HiRez Poll Fleetwood Mac - RUMOURS [Blu-Ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

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Rate the BDA of Fleetwood Mac - RUMOURS


  • Total voters
    33
Voting 8, based on the 5.1 mix, which I prefer to the Atmos.
Life in Surround Review (Multichannel Versions Shootout)

Interesting. You find the Atmos fatiguing, overly bright and not crankable compared to the 5.1. However, I find the 5.1 fatiguing, overly bright and not crankable compared to the Atmos.
 
Interesting indeed!

It's funny how different rooms and setups change the experience. I don't fine either fatiguing to listen to and it varies from track to track on whether I prefer the 5.1 or Atmos. Overall I like the Atmos best.

My biggest complaint is still Don't Stop and Go Your Own Way feeling like something went wrong mastering the Atmos. Like they're just upmixed from a previous release or something. They're very audibly quieter and more collapsed than the tracks around them to me.

Enjoy your channel btw!
 
It's funny how different rooms and setups change the experience. I don't fine either fatiguing to listen to and it varies from track to track on whether I prefer the 5.1 or Atmos. Overall I like the Atmos best.

My biggest complaint is still Don't Stop and Go Your Own Way feeling like something went wrong mastering the Atmos. Like they're just upmixed from a previous release or something. They're very audibly quieter and more collapsed than the tracks around them to me.

Enjoy your channel btw!
Since Atmos titles started releasing like gangbusters, I have observed an extreme lack of consensus, over the effectiveness/enjoyability of mixes, compared to 5.1 or Quad.
More speakers, different configurations. I'm listening via 7.2.4. Some folks are listening with fewer speakers than that. Some with more.

Regarding fatigue and crankability, again, my main thing with rock or pop-rock music is to have a bumping kick drum. I would love to experience somebody's Atmos system that delivers that without high frequencies that can peel paint off the walls.

For reference, I have found the vast majority of Atmos mixes I've heard, so far (a fair number!) to sound just fine. Bumping without fatiguing highs.
This Atmos mix just doesn't work in my room.

Rumours is listed on Spatial Audio Finder, so the Atmos mix can be auditioned, for those wondering how it works in their room. Lossy, but it should get the job done for evaluation.
 
Since Atmos titles started releasing like gangbusters, I have observed an extreme lack of consensus, over the effectiveness/enjoyability of mixes, compared to 5.1 or Quad.
More speakers, different configurations. I'm listening via 7.2.4. Some folks are listening with fewer speakers than that. Some with more.

Regarding fatigue and crankability, again, my main thing with rock or pop-rock music is to have a bumping kick drum. I would love to experience somebody's Atmos system that delivers that without high frequencies that can peel paint off the walls.

For reference, I have found the vast majority of Atmos mixes I've heard, so far (a fair number!) to sound just fine. Bumping without fatiguing highs.
This Atmos mix just doesn't work in my room.

Rumours is listed on Spatial Audio Finder, so the Atmos mix can be auditioned, for those wondering how it works in their room. Lossy, but it should get the job done for evaluation.

You'd be more than welcome to give it a listen here, but I suspect you're probably not in central Iowa :D
 
Interesting. You find the Atmos fatiguing, overly bright and not crankable compared to the 5.1. However, I find the 5.1 fatiguing, overly bright and not crankable compared to the Atmos.
I had the same impression, with the Atmos mix sounding less fatiguing and a tad warmer than the 5.1 mix. However, comparing the frequency responses of the two mixes suggests that the Atmos is indeed brighter (see the purple curve in the graph below). Bear in mind this graph is only valid for The Chain, and other songs might indeed lead to different results.

A few other notes: there is more bass in the Atmos, which can compensate for the increase in treble; the Atmos sounds more dynamic overall, with drums less compressed and vocals more upfront in the mix. The experience is, therefore, different, and such differences in instrument balance and compression can also result in a more relaxed listening experience.

At the moment, I have only compared a few songs, and I must admit I prefer the 5.1 in some cases, while in others, the Atmos is a clear winner. For example, Dreams sounds much better in Atmos, while Gold Dust Woman is all vocals and all instruments sound recessed. The 5.1 seems better for that track. If I had to pick a winner, I would go with the Atmos as a better experience overall, with a better tonality and more dynamic mix. However, the new blu-ray includes Atmos, 5.1 and stereo, so I don't have to choose :)

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Had a little time yesterday and gave this and Knopfler's One Deep River a spin. I'm getting more convinced the 2 tracks I mentioned above have a story behind them. It's just nuts going from the clarity and presence of Never Going Back Again into the muted Don't Stop. Go Your Own is a little better. But then Songbird comes along and reminds you what the album should sound like. McVei is just right there with you. And it's not like those 2 songs couldn't be done properly, The Chain is what those tracks should sound like.

I agree with a lot of your thoughts on Gold Dust Woman Albert. The latter half of the Atmos version pulls it slightly ahead for me, but I really can see going with either as the favorite. I think if the mixer had gone a little less conservative with it, the Atmos version would be a clear winner. But I appreciate that they were trying to spotlight Stevie's vocals. Which are fantastic.
 
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I’ve got pretty much every version of this album…I enjoyed the Atmos but would agree with Don’t Stop and Go Your Own Way sounding like they were mixed separately from the rest of the album which is very unfortunate. When streaming music in Atmos on Apple Music this has always been my biggest frustration and I’m really surprised they wouldn’t have made more of an effort to have consistency given the physical release.
 
I also agree with what others have said about the Atmos mixes of "Go Your Own Way" and "Don't Stop" lacking the impact they have on other releases of this album. Mick Fleetwood's drumming on GYOW is one of those style-defining songs for Mick. When you hear it, you know it is Fleetwood. It is one of those songs where Mick shows drums don't just have to be for rhythm. "Brown Eyes" on Tusk is another example of Mick's signature style where he adds audio exclamation points to McVie's smooth, almost mournful vocals and the understated vibe of that song. (If a MOR artist covered that song, they probably would not have a drummer on the track at all.) On the Atmos mix of GYOW the drums lack the punch and drive (and maybe volume?) of earlier versions.

The mix of "Don't Stop" loses some of the hard bouncy, push-pull of the rhythm that drives the song.

But those two songs are the only negatives I have with this new BR. The rest of the tracks sound great and the vocals are stunning. "Silver Springs" have been included on so many re-releases of "Rumours" that I think we are to a point where we can now consider that song to be a part of this project. But it should not be at the end of the disc. It's not a "closer". Maybe placing it after "Don't Stop" or "You Make Loving Fun"?

Overall, I'm happy with this release and glad I bought it. Giving it an 8.
 
I voted 8. Music is obviously a 10 -- it's a classic -- and while the Dolby Atmos is much more enjoyable to me than the old 5.1 I had,
the over-amped reverb and brightness of "Songbird" was disappointing, to say the least. That said, some songs really shine here!
 
Rating: 6

Definitely going against the grain on this one.

"Second Hand News" sounds like it's coming out of all the speakers at once. It's not a descrete isolation that I expect from Dolby Atmos mixes. "Never Going Back Again" is muffled. What I mean is it's difficult to hear the voices. I don't have this experience on any other track. Unfortunately, not many of the songs have any noticeable heights to it. The end of "Gold Dust Woman" and "The Chain" are the highlights of the entire album. I feel like I was listening to an album in 5.1 with this mix.
 
Rating: 6

Definitely going against the grain on this one.

"Second Hand News" sounds like it's coming out of all the speakers at once. It's not a descrete isolation that I expect from Dolby Atmos mixes. "Never Going Back Again" is muffled. What I mean is it's difficult to hear the voices. I don't have this experience on any other track. Unfortunately, not many of the songs have any noticeable heights to it. The end of "Gold Dust Woman" and "The Chain" are the highlights of the entire album. I feel like I was listening to an album in 5.1 with this mix.
I voted a little higher, just because the BD has the 5.1 mix. But my rating of the Atmos mix is fairly consistent with yours.
 
I might be in a minority here but for me the definitive (multichannel) version of this landmark album is still my older 5.1 SACD: sounds more similar to the original vinyl but of course with that extra depth and kick. Yes the "kick", nowadays these Atmos mixes are too often soft or unnatural. My feeling is that they're trying to squeeze out the impossible and beyond from that old music. Or wanting to make it sound (too much) contemporary. Lemme repeat one more time that not all music sounds good coming from the ceiling😁; certain music is nice when remains simple.
 
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