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Review by Blu Falcon April 25, 2011 (12 of 12 found this review helpful)
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| I was a Super Audio CD virgin until recently. I recently picked up a good used SACD player for a great price and had been building a small collection of SACD recordings such as Pink Floyd's DSOTM, Norah Jones' Come Away With Me, etc. I also picked up a good used copy of the Avalon SACD on a whim after hearing so many good things about the multichannel mix. I paid over $80 for it, which is currently the most I've ever spent an any single album. I already had a good 5.1 home theater system set-up, so plugging the player into the multichannel inputs on the receiver was all I had to do to get the ball rolling. Avalon was selected as the first SACD to test the system. Once I settled in my seat, the "sweet spot" of my listening area, I hit play on the remote and was unprepared for the level of sonic euphoria I was about to experience. I damn near fell out of my chair. Is this what I've been missing out on all these years? Can anything sound more lush, beautiful and as mind-numbingly good as this recording? And there I sat. Eyes closed. Smiling from ear to ear. Motionless. From beginning to end. I was taken on a journey through a vast sonic landscape, and somehow ended up center stage of the performance. The lead singer was there in front me. The instrumentation and background vocals were beautifully separated and surrounding me. Sounds panned from left to right, right to left, and even snuck up from behind. The music sometimes revolved around me and through me, but mostly uplifting me to a higher level of appreciation for the musical tapestry that was before me. It was an experience I won't soon forget and invite others to share. Simply put, Avalon is worth the cost of admission and then some.
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Review by Eric LeRouge August 3, 2003 (8 of 9 found this review helpful)
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Performance:  Sonics: |
Unless you hate this Roxy Music classic (some people do), this record is a flagship example of what high-resolution remasters, when done carefully, can bring to a recording. This record has never sounded so good, on any CD edition, and the CD layer itself is already a step above all previous editions (except the Slave to Love best of).
The DSD 2CH version is yet two steps higher than any recent CD version, with a lot of detail, and a very engaging sense of swing. Lots of background details and instruments are now more evident, and it sounds fresh all over again, even if you have heard this album 1,000 times. I'm almost certain that that the 2CH SACD version is a new version, not a remaster of the latest PCM tapes. The mix appears slightly different in several tracks.
The DSD MCH version is really where this SACD shines. There is simply no comparison with all previous 2CH versions, it's another world altogether. As the liner notes suggest, the original team had a very clear idea of what a multi-channel version of Avalon would sound like, and they used all the freedom they had to re-design the album according to their ideas. The result is fascinating, because the new multi-channel version simply adds a lot of "flesh" to this recording, instruments appear more real, with more texture, and even better sense of rythm than the stero 2CH version(s). The team have added some "special effects" in the multi-channel version, but it never sounds artificial or gimmicky.
This remastered version required a lot of work and loving attention, and the team behind it probably resisted all pressure from the recording company to meet deadline with a mediocre product (hence the 21st anniversary date:)
If you really want to hear what multi-channel SACD can do for you, Avalon is a must.
Best
Eric
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