Which Sacd's to not buy-lousy sound

[spotlightkid]

Ok give me a idea of where not to waste my money
i like classical.jazz,classic rock.want to buy more sacd's but don't want to blow the money away on garbage transfers.

[feinstein]

There's always my least favorite, "Lady In Satin". Buy the Classic Records LP, or even the cheap Columbia early-90's resissue LP instead.

[spotlightkid]

ok there's one i'll stay away from.

[Holy Zoo]

Stay away from the George Szell "Rossini Overtures" on Sony.

I listened for about 3 minutes on headphones, and something just sounded wrong. Weird noise in quiet passeges, generally lifeless.

I opened the cd booklet, and there it was: "for this recording, 24-bit technology was used to maximize sound quality". I presume this means noise reduction. I dunno, maybe not, but I do know that I didn't like the sound on the cd at all.

[MikeT]

DO NOT buy Aerosmith - "Just Push Play".

This has to be the absolute worst SACD released. The redbook CD sounds better to my ears. There is so much compression in this recording, and it was produced with Pro-Tools from what I understand, it makes for a lousy SACD. The high end is so harsh - I swear it is making my tweeters bleed, or maybe it was just my ears that were bleeding. :)

[spotlightkid]

surpirised at the aerosmith thumbs down.but will not waste my
dollars there either.

[Paul L.]

Holy Zoo,

Why do you associate 24-bit technology with noise reduction?
I think there must be something else at work on that SACD to make you dislike it. I don't have that one personally, so can't make a good guess.

Also, great job on this site.

[MikeT]

Originally posted by spotlightkid
surpirised at the aerosmith thumbs down.but will not waste my
dollars there either.

Why would you be surprised at the thumbs down on the Aerosmith? Just curious.

When I first got this SACD I was sure it was going to be better than the redbook version. Boy was I wrong.

I assume that the higher resolution of the SACD actually brings to the table things that were just not present when presented in 44.1/16 redbook. The thing that most sticks out at you when listening to the SACD is the "hash" sound on the top end and the very poor cymbal sound.

Generally, on most excellent SACDs, the cymbals sound like cymbals. On the Aerosmith SACD they sound distorted and harsh - almost like they are breaking up into a "hash" sound (like I stated) that just pervades every inch of this disc.

Out of the 72 or so SACDs I own, I can honestly say, that you are probably better served listening to the redbook CD than the SACD.

Maybe someone has a different opinion on this SACD - I would sure like to know how you guys feel.

[Holy Zoo]

Originally posted by Paul L.
Holy Zoo,

Why do you associate 24-bit technology with noise reduction?
I think there must be something else at work on that SACD to make you dislike it. I don't have that one personally, so can't make a good guess.


Well, I'm wondering why did they feel the need to pull it into a workstation, then? I presume that if they *didn't* want to muck with the sound, that they'd pull the analog tapes directly into the DSD format, bypassing any PCM A/D conversion, no?

Of course, I could very well be wrong. I won't claim to be an expert on what noise reduction will do to a recording.

Regardless, something just sounds wrong. Hmm.. maybe if I get adventurous, I'll pull it out and record a quiet passage to CDR (bumping up the input volume so that any "quiet noise" that you hear won't be from the CD format), and then upload a snippet for people to hear.

Alternatively, I could just send it to you - believe me, I won't miss it! :)


Also, great job on this site.

Thanks! I'm really thrilled that people are enjoying the place. :D

[Patrick M]

I wouldn't want "Just Push Play" in any format! :p

But, yeah, Joe Perry is a big ProTools nut now.

http://www.guitarworld.com/gearreviews/axology/0106_aerosmith.html

Perry believes that the key to getting a roaring rock guitar sound on a digital recording medium like Pro Tools is to start with a good analog front end. "You gotta have good mics and mic pres. Mostly we used the old LA-3As, a Pultec eq and the Neve mic pres. We’re really fans of the Royer ribbon mics. They can really take a beating. We also used the Audio-Technica 4051s, [Shure SM-] 57s and [Electro-Voice] RE-20s. Before it hits Pro Tools, the sound has to be as good as it can be. I think a lot of people compromise by going straight into Pro Tools and using the plug-in [effects and signal processors.]"

But Perry and Whitfield aren’t dogmatic on this issue. While they favored Centaur and Line 6 stompboxes for a lot of the album, they were also open to using plug-ins. "In Pro Tools, there’s so much you can do in the way of adding Moogerfooger or some other plug-in to a guitar sound after it’s recorded," says Perry. "And there were times when we’d plug into Amp Farm. We didn’t go in saying, ‘We’re not going to use this.’ "

[GregM]

Lady in Satin--man, I don't see how you guys listen to that in *any* format. It's a seriously distressing album of a lyrical genius whose voice (and life) was rapidly deteriorating.

[ListenUp]

I remember seeing Rocks listed as an SACD release some time ago.Now that I have an SACD player it seems to have vanished from all the websites I used to see it on.I don't think it is even listed on the Sony website.Anyone have any information on this? If you happen to have it in your collection how does it sound.
And keep those SACD suggestions coming.I certainly don't want to waste my money on bad sounding SACDs when I could spend it on Steve's DCC cds.

[Dan]

I remember reading about the recording process of "Just Push Play". They were literally handing hard drives back and forth with finished parts between Joe Perry and Steven Tyler's home studio rigs.

[Kayaker]

Originally posted by GregM
Lady in Satin--man, I don't see how you guys listen to that in *any* format. It's a seriously distressing album of a lyrical genius whose voice (and life) was rapidly deteriorating.

Yeah I know that. But I feel so close to her voice - no matter how flawed by then. Pure emotions (and Gin) have rarely come out better on a recording.

[Rspaight]

I was mightily unimpressed with Bat Out Of Hell. Very thin and feeble sounding. IMHO, not better than the Mastersound if not worse. I haven't heard the current standard CD remaster, so I don't know how that stacks up.

I know this record isn't exactly reference quality anyway (Rundgren's version of wall-of-sound), but I was hoping for better.

Ryan

[Kayaker]

I like the current Bat out of Hell CD remaster in HDCD. It is better than the Mastersound Gold, but still not sonic nirvana.

[Grant]

I'm one of those people who like "Just Push Play" but I didn't even think the red-book CD sounded that great. I will certainly remember to stay away from the SACD.

What's funny is that just ten years ago Tyler was dogging digital and absolutley hated the way the digital mix of "Pump" sounded.

[MikeT]

Originally posted by Grant
I'm one of those people who like "Just Push Play" but I didn't even think the red-book CD sounded that great. I will certainly remember to stay away from the SACD.



I like "Just Push Play" also, that is why I purchased the SACD. And I actually think the CD sounds better - probably because it doesn't show off the poor quality of this recording as much as the SACD does.

One thing that was a little curious is that I purchased the redbook CD at Best Buy and got the bonus track that isn't on the regular version of the CD. You would have thought that Sony would have put that extra song on the SACD to add more value to the SACD.

I can't really complain though, since I got the SACD from CDnow.com (when they still carried SACD) and they actually had it mispriced at $13.79 when I ordered it - and they honored that price.

[Sckott]

Originally posted by GregM
Lady in Satin--man, I don't see how you guys listen to that in *any* format. It's a seriously distressing album of a lyrical genius whose voice (and life) was rapidly deteriorating.

Hi Greg,

I may be too quick to point out, but "Lady In Satin" is one of my favorite albums of all time, as far as Jazz is concerned. Yes, her voice was in better shape in better days, but she turned Ray Ellis's genius and the rough, painful voice she had and turned "Lady In Satin" into a masterpiece. Her voice was the instrument. She was fully aware of how things were turning out.

That's a lady in pain, singing the blues to a full orchestra. Not to mention, sadly getting worse. Call me a romantic, but it's an absolutely gorgeous album.

[Dave]

I like the current Bat out of Hell CD remaster in HDCD. It is better than the Mastersound Gold, but still not sonic nirvana.

Kayaker,

How would you exactly describe the sound as being better in the HDCD format?

TIA;)

[vinylrec]

...the regular stereo SACD of "Blow by Blow" is awful.....
Can you say harsh????

[Metralla]

I have about 120 SACDs now, and I have avoided the titles noted above because I had heard reports that the Aerosmith, Lady in Satin, Bat out of Hell were not great.

I can't say that I have any "duds", but I'll make some comments on the discs that are (in my opinion) at the bottom of my totem pole.

I bought the Tony Bennett "MTV Unplugged" and I don't like this one much, but it's not because it has lousy sound. I just don't like the performance that much. Too much cutesy interplay with the audience. I also have the "Ultimate Tony Bennett" and I much prefer that one.

The Byrds is a little flat in dynamics; slightly tipped up, and not my best sounding SACD, but pretty good songs. I'd walk a mile for "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" on SACD. Wonder what the original master tapes of that one are like.

Marvin Gaye "Midnight Love" is not particularly impressive in the sonic department.

Carol King's "Tapestry" is very nice, but there is a touch of roughness on her vocals that I don't hear on the CBS Mastersound gold version.

Leopold Stokowski conducting the two Thomson works ("The River" and "The Plough that Broke the Plains") ARE outstanding but the disc is way too short at 35 mins. Lovely music and a great reproduction, but not good value.

Regards,
Metralla

[vinylrec]

[i]
The Byrds is a little flat in dynamics; slightly tipped up, and not my best sounding SACD, but pretty good songs. I'd walk a mile for "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" on SACD. Wonder what the original master tapes of that one are like. [/B]

5-D is supposed to be released on SACD. Does anyone know when this will happen?

[Kayaker]

Originally posted by Dave


Kayaker,

How would you exactly describe the sound as being better in the HDCD format?

TIA;)

Dave,
I am hooked on Reference Recordings Classical recordings in HDCD. There is so much going on in an orchestra that the extra edge HDCD recordings give it, help me identify the placement of the instruments and the size of the hall.
On an overproduced album with full orchestration such as Bat out of Hell, the HDCD version sound is less muddled, not the clarity of Reference, but sharper than the previous versions.
-Kayaker