SQ of "Rock of Ages" on CD

There's a little discussion here that might help:

The Band: Rock of Ages vs Live at the Academy of Music 1971 | Steve Hoffman Music Forums

@tomcy6 

Thanks; I'll check it out. 

I asked here because I've purchased cds before that were popular on the Hoffman site and have not liked the SQ of the mixes they favor.

I suspect Rock of Ages was simply not recorded well, to begin with, which is a shame. 

Just found a Sound and Vision interview with R. Robertson. Apparently the original mixing was done by him and Phil Ramone at Criteria, before the studio was completed and they didn't like the mix, either, which Robertson describes as "murky". Supposedly, this was subsequently rectified when he and Bob Clearmountain redid it for the Academy of Music box set. I'll look into that. 

I guess you got shortchanged on the SACD but your ear for sound quality was confirmed.by R.Robertson and Bob Clearmountain.  

Rock of Ages is, and always was, a poorly recorded and mixed LP. I have it, a big Band fan, and rarely if ever spin it.

Unfortunate

Yeah-- I dunno about about SACD SQ (never owned an SACD player) but I've found the Redbook SQ of MoFi hybrids to be very inconsistent. Some are quite good, others just meh-- most definitely not worth the money. 

As far as the Band album is concerned, I thought I'd have to buy the out of print box but there's a 2CD set that's still available with the same tunes as the Deluxe version. Might as well try it. 

@bkeske 

Have you heard the Academy of Music mix? 

@stuartk 

Usually only buy vinyl, so no. There are a couple vinyl remasters by both Capital and MoFi, but haven’t given much consideration to purchasing either.

stuartk

stick with the 1st CD pressing as it is a flat transfer and closest to original Vinyl.

Most of these Classic albums do not fare well with remastering/remixing. 
 

Happy Listening!

@jafant 

Thanks for your input.

I haven't found that original mixes are uniformly more pleasing to my ears; it really depends on the record in question. 

And given R. Robertson"s opinion, I'm curious to hear the Academy of Music version.  I'll report back once I've heard it. 

stuartk

My pleasure.  I am looking forward in reading your impressions and thoughts on The Academy of Music version. I would be interested in learning more about the MoFi disc? Which tape or source used? How extensive DsD used?

Sidebar: I am enjoying the 50th anniversary edition of “Cahoots” CD. This is the standard edition, not the Super Deluxe package. Otherwise, I own 1st pressing CDs.

Happy Listening!

The 50th Anniversary Edition of Stage Fright sounded great to me on Qobuz.  A clear improvement, IMHO.

@jafant 

The hybrid SACD just says "Original Master Recording".

Hasn't MoFi admitted to making such claims falsely in the past?

Are R. Robertson's assertions reliable?  I don't know.  

But given the SQ (or lack thereof) of the MoFi and my fondness for the music, I'm willing to pay the modest cost of the 2CD set to see whether it does in fact sound better.  

tomcy6

Thank You for sharing your experience with the 50th anniversary Stage Fright.

Happy Listening!

stuartk

I look forward in reading more about your impressions and thoughts.

Happy Listening!

the academy version - Clearmountain is light years ahead… yes i own all the others including LP…..

@tomic601 

Thanks for your comments.

I plan to order the Academy version this week. 

Frankly anything Clearmountain touches gets better…..less murk and junk, clear mountain air treble restored….. see his other recent work, including LP…. 

Best in music to all !

Jim

OP - Silver Platters in Seattle might have a minty but used copy of Academy….. maybe give a call……

@tomic601 

Thanks. Do you mean the box set?

I'm going to buy the 2 disc version. 

2xCD no DVD is my recollection….but it has been several weeks since i was in there……. i am guessing they have 50-100K CD’s……

@tomic601 

Thanks. I got it pretty cheap from importcds. 

The Academy of Music set arrived yesterday. I’ve only listened to a few tracks.

Compared to the MoFi, what I’ve noticed so far are an improved, overall sense of immediacy that you’d expect from a live show coupled with improved resolution/separation.

At the same time, the presentation is a bit bright on my system. It’s certainly not enough to be described as fatiguing but it’s there. However, the Schiit Lokius pretty well compensates for this.

For reference, my system:

Jay’s Audio CD2 MKIII transport

Aqua La Voce S2 DAC

Hegel H390

Silverline SR 17.5 monitors

Cables by Audio art and Acoustic Zen

Schiit Lokius

Seems to me the MofI is a waste of $. As time goes on, I’m afraid I’m becoming increasingly cynical about MoFi’s hybrids due to their inconsistency.