Best of Roxy Music SACD -- mixed bag

Alan_Horner · 08-01-2003, 09:23 PM

Was thrilled to find that the import SACD of The Best of Roxy Music arrived by mail from Merry Ol' England today. This had been delayed for months, something that didn't sit too well with me.

But it really is a shame that the disc was delayed so that it arrived after the recent release of the Avalon SACD. That disc really did set a high-water mark that will be tough to live up to. Avalon had raised my expectations for Best of and I guess there wasn't much of a real chance that it could live up to those expectations.

Don't get me wrong: it's great to have this compliation of Roxy on one SACD title. It's just that I don't really notice a marked difference in audio quality from that of the remastered HDCD Roxy catalog. It seems to me that the SACD versions have a bit more warmth to them, but the difference isn't all that obvious. Again, great to have on SACD, but not the demo disc I was hoping for after Avalon.

And actually, this hybrid stereo SACD feeds into my concerns about how much effort labels put into SACD releases when the project is not a multichannel remix. I've always been concerned that it's relatively easy for labels to simply port over stereo titles from Redbook CDs to SACDs without taking the extra steps necessary to really make them shine. Go ahead, call me paranoid. But it doesn't help when SACDs like this one simply use the regular CD booklet (so no mention of SACD credits or mastering whatsoever).

I don't regret getting this by any means. But if Virgin were to issue the rest of the Roxy catalog on SACD in stereo-only versions, I'd have to seriously think about picking them up because the sound on Best of leads me to think that they wouldn't be much different than the HDCD remasters.

Rachael B · 08-02-2003, 02:00 AM

All the Virgin SACD's that I've gotten came in super jewell cases that shouldn't be mistaken for CD's. Surely they haven't regressed to worse...?

Michael_T · 08-02-2003, 11:22 AM

Quote:

And actually, this hybrid stereo SACD feeds into my concerns about how much effort labels put into SACD releases when the project is not a multichannel remix.

I tend to agree. It more than possible that for specific releases, like the "Best of" Roxy Music, the record label may take the PCM sourced master - transfer it to DSD and then master the SACD. In this case what you would hear on SACD would only be marginally better than what you might hear on redbook CD.

I have the Best Of Roxy Music on order from Red Trumpet, who also just got the title in stock. I called them yesterday to see when my order, which I placed almost a year ago to the day, would ship - and they told me either this weekend or Monday.

Rich Malloy · 08-02-2003, 01:39 PM

Eric LeRouge posted a very similar review over at AA: http://www.audioasylum.com/scripts/t...hirez&m=146314

The gist: worth it if you don't have all these tracks already (particularly from the JHDCDs), best sounding release for the early tunes, not as good as the "Avalon" SACD.

Alan_Horner · 08-02-2003, 02:38 PM

Best of is housed in the Super Jewel Box.

I wasn't suggesting that labels would put an actual CD in a new jewel case and try to pass that off as a SACD release. Michael_T got exactly what I meant (and said it better).

Sorry for any confusion.

**HTF Ads**

charles white · 08-02-2003, 09:23 PM

I am a huge Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry but I'll wait for the domestic releases of their albums and may only purchase 2 or 3
out of the whole catalog. Maybe by then, there may be a DSD remix/remaster and multi-channel mix effort added to the discs. I share your concerns about the labels just re-formatting the PCM tracks to DSD. I think Sony did the same thing with the BOSTON SACD-it sounds no better nor different than the gold Mastersound CD.

Lee Scoggins · 08-02-2003, 09:36 PM

Quote:

In this case what you would hear on SACD would only be marginally better than what you might hear on redbook CD.

I completely disagree. PCM masters to DSD often sound SIGNIFICANTLY better than the redbook version.

I have first hand experience on this since they have transfered one of my PCM albums to SACD.

There are two reasons why they sound good:

1. The remastering itself is done on better equipment.
2. Converting PCM to SACD effectively upsamples the source material.

Often labels only have a PCM master so there is no choice. It is increasingly more common to have pure DSD or analog to DSD transfers. Either of these is generally superb.

Ed St. Clair · 08-07-2003, 03:04 PM

Quote:

I completely disagree. PCM masters to DSD often sound SIGNIFICANTLY better than the redbook version.

Lee,
Don't just generalize!
Address their concerns for titles mentioned.

RM: The Best of.
Against the remastered HDCD Roxy catalog.

Boston: Boston.
Against the gold Mastersound CD.

Thank you,
E.

Lee Scoggins · 08-07-2003, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Don't just generalize!

Good point, as there are many exceptions. Will do.

I would caution people not to assume that all PCM to DSD transfers are poor, however. There are some real winners out there, if only because of it being mastered better and on better, more recent gear.

It may also be unfair to criticize record labels that do this if all they have to work with is a PCM source. There are lots of analog tapes out there and many audiophile labels will record in both analog and digital, in part for later LPs and DSD transfer.

Rich Malloy · 08-07-2003, 03:19 PM

Eric posted a slightly longer and slightly tweaked review of "Best of" at SACDinfo:

http://www.sacdinfo.com/showtitle.php?title=808

My order was dispatched from the UK via expedited mail on Tuesday, so with a little luck I'll have it by the weekend (plus two of the Groove Armada titles and the Penguin Cafe Orchestra). Though this disc may not be the revelation that is "AVALON" on SACD, it seems to be less of a mixed bag than I'd thought. If the pre-Avalon tunes are really the best sounding of any release ever (including vinyl), I'd say that's just about good enough for me!

But, really, every release should be as good as "AVALON". In my dreams anyway....

Jeffrey Wiffen · 08-07-2003, 05:22 PM

Speaking of Roxy Music...
I just bought their remastered HDCD version of Avalon the other day for a nifty price ($10.00CDN). I'm very impressed with the "quality" of the disc. I noticed that the place I bought it from was selling Ferry's remastered HDCD version of Boys and Girls for the same price. Is it worth a blind purchase? I know some of the tunes well enough, but I'm curious about the "quality" of this remastered disc. Is it on par with Avalon? Is it better?