[thisbenjamin]

Audio Fidelity has released the newly Steve Hoffman (www.SteveHoffman.tv) mastered HDCD encoded Morrison Hotel, and The Soft Parade - and these are incredible. They beat the original W. Germany / Japan first print / masterings, and easily beat out the Rhino masters. You're in for a real treat with these guys.

http://www.audiofidelity.net/upcoming_releases.htm

Two favorites from there recent releases are Alice Cooper's School’s Out, and The Band S/T. I've never heard a decent mastering of School's Out - and that includes first generation us vinyl, it's amazing how much detail are in those tracks - the same goes for The Band, it's just amazing.

Any other Audio Fidelity / Steve Hoffman fans?

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thisbenjamin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any other Audio Fidelity / Steve Hoffman fans?

Are you kidding?

I try to buy everything he releases/has released.

 

[thisbenjamin]

That's awesome - same here, I've been on his forums since they opened. One on a short list of hifi heroes.

Did you do the 'platinum' club through Audio Fidelity? You get the releases anywhere between 1-2 weeks early and have a chance to win the test pressings, it's pretty fun. I think they have like 40~ spots left.

Whats your favorite releases so far? His mastering of The Who's 'Who's Next' is bloody incredible.

 

[West726]

Whoa, I didn't know about the platinum thing; thanks, thisbenjamin (I feel like I'm talking to your avatar).

I don't quite understand it, though, even after reading the website. They send you "each month's new club releases" and bill your card? What if one of the releases is [something I don't like]? Am I misreading this, or are my musical tastes just too picky to leave this to AF?

 

[thisbenjamin]

Yeah you buy into the membership and it comes down to 1) you get all the releases early, 2) You get a chance to win the test pressings - and win they release 3 albums a month on average, and only 462 people have access to the lottery for the test pressings it's pretty good odds, and 3) you get a 15% discount off everything - which is pretty decent. It's basically you saying, everything Steve Hoffman touches must be worth owning for one reason or another. My rational for doing it was to support Audio Fidelity, sure linda ronstadt isn't my cup of tea but I've listened to the disc a few times, and it sure is amazing.

I also buy everything that MoFi does, simply to support what they do. Every recording they've done since the rebirth is worth owning from a mastering standpoint, at least in my eyes and supporting the shops that give the extra love and don't ruin the masters is worthwhile.

btw - that's my daughter with my PS-1000's with flats (before they were stolen) if it wasn't obvious

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thisbenjamin /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's awesome - same here, I've been on his forums since they opened. One on a short list of hifi heroes. Did you do the 'platinum' club through Audio Fidelity? You get the releases anywhere between 1-2 weeks early and have a chance to win the test pressings, it's pretty fun. I think they have like 40~ spots left. Whats your favorite releases so far? His mastering of The Who's 'Who's Next' is bloody incredible.

I didn't sign up for the platinum (I REALLY WANT TO THOUGH!) because money is rather tight.

I've been lurking on his forums forever. I should really sign up. I enjoy almost all his releases but my favorites are his Nat "King" Cole releases for DCC and S&P records. His Sinatra releases are spectacular.

Ever since I started mastering I sometimes come to a fork in the road. I ALWAYS ask myself - "What Would Steve Hoffman Do?" and I go from there.

Have you heard his compilations of 70's and 80's music? His remaster of A-HA's Take On Me is simply fantastic.

 

[West726]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thisbenjamin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah you buy into the membership and it comes down to 1) you get all the releases early, 2) You get a chance to win the test pressings - and win they release 3 albums a month on average, and only 462 people have access to the lottery for the test pressings it's pretty good odds, and 3) you get a 15% discount off everything - which is pretty decent. It's basically you saying, everything Steve Hoffman touches must be worth owning for one reason or another. My rational for doing it was to support Audio Fidelity, sure linda ronstadt isn't my cup of tea but I've listened to the disc a few times, and it sure is amazing. I also buy everything that MoFi does, simply to support what they do. Every recording they've done since the rebirth is worth owning from a mastering standpoint, at least in my eyes and supporting the shops that give the extra love and don't ruin the masters is worthwhile. btw - that's my daughter with my PS-1000's with flats (before they were stolen) if it wasn't obvious

Yeah, I knew it was your daughter. I've got one of those too. Not sure where she came from . . .

Funny how opposite our opinions are . . . I LOVE Linda Ronstadt but thought that that mix wasn't Steve's best work. BTW MFSL has a wonderful LR release coming up soon . . .

So how many AF/SH CD's a month do you get? How much is this going to set me back monthly?

 

[thisbenjamin]

I thought complications were utter garbage until I picked up his Forever 80's which is just .. wow, sold me that's for certain. Then I picked up a few others, his rock titles are pretty awesome content wise not to mention quality.

The forums are great because there thousands of members and maybe .001% are trolling half wits, everyone else just wants to help each other out, research music and discuss theory and application.

I think you might be on to something - you should make some shirts or wrist bands "WWSD" for mastering engineers and production houses

west;

You can do the purchases though paypal if you want - I do this so I'm never surprised by a purchase, and I don't have to expose my credit card info.

On average I spend around 70 bucks a month in CDs from AF - some months it's much less, some a little more. This month has been awesome, 4 discs out - and 2 more next week! Next month thou it's going to be maybe 1-2. Including shipping, it's 26.04 for 1 disc, then 24 I think for the next disc if there are more.

If you're a vinyl head, you can sign up for the vinyl plat club (you can do 1, or both for the same price) and it's around 1-2 releases a quarter.

BTW - are you listening to the HDCD or the redbook? If you can, bring in a AF disc to a dealer with a Berkley Alpha DAC and prepare to nut yourself

 

[thisbenjamin]

delete me

 

[West726]

Redbook. Esoteric SA-10. Is "nut yourself" legal on these boards? (I hope so.)

Thanks for the helpful info. I'm going to waste a hundred hours this week on the 80s compilations alone. Seriously.

 

[thisbenjamin]

That's a fine decoder you got yourself, I wouldn't screw with HDCD thou outside of a old pacific microsonics setup or the new alpha dac from the same guys at the new company Berkley Audio, as I've never heard anything that comes close to doing HDCD "right" outside of their decoders. That isn't to knock your hardware, just my experience.

I really hope "nut yourself" is legal speak too, I've used a few times and so far, so good

 

[thisbenjamin]

There are whispers of people saying that regardless of the redbook being excellent on the AF releaes that it does suffer from being HDCD encoded, and without the decoder you're losing a little bit of love. I don't necessarily agree, but I will say that the HDCD are some of the best examples of the tech.

 

[West726]

No knock taken. I'd love to hear high quality, um, stuff on high quality, um, stuff.

I've been collecting SH 24Ks (mostly DCC) lately based on my musical taste and not on the relative quality of the recording -- about which I have no clue until I actually buy the thing. I've learned a lot in the last hour about the Who and the 80s compilations. Care to give me your SH SQ top 10? Or 5?

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by West726 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Care to give me your SH SQ top 10? Or 5?

Hmmmm...

EVERYTHING!

 

[West726]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LFF /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmmmm... EVERYTHING!

Then my random method of choosing by musical taste seems pretty good!