Adventures In Mastering: ALICE COOPER "Billion Dollar Babies" for Audio Fidelity..

Hilarious. Why don't you PM Bob.

 

The same thought crossed my mind as soon as I saw this thread, but I didn't say anything exactly because I thought I might get shouted at, as you say. I'm not exactly an audiophile, but you don't need to be one to enjoy the benefits of surround sound. I've recently purchased my very first "home theater" (actually a rather inexpensive Sony 5.1 system including a Blu-ray player and the speakers) and it's obvious to me that Blu-ray is bound to become the winning format for hi-res audio, exactly because it doesn't require a dedicated player and the performance is essentially the same. If there are strong SACD supporters here, all I can say is: sorry. I used to be a strong LASERDISC supporter and held on to the format for as long as I could.

 

AF SACDs are SACD Hybrid, so they can be played by people who have good old CDplayers too. Some of these dedicated redbook-only machines are very expensive, much more than some of the best BD players on the market, so I think extra care was put when they were designed and built.
Blu-ray alone doesn't mean success; just check the recent HFPA releases, many of them are a mere recycling of older masterings in a BD medium.
Futhermore, I don't know for sure, but I guess BD manufacturing could be.. more expensive for AF, maybe?

From my personal point of view, I'm happy that AF is keeping the SACD hybrid format. Yes, I have SACD, CD-only, Blu-ray machines but there are people who spent hundreds of dollars for a state-of-the-art CD player and If I were them, I would be disappointed to see the CD format go away now.

 

I don't think the CD format will go, but SACD seems doomed to me. Of course, no one has a crystal ball...

 

First, you can buy a Sony Blu-Ray player that plays SACD for $250. Second if you are concerned about playing the SACD (hi resolution) layer on a disc I'm not sure why you would be wanting to play it on a low end piece of equipment to begin with since chances are good you may have a hard time differentiating between the two layers on such equipment.

As mentioned earlier these discs have a CD layer that will play in just about any disc player so you can still enjoy the music even if you don't have a machine that plays SACDs.

The bad thing about the BD format is you can't play it in a CD player (like in your car).

 

Too bad such a player would be far more expensive where I live - if I could find one! Importing is out of question, the taxes would be prohibitive and it would take forever to arrive.

Why would "non-audiophiles" be interested in SACD or Blu-ray audio? Because of the 5.1 mixes! That's the real attraction for "Average Joes" like me! I've recently bought Stevie Wonder's "Songs in The Key of Life" on Blu-ray and was disappointed that it only included a stereo mix. You're right, in my rather low-end system I don't hear any great benefit compared to the CD.

Of course, DVDs also include a 5.1 mix. I already have the Genesis albums on DVD, so I don't think I'll buy the Blu-ray discs when they come out, at least not all of them. I might give my favorite titles a try. (I know about lossy compression and stuff. Blu-ray is lossless.)

I understand there are people out there who will buy a stereo-only SACD just because of better sound. But is a format that caters ONLY to audiophiles strong enough to survive, when there is a more accessible and further reaching alternative? One that is already being adopted by the general public? That's my point.

 

You are assuming that this release has a 5.1 mix on it. I have yet to see an AF title with a 5.1 mix on it and I'm sure this won't be one of them either. The whole point of this (and all AF) releases is to (hopefully) get the best sounding version of this album available not to get a 5.1 release.

I love 5.1 also but that really isn't why you buy the AF releases.

SACD has been around for almost 15 years and is still keeping the SACD pressing plants busy so I think its safe for a little while longer.

 

In this case, you are right. For those who want a 5.1 mix of "Billion Dollar Babies", there is always the DVD-A (which, in the case of this specific release, is compatible with regular DVD-video players). Too bad I didn't buy it, though. It can still be obtained from some stores.

I remember when I read about a DVD/laserdisc player. I never bought it, but the point is that it didn't prevent laserdiscs from disappearing. I'd still be playing my laserdiscs if I could, but I can't find anyone who can repair my player.

 

This is getting off topic but Laserdiscs went away because a better format came out. I have yet to see a better physical format come out than SACD at this point.

 

And who says the next "better" format is going to be physical? I think all physical media will go away, there is no real reason for any new physical formats.

 

I can't and wont disagree with you there. I actually buy more hi res in download format than I do any other way at this point. I just wouldn't call it better per say.

 

Now Pre-ordered! Looking forward to this next AC.

 

Like vinyl you mean? As long as people want physical and will pay it will never go away. It's all dollars and sense.

 

Depends on the system.
In my case it would require a dedicated (or another) player because, being set-up for a 2 channel only, my stereo room does not have a Blu-ray player.
I'm loath to invest in an expensive player for that room just to play a few discs.

 

I'm gonna agree the Appeal of the SACD format is indeed you can play it in ANY cd player , so if you have a SACD player or not , you can still play the great mastering of this album .
I too LOVE the blu-ray audio stuff , but as mentioned most cars do not have the Capability of playing the disc & a lot of people may only have a player in one room .....

 

Me too!

I don't have SACD capability, but if this is the only way to get a Hoffman-mastered Billion Dollar babies, I'm in!

Just hope AF can maybe do Welcome to my Nightmare or From the Inside too at some stage

 

Just out of curiosity: are all SACDs hybrid (meaning CD-compatible)?

 

No, a few titles were non-hybrid SACD, only. If I'm not mistaken, one of them was M. Jackson's "Thriller"

 

I just pre-ordered. If anyone wants me, I'll be out by the mailbox.

 

Depends on the label, there are still some releases that are not hybrids (examples are the new Japan SHM-SACD's) Just be careful before ordering, especially with OOP titles. Present day Mofi, APO and AF discs are hybrids

 

Quite a few actually: TAPESTRY, BLONDE ON BLONDE, SEA CHANGE etc.

 

I can't wait to crank the ever living **** out of this thing.

 

Obviously because that's not where the majority of the market is.

 

After reading this thread I'm not really sure what happened here. Almost like Mr. Ezrin wanted Steve to make a flat transfer of the EQ'ed LP master, but again, I'm possibly wrong.

 

Someone with the DVD-A is going to have to tell me how much better this is than that. Because it is my go to for Billion Dollar Babies. I also have the original vinyl. I don't think I will be stepping up here.