HiRez Poll KISS - DESTROYER [Blu-Ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

[rtbluray]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this 2021 reissue of the classic KISS album "Destroyer".
This 45th anniversary edition contains brand new remixes from Steven Wilson in both 5.1 surround & Dolby Atmos.
(The Dolby Atmos mix is also available to stream on all Atmos streaming providers.)
https://music.apple.com/us/album/destroyer-45th-anniversary-2021-remaster/1596798921

Pre-release thread for all shipping/ordering queries and non-poll related posts:
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...-5-1-dolby-atmos-mixes-out-soon.31148/page-22

 

[JimHansonDC]

I'm not gonna lie, I bought this whole box set for Detroit Rock City.

I wasn't a Kiss fan when they came out. I was 12 when this record hit and even though I was a rock dude, I thought the whole thing was a bit silly. Then a buddy put on Detroit Rock City and I had to admit this was a major league rock and roll outfit.

Now we come to Steven Wilson getting his hands on this and blowing up a song just shouting out loud for some surround and in this case some ATMOSpherics. And he delivers. There is action everywhere. You are immediately a character in the song. He puts you in the passenger seat for the whole ride as your best friend goes out like a roman candle.

There is so much in the song that Steven had to work with and he used it all. News report, car sounds, car radio and all the band action. Vocals up front, backing vocals in the back and the accelerating craziness accelerating beautifully. Lots of movement as befits a car chase scene in a big special effects movie. And lots of Kiss showing their chops.

Both the surround and ATMOS mixes work wonderfully for this. But if you have the Atmos you get the additional immersion that massive music plus a massive wreck call for.

The only quibble is the bass is not as punchy as I'd hoped. Gene Simmons licks (heh) are a vital part of the lead story between lines and they're there, but I wish they were in your face a bit more.

But that's it, the rest is a brilliant use of SW's talents. I'll add some more later about the rest of it but for now. Going crashing cars again and then again and probably again.

 

[marpow]

I voted 10. I was hesitant to purchase this as I have always thought of Kiss as a cartoon band, but as I have gotten older, I appreciate the music as some is great.
This box set has everything you need and comes nicely done, good size, produced well. My review is for the ATMOS mix done by Steven Wilson.
Atmos Blu Ray: My listen was the ripped MKV file using JRiver as the player. 5 speakers on floor and 4 heights. The ripped file was a 24/48 MKV Video file. DR's are 11, 12's, 13's, 15. My listening volume was 79db.
I was more than happy with SW's remix. Happy to say he nailed it. This Atmos mix is in your face, loud, immersive and many times very discrete. You will notice this right off with Detroit Rock City, with the radio dialogue starting off in stereo and then the car motor fires up, wham all speakers in full and song ends with car crash all around swirling.
The 4 heights are in constant use with a very strong signal. Some songs the 4 heights will drop down but always remain immersive and when they take off there are many great discrete moments in the heights. The center channel is primarily vocals which is very much a SW style.
The lower foundation speakers are of course full on, with many discrete, circling and back and forth moments.
The Blu Ray Atmos has two additional tracks 11 & 12 that are Beth acoustic and Sweet Pain original guitar solo both in Atmos and both really good.
This is not a cartoon mix; this mix is the real thing.
Sonics: My rig has 3 subs tuned specifically to fill out the entire low end. That said, I can see where Jim's post above me commented on the weak bass, yes, a little on the light side. Overall, it sounds like Kiss and the way Kiss wants to sound. Strong midrange with light highs and lows.
The song Track 9, Do You Love Me starts off with big drums, but I wanted those drums to sound really big, but they just don't sound really big.

I have no problem recommending this box set for purchase. In the world of box sets this entire box is done right. Proof again, if SW does the remix, buy it, no matter.

KEEP SURROUND POLLS PURE. NO OFF TOPIC OR NON RELEVENT CHATTER.

 

[wrat]

Overpriced YES but its kiss so its not surprising , lots of stuff though
sonically its WAY better then expected only quibble is the bass is definitely lacking for whatever reason thats not to say its not there, it is I guess the master just did have any real subsonics?
solid 8 would have been a 9 except for the bass but it is probably as good as it gets the atmos is definitive for now

 

[Plan9]

A little tidbit from behind the scenes:
Yes unfortunately the album was (not very well) recorded (on 16-track tape, but some songs only use 11 or 12 of the tracks...). There is a definite thinness and lack of depth to the bass. Drums are even mono (!!) on Detroit Rock City, the rest are stereo on 2 tracks with a third track from the big Phil Spector reverb return. So drums and bass are what they are essentially.
This was not easy to make sound immersive and "hifi"!

 

[sjcorne]

Drums are even mono (!!) on Detroit Rock City...

Wow! I guess the big fill that bounces off the four corners before the last chorus was done by chopping up the mono track and routing each hit to a different channel.

 

[SyrinxTemple]

Drums are even mono (!!) on Detroit Rock City, the rest are stereo on 2 tracks with a third track from the big Phil Spector reverb return. So drums and bass are what they are essentially.

That's a Bob Ezrin thing. He has never been one to heavily mic the drums. Two mics at most. Jimmy Page produced Bonham's drums in a similar fashion.

 

[JediJoker]

That's a Bob Ezrin thing. He has never been one to heavily mic the drums. Two mics at most. Jimmy Page produced Bonham's drums in a similar fashion.

You can definitely get a great drum sound from just one or two mics. I like a minimum of four, though: overhead left and right, kick, and snare.

 

[SyrinxTemple]

You can definitely get a great drum sound fro just one or two mics.

Totally agree!!

 

[knifeman]

Yes unfortunately the album was (not very well) recorded (on 16-track tape, but some songs only use 11 or 12 of the tracks...). There is a definite thinness and lack of depth to the bass. Drums are even mono (!!) on Detroit Rock City, the rest are stereo on 2 tracks with a third track from the big Phil Spector reverb return. So drums and bass are what they are essentially.
This was not easy to make sound immersive and "hifi"!

I would say that holds true for every Kiss album up to that point. The first three were always my favorites, but just sounded so shrill to me. And the '97 remasters weren't much of an improvement. I guess you can only do so much depending on what you're given to start with.

 

[Plan9]

You can definitely get a great drum sound from just one or two mics. I like a minimum of four, though: overhead left and right, kick, and snare.

Agreed, the Glyn Johns method is usually my favourite way of miking drums.
With only one or two drum tracks, it is more difficult to make an immersive surround mix though.

 

[marcb]

A little tidbit from behind the scenes:
Yes unfortunately the album was (not very well) recorded (on 16-track tape, but some songs only use 11 or 12 of the tracks...). There is a definite thinness and lack of depth to the bass. Drums are even mono (!!) on Detroit Rock City, the rest are stereo on 2 tracks with a third track from the big Phil Spector reverb return. So drums and bass are what they are essentially.
This was not easy to make sound immersive and "hifi"!

I think folks (including me on occasion) get delusions of grandeur about what these older recordings can and should sound like. Our brain can create a 64 or 128 or whatever track surround mix, but reality doesn’t cooperate and we end up disappointed.

 

[quicksrt]

Agreed, the Glyn Johns method is usually my favourite way of miking drums.
With only one or two drum tracks, it is more difficult to make an immersive surround mix though.

I thought Johns used a 3-mic setup for drums, a famous "triangle", no?

 

[JediJoker]

I thought Johns used a 3-mic setup for drums, a famous "triangle", no?

Two form the triangle with the snare drum. These can be thought of as the "overheads," although one of the mics is placed just six inches above the floor tom, making it more of a "side" mic. A third is used for the kick.

 

[kap'n krunch]

Two form the triangle with the snare drum. These can be thought of as the "overheads," although one of the mics is placed just six inches above the floor tom, making it more of a "side" mic. A third is used for the kick.

View attachment 83250

I am looking at this , and although I have never tried it in the studio, wouldn't it make more sense to switch the over head mics to capture the snare and HH better?...hmmm, I just thought for a second and realized that Glyn's method would be more best cause it would be balanced as a stereo signal...

 

[4-earredwonder]

Kiss DESTROYER [UMG/3 RBCDs/1 Pure Audio BD~A] LOTS of SWAG [heh, heh] and LOTS OF SWAGGER is a great way to describe this absolutely incredible Steve Wilson ATMOS/Dolby True HD 5.1 96/24 REMIX. OK, so the bass is somewhat lacking but not EVER being a KISS fanboy, via Wilson's sonic makeover I have to admit to loving this! Can only imagine how it sounds in ATMOS. And all that 'swag' is wholly indicative of KISS ...always a flashy band! Gorgeous boxset, a bit overpriced, but I did get a 'deal' during Amazon Prime's recent 'lightning' sale. Hopefully the price will dip even further so that more of you can enjoy what Steve Wilson has accomplished in the uber discrete surround department! Highly Recommended

I voted a 9 ..... just wish there WAS more bass!

 

[MikeMonaco]

Listened to this last night on Apple TV/Apple Music in 5.1 (that's all I got right now) and it was terrific!

 

[Malhomme]

Two form the triangle with the snare drum. These can be thought of as the "overheads," although one of the mics is placed just six inches above the floor tom, making it more of a "side" mic. A third is used for the kick.

View attachment 83250

Yes there is an extension of these where you make the OH a stereo couple, while retaining the perfect triangle (I use a cotton thick string to ensure snare distance to each OH microphone is EXACTLY the same, to avoid phase issues).

 

[WBP]

Really enjoyed this, the 5.1 mix is superb and the contents of the box are fantastic, no complaints, its a 10

 

[RustyM]

I'm not gonna lie, I bought this whole box set for Detroit Rock City.

I wasn't a Kiss fan when they came out. I was 12 when this record hit and even though I was a rock dude, I thought the whole thing was a bit silly. Then a buddy put on Detroit Rock City and I had to admit this was a major league rock and roll outfit.

Now we come to Steven Wilson getting his hands on this and blowing up a song just shouting out loud for some surround and in this case some ATMOSpherics. And he delivers. There is action everywhere. You are immediately a character in the song. He puts you in the passenger seat for the whole ride as your best friend goes out like a roman candle.

There is so much in the song that Steven had to work with and he used it all. News report, car sounds, car radio and all the band action. Vocals up front, backing vocals in the back and the accelerating craziness accelerating beautifully. Lots of movement as befits a car chase scene in a big special effects movie. And lots of Kiss showing their chops.

Both the surround and ATMOS mixes work wonderfully for this. But if you have the Atmos you get the additional immersion that massive music plus a massive wreck call for.

The only quibble is the bass is not as punchy as I'd hoped. Gene Simmons licks (heh) are a vital part of the lead story between lines and they're there, but I wish they were in your face a bit more.

But that's it, the rest is a brilliant use of SW's talents. I'll add some more later about the rest of it but for now. Going crashing cars again and then again and probably again.View attachment 73858

I listened to the DTS-HD 5.1 today and enjoyed it. I haven't upgraded to Atmos...yet. =) Enjoyed your review.