HiRez Poll Coldplay - A HEAD FULL OF DREAMS [Blu-Ray Audio]

[Krmt]

A used copy available for a decent price in Amazon if someone is missing this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LEZIF3S

 

[der_angsthase]

A used copy available for a decent price in Amazon if someone is missing this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LEZIF3S

Awesome! Ordered. I hope this time around it will actually arrive at my place. The last time I ordered I got nothing but a refund after a couple of months... :-/ Here's hoping!


Edit: And it's already been cancelled. Out of stock. Man, I really can't seem to purchase this darn album for a reasonable price. Bummer.

 

[jonmchugh]

Great surround mix but I found the amount of bass intolerable, I ripped on to the computer, Reduced the gain on the LFE track by 6dB and high pass filtered the center channel @ 100hz, burned to a DVD-A and played again. Now it sounds just right on my system.

Question is why have they mixed it like this? I've never heard a surround mix like this, why put so much low frequency bass in the center channel which the bass management shifts to the sub adding on top of the already massive base in the LFE track.

 

[sjcorne]

I think the first few times I listened I was put off by the loudness and the excessive bass. I did try changing the levels on the centre but didn't get it quite right, took away too much oomph.

Question is why have they mixed it like this? I've never heard a surround mix like this, why put so much low frequency bass in the center channel which the bass management shifts to the sub adding on top of the already massive base in the LFE track.

I was just playing around with the song "Adventure Of A Lifetime" and I think the issue here is that the content meant for the LFE channel was accidentally also routed to the center channel (I believe it was @MrSmithers who first thought of this a few months back?). So we're hearing double the amount of low-frequency information that the mixing engineer intended.

To prove this theory, I did a null test - I inverted the LFE channel and combined it with the center, so any content that's common between the center and LFE would cancel out. The new center channel is still primarily bass guitar (that's just the way it was mixed), but that unpleasant "thumping" tone is tamed quite a bit.



The other thing that's really interesting is if you take the new center channel (post-null), mix the LFE back into it, and combine it with an inverted copy of the original center channel, the outcome is silence - meaning that they are completely identical.

YMMV, but I think it sounds much better with the LFE content removed from the center channel.

Before:


After:

 

[marpow]

I was just playing around with the song "Adventure Of A Lifetime" and I think the issue here is that the content meant for the LFE channel was accidentally also routed to the center channel. So we're hearing double the amount of low-frequency information that the mixing engineer intended.

To prove this theory, I did a null test - I inverted the LFE channel and combine it with the center, so any content that's common between the center and LFE would cancel out. The new center channel is still primarily bass guitar (that's just the way it was mixed), but that unpleasant "thumping" tone is tamed quite a bit.

View attachment 46920

The other thing that's really interesting is if you take the new center channel (post-null), mix the LFE back into it, and combine it with an inverted copy of the original center channel, the outcome is silence - meaning that they are completely identical.

YMMV, but I think it sounds much better with the LFE content removed from the center channel.

Before:
View attachment 46923

After:
View attachment 46922

If I ever get to southern NY, I have to go to the school of SJCORNE Audio University.

 

[skherbeck]

I was just playing around with the song "Adventure Of A Lifetime" and I think the issue here is that the content meant for the LFE channel was accidentally also routed to the center channel (I believe it was @MrSmithers who first thought of this a few months back?). So we're hearing double the amount of low-frequency information that the mixing engineer intended.

To prove this theory, I did a null test - I inverted the LFE channel and combined it with the center, so any content that's common between the center and LFE would cancel out. The new center channel is still primarily bass guitar (that's just the way it was mixed), but that unpleasant "thumping" tone is tamed quite a bit.

View attachment 46920

The other thing that's really interesting is if you take the new center channel (post-null), mix the LFE back into it, and combine it with an inverted copy of the original center channel, the outcome is silence - meaning that they are completely identical.

YMMV, but I think it sounds much better with the LFE content removed from the center channel.

Before:
View attachment 46923

After:
View attachment 46922

I love this! It's like I now have a homework assignment... except I actually want to complete it

 

[sjcorne]

I love this! It's like I now have a homework assignment... except I actually want to complete it

I'm going through track-by-track and wow, this disc is a mess! Some songs have the LFE mixed into the center channel, others have the center channel and/or LFE mixed into the front left & rights, one track has the LFE out-of-phase, etc. Stay tuned for more

 

[skherbeck]

I'm going through track-by-track and wow, this disc is a mess! Some songs have the LFE mixed into the center channel, others have the center channel and/or LFE mixed into the front left & rights, one track has the LFE out-of-phase, etc. Stay tuned for more

Yeah, "Adventure of a Lifetime" has the LFE mixed into the center and front channels!

It actually sounds pretty good with the LFE removed from the three front channels and deleted from the LFE channel!

 

[JonUrban]

It's amazing when you think about it. First we have to hope and pray for a new surround release or reissue and actually find out about it before it goes out of print. Then (excepting DV), we have to be prepared with a DAW to fix the damn thing ourselves, be it improper channel placement, improper levels or audio distribution, unusable format, diminished vocals, etc.

Yet we move onward and do what it takes to get ourselves a good sounding .flac for playback. I guess the surround fan has to come from the "roll up your sleeve and make it work" side of the tracks. Doing exactly this since the '70s is truly an Adventure of a Lifetime.....

 

[perzon57]

I envy you who have the equiment and the skills to use it,I have not.I can buy the equiment,but I'm too old to learn to use it.
Have to try to enjoy them the way they are released.

 

[MrSmithers]

I was just playing around with the song "Adventure Of A Lifetime" and I think the issue here is that the content meant for the LFE channel was accidentally also routed to the center channel (I believe it was @MrSmithers who first thought of this a few months back?). So we're hearing double the amount of low-frequency information that the mixing engineer intended.

To prove this theory, I did a null test - I inverted the LFE channel and combined it with the center, so any content that's common between the center and LFE would cancel out. The new center channel is still primarily bass guitar (that's just the way it was mixed), but that unpleasant "thumping" tone is tamed quite a bit.

View attachment 46920

The other thing that's really interesting is if you take the new center channel (post-null), mix the LFE back into it, and combine it with an inverted copy of the original center channel, the outcome is silence - meaning that they are completely identical.

YMMV, but I think it sounds much better with the LFE content removed from the center channel.

Before:
View attachment 46923

After:
View attachment 46922

Nice work SJ! Wow what a difference... This totally fixes “Adventure Of A Lifetime” and it really sounds decent now. Yeah I went with all three of the fronts - it’s quite cool to see the box hedges return to a better level...

Look forward if you can work a fix on any of the other tracks... Some of the LFE levels are crazy! Think they overdid the organic tofu when they were mixing it...

 

[dobyblue]

Can anyone give a quick lowdown on what software we might use to rid the centre of the LFE on this one? How do you do the null test? I have Audacity and Audition.

 

[edisonbaggins]

I love all the geeky science that is getting directed toward this mix/master. But, if I simply turn down my subs 50%, the album sounds great on my system. Easy!

 

[sjcorne]

Can anyone give a quick lowdown on what software we might use to rid the centre of the LFE on this one? How do you do the null test? I have Audacity and Audition.

In Audacity, highlight the LFE track and click "invert" under the "effects" dropdown. Then highlight both the LFE and whichever track you wish to remove it from (varies per track - sometimes it's the center, sometimes the front left & right, other times both) and click "mix and render to new track" under the "tracks" dropdown.

 

[sjcorne]

Stay tuned for more

Look forward if you can work a fix on any of the other tracks... Some of the LFE levels are crazy! Think they overdid the organic tofu when they were mixing it...

I tore this disc apart in ProTools yesterday and I think I’ve finally cracked it. Of course, if you’re happy with the 5.1 straight off the disc or not interested in making computer adjustments, you can take all this with a grain of salt. But if you’ll oblige me…



The majority of the songs (3-9, 11) appear to have the center channel doubled in the fronts and the LFE doubled in the center channel. So you’ll need to perform three successive null tests (FL - C, FR - C, C - LFE).

The only exceptions are “A Head Full Of Dreams” (LFE is doubled in the fronts and center), “Birds” (LFE doubled only in the fronts), and “Colour Spectrum” (no apparent issues with this track).

I didn’t think this disc sounded bad as-is, but with these adjustments it’s a revelation - the excessive bass is tamed, the dynamic range is improved (the fronts are no longer brickwalled!), and - most interesting of all - the channel separation improves. I had originally thought this was one of those 5.1 mixes with the vocals mixed at equal volume across all three front speakers, but that’s actually not the case at all: removing the center content from the mains reveals that most of these songs have the vocals and bass guitar completely isolated to the center speaker.

"Hymn For The Weekend":


"Fun":


Some other observations:

• Some of these songs still have too much deep bass (for my taste) even after the null tests. I dropped the LFE channel varying amounts, depending on the track (usually something like 3-5 dB, depending on the track). It’s especially hot on “Birds”.
• The LFE channel is already inverted on "A Head Full Of Dreams"
• “Amazing Day” and “Up & Up” have the majority of the drums/percussion in the rear channels - I experimented with channel reassignments and I actually think these might sound better with the fronts and rears switched.
• Why did this happen? I can only speculate - but I do know from mixing experience that it’s very easy to route buses incorrectly in a DAW, especially in a complex session with lots of tracks.

 

[dobyblue]

Oh yeah!! I'm super excited to "fix" this disc. With 2 @ Paradigm Servo 15v2s some of this stuff truly is soul crushing and I want it to be soul-lifting haha.

Get down with your bad ass self and thanks for the tips!

 

[skherbeck]

I tore this disc apart in ProTools yesterday and I think I’ve finally cracked it. Of course, if you’re happy with the 5.1 straight off the disc or not interested in making computer adjustments, you can take all this with a grain of salt. But if you’ll oblige me…

View attachment 46982

The majority of the songs (3-9, 11) appear to have the center channel doubled in the fronts and the LFE doubled in the center channel. So you’ll need to perform three successive null tests (FL - C, FR - C, C - LFE).

The exceptions are “A Head Full Of Dreams” (only the LFE is doubled in the front and center channels), “Birds” (the center and LFE are doubled in the front channels, but the LFE is not in the center channel), and “Colour Spectrum” (no issues with this track as far as I can tell).

I didn’t think this disc sounded bad as-is, but with these adjustments it’s a revelation - the excessive bass is tamed, the dynamic range is improved (the fronts are no longer brickwalled!), and - most interesting of all - the channel separation improves. I had originally thought this was one of those 5.1 mixes with the vocals mixed at equal volume across all three front speakers, but that’s actually not the case at all: removing the center content from the mains reveals that most of these songs have the vocals and bass guitar completely isolated to the center speaker.

"Hymn For The Weekend":
View attachment 46980

"Fun":
View attachment 46981

Some other observations:

• Some of these songs still have too much deep bass (for my taste) even after the null tests. I dropped the LFE channel varying amounts, depending on the track (usually something like 3-5 dB, depending on the track). It’s especially hot on “Birds”.
• The LFE channel is already inverted on "A Head Full Of Dreams"
• “Amazing Day” and “Up & Up” have the majority of the drums/percussion in the rear channels - I experimented with channel reassignments and I actually think these might sound better with the fronts and rears switched.
• Why did this happen? I can only speculate - but I do know from mixing experience that it’s very easy to route buses incorrectly in a DAW, especially in a complex session with lots of tracks.

You're brilliant! Thank you. I noticed with "Birds", when I removed the center and LFE from the front channels, the bass and lead vocal became very weak. Do you think on that track that the mixing of the center channel into the fronts could have been a conscious decision (since the center contains the isolated lead vocal and bass)?

 

[sjcorne]

I noticed with "Birds", when I removed the center and LFE from the front channels, the bass and lead vocal became very weak. Do you think on that track that the mixing of the center channel into the fronts could have been a conscious decision (since the center contains the isolated lead vocal and bass)?

Possibly. Maybe only the LFE should be removed on that one? Some of the songs have a stronger center vocal than others - "Fun" and "Hymn For The Weekend" sound great with the center-only vocals, but "Adventure Of A Lifetime" has the lead vocal in the mains with barely a trace in the center channel.

 

[MrSmithers]

I tore this disc apart in ProTools yesterday and I think I’ve finally cracked it. Of course, if you’re happy with the 5.1 straight off the disc or not interested in making computer adjustments, you can take all this with a grain of salt. But if you’ll oblige me…

View attachment 46982

The majority of the songs (3-9, 11) appear to have the center channel doubled in the fronts and the LFE doubled in the center channel. So you’ll need to perform three successive null tests (FL - C, FR - C, C - LFE).

The only exceptions are “A Head Full Of Dreams” (LFE is doubled in the fronts and center), “Birds” (LFE doubled only in the fronts), and “Colour Spectrum” (no apparent issues with this track).

I didn’t think this disc sounded bad as-is, but with these adjustments it’s a revelation - the excessive bass is tamed, the dynamic range is improved (the fronts are no longer brickwalled!), and - most interesting of all - the channel separation improves. I had originally thought this was one of those 5.1 mixes with the vocals mixed at equal volume across all three front speakers, but that’s actually not the case at all: removing the center content from the mains reveals that most of these songs have the vocals and bass guitar completely isolated to the center speaker.

"Hymn For The Weekend":
View attachment 46980

"Fun":
View attachment 46981

Some other observations:

• Some of these songs still have too much deep bass (for my taste) even after the null tests. I dropped the LFE channel varying amounts, depending on the track (usually something like 3-5 dB, depending on the track). It’s especially hot on “Birds”.
• The LFE channel is already inverted on "A Head Full Of Dreams"
• “Amazing Day” and “Up & Up” have the majority of the drums/percussion in the rear channels - I experimented with channel reassignments and I actually think these might sound better with the fronts and rears switched.
• Why did this happen? I can only speculate - but I do know from mixing experience that it’s very easy to route buses incorrectly in a DAW, especially in a complex session with lots of tracks.

Wow, indeed this is a revelation... It's a discotheque! It certainly could be now you can play it properly... There's a lot more separation and it sounds so much better!

Put simply there's no way they should be duplicating the exact same info into other channels so big cheers for sorting this, cleans this album right up & up...

 

[MrSmithers]

And this is now a tough one to vote on... Do I dock points for having errors in it - or increase my vote because now it's an excellent record (a potential 10)? Hmmm... Think I'll stick with 8, for the moment...