Sonny Rollins -Way Out West

Hi All,

I am amazed at how many times Sonny Rollins - "Way Out West" has been re-issued over the last several years.

K2
XRCD
GOLD
SACD DUAL LAYER

Which Redbook version of this great recording is considered the best?

I have heard that the CD layer of the SACD does not sound as good as
the XRCD. There is also a question whether the APO Gold sounds as good
as the XRCD.

The original master tapes are suppose to be outstanding so I'm sure that all the re-issues sound great. Any input would be appreciated.

 

Gary, there are also some Japanese 24 bit remasters also. Btw, I forgot to look, did you mention the aluminum MOFI? Best, ron.

 

I've had the aluminum MOFI of this for years and it was probably the first "audiofile" cd I ever bought. The sound on this mofi version has always blown me away!

 

Hi Ron,

I forgot to mention the 24 bit Mini LP Style Sleeve. I think they are printed in very limited edition. Tower lists it for $62. A bit steep.

Seriously though, the main contenders are the XRCD the APO GOLD and the SACD. I have not heard great things about the CD layer on the SACD.

I've already over extended my reissue budget as it is. This is the one title
that we don't have in any form, so for the first time in a while I'm starting
from scratch.

 

Hi Steve,

The 45 RPM would have been my first choice. Unfortunately I sold my
Thorens a while ago. Two young kids in a small house with a TT and my
LPs wasn't working out. Frisbee time at the ranch when daddy wasn't
looking.

 

Gary, I have the SACD and I really like the SACD layer because of the bonus tracks. Can't afford the whole 45rpm series, but you can bet your life I'll get a hold of WOW and Art Pepper and The Rhythm Section!!

 

Hi Ron,

Is the CD Layer bad. I was leaning towards purchasing the SACD until I had heard some concerns about the CD layer. I'm still kind of brain washed
with the Gold CD and XRCD mentality. I have my XA77ES for over a year
a haven't played more than one SACD.

The CD layer is important for the Car Stereo.

 

I thought it sounded fine in the car. I only heard it once on the way back from buying it, a 45min drive.

 

Maybe I'll take the plunge tomorrow.

Tower records has all the APO SACD's on sale for $22.99

 

That 10 plus minute version of I'm an Old Cowhand is killer. I think it might have been hard to get on vinyl in the 50's due to cutter limitations, or maybe it would have taken up the whole side to get those dynamics on a record!

 

The take originally issued of Cowhand is a wonderful thing, but I've always thought that the longer version was better. I have it on the Contemporary Records LP "Alternative Takes", which was mastered in 1986 by George Horn. I've always thought it sounded fantastic. Do the OJC versions of WOW and "Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders" on CD put the respective alternatives back with their original sessions?

lschwart

 

That Alternate Takes LP is really good and is one of Tom Port's favorites for sound quality. I have that one TOO!

 

I have the DCC GOld Disc of Sonny Rollins and The Contemporary Leaders.

There are three bonus tracks:

Track 9: You (4:15)
Track 10: I've Found A New Baby (4:20)
Track 11: The Song Is You (6:10)

 

The same ones on my Japanese Mini LP. ( I also have the DCC) I was going to buy the AP OJC LP, but I thought that might be overkill, since I also have an OJC LP and a second pressing Contemporary!

 

nobody recommended this one!

I have the K2, found it at a Warehouse Music for $14.99, it has the bonus tracks on it
incl. the long 'cowhand', I play it all the time, it sounds superb. Very sweet.

The Fantasy 'black cover' std release has no bass whatsoever, but it is really cheap.
Sounds like a transistor radio (laughing).

Roy DuNann says that he would brighten the feed into the multitrack and then apply the inverse curve when mixing it, a kind of noise compensation that predated dolby by only 13 years.

- - - -

My car stereo has cassette and cd capability, I plan an experiment: tape on hi bias tape with no nr some SACD tracks, just to see how sweet they sound in the car. I'll have to let you all know how effective a 'band-aid' this is until sacd car players are commonplace. Road noise / air conditioning will likely hide the resulting tape hiss, but nothing will cure clock jitter in the car.

 

Hi Tom,

If I understand what you're going to do is record the WOW SACD onto a cassette for your car. What type of SACD player and Cassette Recorder do you have?

 

Gary,

I’m late to the party, but the Way Out West SACD is very nice. Over on another board, there’s a professional drummer who raved about the disk’s visceral impact. He went on about finding a room’s ambient “sweet-spot” for his kit, and how the SACD captured this so well. Just out of curiosity, why the interest in a redbook version?

Also, Doug Sax did a nice job with Rollins’ Saxophone Colossus SACD, too. “Blue 7” is such a killer track in any format!

 

Same goes for me too.

All of the original aluminum Mo-Fi CD's sounded great to these ears.

 

Hi Shawn,

Sorry I didn't get a chance to write back sooner. I've been out of town
since early this morning.

I had heard that the XRCD the MOFI and the APO GOld of Way Out West sound much better than the CD layer on the APO SACD.

I thought it would be a good idea to have a great redbook version for Jordy's stereo. It will make a difference when he practices his Tenor. Also when driving back and forth from music classes and recitals
the car stereo demands a really smooth CD version .

 

I just knew there was a good explaniation!

 

Gary, my SACD player is a Sony DVP-NS500V, it playes DVD's too.
I am listening to the Byron Janis recording of russian balalaikas (Mercury, 1962)
on a standard cd on it as I type this, and I am swooning. This player
even makes the red book sound warm and pleasant.

My current cassette deck, after killing several really good ones,
is a Kenwood CT 203, nothing special.

The car deck is the factory installed Infinity System common to nicer Chryslers.
I replaced just the head unit in my older car with a Pioneer MOSFET cd-only deck
and it sounds better than the newer car's system, better read off the cd I suspect.
I just can't play cassettes in the older car anymore.

I have had good results playing imported cassettes ('Beatles Greatest' from Sweden,
'Between The Buttons' from England) in the car, although the dolby will usually
"pump" one or the other playing direction (auto-reverse deck).

- - - -

The Kenwood, although very cheap, is decent enough - that I can discern on playback -
which cables (zip cord or Monster) I used to feed the audio signal to it.
Good enough for playback in the car, I say.

Thom

 

Hi Tom,

Sounds like you're having a good time with music. Music is a beautiful thing.
I broke the bank in the last two years with some new equipment. I'd been using some of my old equipment from as far back as 1977.

This past year I couldn't stand it any longer. Now I'm trying to figure out
how I'm going to pay off the credit cards.

Anyhow, we bought the Eclipse 8061 System for the Car with balanced outputs amps and separate speakers. Now I don't care where we go
in my '94 Accord.

For the house I scrounged the piggy bank for the XA77ES. Redbook sounds
great in the car and in the house.

I'm hoping that Steve gets a crack at some of the Jazz titles for SACD.
He takes pride in both the CD and SACD layer. His Audio Fidelity
Dual Layers are fantastic.

Before we recently bought the Car CD, I had an older Alpine Cassette
Deck in the '94. I recorded some music played back on the XA77ES
onto our home Cassette Deck and they sounded great in the Car cassette
deck.

 

I asked Acoustic Sounds (APO) about the difference between the SACD redbook CD vs gold. Here's the response from APO:

"The regular layer on the SACD was remastered by Doug Sax so it is virtually
identical to the sound of the Gold CD which he also remastered.

There is only one Gold CD version available. It is on our Analogue
Productions label. It is basically out-of-print, we have a few remaining
copies but due to eminent licensing expiration will not be repressed.

We will probably not issue anymore titles on 16/44 Gold disc but will do
SACD Hybrids exclusively.

Rest assured, however, that we will do a dedicated Red Book remastering as
opposed to truncating the DSD master to 16/44. That should make the sound of
the CD layer comparable to the best Gold CDs. In fact, in the TAS review of
our new Jazz SACDs the reviewer actually preferred the sound of the CD layer
to the XRCD versions! "

I suppose this may be biased considering the source, but I have no reason to doubt his opinion.
Myself.....I have decided which to get, SACD or Gold. Based on the above I was going to get the SACD (even though ans SACD player is not on the horizon for me) but am starting to re-think that. Especially id Tower has the Gold APO's on sale.