First off, this is NOT an ad. There is no kickback or behind the scenes trickery going on here. It's just that we seem to be in a pop/rock, Steven Wilson-centric direction here lately, and there is nothing wrong with that, but there are certainly other avenues out there.
A month or so ago I ordered a couple of AIX Blu-Ray releases, just to see how they were evolving. The last discs I purchased from AIX were some very impressive DVD-Audio discs. Most of you know, AIX is a label run by Mark Waldrep, who is a member here but does not post very often. I hope it's not because he does not feel welcome. I notice he posts frequently over at the AVSForum, and hey, we're more surround centric than those guys!
AIX offers 5.1 Blu-Rays, DVD-Audios, AND 5.1 downloads, which is pretty sweet. They have a diverse set of artists, but their titles are not something you'll find on any sales chart or "hits list", and that is not a bad thing.
If you have any of their older DVD-A's, you'll remember that most of these discs include 2 surround mixes, a STAGE mix, and an AUDIENCE mix (or whatever they call them), and they contain video as well, so in most cases if not all, you get to see the performance of the music by the artists if you choose.
The same holds true with the Blu-Rays. I recently purchased the "Rita Coolidge - Play Something Sweet" disc, along with the latest Blu-Ray sampler. I remember Rita from "the old days" and wondered what she was up to. Well, she looks and sounds damn good for her age, and I tell you what, it takes a lot of yarbles to be filmed in HD Blu-Ray for the world to put up on 70" monitors to peruse your teeth and everything else with such detail! I know I would not like it!@:
However, Rita is all class, and this disc sounds and looks great. Some may pass it off as "MOR", or "music for old fuddies", but hey, a lot of us are. I can appreciate that this is not going to be "Close to the Edge" or "The Raven that Used to Sing", but it's a fine title on it's own merit.
If you have a 3D Oppo (or other 3D player) and a 3D TV, you can also see the performance in 3D!
To me, it's very nice to be able to watch the music being played, and to watch the performance of the guitarists and other instruments, but you can choose to only listen without losing enjoyment of the disc.
Rita sings some of her hits, including "Higher and Higher", along with other songs like "People Get Ready", "Take Me to the River", "Only You Know and I Know", and the title song of the disc "Brickyard Blues" (made famous by 3 Dog Night)
The audio and surround are top notch, as you would expect. Mark knows surround and he knows audio. As a by product of my ordering these few discs, I now receive his daily email about the music industry and such. At first I hardly paid attention to them, but now I find them fascinating. You can choose to receive these or not as part of the ordering process.
Without making this a full review, I just thought that with everything Mark has done for HiRez Surround, we should give him a little more love than he has gotten over here.
Check out his website and maybe try one of the new Blu-Ray samplers. If you're a heavy rock and roll guy, you may not find anything interesting there, but if you have a broader taste, or wish to expand your horizons, AIX already has the surround discs and 5.1 downloads that other should be doing already.
Here's a link to the Rita Coolidge disc on the AIX Website. You can hear AND SEE samples of the discs right there.
http://aixrecords.com/catalog/bd_3d/rita_coolidge_bd_3d.html
So, anyone else have anything to say about AIX? Talk it up!
A month or so ago I ordered a couple of AIX Blu-Ray releases, just to see how they were evolving. The last discs I purchased from AIX were some very impressive DVD-Audio discs. Most of you know, AIX is a label run by Mark Waldrep, who is a member here but does not post very often. I hope it's not because he does not feel welcome. I notice he posts frequently over at the AVSForum, and hey, we're more surround centric than those guys!
AIX offers 5.1 Blu-Rays, DVD-Audios, AND 5.1 downloads, which is pretty sweet. They have a diverse set of artists, but their titles are not something you'll find on any sales chart or "hits list", and that is not a bad thing.
If you have any of their older DVD-A's, you'll remember that most of these discs include 2 surround mixes, a STAGE mix, and an AUDIENCE mix (or whatever they call them), and they contain video as well, so in most cases if not all, you get to see the performance of the music by the artists if you choose.
The same holds true with the Blu-Rays. I recently purchased the "Rita Coolidge - Play Something Sweet" disc, along with the latest Blu-Ray sampler. I remember Rita from "the old days" and wondered what she was up to. Well, she looks and sounds damn good for her age, and I tell you what, it takes a lot of yarbles to be filmed in HD Blu-Ray for the world to put up on 70" monitors to peruse your teeth and everything else with such detail! I know I would not like it!
@:However, Rita is all class, and this disc sounds and looks great. Some may pass it off as "MOR", or "music for old fuddies", but hey, a lot of us are. I can appreciate that this is not going to be "Close to the Edge" or "The Raven that Used to Sing", but it's a fine title on it's own merit.
If you have a 3D Oppo (or other 3D player) and a 3D TV, you can also see the performance in 3D!
To me, it's very nice to be able to watch the music being played, and to watch the performance of the guitarists and other instruments, but you can choose to only listen without losing enjoyment of the disc.
Rita sings some of her hits, including "Higher and Higher", along with other songs like "People Get Ready", "Take Me to the River", "Only You Know and I Know", and the title song of the disc "Brickyard Blues" (made famous by 3 Dog Night)
The audio and surround are top notch, as you would expect. Mark knows surround and he knows audio. As a by product of my ordering these few discs, I now receive his daily email about the music industry and such. At first I hardly paid attention to them, but now I find them fascinating. You can choose to receive these or not as part of the ordering process.
Without making this a full review, I just thought that with everything Mark has done for HiRez Surround, we should give him a little more love than he has gotten over here.
Check out his website and maybe try one of the new Blu-Ray samplers. If you're a heavy rock and roll guy, you may not find anything interesting there, but if you have a broader taste, or wish to expand your horizons, AIX already has the surround discs and 5.1 downloads that other should be doing already.
Here's a link to the Rita Coolidge disc on the AIX Website. You can hear AND SEE samples of the discs right there.
http://aixrecords.com/catalog/bd_3d/rita_coolidge_bd_3d.html
So, anyone else have anything to say about AIX? Talk it up!
