Audio Fidelity Plans 10 Hoffman Mastered SACDs to Start

FYI, I had a chance to talk to the Audio Fidelity folks yesterday about their plans for the new label.

These folks plan to keep our buddy Steve Hoffman quite busy!

They plan 4 Hybrid Stereo SACDs in October, 4 more in November and at least 2 more in January.

And all of these SACDs will list for $15.98. Great news indeed !

Check the High Fidelity News story at http://www.highfidelityreview.com/news/news.asp?newsnumber=19502949 for more details.

 

Very good site... thx

 

I'll bet that the Buddy Rich SACD will be a real trip! I love his big band sound. I play drums and I always enjoyed listening to his unique style.

 

Just my own two cents; no flames, please.

For all his vaunted skills, I wish Hoffman would work on more titles that I was actually interested in purchasing.

Good news for those that collect these artists, though.

 

JohnnyK, if you're not familiar with this recording, it originally came out as a direct to disc> This should have mucho punch!

 

Steve's hands are tied, as far as releasing and mastering what he would love to do (ie: Beatles, ect) and it's up to the public to show the support behind Steve's work is very lucritive. I don't own every title he's done, but I *WILL* be going out of my way to see what he's done to the Zombies. CCR is a fair bet that I'll be grabbing them as quick as my fingers can work.

Steve and the labels he's working hard for are doing the best they can. If they could do a Beatles SACD or something to mass-appeal without losing their butts, they would!

That being said, LOTS of stuff Steve has done has never seen the light of day. And we have NO idea.

 

There's one thing that I've learned from DCC, and that is to try different artists. I have tried several that I would not normally be interesed in , and this has broadened my listening habits. If one was only to own DCC Gold discs, they would have a pretty varied collection, only to be without the classical side. We all just can't have Steve remaster each our lists. We can only see what comes!

 

Amen to that....

I don't know whether to get the Zombies disc or LP. How nice to have a choice, though! I'm definitely down for the Richie Valens one, too.

I was just wondering, does this audio fidelity have any connection to the old audio fidelity label from the fifties and sixties?

 

Interesting article ... is Marshall Blonstein a member of the forum? ... cuz I have a killer suggestion, IMHO, for his "The Legends of Rock and Roll Series". If he is not a member with a PM box, does anyone have an e-mail address?

 

I appreciate Marshall's efforts, and I am hoping that Audio Fidelity succeeds unlike what happened with DCC.

As always, I'll do what I can to support Steve's work.

 

Try one or two of 'em! Heck, the price sure is right. There's a lot of music out there that can really be appealing given the chance.

 

Yeah, these artists aren't exactly my top favorites either.... BUT if consumers out here don't show support for what Steve is doing (and the way he does it), he definately won't get to work on anything else, either.

We can bitch and complain about noise reduction and modern remastering techniques but if people aren't spending $$$ on the alternative then its only going to get worse.

The members of this board have to prove to the world that there's still a market for an audiophile recordings.

 

Mjb, I am also frustrated that Steve doesn't do more classic rock stuff. The classic rock he has done so far is amazing so I want more. I picked up the aluminum Stray Cats on DCC it sounds great! I also plan on checking out the Richie Valens cd. Like Ronflugelguy said, I have tried some cds mastered by Steve I otherwise would not have been interested in. At least I know the cds will sound good. Most have been a pleasant surprise.

 

I'd be really interested to hear how my post translates to "everything sucks", Ken.

Wish lists are all well and good, but I generally peruse the forum to hear about existing product. I'm fully aware that many users feel differently (hence the polls, hypotheticals, etc.), of course, and that's their right.

Granted, this is a Hoffman forum and not a general audiophile forum, but I'm just saying that I personally would be more excited if my tastes and Hoffman's output intersected on a more frequent basis.

 

Agreed, and totally understood. And it's not like I've never purchased any Hoffman-related product... my original post was all about stating a point of view while trying to avoid potential over-reaction by some of the "true believers".

 

Re: Re: Audio Fidelity Plans 10 Hoffman Mastered SACDs to Start

Audio Fidelity has a general email address at [email protected]

Good luck with the suggestion !

 

IMO a Uriah Heep collection (or preferably an album) would be a good project for either Audio Fidelity or S&P, also since Steve was requesting opinions about UH earlier.

Demons and Wizards would be my choice.

As UH get remastered all the time, they must be cheap to get a license for, too

 

I kind of enjoy going in different musical directions but my only requirement is a clean recording. I have an older brother who loves the blues and can listen recordings from the 20's that simply sounds like static to me.

So, to have the opportunity to start picking up older recordings of artists like JL Hooker or Ritchie Valens on hybrid is going to be educational.

 

I believe I've already posted a "wish list" some time back with one of my favorites, Humble Pie's "Rockin' the Fillmore" leading the pack. However, since this discussion has turned somewhat to other possible SACD titles Steve might be able to get his hands on (i.e., less "$$$" filling, tastes great music ) how about these classic rock titles:

The early Wishbone Ash catalog (esp. the first four albums, including "Argus" & "Live Dates")

Anything from the UFO catalog featuring Michael Schenker ("Phenomenon" & "Force It" for instance)

Van Der Graaf Generator (esp., "H to He Who Am the Only One" & "Pawn Hearts")

My point being that these catalogs shouldn't be as hard to get the rights to for SACD mastering as some other catalogs, but they contain a wealth of desirable material for the classic rock patron. Just a thought.

Cheers,
Cat

 

The article shows a picture of the cover art for the Audio Fidelity CD's. Looks like a generic format, a combination of MoFi and Sheffield Labs.
What does everyone think? I'd prefer original artwork on the cover.

 

I mean no personal offense but only constructive critism (IMO/for what it's worth) but I think the cover scheme needs to be reworked. They don't look very appealing to my eyes (I hate to say it but I'm trying to be honest, a bit tacky). The large SACD logos (color/font) just kind of alienates the "classic" feel of these releases. It's like using a "Terminator" style logo/color for a re-release of 'Casablanca'. I would be happier with the design is everything was toned down and muted a bit (a solid blue rather than having streaks/lines through it). I thought the DCC approach had a nice elegance to it (wonderful design). Please understand again I'm not trying to be hurtful towards the designer/Audio Fidelity/Steve/or anyone assocated with this product. I'm just being honest about this question about my feelings of the design. For example, I was never a fan of the MFSL Gold CD cover design also. I guess my reason for this "honesty" is that I hope these SACD's sell like hot cakes and my concern is the cover may turn off some impulse shoppers out there (The ones who are not here)...


Todd

P.S. It's the music that matters anyway...