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HIREZ Marviin Gaye fans opininions please. (1 Viewer)

peter m. wilson

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Hi
If there are any Marvin Gaye fans who have access to both the Tamla sacd procuded by MG and Ed Townsend "Lets Get It On" and the dvd-a Motown Records "The Marvin Gaye Collection" please comment.

My Impression is that the dvd-a has much more detail combined with a greater "you are there" feel to it".

There are a couple of songs that these discs share which I A/B'd seconds apart since my reciever has 2 sets of analogs and is what contibutes to my impression.

I would have a much more enlightened opinion if both were played in the same machine.

Both my players are entry level with the dvd-a being a JVC fa92sl and the sacd a Sony DVP-NC650v and I had never had the exact songs in both formats before.

Please don't get the impression that I'm saying one format is better than another this is a disc not a format discussion, I have over 170 discs in the combination of formats and thorughly enjoy them both.

Peter m.
 

LarryDavenport

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I only have the Collection on DVD-A but I can say I wish it was on SACD. I say this because the visuals are OK but not essential, and because it's a DVDA, I have to tirn on the TV and go though the menu to get it to play. With a SACD, all I have to do is press play on my SACD player and it starts up. I have about a dozen DVDAs and 3 dozen SACDs and though I don't have duplicate titles to A/B, I have had no dissapointing SACDs, but at least 30% of my DVDAs are underwhelming.
 

peter m. wilson

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Hi Larry,
It might be a player programming issue on your Collections dvd-a because although they don't all do this. Collections starts playing immediately in surround on my player which is a 7 discr. Perhaps its a feature of mltidisc players. I also find pressing play 3 times kepps me away from the video on many of them also.

Peter m.
 

John Kotches

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Larry,

For all but a few DVD-A titles in my collection (over 100 and counting), using the PLAY button with the tray open gives me playback without a monitor. On the few occasions where this doesn't work, PLAY or ENTER pressed 3x (as Peter suggested) works just fine.

To access stereo tracks (very rare for me), with my player, using the GROUP button and manually selecting the group works without fail for v1.0 authored titles. For v1.1 authored titles, the AUDIO button works perfectly.

The closest thing to a badly authored title I have is Al Green's Greatest Hits, which performs poorly. Here, I think Stereo is Group 3, and Surround is Group 2. This is a bad authoring job, perhaps the worst in my experience.

Still, like Peter, I don't use a monitor, unless I specifically want to look at the included slide show.

Regards,
 

Rich Malloy

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I've got the original 2-channel only "Midnight Love" SACD and the new "Let's Get It On" SACD. I'm not a big fan of the material on "Midnight Love", but it's a very nice sounding disc. "Let's Get It On" is a much better record IMO, and the SACD sounds great.

I'm really tempted by the DVD-A, especially after Peter's review. But I'm also frustrated and disappointed that the decision was made to release a meager "greatest hits" collection rather than a full album. Wouldn't the DVD-A community prefer getting the entire "Let's Get It On" album in hi-res? I know I would.

More importantly to me is what happens with "What's Going On", by far my favorite Marvin Gaye record. This is not some collection of tunes, but a single continuous "concept album" like "Dark Side of the Moon" or "Tommy". For that reason, I'm really frustrated that the only hi-res release for some of these tunes is said meager greatest hits DVD-A. I'm tempted... but I just know I'll be disappointed with nothing more than a taste, a tease, a dissection like this. And I just know I'll be reaching for the Deluxe Edition CD set instead. I just don't know what they're thinking, but I'm pretty sure they're not thinking about the hardcore Marvin Gaye fan. It's just so damn frustrating.
 

peter m. wilson

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Hi Rich,
I just realized that I have the Midnight Love sacd as well, but mine is mltih.
Thanks for reminding me. In my mind (curiously) I had it mixedup with an Al Jurreaux sacd which I really love.

To-nite I'll compare the two MG sacds with the Collection dvd-a and give you my thoughts.

As I said before my opinion might be based on a player issue so having 2 separate sacds from different producers may clear this up in my mind.

Peter m.
 

John Kotches

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Stu,

It's not the best in my collection sonically by any means, but I suspect the source material was a substantial limiting factor.

Regards,
 

Mike Broadman

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I'm not sure if using the same player for the different formats would be more of a fair comparison, since they use different processors. I'm just thinking of some universal players where many people felth the performance was superior for one format over the other.

I have the SACD, on the DVD-A (which I admittedly didn't even realise existed). The SACD is very cool- not a demo disk, but since it's a hybrid it's cool.

I too am interested in what, if anything, happens with What's Goin On?, his masterpiece. I love that album.

I don't have Midnight Love in any format simply because the only song on that album I like is, not surprisingly, Sexual Healing.
 

peter m. wilson

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Hi,
Now that I've had a chance to listen to the mltich version of the sacd "Midnight Love" and A/B it somewhat with dvd-a "Marvin Gaye Collection", my opinion is that these two discs are much closer in quality when it comes to detail sound separation clarity and overall quality than the Tamla brand, Marvin Gaye and Ed Townsend production of "Lets Get It On".

I take it as a given that dvd-a's and sacd sound a little different in ways that I'm incapable of describing. If theres such a word as airier, (not being a good or bad thing) thats the word I would use for most dvd-a's.

If you can put love into a production, there aint much in LGIO in comparison to the other two.
It's almost feels like there's the original tape on one end and an sacd machine on the other with a button that you push to make an sacd and this disc was the result.

Mike makes a good point with regards to using the same machine so I guess having it plugged into the same inputs is where the similarity ends.

"Midnight Love" was his first and only album for Columbia and was perhaps one of the few not grooved by the 'Funk Brothers" of Mowtown and it has a decidedly different feel to the other two.

Anyway, I'll still be listening to all of them but can't help but wonder who is making the format decisions and why.

Peter m.
 

Mike Broadman

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Also might be pertinent to point out that Midnight Love was recorded later, so maybe they had better technology at their disposal.
 

cwhite

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As a huge MG fan, I have skipped any of the high resolution editions of his albums. Instead, just get the extended deluxe editions of his work like "What's Goin' On", "Let's Get It On" and "I Want You" and the double CD of "Midnight Love". The bonus tracks and alternate mixes are worth it. And if you're musically adventurous about MG, search out "Here, My Dear"-the album he made as part of the divorce settlement from Berry Gordy's sister and his affair with then 15 year old next wife.
 

peter m. wilson

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Hi Mike,
Thats a good point. The thing I wonder about alot is just how much power the mixing engineers have when it comes to re-doing existing music.
In Marvins case, obviously he's had no input at all, but people like Steely Dan and The Eagles are personally involved in how there older stuff will sound in HIREZ and it shows.

Charles, now that I have 3 albums I'll probably continue, but I'm hooked on the two new formats and will invest in his works as there released in either format.

Robert, I think you'll find that some of these sites are not as uptodate as they could be. Were discussing the "Lets Get IT On" sacd because it has already been released and I have a copy which I got at BestBuy.

Peter m.
 

Rich Malloy

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As a huge MG fan, I have skipped any of the high resolution editions of his albums. Instead, just get the extended deluxe editions of his work like "What's Goin' On", "Let's Get It On" and "I Want You" and the double CD of "Midnight Love".
No doubt, the Deluxe Editions are fantastic. You could never get me to part with the Deluxe "What's Going On", so don't even try! Cold, dead finger-prying and all that.

And while I can't speak to "Midnight Love" (not exactly my favorite MG, and by a long shot), I'd definitely recommend the SACD of "Let's Get It On" even if you have the Deluxe Ed., and possibly as a first purchase over it (though youll definitely want to complete the collection). The SACD delivers that warm, analog sound and smooth open soundstage that seems to define the format and really lends itself well to recordings like these. It is rather noticeably better sounding than the (also good) CD, but the Deluxe edition also includes an enormous trove of alternate cuts and demos. Someone else would have to make comparisons to LP.

Peter described it (and not in a positive sense, I don't think) like this: "It almost feels like there's the original tape on one end and an sacd machine on the other with a button that you push to make an sacd and this disc was the result". While it wasn't so intended, this is really about the highest praise one could confer. Of course, i've never had the good fortune to hear the master tape, but the SACD almost lets me believe I am!

(*But I think I'm starting to prefer the multichannel mix! Shhhhh....)
 

cwhite

Second Unit
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Jun 9, 2002
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"Midnight Love" has one(okay two)killer tracks that I would be interested in hearing in multi-channel. "Turn On Some Music" with its densely layered vocals-something that can't be appreciated in the final album version until you hear the 2 alternate takes on the previous 2-CD edition. The other being
"Sexual Healing." I'm sure "Let's Get It On" sounds great in SACD but I'm waiting for "I Want You" on SACD.
 

Robert A. Willis Jr.

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Jul 11, 1999
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306
Robert, I think you'll find that some of these sites are not as uptodate as they could be. Were discussing the "Lets Get IT On" sacd because it has already been released and I have a copy which I got at BestBuy.
Peter,

I was just pointing out that a DVD-A version is coming soon and implied that this is good news for those without SACD capability. So far the Universal site has been spot on with release dates.

I am now hoping that the DVD-A version is as good as the SACD is reported.
 

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