Multichannel skeptic turned evangelist

yamaha

yamaha

New Member
This weekend I upgraded to a 5.1 system. B&W 600 series all around with last year’s Yamaha RX-V667. Decided to give The Dark Side of the Moon SACD mix a try, and I was blown away. It was just as discrete as stereo but with more space and detail. There were no channel gimmicks, or nonsense that sometimes pervade multichannel recordings (or even early stereo ones for that matter) just a clean balanced mix.

It really was like I’ve always wished stereo sounded like – a clean hemi-sphere of sound with depth. Pity multichannel for music practically a dead format.
 
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yamaha said:
This weekend I upgraded to a 5.1 system. B&W 600 series all around with last year’s Yamaha RX-V667. Decided to give The Dark Side of the Moon SACD mix a try, and I was blown away. It was just as discrete as stereo but with more space and detail. There were no channel gimmicks, or nonsense that sometimes pervade multichannel recordings (or even early stereo ones for that matter) just a clean balanced mix.

It really was like I’ve always wished stereo sounded like – a clean hemi-sphere of sound with depth. Pity multichannel for music practically a dead format.
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That's an amazing SACD. I really enjoy it.

If you have the ability to play DVD-Audio, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the Talking Heads' Brick collection. It's all their studio albums released on dual-disk format, with the DVD side being in DVD-Audio. Jerry Harrison, the band's lead guitarist, was part of the re-mix / re-master team, and it's amazing what it sounds like. They have some nice bonus tracks, too, where they do screw around with the 5.1 effects (like a really cool club mix of Burnin' Down the House).

I have an amazing copy of Steely Dan's Gaucho on DVD-A (though it's also available on SACD) as well as The Who's Tommy (it, too, is available on SACD).

I love multichannel formats.

Here's a great article about that Brick collection: http://www.davidbyrne.com/music/cds/th_brick/press/harrison_apple.php
 
cwall99 said:
I have an amazing copy of Steely Dan's Gaucho on DVD-A (though it's also available on SACD) as well as The Who's Tommy (it, too, is available on SACD).
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If you like Gaucho on DVD-A, give "Everything Must Go" a try as well. I thought EMG was an excellent album sonically and musically.
 
dtb300 said:
If you like Gaucho on DVD-A, give "Everything Must Go" a try as well. I thought EMG was an excellent album sonically and musically.
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I'll have to give that a listen. I have it on standard CD, and it's a very nice sounding disk (I hear Fagen's a real PITA in the studio in his quest for good sound, but that's a quality I admire in him).

I did buy Fagen's solo album Morph the Cat. It was DVD-A on one disk and CD on the other. A real nice way to put a package together.

I sometimes go and browse around in music stores. I've found a two disks that were audiophile disks but were priced as standard CDs: Los Lobos' Good Morning Azatlan on stereo SACD and John Lennon's Imagine which, while a standard CD format, had been re-mastered and put on a gold disk rather than an aluminum disk.
 
cwall99 said:
I sometimes go and browse around in music stores. I've found a two disks that were audiophile disks but were priced as standard CDs: Los Lobos' Good Morning Azatlan on stereo SACD and John Lennon's Imagine which, while a standard CD format, had been re-mastered and put on a gold disk rather than an aluminum disk.
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I have both, and they're quite good. Did you score them for a good price? I think I paid $25 each. The "new" Mobile Fidelity does an excellent job on their remasters, especially the SACDs.
 
Quint said:
I have both, and they're quite good. Did you score them for a good price? I think I paid $25 each. The "new" Mobile Fidelity does an excellent job on their remasters, especially the SACDs.
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The ones I got were both around $15 or $16. I found them in with the regular CDs at a local Borders store.

That Good Morning Azatlan SACD, while not Los Lobos' strongest effort, has some amazing tracks.

My system is definitely mid-fi (B&W DM603 s3s as my main left and right speakers and a B&W LCR 600 in the center with NHT 1.3As doing surround duty, and an Earthquake SuperNova subwoofer driven by a Pioneer Elite AVR - on which I use the two left-over amp channels to bi-amp the left and right speakers), but playing a good SACD or DVD-A has this amazing ability to make my system disappear and just leave me there in the room with a daffy grin on my face.

I've been really impressed, too, with the quality of audio on standard Blu Ray movie disks. Just much richer, much fuller.
 
Concert video DVDs are a great investment. You can always turn off the video after you make your setup selections and just listen.
 
audiodon said:
Concert video DVDs are a great investment. You can always turn off the video after you make your setup selections and just listen.
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I'm a huge fan of the Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense movie. I've had it on VHS and DVD, and now I'd like to get it on Blu Ray.

INOMHO, it's the best concert movie ever. The musicianship is outstanding, but the visuals of the show just elevate it.

Oh, and INOMHO, that's my own invention for In Not Only My Humble Opinion... :D
 
dtb300 said:
But Classical MCH is still being released on a regular basis.
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Recommend anything? I rather like post-minimalist avant garde type stuff. Classical can be rather esoteric, it's just really hard to know where to even approach the genera. But I've always like it .
 
I have a Shenia Twain, and The Eagles Music Video's I play on a seperate Onkyo 575x 5.1 AVR with Energy Reference Connoiseur 5.1 Speaker Package that sound great in 5.1. Playing a CD in Stereo on the same system sounds good too, and certianly goes loud, But sounds better on my Stereo system. Theres no denying that SS can sound most impressive with music when done right, using the SS channels for extra ambiance, which I'm guessing is the Idea, not to put me on stage with the band.

I've updated this post in an effort to stay on the subject of SS and music, not to compare Vinyl to Digital format's. At one piont I thougt music should only be in stereo, But I've found out that my Music video's, a Sony SACD Demonstration disc and my Stealy Dan "Gaucho" DVD-A all sound Great in Suround sound, better than stereo. I tried using the AVR Reciever's Matrix SS processor to get SS out of stereo music too. While it sounds OK, its no comparision to a recording made in a SS format, be it SACD, DVD-A or a Music Video.

It seams when listening to any program, be it Music, a Movie, or reg TV, Listening to them in their programed format (Stereo, DD 5.1, Dolby Pro-logc) revels the most naturaul sound. That said I'll often use a Matrix program with a stereo source for movies and TV Programs because the overal effect is more pleasing.
 
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I use an Oppo DV-980H in my system, and plug it into a Pioneer Elite VSX82-TXS (or whatever - I hate their naming convention). My turntable is a Philips AF-829 that I bought in 1981, and I have it paired with a Shure M97xE, and the two hi-res digital disks that I also have on MoFi re-mastered disks, Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and DSotM, both sound excellent in either format, but the digital formats have a much more immediate sense of presence.

You can feel the band in the room with you on the SACDs much more than on the vinyl disks.

What I'd like to get is an SACD for Hugh Masekela's live Hope album. I have it on 12-inch 45 RPM heavy-duty vinyl, and it's incredible. I'd like to hear how these vinyl disks stack up against hi-res digital.
 
yamaha said:
Recommend anything? I rather like post-minimalist avant garde type stuff. Classical can be rather esoteric, it's just really hard to know where to even approach the genera. But I've always like it .
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I am not a die hard Classical listener but I do enjoy it at the right times. I mostly listen to Baroque and Classical era when I do. Here are a few SACD's that I have with music I like:

For Classical - all on SACD – I only listen to these in MCH or 3-Channel (RCA) depending on the label.

Robert Spano – Transmigration (Telarc)
Britten/Elgar - Paavo Jarvi (Telarc)
Sherherazade - RCA Living Stereo (3-Channel)
Mozart Violin Concertos 3 & 4 - Julia Fisher (Pentatone Label)
Boston Symphony Chamber - Mozart Chamber Music for Winds and Strings (BSO Label)
Haydn - The Fry Street Quartet (ISO-Mike) - Iso Mike releases are great sounding
Brandenburg Concertos (1-4, 5-6) - Arts Music
Handel Organ Concertos - Brilliant Classics
Telemann - Tafelmusik Vol 1 - Channel Classics

Releases on Channel Classics, Pentatone, BIS, Telarc seem to get the most talk - but I am sure there are other great releases on other labels.

I know you asked about Classical, but I also would like to recommend some other discs (if you like the music).

Some of the discs I have which I feel have great sonic’s and stand my test of sounding great on multiple systems. Also since the day and time dictate what I may listen to, you will see many different genre’s listed. Like any list, you better like the music if you are considering purchasing the disc. Stop buying music for what someone said is great quality, buy music you like to listen to.

Cannonball Adderly – Somethin’ else…(SACD Blue Note Reissue)
Fiona Joy Hawkins – Blue Dream (SACD)
Gerry Mulligan meets Ben Webster - MoFi (Redbook)
Sonny Rollins – Way out West (SACD)
Live at Blues Alley - Eva Cassidy (Redbook)
The E.S.E. Sessions - Blue Coast Collection (SACD)
Flim & the BB's - Tricycle (SACD)
Steven Davis - Quality of Sound (SACD)
Yellow Jackets - Lifecycle (SACD)
Mark Knopfler - Shangrai-La (SACD) - (better sounding than Brothers in Arms)
Amanda McBroom - Live from Rainbow and Stars (Redbook)
Diana Krall - Love Scenes (SACD) - Love Scenes has the best sonics of all the Krall SACD’s
 
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cwall99 said:
Any of you guys ever go to www.sa-cd.net to read user reviews of hi-res digital disks?
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I use this site to see if something is out on SACD more than for its reviews.

Unless you are very familiar with someone and their tastes the reviews may not prove useful. One person's love is another person's hate.
 
This thread is very much of interest to me.

Having realized that I own enough speakers and subs (except a center) for a 5.1 system, I'm really tempted to pick up an inexpensive AV receiver.

I've dragged my feet considerably.
But I have to admit, I do like the sound of the multiple speakers, even in "stereo" mode. Like my Mom's has 5 channel stereo and 7 channel stereo settings, that sound really great. (well I don't care for her choice of speakers, but whatever)

She'd been leaving the thing in surround mode all the time, even for music - and didn't realize that for CD's recorded for 2 channel sound much better in one of the multi-speaker stereo modes. So she was happy to learn of this.

I now have 2 complete 2-channel systems, in the same room. One for TV and one for music..... but, it's just too much! I need to integrate, I think.
One of my receivers has got to go.

I'll keep the vintage Sansui, because I adore it and maybe will use it in another room.

I'm just wondering though, how many people are just going ahead and going to 5.1 or 7.1 nowadays.
 
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