Sony Music has set release dates for five of their albums on Hybrid Multichannel Super Audio CD. The upcoming 5.1 Surround Sound SACDs include titles by artists including Duran Duran, John Legend, Yo-Yo Ma and the move soundtrack albums from The Legend of Zorro and The Phantom of the Opera. There are also rumors that two additional albums featuring Switchfoot and John Mayer may also be destined for the 5.1 Surround Sound SACD treatment as well.
Mining The 5.1 Dual Disc Catalog
One of the interesting things about the Sony Music announcement is that the upcoming Surround Sound Super Audio CDs is that they are in large part drawn from the company’s Dual Disc catalog. High Fidelity Review readers probably recall that the first set of Sony Music Dual Discs with 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks came from albums that had mixes originally done for 5.1 Surround Sound SACD release.
Now the tables appear to be turned as this group of 5.1 Surround Sound releases had their start on Dual Disc in 5.1 Dolby Digital format. With their appearance on Hybrid Multichannel Suepr Audio CD, the albums will now be available in high resolution auduo as well.
December SACD Titles from Sony Music
Starting off the releases will be Duran Duran’s recent album Astronaut and R&B singer John Legend’s album entitled Get Lifted. This marks the Super Audio CD debut of both artists.
As noted above, both albums were originally issued as Dual Discs as well as on Stereo CD. They are due out as Hybrid Multichannel Super Audio CDs on December 20th.
January Brings 3 Sony Classical SACDs
On January 3rd, Sony Classical will add three more Hybrid Multichannel Super Audio CDs to the mix. They will include Yo-Yo Ma Plays The Music of Ennio Morricone and the movie soundtracks to The Legend of Zorro and The Phantom of the Opera.
Yo-Yo Ma has been featured on several Super AUdio CDs from Sony Classical in the past including the albums Solo and Silk Road Journeys – both of which were recorded in the Direct Stream Digital (DSD) format. Morricone’s music has also appeared earlier on two Super Audio CDs issued in Europe – his movie soundtrack to the movie The Mission (Virgin Records SACDV-2402) and Focus, an album of Morricone’s music featuring Morricone and Portugese singer Dulce Pontes (Universal/Focus 980829-3). Focus was recorded in DSD and has been given high marks by many audiophiles in Europe.
Two More SACDs Planned?
In addition to these 5 Hybrid Multichannel SACD titles, rumors on the Internet suggest that more may be on the way. The MusicTap.Net web site says that 5.1 Surround Sound SACDs of John Mayer’s Room for Squares and Switchfoot’s The Beautiful Letdown are also coming. There’s no confirmation of these two titles from Sony Music to date. But we’ll keep an eye out for more news in that regard.
Now Available for Pre-Order
All 5 of these Sony Music Hybrid Multichannel SACDs are now available for pre-order on the Sony Music Store web site. The Duran Duran 5.1 Surround Sound SACD is also available for pre-order on the Amazon.Com and CD Universe web sites. As the release date draws closer, I suspect we will see them featured by other web sites that carry Super Audio CDs as well.