HiRez Poll Lennon, John - IMAGINE [Blu-Ray Audio]

[rusinurbe]

Only just had a chance to listen to disc 1 so far just wanted to understand what the fuss was and totally agree what a week 5.1 mix not attempted to listen to the quadrasinic mix. No votes so far but need to understand what should or could be?

 

[JerseyEd]

I gave it a 10, much as others have, primarily due to BD2, but I enjoyed BD1 also.

 

[holland123]

I gave this a 9. unlike many here I very much enjoyed the new 5.1 mix on disc 1, possibly due to its' phenomenal remastering which I am very thankful was Not just a so called flat transfer ( which to me is just a cop out). the remastering is one which others should be gauged upon. the surround field could be much better but I still enjoy it. disc 2 is indeed wonderful and engaging in its' surround field and it was mastered with much the same care as disc 1. there are valid arguments for now making it the goto for this John Lennon masterpiece.

 

[stansby40]

Imagine was one of my favourite albums of the early seventies. I wore out the old vinyl album and have tried various mixes since then including the underwhelming Pure Audio stereo mix. I actually dont mind the mixes on Blu ray 1 sometimes immersion is better than discrete. As most people have mentioned Blu Ray 2 is where the action is. I think it is the best I have heard Imagine sound and I can now leave my vinyl copy on the shelve. I will give it an overall 8.

 

[svengaleekie]

This release could have been so much better, if only the main 5.1 was more than merely spread across the front with a few barely perceptible sounds coming from the rears. The surround is much better on disc 2, why the album proper couldn't have been done this way I have no idea, the original quadrasonic mix is slightly better though. The overall package is nice though so I'm scoring this an 8.​

 

[boxmusic]

Hi All, I could not listen 5.1 mix of the out-takes of on my BD1．Both 5.1 & Stereo are available on the credit. Is that common phenomenon in all copies ?? What about your BD1?

 

[~dave~~wave~]

Hi All, I could not listen 5.1 mix of the out-takes of on my BD1．Both 5.1 & Stereo are available on the credit. Is that common phenomenon in all copies ?? What about your BD1?

There is nothing wrong with your copy of BD1.
All of them are like that.
It is a printing error on the box track listing, those out-takes were not mixed in 5.1.

 

[boxmusic]

Thank you Dave.
My copy is Japanese issue. BD and SHM-CD were Japanese pressing.
I'd like to know woldwide copy has same problems or only on a Japanese issue.
It's just a printing error, you're right.

 

[Philip Spinner]

The quad mix takes forever to load on my Oppo but eventually it does. Is this normal.

 

[marpow]

I voted 10, great everything. It is a little redundant with extra's, but if you got em you might as well show em.

 

[rusinurbe]

Have to agree with what has been said about this so far, how bizarre that the finished album is so tame a mix. While the bonus material is so strong in terms of surroundness..
If this was judged on disc1 it would be a low mark, but disc two really hauls this up the raw mixes are great.
As a consequence I am conflicted over the score, as this was a relatively cheap set it will probably be a higher mark, just because this is pretty much a kitchen sink release. With disc 2 Hayling the score up because it's so good.

 

[Juggsnelson]

Outside of wanting the 5.1 mix on disc 1 to be more adventurous, I don't have anything negative to say about this release. The fantastic extras in 5.1 combined with the excellent book make me vote "10".

 

[filper]

Amazon.ca has it listed today for $84 CAD.

 

[jefe1]

Amazon.com has this listed at $52.22 right now.

 

[MrSmithers]

I was very happy when I first got this and thought it was brilliant so I voted a 10!

But (even though it’s not possible) I’m increasing my vote to 11. The reason?! Well this is crazy (and it’s not because you just met me) it’s because either John Lennon is such a dude that -

1. He invited Aleksandr the Meetkat into the studio for the raw mix on Oh Yoko?

2. John Lennon is Aleksandr the Meerkat?!?!

If you listen to the first 10 seconds of Oh Yoko on the Raw Mix, you’ll hear him!



Apologies if you don’t know who Aleksandr the Meerkat is... But... Thinking about it - the most logical answer is John Lennon is Aleksandr the Meerkat!

Great album, great mix, great fidelity. One of the standout hits of the year...

 

[fredblue]

I was very happy when I first got this and thought it was brilliant so I voted a 10!

But (even though it’s not possible) I’m increasing my vote to 11. The reason?! Well this is crazy (and it’s not because you just met me) it’s because either John Lennon is such a dude that -

1. He invited Aleksandr the Meetkat into the studio for the raw mix on Oh Yoko?

2. John Lennon is Aleksandr the Meerkat?!?!

If you listen to the first 10 seconds of Oh Yoko on the Raw Mix, you’ll hear him!

View attachment 37267

Apologies if you don’t know who Aleksandr the Meerkat is... But... Thinking about it - the most logical answer is John Lennon is Aleksandr the Meerkat!

Great album, great mix, great fidelity. One of the standout hits of the year...

Christmas, you know it ain't SEEMPLES!!!
(funny, i used to work for the production company that does those ads)

 

[MrSmithers]

Christmas, you know it ain't SEEMPLES!!!
(funny, i used to work for the production company that does those ads)

Cool! Wow Fredblue was also Aleksandr the Meerkat?! Who was the walrus then?!?

 

[kap'n krunch]

hwe're gonna hhhaff to git Moose int Skuirrulll !
(June Foray RULES!!!)

 

[sjcorne]

Late to the game on this one: ordered on Black Friday, then had to send for a replacement that came yesterday (!). There's still something fishy with Blu-Ray #2, but none of that impacts my vote and I have managed to hear almost all the surround content in the set.

Speaking of which, I have to applaud the sheer amount of surround content in this set! How do you make all the outtakes and superfluous (IMO) extra material in a box set interesting to a surround collector? Mix it in surround! This is now something I'll be looking for in future big boxes, as the 5.1 outtakes ended up being the standout of the set.

First thing that jumps out at me is the size of the box- I wish all box sets were around this size. This is much more pleasant to store/look at compared to a behemoth like Pepper or Layla. The book gets extra points for the extensive quad info and those cool surround maps.

Quad Mix: I guess it's cool they threw this in. I always wondered why the SQ LP was such a lousy decode and now I know. What I found interesting were the quotes from Allan Steckler about the making of the quad mix in the book- seems they were going for a "U-shape" sound-field and not the "middle of the band" approach, so there was some intention behind the way it was done. Doubt I'll play this again.

5.1 Mix: Better than the quad, but still a real missed opportunity. Nice separation between the front three channels and I do like vocals isolated in the center. Unfortunately, all that makes it to the rears is cavernous reverb and the occasional accent instrument (tambourine, acoustic guitar, etc). The strings are in the phantom sides biased more toward the rears. The best mix is "How Do You Sleep" with the slide guitar directly behind you, just as the map shows. Overall, a very conservative surround mix- and it definitely doesn't help that the fronts and center are mastered around 3 dB too loud, much like the Sgt. Pepper 5.1.

Raw Studio Mixes: You've probably heard enough about these already. A "Columbia Q8" style presentation with the drums/bass in the rears and no reverb. Love it! Without a doubt the best part of this entire set. My only complaint would be that there is sometimes a "black hole" in the mix, with one channel (usually front left or right) barely used.

Final Vote: 9

 

[4-earredwonder]

Late to the game on this one: ordered on Black Friday, then had to send for a replacement that came yesterday (!). There's still something fishy with Blu-Ray #2, but none of that impacts my vote and I have managed to hear almost all the surround content in the set.

Speaking of which, I have to applaud the sheer amount of surround content in this set! How do you make all the outtakes and superfluous (IMO) extra material in a box set interesting to a surround collector? Mix it in surround! This is now something I'll be looking for in future big boxes, as the 5.1 outtakes ended up being the standout of the set.

First thing that jumps out at me is the size of the box- I wish all box sets were around this size. This is much more pleasant to store/look at compared to a behemoth like Pepper or Layla. The book gets extra points for the extensive quad info and those cool surround maps.

Quad Mix: I guess it's cool they threw this in. I always wondered why the SQ LP was such a lousy decode and now I know. What I found interesting were the quotes from Allan Steckler about the making of the quad mix in the book- seems they were going for a "U-shape" sound-field and not the "middle of the band" approach, so there was some intention behind the way it was done. Doubt I'll play this again.

5.1 Mix: Better than the quad, but still a real missed opportunity. Nice separation between the front three channels and I do like vocals isolated in the center. Unfortunately, all that makes it to the rears is cavernous reverb and the occasional accent instrument (tambourine, acoustic guitar, etc). The strings are in the phantom sides biased more toward the rears. The best mix is "How Do You Sleep" with the slide guitar directly behind you, just as the map shows. Overall, a very conservative surround mix- and it definitely doesn't help that the rears are mastered around 3 dB too low, much like the Sgt. Pepper 5.1.

Raw Studio Mixes: You've probably heard enough about these already. A "Columbia Q8" style presentation with the drums/bass in the rears and no reverb. Love it! Without a doubt the best part of this entire set. My only complaint would be that there is sometimes a "black hole" in the mix, with one channel (usually front left or right) barely used.

Final Vote: 9

View attachment 37365

Nice overview, Jonathan. I likewise voted a 9. And I'm sure those sub par Q8 70's tapes went for way more than this pretty comprehensive Imagine box set went for.

Now it's time to remix George Harrison's ALL THINGS MUST PASS into 5.1 since it was recently acknowledged that 3 180g Vinyl LPs were released some time ago which sound spectacular.....unlike my recent botched MQA UHQCD set from Japan.