Jon Anderson's "Olias of Sunhillow" SACD reviews?

[Nearfest2]

Anyone spin it yet? Mine is sitting on my TV stand ready for concentrated listening.

Thoughts on it?

[progman1975]

Does Lasers have it yet??

[Nearfest2]

No one? Really? Not even Mr. Carney?

[trurl]

I guess no one has it yet! I'm curious myself.

[Toka]

Anyone spin it yet? Mine is sitting on my TV stand ready for concentrated listening.

Thoughts on it?

Looks like you get to be the first! How is it?

[LASERCD]

I'll finally have it in a couple of days. I was late pulling the trigger.

[Fracktured]

I'll save Jeff the trouble, It's not as good as the original release.

[JeffCarney]

I'll save Jeff the trouble, It's not as good as the original release.

In what way?

I find the original release too bright. If this is "duller" it might just work for me.

Haven't been in a big hurry for this one but I am curious.

[Fracktured]

In what way?

I find the original release too bright. If this is "duller" it might just work for me.

Haven't been in a big hurry for this one but I am curious.

I was just being sarcastic. I have the original Japanese release. Always thought it sounded just fine.

[ronmac]

I was just being sarcastic. I have the original Japanese release. Always thought it sounded just fine.

Are you referring to the Japanese CD? I have that and, while it's fine, I do agree that it's a bit too bright. Very mid-rangy to my ears. However, I never did an A/B comparison to the vinyl.

[Nearfest2]

I haven't spun it yet, and to be honest, I haven't spun my Japanese CD in years. I saw one review saying that the SACD is lower in volume and not as bright. Both are good signs.

[trurl]

I concur , a warmer version is what I'm hoping for.

[JeffCarney]

Are you referring to the Japanese CD? I have that and, while it's fine, I do agree that it's a bit too bright. Very mid-rangy to my ears. However, I never did an A/B comparison to the vinyl.

I should probably clarify that the Japanese Atlantic and the German Atlantic CDs were identical. Like all others (Renaissance, Curved Air ...) released by Warner in Japan and Europe.

I compared the original CD to a 1st press vinyl. Iirc, the UK vinyl was cut in the US ... but whatever ... it sounded quite spectacular. I was amazed at how much the old CD sounded like tin in comparison. Not horrible or anything, but I suspect that many of those Japanese Warner CD issues from the early 90s had some top end boost applied. I have a lot of other examples to believe this was the case.

So I greatly suspect that the masters are not that shrill. I suppose what's holding me back on buying the SACD is that the original vinyl sounds so great already and you get the full artwork. If anything, I'm more inclined to grab a Mint vinyl copy as I don't seem to have my LP any longer.

[ronmac]

I suppose what's holding me back on buying the SACD is that the original vinyl sounds so great already and you get the full artwork. If anything, I'm more inclined to grab a Mint vinyl copy as I don't seem to have my LP any longer.

Totally agree. It's really not complete without the full-size artwork.

[tozo]

Well, I guess I'll chime in with my thoughts. I received this 3-4 days ago. Played it a view times on it's own, then blind tested it along with my 20 year old Japanese issue. Sadly, no real difference or preference between the two discs. Even with one disc playing SACD version all seemed pretty much the same to my 58 year old ears. I used my Sennheiser HD650 phone along with a Oppo BDP93 and a PlayStation 3 as players.
The booklet however is somewhat nicer, with more vibrant colors and a expanded 12 page format (the Japanese version was only 8)
Wish I had better news, it's not horrible at all, just not a marked improvement,
Chip

[Brian Griffin]

It's really not complete without the full-size artwork.

This is one of the few LP's I saved

It has to be one of the highest quality jackets ever made

Mine is printed on a very thick stock, with the outside panels featuring a "pebble like" texture

Fucker looks brand new almost 38 years after the opening day purchase

BG

[Nearfest2]

Well, I guess I'll chime in with my thoughts. I received this 3-4 days ago. Played it a view times on it's own, then blind tested it along with my 20 year old Japanese issue. Sadly, no real difference or preference between the two discs. Even with one disc playing SACD version all seemed pretty much the same to my 58 year old ears. I used my Sennheiser HD650 phone along with a Oppo BDP93 and a PlayStation 3 as players.
The booklet however is somewhat nicer, with more vibrant colors and a expanded 12 page format (the Japanese version was only 8)
Wish I had better news, it's not horrible at all, just not a marked improvement,
Chip

Hmm. I disagree. The SACD is certainly less tinny and lower in volume. I thought it sounded quite good, though I will agree that it's not a massive upgrade, but certainly noticeable. I'll also say that "Olias" is not "crank it up" kind of album. It's very much made for headphones. I listened to the SACD through speakers the other night and am waiting for my new headphone amp to arrive to give "Olias" a proper test.

[rickm]

any other review?

[jcarr73729]

I received my copy a few weeks ago. I'm very happy with it, having played both AF CD and SACD layers, but I have to agree with the reviews above saying there is very little, substantive difference in overall SQ versus the Japanese release I have too. Maybe we should give praise to the mastering of the older version? This wasn't a recording I was expecting great leaps in SQ from the fresh re-master. Overall, I'm happy and enjoy the SACD layer as the marginally better sounding, nearest to my memory of the vinyl lp all those years ago. This was always a dense sounding recording in places, and for me (it may just be my hi-fi set up) the SACD layer puts some air between those dense layers/overdubs of sound that the CDs lacked. The AF SACD layer is now my favourite digital release of this recording.

[Bazcrim]

Here was my take on the SACD version from a few months back.

http://progrockstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/jon-anderson-olias-of-sunhillow-sacd.html

[highaltitude]

Anyone spin it yet? Mine is sitting on my TV stand ready for concentrated listening.

Thoughts on it?

Cool...!!!

I was almost a recent young teen when I've bought OOS first edition in a LP records store called "Stereo Records",
...thinking about it, I think it was my father the main investor in this business, ok...
This record, unique their musical concept, never arrived to be compared until now....

[rickm]

On the Hoffman forum, people mention about a subtle "click" at 1:05 that can be heard. Any of your sacd has this issue? Not sure if this was solved or not.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/jon-anderson-olias-of-sunhillow-audio-fidelity-sacd.337135/page-9

Thanks to all for your reply/review.

[jcarr73729]

On the Hoffman forum, people mention about a subtle "click" at 1:05 that can be heard. Any of your sacd has this issue? Not sure if this was solved or not.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/jon-anderson-olias-of-sunhillow-audio-fidelity-sacd.337135/page-9

Thanks to all for your reply/review.

Yes, it's there on mine, in the left-channel.
Very subtle, hardly noticeable, but clearly a digital artefact of some sort.

Reading the SH forums, it would appear only those looking for it are noticing it!