Chicago & Friends - Live At 55 Dolby Atmos (& Stereo)

[beerking]

Well I've watched this concert again.
It's just soooo good.
And the guests add to the bands sound in a good way.
This is hitting my play it often pile.

 

[beerking]

Not everyone has a 'nice Atmos quality audio system'.

I was all-in on 5.1 for DVD concerts, movies and DVD-A audio discs. Focal powered monitors, Sony LCOS 55" TV, then upgraded to LG OLED 65", which made me want to upgrade everything to 4K - my ATV receiver, Apple TV and BluRay/DVD player. It got pricey, but the upgrade was worth it visually.

When Atmos started happening I enjoyed the better Atmos releases folded-down to my 5.1 system, it certainly seemed and sounded 'good enough' to these old ears. I started buying physical Atmos media from SDE and other resellers, which usually also included a 5.1 surround mix in addition o Atmos and hi-res stereo. Still sounded good enough to me.

But being in the audio business, and hearing 7.1.4 and 9.1.6 Atmos releases at studios in LA and Nashville, coming back to my home to listen to them folded down wasn't good enough anymore. I added a pair of Focal Dome speakers as sides to go 7.1 - this made a BIG difference in the Atmos playback experience. And then it was even better than good enough.

BUT... it bugged me that I didn't have the .4 - what was I missing not having the height channels? This bugged me, so that 7.1 wasn't good enough any more. I didn't want to tear up my ceiling to install 4 speakers. A lot of folks here and on Steve Hoffman's forum said there wasn't much up there, mostly reverb and effects. But still, not bugged me,

So I poked around, got some advice from friends in the biz, and found some wedge monitors I could mount on the ceiling and run the wires along the corners or the walls and ceiling to hide them. Put all the measurements into the DAART software and installed the heights accordingly.

So now that I've got a Dolby-compliant 7.1.4 surround system in my media room, is it good enough? Yes - I do not feel the need to go to 9.1.4 or 9.1.6. I have not seen many Atmos mixes that take advantage of those extra channels, anyway. But I thought 5.1 folded-down Atmos was 'good enough'... until it wasn't.

Not all audiophiles will go to the trouble and expense to upgrade their home theatre/entertainment systems to 12 channels of playback. Fo those that do not, 5.1 fold-down Atmos is good enough... until it isn't ;-)

I had the Atmos bug in 2018 and upgraded to a 7.1.4 system.
I've never looked back since.
To have 360⁰ of wonderful music surrounding me in my man cave, is all that I could wish for in surround music .

 

[Steve Bruzonsky]

Some odd and... Questionable guests in that list.

Yea, I saw the list, not impressed. But as part of the concert they performed excellent, seamlessly. In the end result, great special guests who simply seemed as they were part of Chicago all along! Except of course I don't recall in my mostly first decade Chicago stuff a female singer or any acapella singing, which was really great!

 

[4-earredwonder]

Well I've watched this concert again.
It's just soooo good.
And the guests add to the bands sound in a good way.
This is hitting my play it often pile.

So Farmer Mike, has Wantage UK become the NEW WINDY CITY?

 

[beerking]

So Farmer Mike, has Wantage UK become the NEW WINDY CITY?

Depends where you eat Ralphie

 

[atlantasteve]

I would have purchased it if Peter Cetera was one of the guest artists.

 

[Steve Bruzonsky]

I would have purchased it if Peter Cetera was one of the guest artists.

His last album was January 2005. He's 80 now. Yea, it would have been nice if he could have been there. But seriously, don't let his absence keep you from watching and listening to a marvelous concert! As recently as 2016 he refused to attend the awards ceremony for the original band members. And now he has "lost his voice". Chicago has a lot of really good voices especially in this 4k blu ray, but yea, we still miss that Peter Cetera's voice!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Cetera

 

[bamamusicfan]

I don't think Chicago has any trouble getting viewers to buy their DVDs. They have a very large fan base and continue to tour with enthusiastic audiences worldwide.
I think this was an opportunity to change things up a bit from the norm.
Overall, I think it worked well minus a few performers. It certainly a very clear and dynamic sounding DVD. The video could have been a bit sharper, but the background images are very well done throughout the show.
Just my 2cents.

My thoughts exactly.

When I read this quote by Lee Loughnane on their website -

"This concert film is a unique approach to any of our previous live performances. We very rarely play with guest artists, much less seven of them. It was very interesting to work with each guest and experience their interpretations of our music."

I thought 'well, yeah - if you can't get more original or classic members of Chicago to entice viewers, might as well go for some eclectic guest artists.

Nk Chicago