HiRez Poll Beatles, The - THE BEATLES (The White Album) [Blu-Ray Audio]

[Strilo]

Got this last night. Done a few listens. Shaping up to be a 10 for me, but I will give it more time and make sure I listen to all the extras before I vote.

 

[Goona]

I think this just goes to the heart of what's wrong with these polls. Someone who doesn't like a certain type of music should not be voting on it, it's pointless. I've used these polls many times before to see if something is worth buying and in 99% of the cases the polls give a pretty good sense of what to expect - quality-wise. I'd never count on them when it comes to whether a piece of music is worth of listening to. Not to mention in this day and age you can just listen to it on youtube or something to decide if you like it or not. Giving a box set like this a 3 is just ridiculous and feels like it was done to spite. A 6 is kinda silly too, but let's say that's debatable. Regardless though, mixing a review on quality, fidelity, mastering and packaging with opinion on music simply makes no sense to me. Should be two completely separate things.

Totally agree the reason I look at these polls is to see how good the surround is, not to see wether someone likes the music or the box.

 

[jdholman]

I found myself slowly cranking up the rear speakers to catch some of the subtleties of the mix. Half way through the disc I had it 80/20 to the rear ....then during Piggies, the snorting sounds scared the hell out of me . It was great!
What a package. Thought I was burned out on this one......nah. I'll be listening to this for quite some time......and the Esher demo and the session discs are pleasant side trips. New life in an old favorite. Got "a damn good whacking" on this gem. Shouldn't have waited . A10 all day long!

 

[mattB2]

I voted a "9" purely because I've been spoilt by Abbey Road's ATMOS mix. I think Giles has done a terrific job with the surround mix and I have to say that his surround work has enabled me to get all the way through "Number 9" for the first time since 1968 (and I actually quite enjoyed it).

 

[EHughes]

I voted 10.Best surround mix out of the three reissues with Pepper being the weakest.(Really gotta crank up those rears)

 

[skherbeck]

Listening to all The Beatles surround albums today, I feel I need to revise my votes as follows:
Abbey Road: Perfect fidelity and almost universally excellent surround mixes. 10.
Love: Same as Abbey Road. 10.
White Album: Overly bright sound and about half of the surround mixes are excellent. 9.
Sgt Pepper: Overly bright sound, heavy limiting, and some underwhelming surround mixes. 8.

 

[ar surround]

Listening to all The Beatles surround albums today, I feel I need to revise my votes as follows:
Abbey Road: Perfect fidelity and almost universally excellent surround mixes. 10.
Love: Same as Abbey Road. 10.
White Album: Overly bright sound and about half of the surround mixes are excellent. 9.
Sgt Pepper: Overly bright sound, heavy limiting, and some underwhelming surround mixes. 8.

Nice summary that pretty much reflects how these albums compare to each other. I’ve warmed up a bit more to Pepper and TWA lately. Regardless, all are much more preferable to the CDs for my tastes.

 

[Scottie-boy]

What can I say? I popped it in, and tears rolled down. Always felt the cd could have been much better, and this is an amazing rendition that stays true to the spirit of the album. Nothing short of brilliant. 10

 

[JNL]

I listened to the whole album on the Bluray this morning; such a great and varied experience it is. I voted 10. Instruments and voices sound great, surround mix is very well done as well. And of course this sequence of wildly differing (and oftentimes fantastic) songs is exceptional in itself. By the way the first time I ever heard this album as a whole was from the Bluray and quite a few songs were new to me. I consider the book to be a very worthwhile part of this box set as well.

 

[Sashaaa]

SINCE WHEN DID THE WHITE ALBUM HAVE A SURROUND MIX

I need this in my life. Will get it and then write down my thoughts.

 

[Strilo]

Since two years ago?

 

[tezzalavell]

So the question is .. "How can you exceed perfection" . Well you get a surround sound mix of the 1968 Beatles Bloody White Album !
I like waiting to see what the other contributors have commented before I post , .... " Not enough in the Rears " , " Should be Cleaner " , " Wonderful thats it's rough and and ready " , " Clear Instruments " , Great Mix " , " Should have had the santised version first worked on by Giles" .
These are not actual quotes but the gist of what people are saying . Its fantastic that it has created so much feedback .
Why ? Because it's the greatest rock and roll album ever ( actually double album , 29 songs + No.9 ). When people have lived with an album that inspires so much feeling for so long , the epitomy of 4 individuals unique genius and idiosyncrasies your expectations for the supreme variant can sometimes feel a little flat .
This album when released was rough ready and raw . If Giles had delivered a highly polished Steely Dan version I cannot imagine what the comments would have been ( maybe nice to have checked it out as an alternative mix though).
So what have we got, an album that delivers new unheard before vocal snippets , clapping , new sounds , variances , instrument clarity plus refreshing new mixes of ob la di ob la da (wow) , happiness is a WG etc etc . Yes it's still harsh and a bit Bright , I say again it's still harsh and a bit Bright !!!
What we have got is the original Perfection with extras . Its not going to send you into a dreamy sleep like some of the new immersive mixes , or come out of each speaker like the Doobies Quadio ( never a 10 because the vocal mix is buried )
But it will hit you in the Balls like harsh rock and roll does and should do.
I gave it a 10 because it exceeds everything I expected in every way ..... as someone said even No.9 is listenable now . Hurrah !
It is the surround album I play the most because it keeps my attention throughout and is always an enjoyable and exhilarating Listen , I can't even say that about DSOTM

 

[GOS]

SINCE WHEN DID THE WHITE ALBUM HAVE A SURROUND MIX

I need this in my life. Will get it and then write down my thoughts.

So, did you get it?

 

[Sashaaa]

So, did you get it?

Yeah I did. I think I hate to say it but I'm a slight bit disappointed :/.

It's not a bad surround mix, but I feel like there's a lot of sound in the surrounds but it's all so similar to the front that it gives it a very meh surround mix and doesn't add much. This could very well be due to the fact that the material wouldn't sound great with a super active surround mix, but I still believe they should've panned things a bit more back there. It's still not a bad mix, and surprisingly has my favorite moments on Blackbird being when the bird makes noises behind you, and it's overall very balanced.

I have heard one other Beatles surround mix, that being the atmos version of Abbey Road mixed down to 5.1 (yes i know thats odd, when I was ripping my blu ray with dvdae I forgot to chose the other layer) which sounds really great to me, so I don't exactly know what happened with this one. The music is still of course amazing but the mix is not much more than alright. Still better than no 5.1 and would take it over stereo.

I'ma give this one a 7 (8/10 for the tunes, 6/10 for the music)

 

[uffeolby]

(8/10 for the tunes, 6/10 for the music)

Hmmm... what is the difference between the tunes and the music?

 

[R8der]

Any chance this might get remixed in Atmos at some point? Hate to buy it and then have to buy yet ANOTHER version! $137 on Amazon is a bit steep. Wish I could just get the Bluray.

 

[Scott65]

Any chance this might get remixed in Atmos at some point? Hate to buy it and then have to buy yet ANOTHER version! $137 on Amazon is a bit steep. Wish I could just get the Bluray.

Probably not, but you never know. I doubt Atmos would add a great deal to what is, in my opinion, a great 5.1 mix of the album. I too would have preferred just the blu ray.

 

[Sashaaa]

Hmmm... what is the difference between the tunes and the music?

oh i meant the mix, my bad

 

[quicksrt]

I found myself slowly cranking up the rear speakers to catch some of the subtleties of the mix. Half way through the disc I had it 80/20 to the rear ....then during Piggies, the snorting sounds scared the hell out of me . It was great!
What a package. Thought I was burned out on this one......nah. I'll be listening to this for quite some time......and the Esher demo and the session discs are pleasant side trips. New life in an old favorite. Got "a damn good whacking" on this gem. Shouldn't have waited . A10 all day long!

I also find it a fascinating listen with the rears at 80% against the 20% fronts, and I also turn center off. And it's wonderful that way. I already know the main lead vocals so well I can hear them fine with the center 100% off.

And old album played so many times - and then to hear it completely refreshed like this is a miracle for sure. Next I am going to spend some time listening to the rear channels with no others playing. Just groove to the supporting parts alone and in stereo.

 

[Goona]

On my first listen, liking this as much as the Atmos on Abbey Rd, maybe more. Another 10 for me