"Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits" [Audio Fidelity Gold CD] - Shipping Discussion Thread

Quick impressions?

Waiting on my copy from Amazon....

 

Anxiously awaiting your take on it.

 

Would the reason for not using HDCD anymore have anything to do with the fact that no one makes players anymore? I couldn't imagine there being any other. After that response earlier, I DID a search; there were far too many threads to sift through for the answer.

 

Not too much at all. You have to limit your search to Steve's posts :

Steve writes: "I've decided not to run my masterings through an HDCD converter..

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It degrades the sound and it bugs me. I've tried everything, every way and it just diminishes the fidelity. I am speaking of my recent experiences at Stephen Marsh Mastering. As for other studios that use the process I cannot speak for them, they have their own ways and their own tricks for getting the most out of it.

I am reproducing here some correspondence with Monsieur S. Marsh just this morning regarding the new Bad Co. "Straight Shooter" project we worked on yesterday at the studio. We have the Pacific Microsonics HDCD box in the room and have tried it every which way, with no luck. Our mastering style is so pure and clean now (but with an amazing British made vacuum tube layer courtesy of audio master Tim de Paravicini) that I don't want to tamper with success.

I left Stephen last night to further experiment with HDCD. Today Stephen writes me:

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Steve,

".....In the interest of giving the HDCD system the fairest of all shakes, I again today ran our completed Bad Co. master through it D to D in 2 additional configurations. First I took our fully prepped, edited 24 bit/44.1 out of converter aes through the HDCD box, outputting 16/44.1 HDCD. Second - I took our 24/88.2 captures and ran those through the box to 16/44.1 HDCD. In both instances we found the HDCD box to be at least as detrimental to the sound as we heard while A to D'ing with it Friday - if not more! In particular - I listened to the HDCD encoded material in un-decoded fashion so I could get a sense of what most consumers are going to hear. Even through the best converters in the room the results were very unsettling: Namely - there was a dip at around 8K that took all the snap and sparkle out of the snare and deflated the air out of the tracks. Engaging the decoding circuits and monitoring through the HDCD D to A's lent an overall 'generic' feel to the sound - it sounded fine, don't get me wrong - but it didn't sound special and was certainly not an improvement.

I would strongly recommend that we keep going with our present tried and true pure signal processing and A to D configuration as I am now certain it provides the absolute highest fidelity available in a 16 bit CD format. When I play the Phil Collins, James Taylor and Byrds albums we have mastered I can't imagine degrading the sound just to get the HDCD. While I completely understand Audio Fidelity's desire for consistency in this regard across all their CD releases, moving forward with HDCD on future releases that you and I master together would run counter to the ethos of the Audio Fidelity brand and our personal mastering styles."

Best,


-Steph


Stephen Marsh Mastering
Hollywood, CA 90028
310 598 6038 tel 5685 fax
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http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?p=6398726&highlight=hdcd#post6398726

 

With all this excitement/demand for this title does that mean more than 5000 copies will be made?

 

No, 5000 is the limit.

And by the way I got mine today, (however comma) I have to work till 1630 (that's 4:30 PM for you not familiar with Military time) so I will post a review later this evening for those interested.

 

Is there an equivalently good lp?

 

I hope CA is treated as well by USPS as North Dakota.

 

Good man. That way I know if I should be mad or not care if Amazon does not get me my copy.

Only 5,000....

 

Thanks, MYKE... very informative post on HDCD.

Steve w, I hope they don't increase the number of copies. It would detract from the collectibility.

 

A quick impression; this disc sounds very clear, a lot different than the Sony remastered CD. There is such a clarity and openness in the acoustic songs, and the whole disc has a (pardon the cliché) analog sound to it. I listened to this disc twice through, but I have not done any comparisons to the Sony, just by memory. I love the sound of this disc. Dare I say that this particular Audio Fidelity disc sounds closer to the old DCC discs than any other Audio Fidelity disc that I have heard.

 

Wow. My ears are salivating!

 

I can't wait!!!!!

Most of the DCC's are still my reference disks. AMAZON hurry up!

Perhaps a platinum membership is in my future....

 

Screw the collectibility.
Everyone that wants one should get one. (and people wonder why downloads are so prevelant)

 

I got mine! Will post my impressions this evening...

 

So what is to stop them from saying "Due to unprecedented demand..."

 

Guess who is singing "live" in my living room right now?

 

Yes, boys and girls, it's that good!!!

 

Smooth, Present & Dynamic.

 

Just opened the package. Comparisons to DCC and Columbia examples forthcoming.

 

Mine (from Amazon USA) said 7/31. Second delay so far.

 

How does Like A Rolling Stone sound? The best it ever has in history? I bet it does.

 

How many songs on the AF disc would also be on the Dylan SACDs?

Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 - Blonde on Blonde
Blowin' in the Wind - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The Times They Are a-Changin'- The Times They Are a-Changin' (not released as an SACD)
It Ain't Me Babe - Another Side of Bob Dylan
Like a Rolling Stone - Highway 61 Revisited
Mr. Tambourine Man - Bringing It All Back Home
Subterranean Homesick Blues - Bringing It All Back Home
I Want You - Blonde on Blonde
Positively 4th Street - no album
Just Like a Woman - Blonde on Blonde

Am I correct that only "Positively 4th Street" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" are not on the SACDs?

Looks like some comparisons coming up - with the SACDs and the mono box set. And the DCC for "Like a Rolling Stone".

Lots of fun for Dick and Jane.

 

Another Side, Bringing, and Blonde SACDs are all remixes. Steve said he used all original 60s mixes on the new disc.