BIG Blu-Ray Audio drive from Universal Music in 2013

[nhammond]

Thanks nhammond, that Supertramp is a surprise indeed. And Gainsbourg flacs are stereo only or also the 5.1 mix?

Stereo! The bonus tracks are included.

 

[fredblue]

finally got round to doing a comparison of Supertramp's Breakfast In America (between the old/non-remastered CD and the new blu-ray)...and its taught me a lesson (not least not to rely on my memory alone!)..

the new blu-ray is actually less bright than the old CD (A&M 393 708-2) I've loved all along.. Wow!

Plus the bass is deeper but much more energetic on the new blu-ray. I think I was just in shock the first time I heard it, bass levels and definition beyond what I'm used to from this material.. plus details in synths & effects that are less defined on the old CD.. it's almost like a remix..!?

it's tricky to level match two completely different sources etc., there's all sorts of variables.. but I tried to get them as close to one another as possible in volume.. I'm going to have to stick my neck out and say I prefer the new blu-ray.

Now I never thought I'd say that!

 

[Dixie4]

I don't understand people knocking this format so badly, especially when they may not have purchased any discs ! ?
Yes, WE ALL WANT SURROUND DISCS, and Universal haven't said there won't be any, ( Serge Gainsbourg disc is proof of that )
Just give it a chance, buy some, and then make your judgements. ( There seemed to be enough praise about Rolling Stones Grr on here....so why would people suddenly be so negative, about these first batch of releases ? )

 

[Dixie4]

I'm going to have to stick my neck out and say I prefer the new blu-ray.

Now I never thought I'd say that!

I totally agree, ( even though I haven't got The Supertramp CD ) as I said I have the SITKOL SHM-SACD, which I think is excellent, but the Blu Ray's better, don't get me wrong the SHM-SACD has all the same detail, but what the Blu Ray does is bring all that detail out in VOLUME, sound fills the room.
That's my feeling about The Supertramp disc, too.

 

[fredblue]

I don't understand people knocking this format so badly, especially when they may not have purchased any discs ! ?
Yes, WE ALL WANT SURROUND DISCS, and Universal haven't said there won't be any, ( Serge Gainsbourg disc is proof of that )
Just give it a chance, buy some, and then make your judgements. ( There seemed to be enough praise about Rolling Stones Grr on here....so why would people suddenly be so negative, about these first batch of releases ? )

I think the disappointment of the general lack of surround (especially on those albums where there was surround before on SACD) is what's done it..!?

Look at the Layla disc.. it is a bit crazy! There's enough room on the disc to put both the old Mick Guzauski SACD Surround mix and the Elliot Scheiner DTS mix from the big box set, plus all the various stereo streams.. You can see from that angle why people would be pissed off!

Still, the three I have so far are ultimately excellent stereo presentations of three of my favourite albums and if there's more of this type of music released on this format in this kind of quality (especially of the Stevie standard) I'll buy it, even if this BDA business from UMG doesn't represent the mainstream resurgence in surround music many had hoped for, myself included.

 

[leevitalone1]

I think we all expect more. We all want more surround. And with the hype and naxos I guess we all kind of got excited only to be let down, and that is a common thing. ( I call it being butted) And people get dissapointed, I am. With Blu ray, there are no more excuses to not put this stuff up in 5.1.

 

[Dixie4]

I think the disappointment of the general lack of surround (especially on those albums where there was surround before on SACD) is what's done it..!?

Look at the Layla disc.. it is a bit crazy! There's enough room on the disc to put both the old Mick Guzauski SACD Surround mix and the Elliot Scheiner DTS mix from the big box set, plus all the various stereo streams.. You can see from that angle why people would be pissed off!

Still, the three I have so far are ultimately excellent stereo presentations of three of my favourite albums and if there's more of this type of music released on this format in this kind of quality (especially of the Stevie standard) I'll buy it, even if this BDA business from UMG doesn't represent the mainstream resurgence in surround music many had hoped for, myself included.

I appreciate what you're saying about peoples disappointment, regards past surround releases, i.e. Layla, e.t.c.
.....but the bottom line is, these are fantastic stereo productions, as you say, Adam. ( certainly improve on redbook cd's )

The space thing I don't understand, Universal claim that there's 7hrs of space ? ( Correct me if i'm wrong ? ) but ( unless it comes at a later date ) are they really going to put 7hrs of content on any disc, whether that includes a surround mix, or not ! ?
It's silly of Universal to harp on about space, if they're not going to use it ?

 

[fredblue]

I appreciate what you're saying about peoples disappointment, regards past surround releases, i.e. Layla, e.t.c.
.....but the bottom line is these are fantastic stereo productions, as you say, Adam. ( certainly improve on redbook cd's )

The space thing I don't understand, Universal claim that there's 7hrs of space ? ( Correct me if i'm wrong ? ) but ( unless it comes at a later date ) are they really going to put 7hrs of content on any disc, whether that includes a surround mix, or not ! ?
It's silly of Universal to harp on about space, if they're not going to use it ?

I was always going to get some of these anyway, regardless, so the fact that they sound great is a bonus.. I'm hopeful there'll be a proper rollout elsewhere (primarily in the UK & USA, if these are to take off) and in the next wave we might see some (more) 5.1.

as for the space thing, it's doubtless just a marketing gimmick.. I'm sure UMG have no intention of filling one of these BDA's with 7 hours of Hi-Rez music!

- "What do you do if you see a spaceman?"
- "Park in it, man..!"

 

[Dixie4]

I was always going to get some of these anyway, regardless, so the fact that they sound great is a bonus.. I'm hopeful there'll be a proper rollout elsewhere (primarily in the UK & USA, if these are to take off) and in the next wave we might see some (more) 5.1.

as for the space thing, it's doubtless just a marketing gimmick.. I'm sure UMG have no intention of filling one of these BDA's with 7 hours of Hi-Rez music!

- "What do you do if you see a spaceman?"
- "Park in it, man..!"

I personally believe that UMG's intention is to push these discs BIG TIME ! ( over the coming months, although it's a mystery why they haven't gone globally from the off ! ? ) I certainly can't see them releasing 50 titles, and then abandoning it !

 

[fredblue]

I personally believe that UMG's intention is to push these discs BIG TIME ! ( over the coming months, although it's a mystery why they haven't gone globally from the off ! ? ) I certainly can't see them releasing 50 titles, and then abandoning it !

hope you're right!

 

[Dixie4]

I am currently spinning Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson.

It is the same mix we got in Dulbee previously, so we have a winner here. :banana:

I was listening to some music samples. I can see where a duo like AIR got some of their influences from.....never ever thought i'd say this....but i'm tempted to buy it ! ?

 

[Dixie4]

I was listening to some music samples. I can see where a duo like AIR got some of their influences from.....never ever thought i'd say this....but i'm tempted to buy it ! ?

I wanted to try out this 5.1 release.....but decided to order, Diana Krall, Bob Marley & Eric Clapton....or I should say Derek & his Dominos !

 

[LizardKing]

So do we have a definitive list of surround titles?

 

[Dixie4]

So do we have a definitive list of surround titles?

A definitive list of one, at present ! Lets hope there's some in the next batch of releases.....

 

[bmoura]

A definitive list of one, at present ! Lets hope there's some in the next batch of releases.....

Which one is Surround ?

 

[Dixie4]

Which one is Surround ?

Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson

 

[jasong]

A definitive list of one, at present ! Lets hope there's some in the next batch of releases.....

I know a lot of people myself included that most of the titles we saw being released are in 2.0. I agree I'd have liked to have Supertramp and Cat Stevens in surround. I ordered mine on Amazon. CA.
But if this is sucessful, I think we'll see 5.1 titles.

the second item is why werent they turned out globally at the same time. Good question, here are some educated guesses. It probably is a big investment for UMG to do this, they probably were being cautious because of the investment. secondly they may not have had the capacity to roll it out globally. It might suck that they didnt release them in the states first, but even worst would have been to roll it out and the product was not available because the demand was more then they expected.

 

[LizardKing]

Is the Diana Krall surround, and more importantly the Layla disc - and hopefully with the Elliot mix?

 

[Dixie4]

Is the Diana Krall surround, and more importantly the Layla disc - and hopefully with the Elliot mix?

No, they are both 2.0

 

[Quad Linda]

When Sony introduced SACD, I was a hardware dealer. They touted it as being compatible with CD players (dual layer.) Yet, there weren't any Sony dual layer SACD's for the first 5 years of Columbia/Epic SACD production. No doubt, they wanted to drive the sales of SACD hardware.

Despite what Universal says, I believe it highly unlikely that they will produce a single disc box set. Higher pricing is easier to justify with several discs rather than one. It's all about marketing, just as $9.99 is seemingly $1 or even $10 less than $10.00. Smoke & mirrors.

,,,It's silly of Universal to harp on about space, if they're not going to use it ?