How is the new Elton John SACD/hyrbrid ?


Was just at Sam Goody Music store and saw the new double CD Elton John remastered in SACD/hyrbrid -Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Anybody own it yet? And how good is the quality. I noticed a few unreleased songs on it too. It sells for $34.99
passaudio_man
Not to be the voice of dissent here BUT it is not as good as I was hoping it would be. I'm not a big fan of the surround mix and ended up liking the stereo setting better. I find it marginally better than the (circa) 1997 remaster which was better than the MFSL I had (the MFSL was released before they were putting out the Ultradisc II, so not too surprising the '97 sounded better to me). Curiously, I noticed this SACD sounds better at lower volume levels which is the opposite effect I have experienced with all other SACD's I own. It is good, don't get me wrong, but if you own the '97 remaster, you might save your cash. Some songs sound better and more clear to me on the SACD like Bennie and the Jets and Jamaica Jerk.. and the accoustic Candle in the Wind is great! Other songs though like Funeral for a friend don't sound quite as good to me as the '97 remaster which had a wider sounding stage. Here the stage is deep but not as wide and it doesn't open up with higher volume. I haven't viewed the DVD disc yet. FWIW: the Best Buy I bought it at was selling both the version w/o the DVD and the version with the DVD for the same price (LOL) - $24.99. In summary, I was a little let down and was hoping for better. I still find the SACD releases to be generally better than their CD counterparts but by degrees that vary by a little or a lot! This was the former IMO.
It's definately better than the MFSL and redbook reissues.
It's a little frustrating that the best-sounding track is the bonus acoustic "Candle In The Wind", but the whole package is definately worth the money.
You can get it at best buy for $19.99 and I am told it is good if you like his music.