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Topic: Quad Remix< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
iancampbell79 Offline




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Posted: Jan. 22 2003, 09:03

Just found a copy of Boxed, and when I open it up I find that each track has got 'Remixed in Quad (this CD set is in stereo)' under it in the booklet.  What happened to the quad remixes?
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Incantations2085 Offline




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Posted: Jan. 23 2003, 07:45

me too my friend
maybe they bored to make this cd set with quad!
only vinyls have the quad mix!!


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Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: Jan. 23 2003, 08:36

I would check it by playing it through an SQ Quad decoder before believing what it says there. It may be true - perhaps they've started producing new versions, but certainly the older versions of Boxed on CD have the original quadrophonic mixes (apart from some which include the original Tubular Bells instead of the remixed one).
The Quadrophonic information is matrixed into the 'stereo' mix which is on the Boxed master tapes, so unless they've actually gone through and altered it (which I can't see the record company being bothered to do...), it'll still be there in quad...and completely stereo compatible.
The only way to find out for sure, like I said at the beginning, is to play it through a decoder and see what happens...
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a_r_schulz Offline




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Posted: Jan. 23 2003, 14:42

For the few of us  ;)  who don't have a QS decoder, a Dolby® Stereo decoder (with rear speakers, of course) might give a rough approximation, since the basic principles are not too different.
It's been a while since I listened to my Vinyl Boxed set with speakers (kind of saturation effect since I recently digitized it and had to check each track over and over to get the noise out), but e.g. the caveman section from TB was quite effective, IIRC.
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Incantations2085 Offline




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Posted: Jan. 24 2003, 03:21

if i tell you the serial number of my boxed set cd's
could you tell me if the quad exist's?
mine set says that the tracks are in stereo?
does it says the truth??
thanks....


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Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: Jan. 24 2003, 11:52

I believe that Dolby's matrixing technology is just a slightly altered form of SQ - they bought the rights to it when the format was dying and nobody was interested in it any more.
It's actually not too hard to build a passive quad decoder, though the channel separation is very poor compared to the active decoders which were available. I think there are other cheap options as well.

I can look for the info on which versions of Boxed are definitely quadrophonic - by all means give the details here of which ones you have, someone should be able to help...
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Blackguard Offline




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Posted: July 18 2003, 00:44

I bought a copy of Boxed on CD just this week.  That's after years and years of hearing about it.  Tubular Bells does sound very much like it came from quad tapes.  The caveman voice is low in the mix, giving me the impression it was in the rear speakers in quad.  

But I'm curious on the point that more than one version of Boxed may be on CD.  The catalogue number on my set is CDBOX1.  So is it possible that I may have true quadraphonic mixes on this copy?
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Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: July 18 2003, 03:54

The easiest way to tell is actually just listening to Tubular Bells in the set - if it sounds like the original then it is! Otherwise, it'll be the remix and as far as I know, all versions with that mix are quadrophonic.
There's actually a note about it here - http://personal.riverusers.com/~manderso/quaddisc/quadcds.htm

Incidentally, if anyone here's at all interested in electronics, there are instructions for building an SQ decoder here - http://people.sabanciuniv.edu/~thomas/sq.html
The basis of it is an integrated circuit, so it doesn't take many components to build...the problem may be actually finding the required IC...
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Blackguard Offline




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Posted: July 20 2003, 21:57

I can now attest to the fact that Boxed is Stereo.  I ripped Tubular Bells to my hard drive and looked at it using audio mixing and analyzing software.  The display showed stereo waveforms.  

I'm lead to believe that the original Quadraphonic tapes were remixed into Stereo for the CD version of Boxed.
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Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: July 20 2003, 23:03

I couldn't say I could tell the difference between a plain stereo waveform and one which contained quadrophonic encoding.

If you have a stereo version then this must be another difference between editions, as some definitely still have quadrophonic encoding intact...
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SCprogfan
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Posted: July 29 2003, 10:11

The CD drive in a computer doesn't know it's ripping quad files off of a CD.  Of course they will appear as stereo waveforms.
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Blackguard
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Posted: Jan. 24 2005, 10:37

This is going to sound very odd.  Boxed played in what sounded like true quad in my car.  Loaded it into my trunk changer and my jaw dropped when I heard the play back.
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familyjules Offline




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Posted: Jan. 24 2005, 10:46

As far as I know all copies of Boxed have TB, HR and Ommadawn encoded in quad except for some copies which has the orig stereo mix of TB (part one only) swapped for the quad mix due to Mike's insistance, though I don't know which issue has which.  I think mine is the quad remix version, but I've no longer got any other version to compare it too so I've never been 100% sure.

Jules


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hiawatha Offline




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Posted: Jan. 24 2005, 11:12

My Boxed LP set is in quad. I've only ever heard it in stereo, since I do not have a quad. Some of the results are not good: certain voices/music tracks are almost inaudible (such as Viv Stanshall announcing instruments on TB).

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Flash and gleam among the oak-trees,
Laugh and leap into the valley."
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familyjules Offline




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Posted: Jan. 24 2005, 11:15

Quote (hiawatha @ Jan. 24 2005, 11:12)
certain voices/music tracks are almost inaudible (such as Viv Stanshall announcing instruments on TB).

Yeah - I have the finale on Complete and Viv is so much clearer on that.  I guess that means I do have a remix of TB part 1 on my Boxed after all then.

Jules


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hiawatha Offline




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Posted: Jan. 24 2005, 11:16

There are other examples of where the mix levels do not work very well in stereo, but this was the most obvious to remember.

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"In the land of the Dacotahs,
Where the Falls of Minnehaha
Flash and gleam among the oak-trees,
Laugh and leap into the valley."
- Song of Hiawatha
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Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: Jan. 24 2005, 12:02

Since my previous posts here, I've got an SQ decoder up and working, and I can say for certain that the SQ quad encoding is definitely preserved on the CDs (apart from those which contain the original mix of Tubular Bells, of course). The note about them being in stereo is, I'd imagine, just a marketer's attempt not to scare people away from buying them (people are often worried, seeing that a recording is 'quadraphonic', that it won't play back properly on their stereo equipment).

There's not much truth in the story that the Dolby matrix system is related to SQ, by the way - they're quite different. The early Dolby cinema systems used QS decoders though, before Dolby developed their own. I'm told that QS recordings decode quite nicely through a Dolby Pro Logic II decoder...not so helpful for listening to Mike though, as the only album of his released in QS format was Ommadawn, which isn't a terribly common item. The mix on it is the same as that on Boxed though, so if you do happen to have a copy, and a Pro Logic II decoder, then you can give it a go. Pro Logic II does interesting things with SQ as well, though it's not the same as the proper decoder.

The best way of hearing the quad remix of Tubular Bells is from the SACD - not only is the sound quality better, but you get much nicer imaging than from an SQ recording (which, by its nature, is rather fuzzy in that regard).

It's worth taking a listen to them in quad if you can find a decoder, though. Hergest Ridge is mostly quite subtle, in keeping with the music, while Ommadawn has more movement in it - nicely done, I feel, and just begging to be released on SACD (that's a hint, Virgin).
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Ugo Offline




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Posted: Jan. 24 2005, 15:54

Quote (Korgscrew @ Jan. 24 2005, 18:02)
I'm told that QS recordings decode quite nicely through a Dolby Pro Logic II decoder...[...]
Pro Logic II does interesting things with SQ as well, though it's not the same as the proper decoder.

Well - all I can say is that my Pioneer 5.1 amp has got a built-in Pro Logic II decoder and the whole of the Boxed set sounds wonderful when played through it. On the Sailor's Hornpipe I can hear Viv & the others literally walking around me. :) :)

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Blackguard Offline




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Posted: Jan. 25 2005, 19:13

Quote (familyjules @ Jan. 24 2005, 10:46)
As far as I know all copies of Boxed have TB, HR and Ommadawn encoded in quad except for some copies which has the orig stereo mix of TB (part one only) swapped for the quad mix due to Mike's insistance, though I don't know which issue has which.


I did some checking on Laslo Nibble's Discography on Mike Oldfield.  If your copy of Boxed has silver faced discs to the center hole, you have the original issue discs.  And therefore the original mix of TB part one.  

If your discs are clear at the center (as mine are) you have the second issue and the remixed version of TB.
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familyjules Offline




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Posted: Jan. 26 2005, 04:35

Quote (Blackguard @ Jan. 25 2005, 19:13)
I did some checking on Laslo Nibble's Discography on Mike Oldfield.  If your copy of Boxed has silver faced discs to the center hole, you have the original issue discs.  And therefore the original mix of TB part one.  

If your discs are clear at the center (as mine are) you have the second issue and the remixed version of TB.

Good man, Blackguard!  Thanks for that.  I'll look at my discs tonight, just to double check that this rule is true.

Jules


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