HiRez Poll Dire Straits - BROTHERS IN ARMS [SACD/DVD-A DualDisc]

[Cai Campbell]

I finally got around to listening to this. I had high expectations based on all the rave reviews here. I must say that this is an excellent disc, with exceptional resolution and very good surround mix. However, I don't think it rates the top of the heap. Close, but not quite... For my own tastes, there was a little too much "forced ambiance". It sounded nice, but not always natural. I really appreciated the dry elements of the mix but they were somewhat overshadowed by the intrusion of the seemingly unnatural ambient elements. I would have preferred a slightly more aggressive mix with a deemphasis on the ambient elements. I'm really nit-picking here. All-in-all a thoroughly enjoyable disc that rates a strong 8 points.

 

[tcdriver]

Rating: 9 . Music and mix are everything you all say it is. I only knocked it down one point because there were no extras on the DVD-A.

 

[MC Weissbier]

Absolutely beautiful.
Exact the right mix between surround effects and crystal clear classic stereo sound with the voice in between.

 

[analogdemon]

Few DVD-As have put a permanent grin on my face, but this one is it. My dad bought our first CD player in 1989 and this was the first CD he bought. We loved to crank it up nice and loud. This DVD-A was an absolute revelation. My jaw basically sat on the floor the first 10 times I listened to it. Now I've stopped drooling and can just sit back, close my eyes, and listen to the entire band playing in my living room.

Oh man, can I rate this a 25? Killer, just killer. For ANYONE is even *curious* about surround sound music, this is required listening. Since I can't rate it 25, I'll give it a 10.

 

[grimace]

Fidelity definitely a 10. Lost points because the mix isn't as aggressive with use of surrounds as I'd like.

Overall I give this one a very solid 9.

 

[GabeL]

You know, I was so excited when I saw a new/sealed copy of the dualdisc version of this album at the local shop for a mere $12.00, I just had to buy it. To be quite honest, I'd never heard the entire album before, just the songs that were played on the radio in their heyday. Thanks to all the reviews here that prompted me to pick this one up, I am grateful. What a beautiful mix of a fantastic album. So much clarity in this version, a true classic. As a first time listener of this particular album, I give this version a 10! All around incredible!

 

[Spencer1812]

I picked up the import SACD for $16.97 from importcds_com thru Amazon.com. Look up Dire Straits, then check in the new & used section. This arrived brand new, sealed. Sounds great, a 10.

 

[JonUrban]

Sometimes it's nice to re-read a thread full of excitement over a new release...............and dream of what could have been.

 

[EMB]

Sometimes it's nice to re-read a thread full of excitement over a new release...............and dream of what could have been.

Quite the masochist, aren't ya?

Know the feeling only too well...I was tempted to start a thread about your ultimate MC release, but decided it would hurt too much, so haven't done it....yet.

ED _

 

[fzappa]

This is a definite system demo disc (I have the DVD-a). Like I said in another post, my wife doesn't get all teary eyed and dreamy over the hi-rez technology as I do. I had this disc on and we were off to the side of the sweet spot, actually in our diningroom eating dinner, and her head turned towards the livingroom and she said "it sounds like that saxophone is right in the room". I just smiled and chewed. Success! Buy this disc.

 

[cupboy]

This is a definite system demo disc (I have the DVD-a). Like I said in another post, my wife doesn't get all teary eyed and dreamy over the hi-rez technology as I do. I had this disc on and we were off to the side of the sweet spot, actually in our diningroom eating dinner, and her head turned towards the livingroom and she said "it sounds like that saxophone is right in the room". I just smiled and chewed. Success! Buy this disc.

The dvd-audio version is rather hard to come by nowadays. The SACD is quite common though, but doesn't sound as good.

 

[The Rang]

The dvd-audio version is rather hard to come by nowadays. The SACD is quite common though, but doesn't sound as good.

What makes you say the DVD-A sounds better?

I would think each disc would be using the same mixes/mastering.
I'm curious because I'm about to buy this and want to make sure I get the best sounding version.

 

[Green]

I actually know the answer to this! The dual disc has superior sound to the SACD. Ainsley I think is the name of the one who did both the SACD and DVD-Audio. The 5.1 mix was originally done in PCM or MLP or whatever is used for DVD Audio. I am new at this so dont know all the terms yet just what I like. It was then converted to DSD for SACD release. Ainsley himself even said the DVD A is a little better sounding. I think also but havent heard it mysef yet that the DVDA is a tad more aggresive in the use of surround.

Green

 

[bmoura]

I actually know the answer to this! The dual disc has superior sound to the SACD. Ainsley I think is the name of the one who did both the SACD and DVD-Audio. The 5.1 mix was originally done in PCM or MLP or whatever is used for DVD Audio. I am new at this so dont know all the terms yet just what I like. It was then converted to DSD for SACD release. Ainsley himself even said the DVD A is a little better sounding. I think also but havent heard it mysef yet that the DVDA is a tad more aggresive in the use of surround.

Green

I think it's fair to say that he was happy with the way the project turned out in both formats then.

I was at an AES demo with him where the Super Audio Center folks were playing back the SACD edition of Brothers In Arms. He said it sounded "just like the master tape". (!)

 

[Green]

However if you ask him he will tell you the DVD-Audio is a tad bit better as far as sound as no conversion to DSD was needed if you can get the dual disc check it out for yourself. Perhaps someone here can tell us what the think who has both versions? Everytime I try to post in the new member thread it says I am not logged in yet it lets me post here

Green

 

[bmoura]

However if you ask him he will tell you the DVD-Audio is a tad bit better as far as sound as no conversion to DSD was needed if you can get the dual disc check it out for yourself. Perhaps someone here can tell us what the think who has both versions? Everytime I try to post in the new member thread it says I am not logged in yet it lets me post here

Green

Well, all I can say is that isn't what he said at AES !

 

[EMB]

In theory (if nothing else), there shouldn't be any audible disparity between the sound quality of an SACD or DVD-A, because if that were the case, one could then argue that one format was indeed superior to the other (a moot point, since both are moribund at this time); or, more likely if there is a real and obvious sonic difference, then the mastering and authoring is then brought into question. But going by what I hear on the SACD, it sounds phenomenal, hard to imagine any improvement, especially given that those who supervised the remix did nothing radical, just expanded upon what they'd done in stereo and thus the 5.1 sounds so natural to the recording one often isn't really conscious of it as a remix. Listening to it again today, what impresses me most is how the mix breathes life into some material that's been so overplayed it wears me out to hear something like "Walk Of Life" or "Money For Nothing" in a department store or supermarket or FM radio station. The mix takes what worked in '85, spreads it out, in the spirit of the original, only with even better fidelity and separation. That is to say, it satisfies, for what it is and the time in which it was originally made. What more can anyone ask for?

ED

 

[bmoura]

In theory (if nothing else), there shouldn't be any audible disparity between the sound quality of an SACD or DVD-A, because if that were the case, one could then argue that one format was indeed superior to the other (a moot point, since both are moribund at this time); or, more likely if there is a real and obvious sonic difference, then the mastering and authoring is then brought into question. But going by what I hear on the SACD, it sounds phenomenal, hard to imagine any improvement, especially given that those who supervised the remix did nothing radical, just expanded upon what they'd done in stereo and thus the 5.1 sounds so natural to the recording one often isn't really conscious of it as a remix. Listening to it again today, what impresses me most is how the mix breathes life into some material that's been so overplayed it wears me out to hear something like "Walk Of Life" or "Money For Nothing" in a department store or supermarket or FM radio station. The mix takes what worked in '85, spreads it out, in the spirit of the original, only with even better fidelity and separation. That is to say, it satisfies, for what it is and the time in which it was originally made. What more can anyone ask for?

ED

I agree with Ed. This is an outstanding Surround Sound SACD. Definitely worth looking for and picking up - if you don't own it already!

 

[rusinurbe]

Massivly good surround mix and an excellent DVDA(Dual disc) Blows the socks of my woofer

 

[JonUrban]

It's funny. Since the SACD came out first, I remember making a DVD-A for the car out of the SACD (at 24/96). So, in essence, I had a DVD-A of the SACD to compare with the actual DVD-A once I bought it.

Although I did not do elaborate listening tests, the DVD-A of the SACD, the SACD, and the official DVD-A all sound about the same to me, on any of my systems. And I also agree with Ed, this album is a PERFECT example of a surround mix breathing new life into music that has been "burned out" in one's head.