Please post your thoughts and comments on this SACD release! 
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HiRez Poll Depeche Mode - ULTRA [SACD]
- Thread starter JonUrban
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neil wilkes
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
The best & fastest summary of this release can be worded very simply.
BUY THIS ALBUM IMMEDIATELY.
Then, when you get home, shlepp it into the player, and crank the volume all the way to the max.
The opener "Barrel Of A Gun" is simply stunning. The impact at volume cannot be overstated, it is stupendous.
There is not a single filler on this record.
Awesome, awesome, awesome.
The mix is spot-on perfection for me (although again I prefer the sound of the DTS-DVD over the SACD here. The Super Audio sounds, well, harsher to me and a little harder to listen to. Hard to explain it, but there is something in there that makes me feel uncomfortable when listening to it. This does not happen with the DTS-DVD though, so may be an artefact of some sort) and for once the LFE is actually not overdone either.
Did I mention how good it is yet?
All together now...
"Whatever I've done ------been staring down the barrel of a gun.........whatever, whatever"
Ah - it's like having a second youth all over again.
Oh - it's bloody good too. I don't know if I mentioned that before, so I'd better say it again.
11/10
What I wouldn't give to hear this on a DVD-A though......
BUY THIS ALBUM IMMEDIATELY.
Then, when you get home, shlepp it into the player, and crank the volume all the way to the max.
The opener "Barrel Of A Gun" is simply stunning. The impact at volume cannot be overstated, it is stupendous.
There is not a single filler on this record.
Awesome, awesome, awesome.
The mix is spot-on perfection for me (although again I prefer the sound of the DTS-DVD over the SACD here. The Super Audio sounds, well, harsher to me and a little harder to listen to. Hard to explain it, but there is something in there that makes me feel uncomfortable when listening to it. This does not happen with the DTS-DVD though, so may be an artefact of some sort) and for once the LFE is actually not overdone either.
Did I mention how good it is yet?
All together now...
"Whatever I've done ------been staring down the barrel of a gun.........whatever, whatever"
Ah - it's like having a second youth all over again.
Oh - it's bloody good too. I don't know if I mentioned that before, so I'd better say it again.
11/10
What I wouldn't give to hear this on a DVD-A though......
LizardKing
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Just bought this.
.. :banana: I'll crank it up.....have the mandatory 5 listens and cast my vote...To me this is the worst of their 5.1 stuff, just seems to be lacking something, not sure if they had ran out of time or money as this was one of the last mixes that was released but just doesnt sound as polished as the other 5.1 albums. Still worth a listen though.
w.a.reid
500 Club - QQ All-Star
sweet - you guys keep me informed - if it werent for this site i would never have known about Nirvana Unplugged re-release - sounds great - - - and now this - ! gonna get it quick....right-on!
now for something slightly different - Beastie Boys remastered in 5.1 - but only from their site can it be purchased....i think - havent bought yet - anyone else?
i use the QB Sansui 9001 - - i dont care what you got or what you spent.....mine sounds better.
w.a.reid
now for something slightly different - Beastie Boys remastered in 5.1 - but only from their site can it be purchased....i think - havent bought yet - anyone else?
i use the QB Sansui 9001 - - i dont care what you got or what you spent.....mine sounds better.
w.a.reid
wolfram
Active Member
WHAT??!!
Would you care to elaborate? Do you have a link? If yes, this needs a thread of its own. Can't find anything on the BB-Site.
Thanks.
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w.a.reid
500 Club - QQ All-Star
DKA
1K Club - QQ Shooting Star
For the most part, the "deluxe edition" older DM 5.1's are pretty run of the mill. I much prefer the mixes on "Playing the Angel" and "Sounds of the Universe," which are very, very good. "Ultra" was a better mix than the "Violator" and "Music for the Masses" 5.1's, which were abominations, wtih all sort of vocal echo, flatness, and just uninteresting surround, and albums I could do better myself.
Beasties could make for some ideal surround as long as whoever's doing it shows little restraint and lets those scratches and samples fly in the rears. Definitely worth hunting down and checking out.
Beasties could make for some ideal surround as long as whoever's doing it shows little restraint and lets those scratches and samples fly in the rears. Definitely worth hunting down and checking out.
wolfram
Active Member
w.a.reid
500 Club - QQ All-Star
youre right - youre right - - it is only "remastered" - beastie boys - PAULS BOUTIQUE - also called the 20th anniversary edition of the way ahead of its time samping LP.
w.a.reid
w.a.reid
wolfram
Active Member
Rrraaaahh! How could you do this to me? For a split-second I dreamed of the Beastie Boys in 5.1. It was awsome!Ok, let's give this thread back to Depeche mode.
Just pulled this out on a whim. I've never been a huge DM fan. I've liked a few songs here and there. I always thought they had a great sound but often felt they were lacking in the songwriting department. So this album came as a nice surprise. A pretty solid collection of songs here. (I felt as if they had perhaps been paying attention to Tears For Fears. A good thing in my book.) And the mix is very nice. I do sympathize with Neil's comments in post #2 above regarding a certain harshness, but it didn't bother me too much. (My Oppo won't play the DVD, wrong region. ) I'm on the fence between a 9 or a 10 vote. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this, but I think I have to save the 10's for those really special discs. This one does come close. And if you really love the band, you will probably consider it a 10. A very strong 9 from me.
) I'm on the fence between a 9 or a 10 vote. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this, but I think I have to save the 10's for those really special discs. This one does come close. And if you really love the band, you will probably consider it a 10. A very strong 9 from me.
Realised I've never voted for this. Ultra was the first Depeche Mode album I bought back in the day, Violator and Songs Of Faith And Devotion followed. But Ultra has always been my favourite. I think the ambience and the feeling of the album beats the other two hands down. So I saw the SACD version in (the late and lamented) Head in Belfast for £7.99. Too good a bargain not to avail of. Anyway, I digress.
The surround mix really extenuates the ambience on tracks like "Uselink" and "Jazz Thieves" are transformed into something uneasy and tangible by the surround mix. "Home" just has that bit more power over the stereo version. Compared to the SACD version of "Songs Of Faith And Devotion" this is much more active. I suspect that's because there "is" more going on with the tracks, but I also get a sense that atmosphere of displacement, which to my mind permeates the album, lends itself more to surround. As I've suggested elsewhere, I think this album (along with some of the Namlook releases) is the clear progenitor of the (admittedly much more up-beat) Booka Shade releases on blu-ray. I think this album is brilliant. And the surround mix gilds the lily. If it weren't for the Atmos releases which followed this many years later then, I'd be giving this a 10. Unfortunately these releases have (for me at least) redefined what's deserving of ten - But keeping in mind that things have moved on, I still think that it's probably the best sounding 5.1 SACD I own - so 9.
The surround mix really extenuates the ambience on tracks like "Uselink" and "Jazz Thieves" are transformed into something uneasy and tangible by the surround mix. "Home" just has that bit more power over the stereo version. Compared to the SACD version of "Songs Of Faith And Devotion" this is much more active. I suspect that's because there "is" more going on with the tracks, but I also get a sense that atmosphere of displacement, which to my mind permeates the album, lends itself more to surround. As I've suggested elsewhere, I think this album (along with some of the Namlook releases) is the clear progenitor of the (admittedly much more up-beat) Booka Shade releases on blu-ray. I think this album is brilliant. And the surround mix gilds the lily. If it weren't for the Atmos releases which followed this many years later then, I'd be giving this a 10. Unfortunately these releases have (for me at least) redefined what's deserving of ten - But keeping in mind that things have moved on, I still think that it's probably the best sounding 5.1 SACD I own - so 9.
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