Superdeluxeedition Reviews 14

A treasure. I order products from SDE very regularly and when you do so, every once in while there will be something that doesn't go well. That's normal. What's outstanding is their care for the costumer when something like this happens. Great shop, great service. Could not recommend more the people at SDE.

In early December 2025, I ordered the Blu-ray of Propaganda's "A Secret Wish".
The transaction went smoothly, and after a couple of days, I received a tracking number to track the shipment.
The problem is that this Blu-ray, according to the tracking, has been in a perpetual "Leaving the UK" status since December 4th.
I've sent Customer Service several emails, and their response has been that it's the fault of Italian customs.
If that were the case, the shipment would still be marked as having arrived in my country and not "Leaving the UK".
This really bothers me, as on a £25 order, there's an additional £10 shipping charge, for a total of £35.
I haven't ordered many from SDE in the past, but each time it's been a conundrum due to their biblical shipping times.
I wonder why this company doesn't also sell on Amazon, which may have its flaws, but at least they guarantee delivery and are extremely accurate in providing information.

Recently purchased the Split Enz Bluray, and as it turned out it has an Authoring error. So i contacted the SDE Customer Service via email, and explained the issue (or issues, as more mistakes came up later). The answer i got was condescending and unprofessional, saying that discs like this are designed to play in one session (not playing one separate indexed track), and that that answer hopefully was helpful. What a disrespectful answer for a defective item, and to a paying customer. Utter disgraceful. I will never order from them again, and will seek the item elsewhere, where they do have a quality customer service. NOT RECOMMENDED, AT ALL!!!

Ordered the Propaganda and Frankie goes to hollywood sets, only to have them cancelled by sde without notification.
I only noticed 2 weeks later when I saw funds returned into my account.
I had to email them to find out what happened.
They said it was out of their control and the phishing system messed up.
It was too late to re order, as all the sets were sold out.

I'll never use sde again

SDE is an absolutely wonderful company. Fast postage, so polite and I have recommended them to all my friends. They stock exclusive blurays that are not available elsewhere! 😁 The website is a joy to use and I cannot recommend them enough. Thank you!

Very strange reading some of the strong, negative comments in here as they're nothing like my personal experience of the site. I've been a follower/subscriber/whatever since stumbling across the sure by chance back in early 2014. I've purchased around 20 of the (so far) 49 SDE blu rays, even having had to cancel a couple occasionally but I have never had any issues with any of them, be it it postage, delivery, whatever.
Yes, there was a technical issue re the recent Thompson Twins release but that would be, I assume, down to the record company not so much Paul.
Anyway, I'm giving them 5 stars. Check them out, order in good faith and enjoy the surround sound series, you won't regret it.

It was only after ordering the much-vaunted Brothers in Arms disc - the Blu-ray Dolby Atmos rendition (s) of the Dire Straits classic - that I stumbled across this retailer's somewhat-iffy reputation.
I need not have worried.
The product was delivered perfectly on time and, as many other reviewers have written, the sound quality of each "mix" is astonishing.
To have a physical version of this album, both as it was originally conceived and then produced with the benefit of modern digital mastering techniques, is worth every penny.
I can only award SDE and its partners the maximum five-star rating.
My next purchase, when/if it becomes available, will be Emerson, Lake and Palmer's live masterpiece "Pictures at an Exhibition", followed by "Moving Waves" (Focus) and "Five Bridges Suite"(The Nice"). I can't wait to spend some more of my much-anticipated Winter Fuel Allowance!
Steve Anderson, East Riding of Yorkshire.

This “company” seems to have an exclusive deal with Universal Music Group to sell on and ship niche physical music products, mainly Blu-ray audio discs containing Dolby Atmos mixes of classic albums. The problem is that this retailer has form when it comes to misleading customers about the disc contents, disappointing customers with products not as advertised and then not taking steps to remedy the situation. They use unorthodox marketing tactics such as FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), by offering products several months in advance of release. The full payment is taken at time of ordering, but products are not dispatched until several months later. It starts with announcing a future release and putting a ticking clock on preorders, informing customers that they have a preorder window of around 10 days, instilling fear that the product will sell out if you don’t buy (and pay) now. 9 times out of 10, the product will either have the preorder window extended or the item is still in stock weeks and months after the release date. In many cases, the release date is postponed by weeks, often months. For example you’ll pay for the item in November and not actually receive anything until several months later. I’ve expected a disc to arrive, with nothing after a week, only to discover after scouring their forum, that the release has been postponed for a month or so, they didn’t even have the decency to email customers to let them know about the delay.
A disproportionate amount of orders arrive with items missing when ordering multiple items or the wrong product is sent instead of what was ordered. When this happens, you contact them to let them know that there’s a problem and they take a long time to reply. When they do reply, it’s disrespectful and rude, virtually accusing YOU the customer of fraud and lies. It takes hours and weeks of your time to attempt to sort it all out. They refuse to accept responsibility for their mistakes and then you’re left significantly out of pocket.
If you try to complain publicly on their forum, they delete your posts rather than allow other customers to see the problems and experiences that other people have had. If they’re so trustworthy then why are they fearful of complete transparency? They delete and filter all social media comments, so that potential customers are shown an untrustworthy retailer in a whiter than white light, while anyone who has had a bad experience is met with a wall of censorship and lies, alone with no means of making their complaints visible to other people.
I would suggest that if you’ve had serious problems or lost money to this retailer, to contact Universal Music Group Distribution, explain the issues that you’ve had with superdeluxeedition and the related retailer thesdeshop.com - and ask them to start supplying future Blu-ray audio discs and special edition music releases to the same regular retailers where you would normally buy your music, due to the unethical practices of superdeluxeedition and the thesdeshop.com.
In the past year I’m out of pocket by almost $100 due to not receiving the items I ordered. I don’t have time to have back and fourth email arguments because THEY messed up.
The least you can do is demand that SDE be 100% transparent instead of filtering and deleting forum comments and complaints that they don’t want other people to see. If your public complaints continue to be censored, find another high profile forum that is not controlled by SDE, an unprofessional, greedy, dishonest and unethical amateur outfit.

Most of us are busy working people. In many cases the kind of people who buy Blu-ray audio discs have spent several thousands on their audio equipment and setup and are far from poor. Are we really the kind of people to take time to lie about non delivery or missing items, just for the sake of $45? A lot of people are busy earning 2 or 3 times that amount an hour, if not more. For those people who earn significantly less, being relieved of this sort of money is even worse and painful.

This is a slightly challenging review to write and it has been difficult to give it an honest star rating. I have settled on 4 for the reason I will explain before.

I have used Super Deluxe Edition (SDE) for the purchase of a few of their Dolby Atmos release Blu-rays, and they have been excellent in their handling of my orders. I find them a touch expensive by the time that you add the delivery cost on but their orders are always well packaged and come on time.

If you are not familiar with SDE, they sell forthcoming Pure Audio Blu-ray DVDs, and you often have to wait several weeks for the actual release date, but by placing your order early, you are guaranteed to get one as they are often limited editions.
My last order was for the Brothers in Arms release. I already have this on vinyl album and I also have the 20th Anniversary Edition on hybrid SACD but I was keen to add this Blu-ray edition to my collection. There were two options available. Just the Blu-ray and the Blu-ray plus a 3 CD, which contained various editions including an instrumental mix, a 5.1 mix and two stereo mixes from 1985.
I do not normally buy the full package, but on this occasion I thought it would be nice to.

The delivery came about a week earlier than I had expected which was great and I eagerly opened the packaging and inside I found (1) A DVD slip cover and 2 x 3CD packages. I was a bit confused so headed off to the SDE website to check my order. It was clear that I had ordered the Blu-ray and 1 x 3CD collection.

So I emailed them and got reply the same day in a short space of time. The reply basically stated that I got what I had ordered but the reply did say that if they had misunderstood my query to email back. So I did on the same day.
I pointed out that what I got did not make sense. Why would they send me a Blu-ray slip cover if there was no Blu-Ray and why did I get two copies of the same 3 CD. I was getting impatient and having not received an immediate reply 4 hours later I emailed again. I then jumped on their chat service on their website which was not working. It said that they chat only operates between 10am and 5pm but my attempt to chat was within these hours.

I discovered another email address on their website for someone called Paul Sinclair and so I emailed him and as I was getting frustrated by the lack of response pointed out that I was concerned by their poor Trustpilot score and that I would have to consider a chargeback on my credit card if not resolved.

Paul replied very quickly and pointed out that there was a misunderstanding with the other SDE employee who had replied to my first email (and who had stopped responding to my subsequent emails). Paul pointed out that they had thousands of happy customers, of which I had been one, and he asked me to send him the link to Trustpilot which I did.
I then got another email from the original person that replied apologising for the misunderstanding and confirming that a Blu-Ray would be sent out along with a postage label to return the extra 3CD package I had received.

I was travelling away that day and looked forward to getting home after about 10 days so I could play the Blu-Ray edition.
When I did return home I was disappointed not to find it waiting on my doormat and so emailed them again. They replied saying that wanted me to send them a copy of their receipt that was in the box but I had shredded it before my holiday (I think). They said that they then despatch my missing item once I had done that. They also attached a mailing label to return the extra 3CD set.

This was different to what they had stated prior to my holiday and this disappointed me even further. Before my holiday I had posted a photo of what I got on Facebook group to ensure I was not going loopy lou and it was confirmed by those members that I was definitely missing the Blu Ray.

I replied, expressing my disappointment and basically gave them that day to ship my missing part order. The next working day I got an email confirming despatch of my Blu-Ray which I am pleased to say arrived today. They also said I could keep the 3CD set as compensation.

So let us talk about the number of stars to give SDE.

For this transaction, I can only give them 1 because there were two issues. I always say that anyone can make a mistake. It was clearly an error but to tell me they were sending it and then not sending it until I complained again was not acceptable and that earns them just one star.
However, the fact Paul communicated with me and that they have always been excellent in the handling of my orders I am making this review 4 starts. I would have given 3.5 but TP don’t do halves so SDE are better than 3 stars so they get 4 stars

We can all make mistakes. Processes can go wrong but it is how you deal with them that matters

I have tried to order blu rays with this company through their exclusive blu ray edition store and the past couple I've been instantly refunded for, I tried PayPal using my Bank card and they refuse to let me buy and when I emailed them I get completely ignored or my comments get removed from their website. It's like they don't want my money. All I did was cancelled 2 orders through them when I was getting them cheaper elsewhere and was able to order thereafter so I don't see why they have now stopped letting me order and isn't because they have sold out of the items. I tried emailing them and like I said I was ignored and they have no telephone number in order to speak to them which is very poor. I'm very annoyed as I would like to order their blu rays but they won't let me and their customer service is terrible.

Monopolies are evil, but monopolies run by arrogant, incompetent, petty, spiteful narcissist fanbois are the worst! And Super Deluxe Edition (more like Supercillious Disdainful Egomaniac) is definitely the worst I've come across in over 40 years of dealing with poor customer service.

If you want to purchase surround sound music in physical form this "company" is your only choice, and the product, sourced from the major record labels is great... until it isn't, like when SDE screw up the packaging or deliver instrumental instead of full vocal versions because they haven't even listened to what they've got before rushing it out and then ignoring all complaints.

When something goes wrong, you're on your own. Complaints are ignored. Or if you do get a response it's invariable a thin-skinned overly defensive abusive response from the owner. Which is ironic since the owner is always carping at box set releases for the slightest imperfections on his web site. The hypocrisy is beyond staggering.

I don't understand why labels give their valuable property exlusively to this one man "company". He insists you pay months in advance over a small two week window so he can earn interest on an old title that has typically been released in an expensive box set a year or more before, and then misses advertised release dates or doesn't deliver on what was shown.

I recently complained that they'd changed the size and packaging on one title for no good reason. There is nothing "super deluxe" about a one-off title that sticks out half an inch more than every other title on the shelf or one that has a standard blue case instead of the industry-defined white HD audio case all other titles in their releases have had. The title track also had an instrumental track instead of the vocal track. The guy hadn't even listened to this stuff before approving it and rushing it out!

I got the most ridiculous response about how the packaging was architected and beautifully designed (it was a cardboard slip case that was way too big for the changed book containing the CD ffs You'd have thought he'd designed the Taj Mahal they way he spoke) and when I sent the photo to show how badly designed and over-sized the slipcase was to warn others I got blocked on Twitter and Facebook. What a sad indivudual this guy is! He's a jerk!

When I ordered the recent Elton John "Diamonds" release it was cancelled 5 minutes later with the reason given as "unforeseen circumstances". The guy is such a coward he can't even say "I cancelled your order because I can't take any criciticisms or complaints about my product, no matter how mild, and I am spiteful and petty".

Two days later I got the usual auto-send "personal" email thanking me for my purchase, which is symptomatic of the lack of joined up connectivity in any of his services.

Their web site has been broken for months. Try and comment on inaccuracies and false truths in any of the site's "News" reports and you're told you have to sign up. But you can't sign up because the sign up page has no input fields and no way to proceed past it, regardless of which browser you're using. It's been like that for months. Those who were able to sign up before things broke have commented about various areas of the web site that used to work and now being broken. Again, no response (the default position of the owner of the company is to just ignore any legitimate complaints raised on his company's social media) and the problem apparently persists.

This "super deluxe" company (snort) care only about taking your money and sending out untested and rushed product. They care nothing for professionalism or customer care.

The good news for those of us that love surround sound is you can stream lossless versions from Apple Music months in advance of Super Deluxe ever getting round to shipping their physical releases. It's a much smaller monthly fee and they have an exponentially larger catalogue. Thank goodness for mnonopolies that AREN'T owned by useless fanbois!

Also, there are thankfully signs of major record labels waking up to the fact they're being taken for a ride letting this inept monopoly release their product. We got David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" as a standalone Blu-Ray release direct from a label that understands the need to deliver what was promised a couple of months ago, and hopefully more will follow.

I would strongly urge those with a similar experience to mine to write to all the major labels who release their product through this outfit, as I am doing, asking them to release these titles directly themselves so those who want base level customer service can get it.

As I've already pointed out monopolies generally treat customes very badly, but monopolies run by hypocritical, incompetent fanbois with delusions of grandeur are even worse.

At one point, this was a decent and useful blog, keeping us up to date with new releases (and re-issues). Sadly, over the years, the owner has greatly increased the "shop" element on the site, and has used his wide exposure to be able to secure some special editions, signed editions, exclusive products, etc.

This is where the problem lies. Anyone providing access, or exclusive products to SDE automatically gets excellent reviews, whether these are justified or not. (obviously as the site now has more of financial stake in selling these items.) The editorial on site is no longer objective, when some products are guaranteed extra exposure, and preferential treatment with regard to review.

It's a shame as it was once a good resource. (Although I need to provide a date, this really is an ongoing situation, rather than a one-off)

This is a warning to stay away from
superdeluxedition.com @sdedition
Their online shop 'SDE shop' thesdeshop.com aka shopsuperdeluxe.com KEPT MY MONEY for several weeks for a large order. I had to chase them to find out my order had been cancelled under false pretenses and they only refunded me when I enquired about the order. Utterly dishonest behaviour, which will be reported today to National Trading Standards. You have been warned.