Deep Purple - Machine Head SACD - Buy it (1 Viewer)

[Emil Stoica]

All I can say is Wow! This disc sounds amazing. It is a hybrid multi-channel import SACD from EMI europe. I ordered it from amazon.fr and had it in a week.

I have listened to this disc 3 time today. It is the closest to analogue sound I have heard in a digital version. The multi-channel mix is the original quad mix for the proper tracks. There are 3 bonus tracks that are multi-channel only (a couple of alternates and the beautiful song "When A Blind Man Cries"). The booklet is also very well done.

These discs are why we want Hi-Res audio.

 

[Justin Lane]

Emil,

Have you listened to the DVD-A for comparison? I found the stereo and multichannel track on the DVD-A excellent, besting the copy of the CD version I own by a large margain. Note, the multichannel track on the DVD-A is not the original quad, but instead a brand new mix. The DVD-A also contains a couple videos and photo albums. For the definitive Machine Head it looks like you have to own both the DVD-A and SACD.

Also, how much did this disc set you back as an import? If it is not too bad, I will definitely pick it up as a completest, but for major bucks I will probably just stick with the DVD-A for now, which is excellent.

J

 

[Emil Stoica]

I plan on getting the DVD-A sometime soon. Other comparisons I have read seem to indicate that the SACD does better the DVD-A. No videos, of course.

The disc was very reasonable. About $13 Euro = about $15 US.

 

[Rachael B]

Emil, am I to take it that the M/C mix is sans centre channel? How much of the cover es en Eng-glaze? I bought the record when it came out. I think I stille have it.

 

[Emil Stoica]

Indeed, le disc is without center or subwoofer. The whole disc is tres English. Nothing here needs to be renamed Freedom.

 

[Michael_T]

The disc was very reasonable. About $13 Euro = about $15 US

Didn't you have to pay shipping? I ordered my copy from Amazon.fr and the disc was roughly $10.79 Euro and another $10.79 Euro for shipping. Total was about $25.00 total (with shipping).

On the other hand I just placed an order for Peter Gabriel "UP" from Amazon.fr (since the US is a Crest "cracker" - and I already had to exchange one copy because of it). My friend also wanted a copy so I ordered 2 copies of "UP" and one "Machine Head" (also for my friend) and the total came to about $18.50 per disc shipping included. So it pays to buy more than one disc at a time when dealing with Amazon.fr.

 

[Lewis Besze]

Is Amazon the only place to get DP SACD?

 

[Emil Stoica]

Michael,

I had managed to find a coupon for their site. Hence the price. I will post it when I find it again

edit Here is the code that gave me $7 Euro off - TADG-PVGV88-VWZB64.


Lewis,

Amazon.fr is the only place that seems to be shipping the disc. I had it ordered from Amazon.uk but they still show not published. You can also try Ebay.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Cool, has the bonus tracks too. Now, if only they'd add the 2nd CD (the *remixes*) from the 2-CD set realeased a few years ago.

 

[Mike Broadman]

Is the SACD a hybrid?

 

[Emil Stoica]

Yes it is a hybrid

 

[Rich Malloy]

I keep hearing how excellent this SACD is -- same adjectives too "totally analog!". When I was a kiddo, I used to spin this record all the time, it was "Lazy" and "Space Truckin'" and "Highway Star" all day. I sorta outgrew them, or at least I thought I did, as some of their later stuff struck me as really cheesy. But I've got a feeling that before the end of the day I'll be logging onto amazon.fr...

 

[Lee Scoggins]

le disc

Since it is now in the US, it has been liberated and is now called "the disc". So, I guess one would call this a Freedom Super Audio.

Thanks for the review Emil. I have been thinking about this one for some time. I think I will get it.

 

[Rachael B]

Actually, le disc es le hybride. I ordered one and I got le hybride du GAMES AND FRONTIERS by Peter Gabriel too.

 

[Rachael B]

Emil, are these discs, le hybrides, do they come in super jewell cases? What be de Franch style?

 

[Emil Stoica]

Oui madame. This "Freedom" disc is in the same super jewel case we all know and love. And the booklet est tres grande. 28 pages about the album and the band.

My 8th grade french teacher would be so proud.

 

[Rachael B]

Thanks Emil! You have to wonder what Universal titles, isn't it (?), are going to come in. They're all over the road. Concord just did a round of So-ny style outer slipcases that suck worse than So-ny's. My French teacher wouldn't be proud of me. I switched schools after that un anne of Francais. They only had Espanol at my next one. I learned alot of Latin along the way. That helps me read Franch fairly well, seemingly? I breezed through the regestration. It wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. Best wishes!

 

[Ken Stuart]

The DVD-Audio version of this album sounds very much like a "master tape", so I think that there is little point to spending money to import the SACD if one has a DVD-A player.

 

[Michael_T]

I just got my Machine Head SACD from amazon.fr today - and decided to listen to the surround mix first. Impressive sound -yes sir. Different mix, obviously, than the DVD-A - flatter (since it is sourced from the 4.0 quad). But what is this - 3 extra tracks on the MCH program. GUESS WHAT - those three extra tracks, "Maybe I'm A Leo", "Lazy" and "When A Blind Man Cries" - are the EXACT same 5.1 mixes that are on the Warner's DVD-A. I mean EXACT (using the center channel also). OK - I can do some real comparisons now.

I popped in the DVD-A and cued up "Maybe I'm A Leo". I listened. Sounded good to me through my 3 month old Denon 3800 DVD-Audio player. Cued up same mix on the SACD - sounds good also - actually pretty similar. Decided after a complete listen to both independently, to A/B both. Cued up "Maybe I'm A Leo" again on both the from the beginning of the song. Switched between each. I was hard pressed to tell a big difference. I would say that the sonics on both the MCH SACD alternate mix and the MCH DVD-A were very close. I did notice a bit smoother top end on the SACD, and the vocals seemed a tad bit clearer, but not so much that it screamed one is far superior to the other. (As far as I understand it the Denon 3800 uses the same exact DACs as the Sony XA777ES. In addition the Denon has AL24 Plus processing which attempts to interpolate an analog waveform from PCM sourced material. Maybe that is why they sounded so close.)

Now for the real test - I decided to compare two songs on the stereo side between the SACD and DVD-A. Again I used "Maybe I'm A Leo" and added "Smoke On The Water". Oops, again very close to my ears. I did exactly like I did with the MCH mixes. I listened to each independently, then did an A/B. Again the sound of the Denon 3800 in stereo and the XA777ES in stereo with "Machine Head" (and the two songs I chose) was close, but there were differences.

I would say that overall in stereo I prefered the SACD (and not because I favor SACD), but because the SACD presentation had more heft and smoothness. Again the differences to my ears were subtle, but more pronounced than when I compared MCH. The bass reached much lower with the SACD, and the highs sparkled a little bit more. But I would have to say with my system, the DVD-A was no slouch. I would say that anyone who only has a DVD-A system isn't missing all that much in comparison. Then again, this was a limited test, on my system. Your results may vary.

The real selling point if you have both SACD and DVD-A in your system would be that the DVD-A has all the remaining 5 tracks (Highway Star, Pictures of Home, Never Before, Smoke on the Water, and Space Truckin') in vastly different 5.1 mixes than those original 4.0 Quad mixes that are are the SACD. If cost of the disc is the real factor than obviously for about $14.99 the DVD-A is going to give you almost similar performance to the more expensive (due to it being a European import) SACD.

Personally, I am glad to have both in my library, and I will have to give more careful listening to both over time (particularly in stereo) to determine if the DVD-A and SACD sound as close as they did on initial comparision, with the edge going to the SACD (to my ears at least).

 

[JimChan]

The orginal quad 4.0 mix is the main reason for me to buy this disc. Definitely buy it, especially if you can get it at a reasonable price (like me )