SACD of the Week 03 – U.K.

Bet you didn’t know I was a total closet prog-head. It started with Yes, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer many years ago. Guilty as charged.

If you loved the auspicious debut (arguably their best and most pure effort) of this prog powerhouse consisting of John Wetton, Bill Bruford, Eddie Jobson, and Alan Holdsworth, try and find this disc. Those in the know will remember the FM radio nugget “Dead of Night,” and perhaps you even saw them perform this record back in the late 70s.

This example was produced a few years ago on SHM-SACD and the sound quality is epic, now doing full justice to Wetton’s killer bass lines.

This column is sponsored by dCS, who’s Vivaldi ONE DAC/Streamer/Disc Player is my reference, and Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs, producer of exceptional audiophile vinyl and SACD releases.

Our reference system to evaluate discs features:

XS PRE, and XS 300 monoblocks from Pass Labs
The Auditorium Plus speakers from Clarisys Speakers
A Six Pack/Line array of Carbon Special Black Label subwoofer from REL Subwoofers
Cabling from Cardas Audio
and racks from Quadraspire Racks