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The Alan Parson's Project

Category: Music

APP wasn't my favorite group in the 1970s, but maybe it was because I couldn't hear it this way.

I listened in two-channel 24/192 and was blown away by the sonics. Close your eyes closed and the sound stage is 180-degrees wide. The fade at the end of "Genisis Ch.1V.32" slowly moves from covering and surrounding you to fading into a very distant ball of sound that covers only about 5-degrees. Only in that final fade do you hear the tape hiss from the original master.

Musically this is very good, but variable. The best is very, very good ("The Voice", "Day After Day" and all the instrumentals). A couple of cuts stray too near mid-1970s pop, but what the heck...

There's thick layering of chorus, orchestra, rock instruments, etc. The clarity of it all is astounding. Really it's a masterpiece from this era.

Boy, I hope one day that the entire Beattles songbook will get this 24/192 treatment. Abbey Road studios evidently had great equipment.

Dave

dcstep
dcstep OP
1,518 posts
 
I bought the DVD-Audio 24/192 a couple of weeks ago. You must have some incredible pressings if they sound this good. I'd give up new vinyl if I could buy everything in this format.

Do you have the DVD-A??

Dave
sgr's avatar
sgr
689 posts
 
No DVD Audio, but I purchased a Japanese pressing of " I Robot" over 20 years ago. It is an amazing recording in many ways and my reference for what "I Robot" should sound like. Until recenctly, none of the Alan Parson CDs measured up. In fact the sounded compressed and to me unplayable. I put them in the "trade" stack long ago. I've not heard any DVD-Audio or SACD discs being content with my lowyly CD playback system. I'd just about written the Parson's stuff off, until I took the chance on the newest version of of the I Robot and Eye in the Sky. These two remakes, (I'm purchasing the other releases soon, at least capture the essence of the lps. I'd sure be glad to try the 24/192 versions. The BEATLES indeed would be awesome if it ever happens. Which DVD-A do you own?
dcstep OP
1,518 posts
 
Sgr, I've got the Pioneer Elite DV-58AV universal player that's been modified by Ric Schultz with a Superclock 4 and beefed up and cleaned up input and output stages. The base player is pretty good at $360 or so, but the mods bring the total cost to around $1500 and elevate the performance to truly elite (pun intended) levels.

You don't see a lot of DVD-As in 24/192, so I chose the DVD over the 200-gram vinyl that's also available. The DVD-A cost $19 and the vinyl was $29, but the original MF vinyl box reissue, pre-owned, was $250!!! If you've got that, it's obviously the "collector piece" to own.

Anyway, the imaging is astounding and the details and pristineness of each element in this very thick, dense recording are amazing. Thankfully the music, well most of it, is really good, so this is more than a potential audiophile demonstration piece. It's the only recording I've got that throws a 180-degree image for minutes at a time.

Dave
rwwear
2,902 posts
 
I have this also as well as Eye in the Sky and Turn of A Friendly Card and they are excellent. You should also try the Porcupine Tree DVDA releases.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,915 posts
 
A lot of people think the album "Stationary Traveler" by the brit prog rock group "Camel" sounds like TAPP.

I believe I read once it was recorded in the same building at the same time as one of the Parson's albums.

One of the singers for APP actually was in Camel at this point in the early 80's and sings a tune or two on the album.

If you like APP, I highly recommend it, if you can find it. The CD sound and production is in the same league as the APP albums, if not quite as refined. A great audiophile listen though. The guitar solo by Camel lead guitarist Andrew Latimer at the end of the tune "Long Goodbyes" is one of the best ever, IMO.
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