BIG Blu-Ray Audio drive from Universal Music in 2013

[Owen Smith]

I fail to understand the excitement about 192Kz. We can't hear that high, heck we can't hear high enough to really need 96Khz. If there is anything that high, you risk it distorting and creating inter modulation into the audio band. Is your entire playback chain good for audio to 96KHz (half the sampling rate). If not, feeding ultrasonics through it may well do more harm to the sound than good. I found this web page quite informative:

http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

 

[LizardKing]

Given that the Beck disc originally came out as a SACD, it would be nice if someone did some spectral analysis on the HFPA Blu-Ray to see if it's a fresh 192kHz/24bit PCM transfer from the original master tape, or if it's been transcoded from the SACD master, which would mean it had gone from 1-bit/2.8224 MHz DSD > 24-bit/352.8kHz PCM > 24-bit/192kHz for the Blu-Ray.

The other question is, all of that aside, is this the first major-label pop/rock release with a 24-bit/192kHz 5.1 track?

IIRC - Although this was mixed in 5.1 in the digital domain it was mastered to analog tape...

Yes - It will be interesting to see from the spectral analysis to see if it was mixed at 96K....

 

[bmoura]

I may have missed in this thread since it is 45 pages long at this point... but what is the point of having LPCM, DTS-HD and DolbyTrueHD

I assume Universal is doing that to mirror the audio formats one would find on a Blu Ray Video Disc.

 

[Bob Squires Jr]

Given that the Beck disc originally came out as a SACD, it would be nice if someone did some spectral analysis on the HFPA Blu-Ray to see if it's a fresh 192kHz/24bit PCM transfer from the original master tape, or if it's been transcoded from the SACD master, which would mean it had gone from 1-bit/2.8224 MHz DSD > 24-bit/352.8kHz PCM > 24-bit/192kHz for the Blu-Ray.

The other question is, all of that aside, is this the first major-label pop/rock release with a 24-bit/192kHz 5.1 track?

Actually Beck was also released on DVD-Audio so I doubt they would have done that.
I have the BDA and it sure as hell don't sound like a DSD convert!!!

 

[HomerJAU]

good Qns., I don't have a BD drive hooked up to any of my Macs or I'd be all over a spectral analysis.

I ran Foobar's dynamic range plugin over the HFPA version LPCM 192kHz FLAC and over SACD MCH 176.4kHz FLAC and both were identical with ranges DR12 or DR13 for all tracks. So appears to be same source. Is there a good spectral plug-in for Foobar?

 

[Caspersozza]

I fail to understand the excitement about 192Kz. We can't hear that high, heck we can't hear high enough to really need 96Khz. If there is anything that high, you risk it distorting and creating inter modulation into the audio band. Is your entire playback chain good for audio to 96KHz (half the sampling rate). If not, feeding ultrasonics through it may well do more harm to the sound than good. I found this web page quite informative:

http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

Many thanks for that, Owen. My trusty Pioneer VSA-AX10 amp, fine-tuned by George Martin and Air studios ten years ago, has given me enormous pleasure, but only handles 96khz. I have neither the desire nor money to replace it, but have occasionally wondered if I'm missing something, so that article brings some relief.

I've been wondering the same thing about Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master codecs. My Oppo recognizes these of course, but the amp predates them, yet they sound great. Am I missing something? I tend to go with PCM usually anyway, but on films...

 

[geoffpiano]

Well, I have to say the Sea Change Blu-Ray 5.1 is every bit as good as I'd expected.... The best €16 I've spent in a very long time! I notice Universal is also releasing Crime Of The Century on blu ray too - fat chance that we'll see a 5.1 mix included there, I'm guessing, as we didn't get one on Breakfast In America (which was a big fat waste of time)....

 

[fredblue]

Looking forward to hearing the mastering on this new HFPA, very nice album..

 

[fredblue]

It's the Tree Of Life album by Yodelice btw

 

[mam]

I can`t put a thread on the right place, so now here is my post for this album.

Beck - Sea Change Blu-ray Audio

DTS HD Master 24bit/192khz
5.1 PCM 24bit/192khz

Sea Change is very much folky and mostly rather quietly, softly to sadly, less experimentally in comparison to the succession album Guero, still more fully of intensive timbres and tones to find out which develop particularly in multichannel wonderfully in the space round about. Nice specifies and with a lot of volumes. Tonally perfectly caught. I have nothing to picky on the sound.

Because I like the more experimental Guero musically a piece better, I give away

music 9/10

Mch. 10/10

:sun

I hope you all understand it, I don`t often use english as language

 

[IMachine]

Well, I have to say the Sea Change Blu-Ray 5.1 is every bit as good as I'd expected.... The best €16 I've spent in a very long time! I notice Universal is also releasing Crime Of The Century on blu ray too - fat chance that we'll see a 5.1 mix included there, I'm guessing, as we didn't get one on Breakfast In America (which was a big fat waste of time)....

I don' believe there will be a 5.1 mix for Crime, because it never existed.
As I learned form Universal, that they are not willing to spend money on new 5.1 mixes.

 

[geoffpiano]

I don' believe there will be a 5.1 mix for Crime, because it never existed.
As I learned form Universal, that they are not willing to spend money on new 5.1 mixes.

Yep, totally agree. What WILL be interesting is to see if they release any of the Elton John mid-late seventies catalog on blu ray that Greg Penny has already remixed into 5.1, but which has not been released on either SACD or DVD-A: That is, Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player; Caribou; Rock of The Westies and Blue Moves. One can only hope...

 

[fredblue]

I don' believe there will be a 5.1 mix for Crime, because it never existed.
As I learned form Universal, that they are not willing to spend money on new 5.1 mixes.

Sounds about right.. though I have a fantasy that the 5.1 HFPA's of existing mixes they release sell so well, UMG will be encouraged to stump up for new remixes.

its been a rocky road and they're far from home and dry but these BDA's are gathering momentum now, there's a fair few superb things out on BDA already (they're not HFPA but the XTC and Yes are tip top examples of how to do right by classic/back catalogue, plus Warner have thrown their hat into the ring with the superb Moondance BDA.. and as HFPA finds its way, we're getting more 5.1 from them now, slowly but surely) I feel we're on the crest of a new format wave and its trickling thru and its blu.

Roll on Quadraphonic Eric on Blu..! only another week or so until we get to hear the maestro Elliot Scheiner's 5.1 of 461 Ocean Boulevard plus Quad EC a-go-go! I literally CANNOT WAIT..!!!!!

 

[fredblue]

Yep, totally agree. What WILL be interesting is to see if they release any of the Elton John mid-late seventies catalog on blu ray that Greg Penny has already remixed into 5.1, but which has not been released on either SACD or DVD-A: That is, Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player; Caribou; Rock of The Westies and Blue Moves. One can only hope...

This has been my secret wish all along from the first I heard of this Blu-ray Audio endeavour from Universal this Spring.. those unreleased Greg Penny 5.1 mixes of Blue Moves, Caribou, Westies and Don't Shoot Me would absolutely sell like the proverbial hot cake if Universal were to finally get them out on HFPA BDA..!!!!

Come on Universal! What else on HFPA do you have up your sleeve??

How about Elliot Scheiner's 5.1 mix of SD's Pretzel Logic?

 

[IMachine]

How about Elliot Scheiner's 5.1 mix of SD's Pretzel Logic?

A dream would come true. And even more when Royal Scam is next.


Do it!

 

[Odys]

Thanks for the clarification. Interesting to see it appear as the HFPA version when the Amazon UK site shows it in the gatefold CD Deluxe Edition case.

What is also interesting is that Amazon state that, whilst the item is in stock, it may take an additional 2 days to deliver. It doesn't mention that it is an import, so I wonder why this is?

And my final observation is that it has come down in price over the weekend, from £18.99 to £14.51, ergo I bought it!

Tommy is down to £13.97 today, and minus the VAT for us in the U.S., it's £11.64 plus postage. Unfortunately, it's listed as Temporarily Out of Stock again, but I ordered anyway, even though I already have both the SACD and the DVD-A. I guess I'm a completist.

 

[Failed Muso]

Tommy is down to £13.97 today, and minus the VAT for us in the U.S., it's £11.64 plus postage. Unfortunately, it's listed as Temporarily Out of Stock again, but I ordered anyway, even though I already have both the SACD and the DVD-A. I guess I'm a completist.

Mine shipped today, so fingers crossed it will arrive tomorrow or Thursday at the latest

 

[LedMan]

5.1 HFPA BDA confirmed so far (afaik):

A Night At The Opera - Queen,
Histoire De Melody Nelson - Serge Gainsbourg,
Tommy - The Who,
Sea Change - Beck,
Les Miserables OST.

This also is listed as 5.1.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1630083502&pf_rd_i=507846

 

[fredblue]

This also is listed as 5.1.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1630083502&pf_rd_i=507846

Stereo-only according to this review;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/review/B00BRGL4OM/R40J4GPU2LWYM/ref=mw_dp_cr?cursor=1&sort=rd

 

[colsky]

Stereo-only according to this review;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/review/B00BRGL4OM/R40J4GPU2LWYM/ref=mw_dp_cr?cursor=1&sort=rd

This may be the wrong place for this question, but have you or anyone got any views on these?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gershwin-Rh...UTF8&qid=1384895230&sr=8-9&keywords=dvd+audio
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mussorgsky-...UTF8&qid=1384895230&sr=8-4&keywords=dvd+audio