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Post by Max on Apr 18, 2006 7:10:38 GMT
Bought the 7 disc set on its release date and its always been a niggle that i can't hear the blummin' new mix on my CD player. There's nothing wrong with it - far from it - but it's about 18 years old and the poor old girl can't cope with new technology. Can i ask - is there anywhere in the UK i can get a SACD machine that's CD only and not a DVD player as well? Don't really want to fork out for all the DVD bits when i don't need them - would rather pay the same price and have a top notch audio only player. Is there such a beast?
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Post by potatoprince on Apr 18, 2006 16:15:42 GMT
Have you tried Richer Sounds? They`re pretty good for that sorta thing.
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Post by Max on Apr 18, 2006 16:56:45 GMT
Yeah, went on their site and typed in SACD into their search engine. Plenty of results but a big fat "no" on all the specs regarding that function...
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Post by the Donal on Apr 19, 2006 20:25:20 GMT
Sony shops will have them- SACD is their baby- but don't expect the players to be cheap. By the way, if you get one, you'll need a surround amp with 6 channel ins (interconnects to the hi-phile or phono leads to the layman!) to get the SACD surround mix- it won't play through optical/co-ax digital cables (a copy protection system presumably).Which upsets me as my DVD player does SACD (a Pioneer and pretty good for the price- Richer Sounds if you do end up getting a DVD/SACD hybrid),but my amp\s only got digital ins!
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Post by the Donal on May 17, 2006 22:02:23 GMT
Well - I've finally got my hands of the new version and had a cursory listen to both the CD and SA-CD mixes. Though, due to my AV amp not having seperate surround imputs, I've only heard the stereo SA-CD mix through TV speakers.
The CD mix is definitely more 'in your face' in places and differences are clearly audible. I don't think it's bad and a lot of it sounds clearer on my monitors (Absolute Zero's)- some sounds are mixed in that I hadn't heard before. The reverb in the introduction is there- just not as obviously as on the older version. Some narrative takes sound a little different (as has already been posted)- this could also be down to the differences in the mix/eq/reverb.
Some of the music sounds a little barer than before- changes in the mix I guess. Nothing major seems to be missing though and I can't personally hear anything that suffers from over-compression/limiting as such- this is a very personal thing though, and it's quite late- I've been working on a bass session for a friend though as well- my ears may be too tired to pick up anything really subtle.
The SA-CD mix, even from TV speakers, sounds clearer and has more 'air' to it- an obvious consequence of the higher audio quality. Also, it seems less compressed- again owing to more headroom in the audio range.
All in all, there's nothing I don't like and nothing so far sounds horrendously different- though I'll give it a better listen next week when I've got more time. I have to say though, Schmokes, I think your opinion, while your own and up to you, is a little harsh- what did you listen to it on? I assume your own studio monitors.
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Post by Commandingtripod on May 18, 2006 6:45:39 GMT
Thanks to D.F, I've had the joy of being able to listen to the new version. ;D
I agree that yes, it is different. But I agree that it is down to what you play it on. But above all, I like what I can hear! ;D
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Post by the Donal on May 18, 2006 10:39:15 GMT
A listen to the second disc at a higher volume and the extra decibels seem a little harder on the ears in the upper mid frequency range, but it still sounds pretty good to me.
A happy consequence of hearing it mixed differently is that I'm listening to some of the parts of the album with a new perspective and get to appreciate some things again as if they are brand new. Listening to Spirit of Man this morning, I'd quite forgotten, despite hearing it for years, how amazingly beautiful Julie Covington's voice is. It really is wonderful to hear that again almost anew- I found it quite stirring.
The new mix, in places, had me in mind of the arrangement, structure and production of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here a little- just the way certain sounds play against each other and how you hear something new in it with each listen, despite having owned the album for most of my life. There seems to be less difference to the arrangements, though, on the second disk than the first.
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