not given the Ronan SACD a listen in years..I just remember it being such a disappointment, mixwise and not bothering again..!
Listening to now (In Surround!) - Volume 1
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not given the Ronan SACD a listen in years..I just remember it being such a disappointment, mixwise and not bothering again..!
ABMickey
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Barclay James Harvest - Once again (DVD-A)
...not heard since months but still a gem in my collection.
...not heard since months but still a gem in my collection.
Exactly my initial impression, and I wasn't expecting anything - plus it seemed to me that the singing is somewhat off-key... Actually it's not that bad, but it needs to be played loud. This release for some reason reminds me of Macy Gray's SACD, but that's a different league, really.
well he's hardly the best singer on the planet (imho!).. the mix isn't awful just not the fun discrete whizz-about it could/should have been with such lightweight poppy material it needed a lift (again just my "h.o".!).
the Macy one's also not top-tier but it is miles better than "Destination".. though I wish Sony had revisited Macy's first album "On How Life Is" and remixed that into 5.1, its her only really consistently solid album (again only imho!)
kap'n krunch
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
oooo Keane...I have the Dual Disc...which is probably the same as the SACD since it's 48/24...Now...if they had done "Under the iron Sea" in MCH!!!!!
Out of Sight! - Poncho Sanchez (Hybrid M/C SACD).
while not quite as good an album as his "Conga Blue" SACD, the surround mix is great (which almost makes up for it!) and its still very enjoyable
while not quite as good an album as his "Conga Blue" SACD, the surround mix is great (which almost makes up for it!) and its still very enjoyable
I never thought I'd say this (as I'm always rabbiting on about DVDAs sounding better than their SACD counterparts!) but I actually preferthe SACD of this one. I'm sure its identical but somehow I enjoy the sound on the SACD more (maybe its the smoother SACD presentation.. kinda softens this one..!?) ..anyway the mix is still weird but it has its moments and if I hadn't played the album to death back when it first came out I'd probably play the surround more as it does all the right things for me musically.
Revolutions - Jim Beard w/Vince Mendoza & The Metropole Orchestra (Hybrid M/C SACD).
Sound quality is outstanding.. surround mix is double stereo (with reverb/ambience added in the rears) on every track from what I can make out.. which is a shame as the slightly samey material (yet very accomplished stuff - there's a wealth of talent involved, incl guest appearances by Bill Evans & Jon Herrington) could do with a lift and a bit of discrete interplay in the mix would do just that, I feel.
ah well, at least it was cheap ..and it does sound gorgeous.
Sound quality is outstanding.. surround mix is double stereo (with reverb/ambience added in the rears) on every track from what I can make out.. which is a shame as the slightly samey material (yet very accomplished stuff - there's a wealth of talent involved, incl guest appearances by Bill Evans & Jon Herrington) could do with a lift and a bit of discrete interplay in the mix would do just that, I feel.
ah well, at least it was cheap ..and it does sound gorgeous.
Nickel Creek (Hybrid M/C SACD).
Finally getting around to opening some of this stuff up and playing it..!!
Lovely warm recording with a nice rich natural mid and bass, top end is a teeny bit toppy at times (unusually so by SACD standards) but the treble is still extremely detailed (to my ears) and isn't fatiguing.. musicianship is strong, these guys can play! slightly strange juxtaposition of modern/poppy (sappy even at times!) vocals set to country/bluegrass.
first few songs in and the rears aren't doing anything of interest, just replicated front stuff back there & ambience..
..like the Jim Beard I just gave a first listen to earlier its a bit of a let down.. I feel this could have benefitted from some subtle but discrete things only happening in the rear.
the best bit about the 5.1 mix from what I've heard of this so far are the very crisply-recorded lead vocals hard in the centre which are chock-full of presence they really have that "in-room" feel.
I can only imagine a decision was taken to have BV's in the front L&R instead of sending them to rear L & R because there's not a massive amount else going on musically, most songs are fairly sparse/stripped back.. and while it sounds lovely and authentic I'm more into what some might call more "gimmicky" mixes (I call them "creative"..!) and if I'd been mixing I would have panned violins and things to the rears, I'd still probably have stopped short of sending the harmonies and other vocals back there but it would have just made things a bit more interesting.
sigh.. I'm tempted to eject this and stick on something that does something worthwhile back there..!!!!
Finally getting around to opening some of this stuff up and playing it..!!
Lovely warm recording with a nice rich natural mid and bass, top end is a teeny bit toppy at times (unusually so by SACD standards) but the treble is still extremely detailed (to my ears) and isn't fatiguing.. musicianship is strong, these guys can play! slightly strange juxtaposition of modern/poppy (sappy even at times!) vocals set to country/bluegrass.
first few songs in and the rears aren't doing anything of interest, just replicated front stuff back there & ambience..
..like the Jim Beard I just gave a first listen to earlier its a bit of a let down.. I feel this could have benefitted from some subtle but discrete things only happening in the rear.
the best bit about the 5.1 mix from what I've heard of this so far are the very crisply-recorded lead vocals hard in the centre which are chock-full of presence they really have that "in-room" feel.
I can only imagine a decision was taken to have BV's in the front L&R instead of sending them to rear L & R because there's not a massive amount else going on musically, most songs are fairly sparse/stripped back.. and while it sounds lovely and authentic I'm more into what some might call more "gimmicky" mixes (I call them "creative"..!) and if I'd been mixing I would have panned violins and things to the rears, I'd still probably have stopped short of sending the harmonies and other vocals back there but it would have just made things a bit more interesting.
sigh.. I'm tempted to eject this and stick on something that does something worthwhile back there..!!!!
... and just (literally) as I finish my rant and am about to get up and put something else on.. a lone BV emerges from rear left! COOL!
ok.. with that little shining discrete moment, this Nickel Creek lot have almost redeemed themselves! sneaky buggers!!! grr..!!!
(just as an FYI, the discrete moment in rear left comes towards the end of track 5, "Reasons Why".. blink and you'd miss it!)
A Crow Left Of The Murder.. - Incubus (Hybrid M/C SACD).
Usual Nick Didia surround strangeness.. there's lots of discrete sound effects, synths and backing vocals going on in the rear channels (and all sorts of other goofy stuff!) but I kind of like it.. and it works..
..but by golly its bright and there's at times nasty mid/bass overload.. I guess that also befits the music so I shouldn't knock it.
At least its refreshing to have something/anything different happening in the rears to what's going on upfront now I'm exploring artists and genres I wouldn't go to as my default setting.
definitely liking the surround mix more than I thought I would.. similar reaction to the Train surround SACD that Didia "Did".. nowhere near as bad as reputation suggests.. and its a welcome change to have this kind of stuff in surround, albeit with an imperfect mix and fidelity by reference standards (on both counts!). I think I'll be playing this more often than stuff like the Nickel Creek for my 5.1 fits and giggles!
Usual Nick Didia surround strangeness.. there's lots of discrete sound effects, synths and backing vocals going on in the rear channels (and all sorts of other goofy stuff!) but I kind of like it.. and it works..
..but by golly its bright and there's at times nasty mid/bass overload.. I guess that also befits the music so I shouldn't knock it.
At least its refreshing to have something/anything different happening in the rears to what's going on upfront now I'm exploring artists and genres I wouldn't go to as my default setting.
definitely liking the surround mix more than I thought I would.. similar reaction to the Train surround SACD that Didia "Did".. nowhere near as bad as reputation suggests.. and its a welcome change to have this kind of stuff in surround, albeit with an imperfect mix and fidelity by reference standards (on both counts!). I think I'll be playing this more often than stuff like the Nickel Creek for my 5.1 fits and giggles!
Ps. "Pistola" is FUN in 5.1! kooky sound effect action in the rears ahoy!! brave attempt at reworking this into surround and definitely not a double stereo cop out on any level. growing on me all the time..
Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye (DVD-A).
At the risk of sounding like a stuck record (ha!).. another UMG one where I prefer the DVDA to the SACD.
..among other great qualities it has more detail and top end sparkle than the SACD and the bass seems more controlled.
oh how I LOVE this album.. which helps with the overall enjoyment of course.. but the surround mix and fidelity are gorgeous either way!
I just wish we'd had more Motown in surround before UMG went bye-bye's on it all.. although maybe the new BDA thingy will come up with the goods!
"..Stevie we really dig you, hope you don't mind this riff from you.." :banana:
At the risk of sounding like a stuck record (ha!).. another UMG one where I prefer the DVDA to the SACD.
..among other great qualities it has more detail and top end sparkle than the SACD and the bass seems more controlled.
oh how I LOVE this album.. which helps with the overall enjoyment of course.. but the surround mix and fidelity are gorgeous either way!
I just wish we'd had more Motown in surround before UMG went bye-bye's on it all.. although maybe the new BDA thingy will come up with the goods!
"..Stevie we really dig you, hope you don't mind this riff from you.." :banana:
Agents of Fortune - Blue Öyster Cult (M/C SACD).
Crank this and it ain't so bad after all..! Revisiting it after a long time, much better than I remembered (and I didn't hate it in the first place).. plus I've had a shift around of the room and now my rear speakers are further behind my listening position (the couch).. the feeling of separation and effectiveness of the surround mix here are noticeably improved/increased by having the rears further away from my ears!
Perhaps this is one where the ITU layout/standard for setting up your speakers in a 5.1 configuration doesn't get the best out of the surround mix..!??
Now I've had a re-jig of the room I'm going to go through a load of my old slightly underwhelming surround discs and see if there's a similar improvement.
Crank this and it ain't so bad after all..! Revisiting it after a long time, much better than I remembered (and I didn't hate it in the first place).. plus I've had a shift around of the room and now my rear speakers are further behind my listening position (the couch).. the feeling of separation and effectiveness of the surround mix here are noticeably improved/increased by having the rears further away from my ears!
Perhaps this is one where the ITU layout/standard for setting up your speakers in a 5.1 configuration doesn't get the best out of the surround mix..!??
Now I've had a re-jig of the room I'm going to go through a load of my old slightly underwhelming surround discs and see if there's a similar improvement.
Soulstar - Musiq (DVD-Audio).
Turning up the rears helps the surround out on this one, there's a fair bit more discrete stuff (keyboards/sound effects) going on than last time I played this. Still, I wish it had been mixed with more vocals back there but the sound quality is lovely, certainly nicer than the stereo and its great to have something 'different' in Hi-Rez surround. I love classic rock as much as the next man but variety is the spice of life and this certainly represents surround variety.
Turning up the rears helps the surround out on this one, there's a fair bit more discrete stuff (keyboards/sound effects) going on than last time I played this. Still, I wish it had been mixed with more vocals back there but the sound quality is lovely, certainly nicer than the stereo and its great to have something 'different' in Hi-Rez surround. I love classic rock as much as the next man but variety is the spice of life and this certainly represents surround variety.
inquadwetrust
300 Club - QQ All-Star
21st Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson.
Bonus points for being a left field request from my wife, whose been enjoying the finally-arrived spring weather and drinking wine in the garden. She asked for The Isley Brothers' 'Summer Breeze' before this. I think this mix is going somewhere interesting.
Bonus points for being a left field request from my wife, whose been enjoying the finally-arrived spring weather and drinking wine in the garden. She asked for The Isley Brothers' 'Summer Breeze' before this. I think this mix is going somewhere interesting.
In Time The Best of R.E.M. 88-03..
..the windows flung wide open on a beautiful sunny day :sun ...with "Everybody Hurts" blasting out! :yikes
I'll either have the music police round in a minute, or the real Police! nee-naw..nee-naw..!! ha!
time to crack open another tinny, eject this and stick on something more raucous! :brew
..the windows flung wide open on a beautiful sunny day :sun ...with "Everybody Hurts" blasting out! :yikes
I'll either have the music police round in a minute, or the real Police! nee-naw..nee-naw..!! ha!
time to crack open another tinny, eject this and stick on something more raucous! :brew
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