)

I'm probably missing a few...

Because it belongs in this thread, you've got to put the new Beatles Love DVD-A on this list. AMAZING!

I really like acoustic music in high resolution 5.1 but I'm not a big fan of bluegrass (I should give Nickel Creek a chance, though, because as I understand it they're not bluegrass in the Bill Monroe sense).

Can anyone recommend a few good acoustic music SACD or DVD-A discs? For example, I'm a big fan of John Fahey, Richard Thompson and Nick Drake, so I guess I veer more toward the folk and rock side of the spectrum than the country/bluegrass or jazz fusion end (I absolutely hate Bela Fleck).

Any suggesions?


My favorite all time acoustic SACD is Jorma Kaukonen's "Blue Country Heart", which has a front porch jam session kind of feel; the mix is superb. "New Favorite" by Alison Krauss and U.S. is also excellent, as is Junior Wells "Come on in This House" for blues.

If you're a fan of accoustic guitar, you must check out Al DiMeola's new "Consequence of Chaos" multi-channel SACD. Very impressive!

Agreed !! Great sound.


Bill

...The added "lead" guitar is, IMO, one of the better arguments for keeping artists from tampering with a finished work. To me ... Buckingham's "lead" is nothing more than what we pickers call "noodling"--truly lame notes that are completely unnecessary and needlessly distracting in a song whose genius lies in its stark simplicity.

Once it's released it's done. Remix carefully for surround, OK, but otherwise keep the artist's aging paws off! ..

Trent Reznor was suspected by a few fans of adding instruments or sounds to his 5.1 mix (SACD and DVD-A) of The Downward Spiral, but none were added. The stereo mix was just so complex that only a few people noticed those sounds back in 1994. His audience of 1994, including myself, didn't have good enough equipment to get the most of those mixes back then as it was.

As a die hard fan, I would have been pissed if instruments HAD been added, so I agree with you 100%.

If done right, added instruments to a 5.1 mix can stay true to the origional. But I do understand how it could piss off others. For me it just depends on the intent and the final results.

One recommendation I will enthusiastically endorse is "Eat A Peach" by the Allman Brothers. I have really enjoyed this mix. Of special note is the last track, Little Martha. Duane and Dickie Betts play together. I have used this track as a reference for sound stage and imaging. Most systems have the two guitars on top of each other, but the SACD puts them apart and separates the two.

The next to last track is Blue Skies. I can just listen to those two songs and improve my mood and outlook ten fold and I guess that is what music is all about.

i've just entered the sacd and dvd-a scene (thanks to my oppo 970). i actually bought pink floyd's dark side in anticipation of setting up my system after reading so many great things about it. it's haunting, mesmerizing, fantastic....really great. i've read lots of reviews because i instantly wanted to start a collection. the next one i purchased was allman brothers "live at fillmore east". it is really terrific. you get that feeling of being in a small venue. my favorite tracks are stromy monday, you don't love me, hotlanta, and in memory of elizabeth reed.

i heard about how great steely dan's gaucho was so i purchased the dvd-audio. super clean sound but................ there are some differences on it that i don't like. on "hey nineteen" and "time out of mind" there are missing background vocals and horns and it ruins the songs in my opinion. is the sacd the same? or is this just on the dvd-a version? on the dvd-a, you can select the surround mix or the stereo mix. when i select the stereo mix, the background vocals are there..... but not on the surround mix.

another disappointment: i just bought the goodbye yellow brick road sacd last nite. the opening track, funeral for a friend, is not a good mix in my opinion. i'm not sure what it is because it's been several years since i've heard the stereo version but there's obviosly something missing. i even stopped it and checked all my settings to make sure everything was right. overall, i thought the quality of the fidelity was subpar. pretty disappointed since it cost $30.

What's your speaker set-up? Generally speaking, SACD and DVD-A don't have downmix capabilities to 4.0, or anything else other than 2.0. Not missing a channel are you?

i've just entered the sacd and dvd-a scene (thanks to my oppo 970). i actually bought pink floyd's dark side in anticipation of setting up my system after reading so many great things about it. it's haunting, mesmerizing, fantastic....really great. i've read lots of reviews because i instantly wanted to start a collection. the next one i purchased was allman brothers "live at fillmore east". it is really terrific. you get that feeling of being in a small venue. my favorite tracks are stromy monday, you don't love me, hotlanta, and in memory of elizabeth reed.

i heard about how great steely dan's gaucho was so i purchased the dvd-audio. super clean sound but................ there are some differences on it that i don't like. on "hey nineteen" and "time out of mind" there are missing background vocals and horns and it ruins the songs in my opinion. is the sacd the same? or is this just on the dvd-a version? on the dvd-a, you can select the surround mix or the stereo mix. when i select the stereo mix, the background vocals are there..... but not on the surround mix.

another disappointment: i just bought the goodbye yellow brick road sacd last nite. the opening track, funeral for a friend, is not a good mix in my opinion. i'm not sure what it is because it's been several years since i've heard the stereo version but there's obviosly something missing. i even stopped it and checked all my settings to make sure everything was right. overall, i thought the quality of the fidelity was subpar. pretty disappointed since it cost $30.


Very strange. I have the DVD-A Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and I consider it one of my reference discs. Funeral For a Friend is freekin' spetacular on my set up as are most of the other tracks. Don't know what to tell ya. Welcome to the surround music world, though. There is some awesome music out there.


Bill

What's your speaker set-up? Generally speaking, SACD and DVD-A don't have downmix capabilities to 4.0, or anything else other than 2.0. Not missing a channel are you?

Maybe not using 5.1 analog input?

One recommendation I will enthusiastically endorse is "Eat A Peach" by the Allman Brothers. I have really enjoyed this mix.

I hadn't previously been a big Allmans fan, but I bought the "Eat A Peach" SACD because I thought those guitars would sound great in high rez surround mix.

I like the CD on the whole, but the drum solo (on Moutain Jam maybe?) confuses me. It sounds like the drum kit is in the Front Right channel but then you get occasional beats (almost like a call and response) out of the Front Left channel.

Did the Allmans have more than one drummer or percussionist? There's no additional percussionist credited in the liner notes, so it seems like the mix distributes the beats to the Front Left channel on a selective basis, which I find to be distracting on a live recording.

If it were a studio recording, I would say you could put the instruments wherever you want whenever you want, a la the Flaming Lips.

What's your speaker set-up? Generally speaking, SACD and DVD-A don't have downmix capabilities to 4.0, or anything else other than 2.0. Not missing a channel are you?


it's 5.1

i have a pioneer 816 receiver so i had to use analog inputs(no hdmi).

the first time i listened to it(gaucho), it was as if i was missing a channel. but the pink floyd sacd definitely works as it should. so does the allman brothers disc. so i thought it might be that it's a dvd-a. on "hey nineteen", i mentioned that the background vocals were missing. that's not entirely true. actually, there's one voice (fagen) singing background and it sounds strange. on "time out of mind", the background vocals are completely missing and so is the horn that comes in at the same time.

do you guys have the dvd-a? or the sacd?

I hadn't previously been a big Allmans fan, but I bought the "Eat A Peach" SACD because I thought those guitars would sound great in high rez surround mix.

I like the CD on the whole, but the drum solo (on Moutain Jam maybe?) confuses me. It sounds like the drum kit is in the Front Right channel but then you get occasional beats (almost like a call and response) out of the Front Left channel.

Did the Allmans have more than one drummer or percussionist? There's no additional percussionist credited in the liner notes, so it seems like the mix distributes the beats to the Front Left channel on a selective basis, which I find to be distracting on a live recording.

If it were a studio recording, I would say you could put the instruments wherever you want whenever you want, a la the Flaming Lips.


taken from a review on the live at fillmore east album:
The songs on this CD, only seven, were originally in an album released as a double LP. Two of the tracks were long enough to each take up an entire LP side. Gregg Allman on keyboards, Dickie Betts on guitar, Berry Oakley on bass, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Jai Johanny on percussion, do they ever jam and solo.

taken from a review on the live at fillmore east album:
The songs on this CD, only seven, were originally in an album released as a double LP. Two of the tracks were long enough to each take up an entire LP side. Gregg Allman on keyboards, Dickie Betts on guitar, Berry Oakley on bass, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Jai Johanny on percussion, do they ever jam and solo.


Thanks for clarifying that. I feel a lot more comfortable about the mix now. :)

regarding my experience w/ the gaucho dvd-a: i found this review on amazon.com and it pretty much sums up what i'm hearing...........



"i ve just been listening to my copy of gaucho on dvd audio for the first time on a proper kick off 5.1 system, and jeez what a shock, reading how everybody seems to think this is one of the best 5,1 mixes they have heard. well unless sacd is a different mix to the dvd, then i must say it is shocking , ok the stereo mix sounds excellent but the 5.1 remix has decided to remove the brecker brothers horns and all manner of backing vocals and odds and sods, on the brilliant hey nineteen donald fagens vocal is so exposed he sounds like a out of tune neil young on helium. for goodness sake what the hell were they thinking. .FACT.. the original vinyl mastering is by far the best sounding version i have ever heard, warm clean , fat loud crisp every thing music should sound like, so stop kidding yourselves, just because something you are familiar with,but maybe a little bored of suddenly sounds open and fresh it don t mean it sounds better.........i give this item 3 stars for the warm stereo mix only....."

regarding my experience w/ the gaucho dvd-a: i found this review on amazon.com and it pretty much sums up what i'm hearing...........



"i ve just been listening to my copy of gaucho on dvd audio for the first time on a proper kick off 5.1 system, and jeez what a shock, reading how everybody seems to think this is one of the best 5,1 mixes they have heard. well unless sacd is a different mix to the dvd, then i must say it is shocking , ok the stereo mix sounds excellent but the 5.1 remix has decided to remove the brecker brothers horns and all manner of backing vocals and odds and sods, on the brilliant hey nineteen donald fagens vocal is so exposed he sounds like a out of tune neil young on helium. for goodness sake what the hell were they thinking. .FACT.. the original vinyl mastering is by far the best sounding version i have ever heard, warm clean , fat loud crisp every thing music should sound like, so stop kidding yourselves, just because something you are familiar with,but maybe a little bored of suddenly sounds open and fresh it don t mean it sounds better.........i give this item 3 stars for the warm stereo mix only....."


I honestly don't know what you guys are hearing (or not hearing) on Gaucho. It is one of the first DVD-As that I bought and I was completely blown away then and still am today. I can't help but think that something is wrong with set-up or the disc. I am really sorry for you because Gaucho is an all-time fave for me.

regarding my experience w/ the gaucho dvd-a: i found this review on amazon.com and it pretty much sums up what i'm hearing...........



"i ve just been listening to my copy of gaucho on dvd audio for the first time on a proper kick off 5.1 system, and jeez what a shock, reading how everybody seems to think this is one of the best 5,1 mixes they have heard. well unless sacd is a different mix to the dvd, then i must say it is shocking , ok the stereo mix sounds excellent but the 5.1 remix has decided to remove the brecker brothers horns and all manner of backing vocals and odds and sods, on the brilliant hey nineteen donald fagens vocal is so exposed he sounds like a out of tune neil young on helium. for goodness sake what the hell were they thinking. .FACT.. the original vinyl mastering is by far the best sounding version i have ever heard, warm clean , fat loud crisp every thing music should sound like, so stop kidding yourselves, just because something you are familiar with,but maybe a little bored of suddenly sounds open and fresh it don t mean it sounds better.........i give this item 3 stars for the warm stereo mix only....."

I don't hear anything missing on 'Hey Nineteen'. Which part of the song are you talking about?

The title track is my fav song on this SACD...This is a great album. The 5.1 uncompressed mix just adds to my enjoyment!

Are you sure you did not buy the DTS CD of "Guacho". Some were sold in a DVD-A sized case. The DTS CD is a totally different 5.1 mix from the DVD-A/SACD.

If it's in a DVD-A sized case, and there's a large banner stating "DTS SURROUND MUSIC DISC" across the top, you may have the DTS CD.

I don't hear anything missing on 'Hey Nineteen'. Which part of the song are you talking about?

The title track is my fav song on this SACD...This is a great album. The 5.1 uncompressed mix just adds to my enjoyment!


eureka! i found out my problem. it was twofold. i had my analog connection going to the "cd" input because i thought the "dvd/ld" input was taken by my hdmi connection. it turns out that for the sacd & dvd-a to work, you have to connect to the "dvd/ld" input. in addition to that, my receiver (pioneer vsx-816) has a "signal select" button that toggles between auto, digital, analog and DVD 5.1 ch. i have to select DVD 5.1 ch for the receiver to output the sacd or dvd-a. the auto doesn't do it for you. (this is stated in the manual). so now i'm getting all the channels. :)

hey nineteen and time out of mind have all the background vocals and horn that they're supposed to have. i haven't re-listened to goodbye yellow brick road yet. i suspect it will sound a lot better now. i spent most of the time re-listening to dark side of the moon. wow, i didn't realize i what i was missing. it's totally mesmerizing.

but now i have one more problem. when i select the DVD 5.1 ch, the receiver doesn't let you access any of the sound modes. as a result, i have no EQ control and i'm getting a flat sound. i'm going to dig into the manual some more to see if i can figure out something. hopefully someone on this forum who has this receiver can help me out.

Most receivers don't let you process the 5.1-channel inputs. That's because the processing on the 2-channel inputs is done by digitising them, processing them and converting back to analogue; and they're too cheap to fit another 4 channels worth of analogue-to-digital converters for a multichannel input that not many people use...

You need to make sure all your basic set-up is replicated in the player - you'll need to set up large/small speaker settings, crossover frequency, distances etc there, as the receiver will just be routing the 5.1 inputs straight to the power amplifier section. It's as if the receiver just becomes a "switch" for that input.

looking in my manual, there's a footnote in the multichannel analog input section that reads "during playback from the multichannel inputs, you can't use any of the sound features/modes and only the volume and channel levels can be set."

however, there are 2 EQ custom settings where you can make manual EQ adjustments. I just need to find out how to apply one one of those when i'm playing multichannel.

i am able to go into my dvd player (oppo 970) and select from various EQ settings. i selected the "rock" setting but it only enhanced slightly.

looking in my manual, there's a footnote in the multichannel analog input section that reads "during playback from the multichannel inputs, you can't use any of the sound features/modes and only the volume and channel levels can be set."

however, there are 2 EQ custom settings where you can make manual EQ adjustments. I just need to find out how to apply one one of those when i'm playing multichannel.

i am able to go into my dvd player (oppo 970) and select from various EQ settings. i selected the "rock" setting but it only enhanced slightly.

Thats cool you got your system set up right now! Like KMO said, make sure you have the distance and Large/small settings correct in the Oppo! Don't worry about the EQ (yet) it may sound better flat if you have everything set up correctly.

Thats cool you got your system set up right now! Like KMO said, make sure you have the distance and Large/small settings correct in the Oppo! Don't worry about the EQ (yet) it may sound better flat if you have everything set up correctly.


well, it does sound really good now. naturally, there's variation from disc to disc. now that i have it set up right, goodbye yellow brick road sounds very dynamic. no need to EQ there. dark side of the moon sounds tremendous. the saxophone in "us and them" is almost a religious experience. gaucho sounds incredibly clean. very discrete. almost too discrete. live at fillmore east (allman brothers) is the only one that definitely needs to be EQ'd. so i just listen to it the way i was before. it sounds terrific.

still, it would be nice to be able to apply some changes to the frequency balance in the multichannel mode. so, how much do you have to spend on a receiver to have EQ control over multichannel? is there another way to do it?

The best solution is to use a digital transport - HDMI or i.Link, or a proprietary interconnect like Denon Link. Receivers that receive multichannel input digitally can usually then perform all their normal processing on it.

For HDMI, SACD is a bit troublesome at the moment - you need HDMI 1.2 to transfer SACD in its native form (DSD), and at the moment there are a fair few receivers supporting this from Yamaha, Pioneer and Marantz, but no players. Some players can convert SACD to PCM, compatible with HDMI 1.1 receivers - Oppo, Arcam, and the Sony PS3 do this.

Generally, only high-end kit has processing of analogue multichannel. Going for digital interconnects is the cheaper option. I'm very much inclined to Pioneer, who offer i.Link on mid-range kit; i.Link seems like a more elegant system than HDMI.

Flaming Lips-Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (DVD-Audio)
Very Very agressive mix which I am almost always in favor of. Unbelievable
Bass. Dynamic range out the ying yang!


Pink Floyd-DSOTM (DVD-Audio)
I perfer the agressive AP mix over the SACD. SQ is not quite as "clean or
dynamic" as the SACD but the mix is just better 90% of the recording IMO.




I hate to nit-pick, but the Flaming Lips album has almost zero dynamic range it's that heavily compressed, and the Floyd DVD-A of DSOTM is not from the SQ matrix, but from the master tapes.

I hate to nit-pick, but the Flaming Lips album has almost zero dynamic range it's that heavily compressed, and the Floyd DVD-A of DSOTM is not from the SQ matrix, but from the master tapes.

Zero dynamic range compared to what? The Soft Bulletin is recorded at a very high (loud) level. I wouldn't put "Robots" in that class if I remember correctly.

Who said anything about the "SQ Matrix"? SQ=Sound Quality

So where's the best online source for buying DVD-A discs? (I don't have SACD)??

www.SA-CD.net is great for seeing what SACDs are out there. But so far not much for DVDA.

well... This isn't it either (http://www.soundblaster.com/resources/read.asp?articleid=53904&cat=2) but it is a list of a lot of the first 750 or so DVDA titles released.

www.SA-CD.net is great for seeing what SACDs are out there. But so far not much for DVDA.

well... This isn't it either (http://www.soundblaster.com/resources/read.asp?articleid=53904&cat=2) but it is a list of a lot of the first 750 or so DVDA titles released.

Thanks. I'm sure this has been discussed before, but it sure seems to me DVD-A is a dead/dying format. So little new being released. But I digress...

good input! i have bought a couple off of others recommendations

my personal favorite is Pink Floyd - SACD

but i was shocked to see no mention of the SACD Ludacris "Chicken and Beer" ;)

Not necessarily in this order but top ten as of this moment:

Fleetwood Mac - Say You Will, Rumors - DVD-A
Pink Floyd - D.S.O.T.M - SACD
Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead and American Beauty - DVD-A
Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat - DVD-A
Bruce Springsteen - Devils and Dust - Dual Disc
Talking Heads- Little Creatures - DVD-A
ELP - Brain Salad Surgery - DVD - A
Steely Dan - Gaucho - DVD-A

Using Oppo 970 HD I am more impressed with DVD-A. A word of caution for on-line buyers....Some of the items listed are listed falsely. They advertise as DVD - A or SACD 5.1 Surround and are actually only 2.0, maybe even worse. Tower.com has many of these discs. I recently returned Neil Young "On the Beach" for this offense. So where is evryone getting a fair shake on these. If I go to the local BB or CC the clerks look at me like I was crazy or worse when I ask for the DVD-A or SACD section and they are NOT mixed in with CDs by artist. If anyone has suggestion or links to direct I will empty my wallet if they have the right selection of 5.1 SACD or DVD-A.

Thanks!

So where is evryone getting a fair shake on these. . If anyone has suggestion or links to direct I will empty my wallet if they have the right selection of 5.1 SACD or DVD-A.

Thanks!


I get most of mine at www.circuitcity.com. Free shipping over $24 dollars and you can return at the local store if needed. Pretty good selection and they seem to average around $13.99 a disc. Their descriptions are lacking though so I mostly check www.sa-cd.net or www.amazon.com for the info.

You can also check out www.yourmusic.com. It is part of Sony BMG. They have over 50 sacd and a couple of dvd-a. $6.99 for single disc and $13.99 for doubles, shipping included. Search under album title for dvd audio and (sacd) with parenthesis. I got a bunch of Elton, Dylan, and Kinks discs this way (not all 5.1). Just watch the terms of service, and you may need to find the info elsewhere.

good input! i have bought a couple off of others recommendations

my personal favorite is Pink Floyd - SACD

but i was shocked to see no mention of the SACD Ludacris "Chicken and Beer" ;)


After all, Josh, this is a " Music Forum "


Bill

My top Hi-rez are:

1. Yes Fragile - DVD-A I think the surround mix and the SQ are amazing-My reference
2. Pink Floyd DSOTM - SACD another great surround mix with superb SQ.
3. Cowboy Junkies Whites Off Earth Now - MoFi SACD - My favorite CD on SACD.
4. Steve Pierson and Blues Head Blue Me Away - AIX DVD-A - Very good surround mix and SQ.
5. Jorma Kaukonen Blue Country heart - SACD great music and great SQ.
6. Allman Brothers Eat a Peach - SACD I go into a trance during Mountain Jam, just great.
7. Allman Brothers Filmore East - SACD Great album now with great SQ.
8. Allison Krauss New Favorite - SACD Excellent recording, great SQ.
9. Stevie Ray Vaughan Texas Flood - SACD only two channel but great SQ.
10. ELP Brain Salad Surgery - DVD-A - Hit and miss on some tracks but "Still...You turn me on" blows me away.


Still updating!

My list is limited to MCH only as the topic suggest, and only in SACD as I do not own a DVD-A player.

Not in any particular order:

Pink Floyd - The Dark Side
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
Deep Purple - Machine Head
Propaganda - A Secret Wish
Frankie Goes to Hollywood - A Sonic Collection
Police Every - Every Breath You Take
Roxy Music - Avalon
Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
Bryan Ferry - Boys And Girls
Depeche Mode - Violator
Nine Inch Nales - Downward Spiral
Kraftwerk - Minimum - Maximum
Sting - Brand New Day
Joe Satriani - Strange Beautiful Music

Also, Peter Gabriel - Play a DVD with an excellent dts track and Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here dts audio

How is that Deep Purple - Machine Head sacd? The sacd and dvd-a are hard to find these days, not sure if I want to overpay for it.

Machine Head is quite good. Particularly " Lazy ". You should be able to find it for $30.00 or so.


Bill

How is that Deep Purple - Machine Head sacd? The sacd and dvd-a are hard to find these days, not sure if I want to overpay for it.

David, if you are a DP fan you already know how good Machine Head is ieven n STEREO. In quadro, this is in fact the original 1972 quadraphonic recording, it gets even more oomph. It's a quadro recording so no front with some special effects in the back but four full channels of audio where instruments are placed all around the quadro soundstage. This is one of the best sounding MCH records I have and I am really glad EMI did not mess with it leaving it in the original 4.0 format.
It's definitely worth the money and I only wish more of the original quadro recordings were released on SACD without any alterations. After all, this is how it was intented to be heard and thanks to advances in technology it never sounded so good before.. This is one of those MCH recordings that make listening to stereo tracks so unnapealing afterwards..

I just picked up: Marion Meadows "players club" in a hybrid SACD from my local Best Buy and I am very pleased with the recording. If you like smooth jazz and can find this disc, pick it up!! It is well worth it!

What is the deal with Hybrid SACD? Are they not as good as SACD or DVD-A?

What is the deal with Hybrid SACD? Are they not as good as SACD or DVD-A?Same. Hybrid simply means that there's an additional CD-player-compatible layer added.

Same. Hybrid simply means that there's an additional CD-player-compatible layer added.
Cool! Thanks!

This is my first foray into multichannel audio so I wanted to get my facts straight before I spent the $'s.

How Do i know if my dvd player can play sacd's (dont wanna waste money on one, and find out I cant)

I have a Sony DVP NS5OP

Nope:
" Sony DVPNS50P/S Single DVD Player MP3/JPEG Playback1 (CD-R.RW, DVD-R/-RW/+R/+RW) CD (CD/CD-R/CD-RW)/VCR/SVCD DVD/CD"

I just picked up: Marion Meadows "players club" in a hybrid SACD from my local Best Buy and I am very pleased with the recording. If you like smooth jazz and can find this disc, pick it up!! It is well worth it!

On your recommendation I picked this up and I totally agree with your mini review. I was not familiar with Marion Meadows but I enjoy a wide variety of good music, especially well recorded surround, and this one will see regular play in my collection. Thanks for mentioning it!

On your recommendation I picked this up and I totally agree with your mini review. I was not familiar with Marion Meadows but I enjoy a wide variety of good music, especially well recorded surround, and this one will see regular play in my collection. Thanks for mentioning it!

No problem, I'm glad you enjoy it as much as I do. I love the "smooth jazz" genre and wish there was more multi-channel stuff available. I am expecting Foreplay's DVD audio next week (ordered it off Amazon). Its a great album and the musicians are top notch. I have not been able to find many reviews on it, but I am certain it will sound great!!!!

No problem, I'm glad you enjoy it as much as I do. I love the "smooth jazz" genre and wish there was more multi-channel stuff available. I am expecting Foreplay's DVD audio next week (ordered it off Amazon). Its a great album and the musicians are top notch. I have not been able to find many reviews on it, but I am certain it will sound great!!!!

Have that one - it's excellent too.

well, it does sound really good now. naturally, there's variation from disc to disc. now that i have it set up right, goodbye yellow brick road sounds very dynamic. no need to EQ there. dark side of the moon sounds tremendous. the saxophone in "us and them" is almost a religious experience. gaucho sounds incredibly clean. very discrete. almost too discrete. live at fillmore east (allman brothers) is the only one that definitely needs to be EQ'd. so i just listen to it the way i was before. it sounds terrific.

still, it would be nice to be able to apply some changes to the frequency balance in the multichannel mode. so, how much do you have to spend on a receiver to have EQ control over multichannel? is there another way to do it?


Now that your system is setup properly ie, cable connections, receiver settings, etc try speaker placement. It makes a big difference. I have an all Linn system and even slight speaker movement like toe in can be very revealing. I have no need for any EQ on pretty much any disc I play. Of course room acoustics has a lot to do with the final outcome. Good luck!

Did anyone like Flaming Lips' At War With the Mystics? thought it was great, I liked it better than Yoshimi in some ways

favorite surround album of the moment is PT's Stupid dream though. Simply awesome.

Did anyone like Flaming Lips' At War With the Mystics? thought it was great, I liked it better than Yoshimi in some ways

favorite surround album of the moment is PT's Stupid dream though. Simply awesome.

For those who may not have heard, PT will be coming out with a new album in surround - September release date:

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/musicreviews/2243/tracking-surround-porcupine-tree.html

For those who may not have heard, PT will be coming out with a new album in surround - September release date:

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/musicreviews/2243/tracking-surround-porcupine-tree.html

See also:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=802519 ;)

I don't many hi-res discs, but this is my order of the ones that I have:

1. Elton John: Good Bye Yellow Brick Road (DVD-A)
2. Pink Floyd: DSOTM (SACD)
3. NIN: Downward Spiral (DVD-A)
4. Police: Every Breath You Take (DTS CD)
5. NIN: With Teeth (DVD-A)
6. Led Zeppelin: How The West Was Won (DVD-A)
7. REM: Greatest Hits (DVD-A)
8. Metallica: Black Album (DVD-A)

good input! i have bought a couple off of others recommendations

but i was shocked to see no mention of the SACD Ludacris "Chicken and Beer" ;)
Great input. And what is up with "Chicken and Beer" on SACD?? Who made that decision??

Im really suprised nobody has mentioned Norah Jones "Come Away With Me" SACD (hybrid) Excellent Vocals, Great Piano, and Guitar. Or another Fav of mine Bob James Hi-Fi (Hybrid 2Ch only). "Angela" the Theme from Taxi, is a wonderful recording, even if it is only 2 Ch.

As for Norah:
There have been complaints that the SACD level was just a reencoding of the cd layer rather than being specifically mastered for SACD. Evidently if you A-B them, there is no difference. Forum discussion (http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/47070/110987.html)

Promised SACD releases of her other albums were announced, and even show up as items in some online retailers (which you can add to cart) but do not exist. Example here (http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=312917) Hi-rez Norah Jones practically does not exist. I suppose there's always vinyl.

In a not entirely unrelated note: if anyone knows where I can can get a copy of HN251SACD Peter Malick/Norah Jones "New York City" from HiNote in Taiwan (a subsidiary of Koch Intl.) I would be VERY ($) interested in purchasing one.

Got a copy? Or a lead? Please PM me.
I am aware of the rkrecords.com.tw listing, but it seems to be a dry well, as does www.5music.com.tw. Hkebay has not had listing in the last two months nor has yahoo auctions hk. I have contacted Alan, the engineer who mastered it and he is unaware of it being for sale in any retail outlet. It does definitely exist: at least one member here has a copy. There a couple of reviews online and it is listed at sa-cd.net.
Sa-cd.net review (http://sa-cd.net/showtitle/3124)
Announcement of release (http://www.highfidelityreview.com/news/news.asp?newsnumber=19759118)

Interesting. I've never A-B'ed the Norah SACD. I might have to do that tonight.

Well I A-B the Norah SACD last night. The Mulitch..sounds like they just took the CD layer and added some rear surround processing to it. Not impressive at all. Im more of 2 CH guy so I never paid it any attention until now. The 2CH SACD layer is excellent. Much better than the SACD Multi layer and the Redbook layer. It still is a very nice SACD just for the 2CH layer. IMO.

I'm new to DVD-A, DVD Audio and Surround Sound Music. Of course, I've experienced it, for a long time, on DVD Videos as sound tracks on my 5.1 DTS/Dolby Digital Home Theater audio system.

I finally took the plunge when I received a gift card and decided to be decadent and spend $22 for a music disc (never come close to that much for a single disc). Here's what I picked for my first disc:

SPATIAL DYNAMICS - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality TM, DTS ES 5.1 and 6.1 Extended Surround Music Disc. (http://www.amazon.com/SPATIAL-DYNAMICS-Experience-3-Dimensional-Extended/dp/B000L22VRC/ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1178585359&sr=1-1)

by Alexander Jero (Surround Records)

I think this is an awesome disc if you like Techno music, electronic music, MIDI music, synthesizer instrumental music, etc. I find this album very powerful and moving. The first track, "Last Count" I find a little hard to like, but all the other tracks are amazing.

I'm surprised to find nothing in AVS Forums when I search for the artist, "Jero." He seems to have many Surround discs out including interpretive classical, jazz, dance, etc.

Anyone have any opinions about Jero, his albums, or this album in particular?

Avio

Hello all,

I look at High Fidelity for SACD reviews : http://www.highfidelityreview.com/index.asp. And, it's so encouraging to see there are lots of SACD titles being produced now. A favorite is TELARC, http://www.telarc.com/. I've gotten ffrom them: Hiromi's stuff (excellent!) and Marion Meadows for jazz, Donald Runnicles/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for a few classical titles. And if you really want to test your system, try Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas music (yeah, I know, kind of religious - but WOW listening to it as a musical piece will blow you away). I also own Diana Krall...superb!

I am very biased towards SACD over DVD-A. The recording equipment using DSD is outstanding.

Marcus

Looking for info, good or bad on these two disks that I've been looking at buying...

Wondering if anyone has listened to either one of these and cares to comment on how they sounded.

Frank Zappa - Quaudiophiliac

Mannheim Steamroller - Home Theater Demo Featuring: Mannheim Steamroller

Both DVD-A .

-t

Quadiophiliac's quite good imho......it's well worth checking out.

Quadiophiliac's quite good imho......it's well worth checking out.

Agreed. Also pick up the Zappa live Halloween show. Another excellent DVD-A.

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?PID=5520819&style=music&frm=frooglemusic

I'm new to DVD-A, DVD Audio and Surround Sound Music. Of course, I've experienced it, for a long time, on DVD Videos as sound tracks on my 5.1 DTS/Dolby Digital Home Theater audio system.

I finally took the plunge when I received a gift card and decided to be decadent and spend $22 for a music disc (never come close to that much for a single disc). Here's what I picked for my first disc:

SPATIAL DYNAMICS - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality TM, DTS ES 5.1 and 6.1 Extended Surround Music Disc. (http://www.amazon.com/SPATIAL-DYNAMICS-Experience-3-Dimensional-Extended/dp/B000L22VRC/ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1178585359&sr=1-1)

by Alexander Jero (Surround Records)

I think this is an awesome disc if you like Techno music, electronic music, MIDI music, synthesizer instrumental music, etc. I find this album very powerful and moving. The first track, "Last Count" I find a little hard to like, but all the other tracks are amazing.

I'm surprised to find nothing in AVS Forums when I search for the artist, "Jero." He seems to have many Surround discs out including interpretive classical, jazz, dance, etc.

Anyone have any opinions about Jero, his albums, or this album in particular?

Avio


All that I really dig out that Jero is the first Artist who recieved recognition for Composing Music in Surround Sound and was Awarded by United Entertainment Media and Surround Proffecional Magazine for the "Best New Surround Music Composition." With this kind of recognition and number of Albums this artist produced already (over 30) he is may be our new visionary for music in surround sound.

Have you guys been able to run across Queen - A night at the opera in DVD-A? Im trying to find it anywhere and its either A) Impossible to find or B) insanely expensive ~100

Is the cd/dvd version comparable?

Have you guys been able to run across Queen - A night at the opera in DVD-A? Im trying to find it anywhere and its either A) Impossible to find or B) insanely expensive ~100

Is the cd/dvd version comparable?

Got lucky and found this one at Borders a few months ago. Otherwise, it is one of the harder to find/more in demand/pricier hi-res titles out there. I love the DVD-A surround tracks. I am not sure how it compares to the other versions out there.

Have you guys been able to run across Queen - A night at the opera in DVD-A? Im trying to find it anywhere and its either A) Impossible to find or B) insanely expensive ~100

Is the cd/dvd version comparable?

Option 1: Watch lots of Ebay. sometimes you can get lucky with a buy-it-now for cheap.
Option 2: 5point1.com has it for about $40.
Option 3: Sometimes I've seen it on overseas websites. But it's been a while. If I see it again I'll PM you.

If you don't mind buying from Japan, it's in stock at HMV. Check the link below:
NATO (http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/460940)

Have you guys been able to run across Queen - A night at the opera in DVD-A? Im trying to find it anywhere and its either A) Impossible to find or B) insanely expensive ~100

Is the cd/dvd version comparable?


I thought I read that Brian May with Bob Ludwig re-did all of the tracks for the 30th Anniversary edition, which is available pretty easily, and thought that this was a much better sounding mix than any before it, in his opinion.

I picked it up used ( $15 ) and it sounds terrific in 5.1 as well as regular 2 ch stereo.

Actually, I just remembered where I read that...in the liner notes of the 30th anniversary edition! :D

-t

I thought I read that Brian May with Bob Ludwig re-did all of the tracks for the 30th Anniversary edition, which is available pretty easily, and thought that this was a much better sounding mix than any before it, in his opinion.

I picked it up used ( $15 ) and it sounds terrific in 5.1 as well as regular 2 ch stereo.

Actually, I just remembered where I read that...in the liner notes of the 30th anniversary edition! :D

-t

Thanks guys! Ill keep a look out for it, if anybody finds it for a decent price ~$25.00 please let me know. If I dont run across it soon ill just bite the bullet and try the new one. Its just wierd all the reviews ive found for the new one "limited" are like 5-6's out of 10s yet the old one is in the 8-9 area. Very strange if its the same or better recordings

Thanks guys! Ill keep a look out for it, if anybody finds it for a decent price ~$25.00 please let me know. If I dont run across it soon ill just bite the bullet and try the new one. Its just wierd all the reviews ive found for the new one "limited" are like 5-6's out of 10s yet the old one is in the 8-9 area. Very strange if its the same or better recordings

Hmmm...that is strange. Maybe it's the exclusivity that makes it sound better. ;)

What I have is a "Collector's Edition" not really "limited".
Recorded in 96Khz, 24-bit, 5.1, DTS. Plus a 24-bit stereo PCM set.

The 5.1 mixes are produced by Ray Thomas Baker and Brian May.
As well as Eliot Scheiner doing the mixes. Bob Ludwig mastered the CD/DVD.

From the liner notes..."...yes, this is quite simply the best "Night at the Opera" ever produced. I doubt it can ever be bettered!" - Brian May, August 2005

Amazon has tons of them...

-t

The 5.1 mixes are produced by Ray Thomas Baker and Brian May.
As well as Eliot Scheiner doing the mixes. Bob Ludwig mastered the CD/DVD.

From the liner notes..."...yes, this is quite simply the best "Night at the Opera" ever produced. I doubt it can ever be bettered!" - Brian May, August 2005
Well, he would say that. OTOH, it's damn good.

Well, he would say that. OTOH, it's damn good.

Kal are you referring to the DVD audio version of it or the 30th anniversary one that is a CD/DVD?

Kal are you referring to the DVD audio version of it or the 30th anniversary one that is a CD/DVD?The former.

Thanks guys! Ill keep a look out for it, if anybody finds it for a decent price ~$25.00 please let me know. If I dont run across it soon ill just bite the bullet and try the new one. Its just wierd all the reviews ive found for the new one "limited" are like 5-6's out of 10s yet the old one is in the 8-9 area. Very strange if its the same or better recordings

Do you mean the DVD-A "A Night at the Opera" or the 30th Anniversary edition, which is a DVD-V? The 30th is easy to find the last time I looked. I have the DVD-A and it is very difficult to find, my girlfriend's daughter got it for me for Christmas and I don't know where she found it.

Your question was posted in response to the 30th Anniversary DVD-V and if that is in fact what you are looking for, just do an online search it should be affordable and easy to find.

Chris

Do you mean the DVD-A "A Night at the Opera" or the 30th Anniversary edition, which is a DVD-V? The 30th is easy to find the last time I looked. I have the DVD-A and it is very difficult to find, my girlfriend's daughter got it for me for Christmas and I don't know where she found it.

Your question was posted in response to the 30th Anniversary DVD-V and if that is in fact what you are looking for, just do an online search it should be affordable and easy to find.

Chris


If the DVD-V is the same music wise as the DVD-A id glady take it, but from what ive heard its different. I am looking for the DVD-A

If the DVD-V is the same music wise as the DVD-A id glady take it, but from what ive heard its different. I am looking for the DVD-A

Well, same music, different mix. I only own the DVD-A, but may try to find the DVD-V too if I can find a bargain on it. I think you want the DVD-A, but at $25 without being re-released, I think you might find the first yeti quicker.

Chris

Yikes I typed a novel and lost it...

to recap some not mentioned that are faves:

T Rex Electric Warrior DVDA (maybe mentioned but not enough, great)
Ministry - Animositisomina DD DVD-A when you don't have enough heavy from NIN and LP
Geoff Tate's Solo DVD-A .... love it
Jaco Big Band - Word of Mouth Revisited - SACD great bass and music all around
Studio Voodoo - DVD-A - fun dj surround trip. Follow along to transendance...!
Jack Bruce - Shadows in the Air DD DVD-A - love his haunting voice add Vernon Reid and Clapton as guests and there is some great stuff here for Jack fans. Gentle surround use but dwarfs the CD side for sound quality!

Best Sounding

1. Al Jarreau/George Benson "Breezin" Superdisc only a fair album, but sound in phenomenal tie for first
1. All AIX recordings: I have about 12
2. Sonny Rollins "Way Out West" XRCD24 (recorded nearly 50 years ago)
3. David Crosby/Graham Nash "Another Stoney Evening" DTS 96/24 and MLP 5.1
4. Muddy Waters "Folk Singer" Classsic Records 96/24 2.0 (over 40 years old)
5. Donald Fagen "Kamakiriad" MLP 5.1
6. Jackson Browne "Running on Empty" MLP 5.1
7. Beck "Sea Change" MLP 5.1
8. Carol King "Tapestry" SACD
9. Chicago the self titled the 2nd album MLP 5.1
10. Porcupine Tree "Deadwing" MLP 5.1 and DTS - I think the DTS actually sounds better than the MLP mix

I just received from Mobile Fidelity, with their GAIN 2 technology, the self entitled 2nd release, Blood, Sweat, and Tears. This is an SACD/HYBRID. Fabulous sound. And with the classics "And When I Die", "Spinning Wheel", and my favorite, "You Make So Very Happy" you can not go wrong here.

Also, another classic group and SACD/HYBRID from Mobile Fidelity, "Earth Wind and Fires" - "Thats The Way Of The World", superb.

[QUOTE=Chris Gerhard]No, "Live in Paris" is not available on SACD or DVD-A. Diana Krall does have several DVD-A's and SACD's. I have "When I Look in Your Eyes" on SACD and "The Girl in the Other Room" on DualDisc DVD-A. I also own the DVD-V concert from Montreal. I like all of them really well.
No but Inside of Paris was a great surround experience

Kinda off topic but i have a new DVD player and reciever on the way [the new oppo and the onkyo 950] and i want to test a SACD or DVD-A to see what its all about before binging on them. You guys keep mentioning Beck - Sea Change but since i have the CD i checked ********** for a try-before-buy test. But in the text it says....

"Taken from the SACD and converted to DTS WAV using Surcode"

Its only 1 wav file too, 538mb. My question is, is this a direct rip or a reencode since it mentions Surcode? It would be pointless to base my decision on buying the SACD if i'm judging a reencoded disc.

Kinda off topic but i have a new DVD player and reciever on the way [the new oppo and the onkyo 950] and i want to test a SACD or DVD-A to see what its all about before binging on them. You guys keep mentioning Beck - Sea Change but since i have the CD i checked ********** for a try-before-buy test. But in the text it says....

"Taken from the SACD and converted to DTS WAV using Surcode"

Its only 1 wav file too, 538mb. My question is, is this a direct rip or a reencode since it mentions Surcode? It would be pointless to base my decision on buying the SACD if i'm judging a reencoded disc.


kind of hard to say,
I don't think you can just rip of SACD like that.
DTS is not lossless but you can definitely use it as a preview.
I have a lot of music in DTS, sound great. And it's right it should be just one wave file.

Kinda off topic but i have a new DVD player and reciever on the way [the new oppo and the onkyo 950] and i want to test a SACD or DVD-A to see what its all about before binging on them. You guys keep mentioning Beck - Sea Change but since i have the CD i checked ********** for a try-before-buy test. But in the text it says....

"Taken from the SACD and converted to DTS WAV using Surcode"

Its only 1 wav file too, 538mb. My question is, is this a direct rip or a reencode since it mentions Surcode? It would be pointless to base my decision on buying the SACD if i'm judging a reencoded disc.
This is what somebody did: They hooked up a sacd player to their computer using analog inputs. They then captured the stream as individual wav files. Then converted the wav files to dts cd format. The surround mix will be there, the quality won't. You can try this version and burn it to cd. Just keep in mind that the actual product will sound better. The Beck "Sea Change" does sound great. You can get it in SACD or DVD-Audio. I own both because I ended up wanting the videos and such that come with the Dvd-audio version.

thanks guys. i'll just buy the SACD or DVD-A then and not bother with this wav file because even a suspicion of possible quality loss will irritate me lol.

you can get on Amazon for fairly cheap ($14.99). Welcome to Hi-Rez music, once you swallow the red pill you can't go back.

thanks guys. i'll just buy the SACD or DVD-A then and not bother with this wav file because even a suspicion of possible quality loss will irritate me lol.

The single wav file should have also included a cue sheet so you can burn it to CD. If not I doubt it would be worth the trouble...If you do have the cue sheet then burn it to CD using Nero as an image file. Depending what equipment you use the difference won't be that great compared to the uncompressed hi rez version. I would guess 85% of the sound quality...

Nothing much to look forward to as far as hi rez releases? Kinda sux!

Nothing much to look forward to as far as hi rez releases? Kinda sux!

If you like classical music or jazz there are many recordings released on SACD. Have a look at www.sa-cd.net.

If you like classical music or jazz there are many recordings released on SACD. Have a look at www.sa-cd.net.Yup. It has been a great month for classical SACD. Just added the MTT/SFSO Klagende Lied (Mahler) and the Gielen/SWR Gurrelieder (Schonberg)! :)

If you like classical music or jazz there are many recordings released on SACD. Have a look at www.sa-cd.net.

Love sc-cd.net, what a great resource for SACD fans. But when I search for, say, Beethoven, it gives me just 100 results. Am I missing something or is there no way to get more than 100 search results? It's a problem for dudes with a lot of records, like Mozart and Beethoven.

Just an FYI,

I just noticed that because sound matters (http://www.becausesoundmatters.com/node/58) is now re-issuing DVD-A! There isn't a separate list for them yet, so you have to sort thru the vinyl section to find them.

Just an FYI,

I just noticed that because sound matters (http://www.becausesoundmatters.com/node/58) is now re-issuing DVD-A! There isn't a separate list for them yet, so you have to sort thru the vinyl section to find them.
No, but...
On the home page click on Index of Artists. Then click on All (far right side of the page). This gives you a full list of titles with each dvd-a title noted as such.

No, but...
On the home page click on Index of Artists. Then click on All (far right side of the page). This gives you a full list of titles with each dvd-a title noted as such.

Ah Much easier to find stuff that way! Thanks!

1. Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon (Quadrophonic DVD-A, not officially released) -- yes, I bought the SACD, too, and this is far better to my ears, although the SACD is no slouch.
2. Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here (Quadrophonic DVD-A, not officially released) -- this, like the above, is from the original quadrophonic master tapes. Both of these were released on quadrophonic vinyl.
3. Flaming Lips: Yoshimi vs. the Pink Robots (DVD-A)
4. Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy (hi-res remaster) massive difference from the original!
5. Jesus and Mary Chain: Darklands (hi-res remaster) also massive difference!
6. Flaming Lips: The Soft Bulletin (DVD-A)
7. Flaming Lips: At War with the Mystics (DVD-A)

I plan on getting the NIN and Talking Heads DVD-As....

Ok, don't laugh but Michael Mcdonald "Motown" on DVD A is spectacular, nice mix but its the overall AQ to this one that really is awesome. Amazing bass, depth, clarity, soundstage and all that jazz and the slam is jawdropping.

Beatles "Love" DVD A...wicked

Ray Charles "Genius loves company"...awesome album and wonderfull DTS/DD/hi rez stereo mixes

I will just list these 5.1 "Must Have's" that are not mentioned much but are sonically immpresive.

Sol to Soul-Freddie Ravel-DTS
Moody Blues-Seventh Sojourn-DTS
Alan Parsons-A Valid Path-DTS
-On Air-DTS
Jean Michael-Jarre-Aero-DTS

John McCuen and Jimmy Ibbotsen(With Jeniffer Warnes)-Nitty Gritty Surround-DVDA
Ojays-Ship Ahoy-SACD
The Gluey Brothers-Stiff For The Elders-DVDA
America-Homecomming-DVDA
Herbie Hancock-Gershwins World-SACD
Olu Dara-Neighborhoods-DVDA
Natalie Merchant-Tigerlily-DVDA
Simple Minds-Once Upon A Time-DVDA
Wallflowers-Red Letter Days-SACD (don't bother with"Rebel Sweetheart")
Doobie Brothers-The Captain and Me-DVDA
Boz Scaggs-DIG-DVDA

I now have enough SACDs to even make up a top ten list. The best MC SACDs I have I would say are:

1. Pink Floyd - DSOTM
2. Roxy Music - Avalon
3. Depeche Mode - Violator
4. Bryan Ferry - Boys and Girls
5. Billy Joel - The Stranger
6. Joe Satriani - Strange Beautiful Music
7. Elton John - Honky Chateau
8. Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection
9. Eric Clapton - Slow Hand
10. NIN - Downward Spiral

The last two lists are nice. The America - Homecoming is great in surround. As is the Nitty Gritty Surround, Roxy Music and Billy Joel discs. Some of these are getting hard to find.

With all of the great surround discs mentioned in this thread, I cannot believe no one has mentioned Todd Rundgren's "Liars". Was listening to this one last night, and it definitely is one of the better sounding multi-channel mixes. Lots of great catchy tunes, synthesizers, and plenty of bass!

AJA was recently released as a 180 gram LP and is a top seller on Acoustic Sounds. I have been looking around the web to see if this is going to be remixed in DVD-A. I have found no information on this issue. Anyone know if they are going to reissue it? Gaucho is a great disc and a great mix.

I was hoping the same thing re: Aja. Would be great in surround, as would all of the other Steely Dan albums. Unfortunately, I've not heard anything promised for these. Gaucho is probably my number one multi-channel release in terms of listening time.

The AJA masters are missing I think but all the others are possible. Katy Lied mmm.

Interesting how many mentions the Pink Floyd DSOTM gets...in the DVD Audio version. If I recall...that version is the Alan Parsons mix, and only available through torrents.

I have the SACD version, and an old SQ vinyl disc of the quad version. I do listen to the old SQ version more. Kind of wish there was a legit release of the DVD -Audio mix (or is there such a thing?).

I'm subscribing to this. Thanks to Avio for the link. :) I bought my first hi-rez disc - Blue Man Group's "Audio" album on DVD-A. It's great! The difference from CD to DVD-A for the ears (at least this one) is comparable to the difference of SDTV to HDTV for the eyes. :cool:

I have been collecting DVD Audio, SACD's, DTS and also Dolby 5.1 Superaudio discs for years. It is sad to see that they have all but ceased to continuewith them. IMO, nothing else touches them. Without a doubt, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips is on top of the heap. This is because this disc may well be in a class of its own since this disc was recorded in Surround sound, not remastered, remmixed, etc. These others are personal favorites of mine:
Blood, Sweat & Tears Original Master Recording Gold Disc DSD SuperAudio CD Ultradisc (Out of print).
Boston Self titled DSD Super Audio (Classic)
Boyz II Men II DTS Digital Surround (incredible harmonies)
Credence Clearwater Revival Chronicles Hybrid MultiChannel SACD
Deep Purple Machine Head Hybrid MultiChannel SACD DSD (1 of a kind: Remastered from the Original Quadraphonic Mix!)
Dire Straits Brothers In Arms 20th Anniversary Edition Re-Mix in 5.1 Surround Sound DSD
Super Audio
Don Henley The End of the Innocence DTS Digital Surround 24 Bit / 5.1
The Flaming Lips The Soft Bulletin 5.1 Dolby Digital DVD Audio (WOW!)
Lyle Lovett Joshua Judges Ruth DTS High Definition Surround 20 Bit
Mark Knoppler Shangri-La Super Audio
Peter Gabriel Shaking the Trees Super Audio CD DSD
Poco Crazy Eyes DTS High Definition Surround 20 Bit 5.1 HDS
The Rolling Stones Their Satanic Magesties Request SACD DSD
The Rolling Stones More Hot Rocks (big hits & fazed cookies) SACD DSD
The Best of Roxy Music Super Audio CD DSD
Santana Abraxis DTS High Definition Surround HDS
The Best of Simple Minds Hybrid Stereo Super Audio CD DSD
Steely dan Gaucho DTS 20 Bit/ 5.1
Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture Telarc Super Audio CD Hybrid MultiChannel DSD (Canon shots go down to 6 Hz! Can blow your speakers or amp) Caution
Wings Venus & Mars DTS High Definition Surround HDS
Alan Parsons On Air DTS Digital Surround HDS 5.1 (The Best Sound & Harmonies!)
Blue Man Group The Complex DVD Audio DTS
Donald fagen The Nightfly DVD Audio 5.1 Dolby Digital Advanced Resolution
The Doobie Brothers The Captain & Me DVD Audio AdvancedResolution Dolby Digital DTS
The Doors LA Woman DVD Audio Advanced Resolution
Fleetwood Mac DVD Audio Advanced Resolution Dolby Digital
Linkin Park Reanimation DVD AudioAdvanced Resolution Dolby Digital (Music flies around!)
Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells 2003 5.1 Surround Sound DVD Audio DTS Advanced Resolution
The Police Every Breath You Take DTS Digital Surround 5.1
The Best of R.E.M. In Time 1988- 2003 DTS Dolby Digital DVD Audio Advanced Resolution.

I have been collecting DVD Audio, SACD's, DTS and also Dolby 5.1 Superaudio discs for years. It is sad to see that they have all but ceased to continuewith them. IMO, nothing else touches them.

No kidding - it's very sad. I have many of the titles you mention, but will look for more before they become totally unavailable. Thanks for taking the time to list them.

I looked through my approximately 100 multichannel discs and came up with the following top ten list:

SACD Bartok - Miraculous Mandarin - Naxos
DVD-A Beatles - Love
SACD Berlioz - Requiem - Telarc
DVD-A Big Phat Band - Swingin' For the Fences
SACD Cincinnati Pops - Russian Nights - Telarc
DVD-A Dvorak - Symphony No.9 - Teldec
SACD Orff - Carmina Burana - Telarc
SACD Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
SACD Turina & Debussy - Telarc
SACD Wagner - Preludes & Overtures - PentaTone

There are so many good sounding discs that I had to list a second ten. It's very difficult to separate these from the top ten.

SACD Atlanta Symphony - Rainbow Body - Telarc
DAD-A Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
SACD Brahms - Symphony No. 1 - Naxos
SACD Carpenters - Singles
SACD Cincinnati Pops - Masters and Commanders - Telarc
DVD-A Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
DVD-A Mahler - Symphony No. 2 - Teldec
SACD Nielsen - Orchestral Music - Dacapo
SACD Prokofiev - Romeo & Juliet - Telarc
SACD Shostakovich - Symphony No. 11 - LSO Live

I looked through my approximately 100 multichannel discs and came up with the following top ten list:

SACD Bartok - Miraculous Mandarin - Naxos
DVD-A Beatles - Love
SACD Berlioz - Requiem - Telarc
DVD-A Big Phat Band - Swingin' For the Fences
SACD Cincinnati Pops - Russian Nights - Telarc
DVD-A Dvorak - Symphony No.9 - Teldec
SACD Orff - Carmina Burana - Telarc
SACD Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
SACD Turina & Debussy - Telarc
SACD Wagner - Preludes & Overtures - PentaTone

There are so many good sounding discs that I had to list a second ten. It's very difficult to separate these from the top ten.

SACD Atlanta Symphony - Rainbow Body - Telarc
DAD-A Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
SACD Brahms - Symphony No. 1 - Naxos
SACD Carpenters - Singles
SACD Cincinnati Pops - Masters and Commanders - Telarc
DVD-A Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
DVD-A Mahler - Symphony No. 2 - Teldec
SACD Nielsen - Orchestral Music - Dacapo
SACD Prokofiev - Romeo & Juliet - Telarc
SACD Shostakovich - Symphony No. 11 - LSO Live

1. I agree with you, in principle, as I can hardly keep up with the new classical releases.
2. Partial proof is that, good as they are, I would propose alternative versions of many of your choices.
3. Is the Turina/Telarc multichannel?

Interesting how many mentions the Pink Floyd DSOTM gets...in the DVD Audio version. If I recall...that version is the Alan Parsons mix, and only available through torrents.

I have the SACD version, and an old SQ vinyl disc of the quad version. I do listen to the old SQ version more. Kind of wish there was a legit release of the DVD -Audio mix (or is there such a thing?).

i would like to have a copy of the dvd-a of dark side. but the whole torrent thing sounds pretty intimidating. is there a chance i could get someone to send me a copy for fifteen bucks?

I have been collecting DVD Audio, SACD's, DTS and also Dolby 5.1 Superaudio discs for years.Credence Clearwater Revival Chronicles Hybrid MultiChannel SACD


Are you sure that there is a MulitChannel version? I'm a huge Creedence fan, and have been keeping my eye out for any Multi-Channel versions, but all I can find are the "Hybrid SACD" versions of the albums, and the comments on these are that they are NOT multi-channel.

1. I agree with you, in principle, as I can hardly keep up with the new classical releases.
2. Partial proof is that, good as they are, I would propose alternative versions of many of your choices.
3. Is the Turina/Telarc multichannel?

2. Availability and price are the main factors when I decide to purchase. Many SACD classical discs are priced well over $20 and I'm retired and living on a fixed income so I can't afford them. Almost no one in my part of the country even sells classical CD's let alone Classical SACD's, so I have to get most of them from the internet. Also if I bought a piece of music when there was only one multichannel verision available and a new and better one is released, I can't afford to buy the new one.

3. All of the Telarc SACD's I have are multichannel. The only stereo SACD's I have are three from the Albany label.

I tend to play DTS files that I store on my TVIX unit when I want hi res surround. I am partial to Pink Floyd DSOTM and Wish You Were Here. These were released in SQ quad "in the day" and I think there are torrents out there based on these. Or you can take your old SQ matrix files and monkey with them :)

For SACD, my absolute favorite is Beck's Sea Changes. I have owned various versions of the Mike Oldfield quads since the mid 70's...and like the SACD re-release. I wish the bass was a bit more prominent. I remember getting the whole room to shake with my AR3 and Rectilinear 5 speakers when I was a teenager.

2. Availability and price are the main factors when I decide to purchase. Many SACD classical discs are priced well over $20 and I'm retired and living on a fixed income so I can't afford them. Almost no one in my part of the country even sells classical CD's let alone Classical SACD's, so I have to get most of them from the internet. Also if I bought a piece of music when there was only one multichannel verision available and a new and better one is released, I can't afford to buy the new one.I did not mean to criticize your choices or chide you for not having made others. My point was that there are, in fact, alternative MCH SACD versions of many of these and that is indicative of the richness of the available repertoire.

3. All of the Telarc SACD's I have are multichannel. The only stereo SACD's I have are three from the Albany label.My error. The MCH SACD was made available long after the 2 channel SACD that I have and, I guess, I will have to get a new copy. Great disc.

We'll have to add Fear of a Blank Planet DVD-A to the list

Hey Joe: Are you related to Jimi Hendrix? No, seriously, The CCR disc that I have is definately MultiChannel, as I have indicated in my list. It may help you to know, believe it or not, that many of these discs that I have, I purchased from the Orient. About 2 years ago, I connected with this very fine seller in the Orient. I originally found him from eBay. I do alot of weird searches. I thought it was risky at first, but his feedback was exemplary. I first took a chance and bought some. I was very pleased, and many of these discs that he sells, I could not find them here in the States. His shipping time was very fast, considering the long distance. There are many others in my list that I also got from him such as Don Henley, Sammy Hager, Three Dog Night, etc. If you wish, I could provide you with this person's contact.

Hey RMCDO: Looks like you are a big Classical Music fan. Nothing wrong with that. In my limited Classical background, I have found that Telarc does about the best job with those. There is a very interesting story when they recorded the 1812 Overture. I heard they did it on a college campus. They set up actual authentic canons from the time. Supposedly, the canon shots went down to 6 or 8 Hz! They were soo powerful that they blew out most of the windows in the closest building which was approximately almost 1,000 feet away! An amazing recording, but be forwarned that if you play it too loud and your amp or speakers aren't robust enough, you could kiss them goodbye!
I find it interesting that you have the Beatles Love on your list. Seems a little out of place on your list, but I guess no worse then me having the 1812 on my list. I have that disc, and when I first listened to it (the Beatles Love) I found it to be very strange/ odd. It sounds so different then any other Beatles material I had ever heard before. Don't get me wrong. I have grown to like it more each time I listen to it. At first, I thought it was a mistake. Interesting what George Martin has done with it.

I find it interesting that you have the Beatles Love on your list.

My main interest is classical, but I still like the music I listened to when I was growing up. I enjoyed the Beatles and the Beach Boys before I discovered classical music. I've also been fascinated by surround sound since I first heard it in 1970. I had a four speaker surround setup from 1970 to 2001 when I added a center channel speaker and a sub-woofer.

My main interest is classical, but I still like the music I listened to when I was growing up. I enjoyed the Beatles and the Beach Boys before I discovered classical music. I've also been fascinated by surround sound since I first heard it in 1970. I had a four speaker surround setup from 1970 to 2001 when I added a center channel speaker and a sub-woofer.

rmcdo: I can relate to that. I feel I was into Surround Sound before there was Surround Sound. Back in the 60's, I got into Quad 8 tracks & I had a big collection at that time (my Wollensak 8080 Quad 8 track). It also had Dolby! Now it seems like the Dark Ages. Then, in the 70's I had Quad (SQ, QS, CD-4, RM, etc.). That was the coolest thing at that time. Later, I had an ADS bucket brigade "Digital" Time Delay amp.That was also very cool at the time. Then I had a Doly Surround system (4 speakers only), later Dolby Pro Logic, and so on. Now, all of that seems like a hundred years ago.

Looks like its been a while(2007).
I am looking to buy a few SACDS and it seems these are some of the most popular:
Steely Dan - Gaucho
Diana Krall - Girl in the Other Room
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
Pink Floyd - DSOTM
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Anyone have other suggestions that you would choose or recommend over these?

...It sounds so different then any other Beatles material I had ever heard before....
You need to listen to this album not as a compilation of the Beatles works, but as the sound track to a show. It's the background music for the Cirque de Soleil show in Las Vegas.

...it seems these are some of the most popular....
You've culled a good list to start with. If you like her, most of Diana Krall's albums are quite good and nicely recorded. Head to sa-cd.net to see a comprehensive list of available albums that you may want.

You need to listen to this album not as a compilation of the Beatles works, but as the sound track to a show. It's the background music for the Cirque de Soleil show in Las Vegas.

....but it's still 100% original Beatles works (sans the string score by GM (he did this many times already on Beatles songs) on While My Guitar Gently Weeps demo version and a couple of bird chirps) just remixed.

Looks like its been a while(2007).
I am looking to buy a few SACDS and it seems these are some of the most popular:
Steely Dan - Gaucho
Diana Krall - Girl in the Other Room
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
Pink Floyd - DSOTM
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Anyone have other suggestions that you would choose or recommend over these?

Can't play SACD's on my system so I can't suggest any other than I think that Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" is on SACD. If it is, I'd recommend it. The DVD-A version is very good.

-t

beck--"sea change"

steely dan--"gaucho"

steely dan--"everything must go"

nickel creek--"nickel creek"

lyle lovett--"joshua judges ruth"

dire straits--"brothers in arms"

roxy music--"avalon"

beatles--"love"

laurence juber--"guitar noir"

blue man group--"audio"


i would love to add pink floyd's "wish you were here" to the list...but, alas...

I have to agree that "Love" is a fantastic multi-channel experience. I also would add Diana Krall's "Live in Paris" DVD. The only other two that I would add to the list are:


Tommy - The Who
The Best of Play Bach - Jacques Loussier Trio

The second disc is a jazz interpretation of classical. It may not be for everyone's taste, but is a great surround mix. Some of the Telarc surround demo discs on Jazz are also worth owning.