Cream, Wheels of Fire SHM-SACD

Yes, unfortunately the "Graphic Panner" was removed in CS6 so there's no tool available to do this in CS6. I suppose one could download a free trial of the Creative Cloud version (which I think has a tool) but I don't really want that cluttering up my PC.

I don't understand how to use the command line version.

So I think I'll just download Winamp, which might be useful for other things too.

 

I'm making a lot of mistakes in this thread. My last post is wrong because I have in fact just found the Graphic Panner in Adobe Audition CS6 - it's been renamed the Graphic Phase Shifter and yes, it's there under Stereo Imagery. So that problem is now solved and I can try fixing the album.

 

Sorry, unless something was changed along the line, it turns out the online listing is wrong, and it was in fact taken from the masters, transferred in the US.

 

Success! I now have what I thought I'd never have, which is Wheels of Fire (DCC) without Haeco-CSG. Many thanks to all, especially lukpac. If anyone wants any help doing it with Adobe Audition, just let me know.

 

Can you confirm this pertains to UICY-76024 and UICY-40038, the 2013 SHM-CD/Pt SHM-CD releases, and not to the the more commonly available UICY-20017, the 2010 SHM-CD?

I'm not suggesting that the online retailers carefully check for updates after pre-release announcements, but even Universal's Japanese page for UICY-40038 claims "HR cutting than 2013 latest DSD master that is based on the British original analog tape". (Google translate is your yūjin). Still could be in error of course.

 

The 2013 release.

I don't own that release. Perhaps someone who does can post the specifics from the notes. Elsewhere I've seen some credits posted, but it wasn't clear if they were from Wheels of Fire or one of the other titles released at the same time.

 

"UICY-76024 and UICY-40038, the 2013 SHM-CD/Pt SHM-CD releases" have the following credits on the booklet:

 

Thanks! Time to place the order...

 

Anyone know what this is? Is it Hybrid or SHM or what? Its billed as a 2014 import on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NJ1MRN0/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/UIGY-9600

[Special Priced 100 SHM-SACD Reissues] Features the 2010 DSD mastering based on Japanese original analog tape. Reissue features the high-fidelity SHM-SACD format (fully compatible with standard SACD player, but it does not play on standard CD players). *SHM-SACD (Super High Material SACD) is the ultimate Super Audio CD that utilizes the materials and technologies that were developed for the SHM-CD to further enhance the audio-resolution. Please note that SHM-SACDs are fully compatible with regular SACD players, but they do not play on standard CD players. Please note that this special priced reissue does not feature the cardboard mini LP sleeve previously featured. Instead, it comes housed in a jewel case. Comes with a description and lyrics.

 

I don't have this, so I can't say for 100% sure, but if the description is to be believed, this should basically be the same as the 2010 SHM-SACD, catalog no. UIGY-9042. So taken from a copy tape with the CSG processing reversed. It surely won't have the fidelity of the master (what little there is ), but for people who have an SACD player and don't want to (or can't) undo the CSG processing themselves, this might be a decent option. (Well, until Universal finally reissues this album from the masters with the CSG undone!)

 

Thanks! Had a feeling it wasn't a hybrid.

 

To me at least, the SHM-SACD in the second sample sounds a generation removed from the first one. I don't know about the phase but the SQ, at least on these samples, and to my ears, is superior in the first two samples above i.e. the DCC and the first SHM-SACD . The second SHM-SACD sample pales in comparison. Not sure why if they're the same but they don't sound the same.

 

I'm a bit lost as to exactly which samples you mean. There's the SHM-SACD (which I don't have) - this has correct phase but it's from a Japanese copy tape with Japanese mastering. There's the later SHM-CD which is a flat transfer from the US master tape and therefore has incorrect phase. And there's the DCC, mastered by Steve, which was presumably taken from the US master tape and which has the incorrect phase. So all three are different masterings, and the SHM-SACD is also from a different source with different phase, which could explain the differences you're hearing.

 

This quote re: 2013 release and other findings on the net indicate it's a flat transfer from the master analogue tapes in 176/24 transfer and cutting in DSD. That sounds like the ticket to me.

Zafu

 

Yes, that's right, it's a flat transfer from the original master and that means it has the Haeco-CSG treatment. The only way to get it without the treatment is to get the earlier SHM-SACD which is from a Japanese copy tape.

It's just occurred to me that' there's something not quite right about all this. If the original master tape has Haeco-CSG, how come a Japanese copy of it has no Haeco-CSG? It doesn't make sense. I think the real original master tape (without Haeco-CSG) must be lost and the tape now called the master is actually a Haeco-CSG processed copy, which was then used as the source for all subsequent masterings.

 

Either the CSG was reversed digitally, or the Japanese copy tape was originally made with the CSG box "in reverse", which apparently was the case for the Columbia House copy.

No. Unless I've been misinformed, what's currently known to be the master tape (with 6 of the 9 songs processed with CSG) definitely is. The crossfade for Passing The Time (with CSG) is an insert, and the original portion that comprises the "long version" was at the end of the reel. That is to say, the tape (again, with CSG) was edited and the crossfade for the "short version" was created and inserted.

The only other alternative is the original mix was made without CSG, a copy with CSG was made (and the original apparently thrown out), and *that* copy was edited/crossfaded. But regardless of if that ever happened or not, any copy tapes would have been made from what we now consider the master reels, *with* CSG.

 

Thanks for that. What a mess! It's odd that some songs are CSGd and others aren't. The wonder is that in reversing the CSG, they didn't apply it to all tracks, which would presumably have put the good ones out of phase.

 

There's two samples in post #276 - a) the DCC b) the SHM-CD and there's a download version of the SHM-SACD, which for some reason I can't seem to locate in this thread right now (sorry I thought both SHMs were SACDS my mistake) The DCC and the SHM-CD sound better to me than the sample of the SHM-SACD. That is all.

 

Yes, I agree - I think the mastering differences are a lot more significant than the phasing differences so the DCC ends up sounding best in spite of the CSG.

 

The SHM-SACD is still my go to copy.

 

My copy of the SHM-SACD just arrived today. Its the "limited" edition I mentioned above. Looking forward to hearing it at volume!

 

Unless you're Tom Port:

"The DCC Gold CDs are especially bad in our opinion; they sound nothing like the good pressings we've played over the years."

Better Records: Cream - Wheels of Fire »

 

I recently picked up the hi-res download of the Wheels of Fire. I think this is my new go to copy. It seems like a veil was lifted off of the SACD. Still, the DCC and the SACD are both fine versions.

 

How do you expect Port to get $850. for this title if he says he likes the DCC?