MUSIC ONLY! What's Your Latest Blu-Ray or Blu-Ray-A, Concert or Music-Related?

[fredblue]

Mine be horiz:

+1

 

[Perp]

I've seen lots of setups (in internet posts) where the center speaker is not identical. The typical "center speaker" in a 5.1 system is horizontal.

Okay, I understand what you're saying now. I was thinking a different model or manufacturer altogether.@: Luckily, I use all the same speakers all around.

 

[fredblue]

Okay, I understand what you're saying now. I was thinking a different model or manufacturer altogether.@: Luckily, I use all the same speakers all around.

I'd loooove to have all 5 identical like you but just not possible with limited space/practicality/aesthetics + the 5.1 system doing double duty for TV/movies as well as music so must have centre under the tv.. if/when I move I'll have a dedicated listening room and go for either 5 matching completely full-range speakers and beefy power amps or 5 of the same active monitors.. would all be wasted and nigh-on impossible where we are now but it's the long term aim for sure.

meantime, despite the compromise (and all the lobing that comes with horizontally-arraigned centre speakers) I love a good 5.1 music mix that uses all 5 to the full (just about anything by SW, the Billy Joel's, or Greg Penny's EJ's of course..).

 

[PK]

Okay, I understand what you're saying now. I was thinking a different model or manufacturer altogether.@: Luckily, I use all the same speakers all around.

FWIW, I had a sales guy tell me that he had a customer that purchased 5 horizontal center channel speakers and put them on stands. I considered it but just went with the towers...

 

[himey]

Here is my logic.
Of all the comparison's of a quad to 5.1 mix I have preferred the 5.1's every time if we are talking about fantastic mixes.
I do agree with Jon Urban's comment that he would take a fantastic quad mix over a poor 5.1 any day, and I would agree.
I am talking about people that are great at mixing albums and I can't see how if you have a whole sound field of 5.1 speakers and mix was done accordingly that it wouldn't be better than a 4.0 mix.
When it comes to quad mixes, we have a Alan Parson's mix from 40 years ago and a James Guthrie mix 30 years later and most people prefer the Alan Parson's mix, so this is a comment on who is doing the mixes as James Guthrie could have used the centre canel but he choose not to for most of the mix.
I don't yet have Andy J. TDB as I am waiting for a stand alone bluray(I might have to wait a while) but I do have the David Gilmour On a Island(DVDV) and I think between hearing that mix as well as the 2 James Guthrie mixes, I think they could have been better if they had been mixed into 5.1. I just got the Gentle Giant bluray and it sounds amazing in 5.1, wish Pink Floyd could have gotten that kind of mix done to it.
Having said that I am still happy to have Andy J's and James Guthrie mixes.

peter

I think we are on the same page pretty much. I can't seem to find Jon Urban's comment but that was the simple point I was making. A great quad mix beats a crappy 5.1/5.0 mix every time.

Now that that is out of the way, I can understand picking appart a mix because the mixing engineer did not decide to use the center. It's there, so use it. For me, one of the first things that I judge a new surround mix on is how far back in the mix he/she/they put the vocals. There are no mixes that I like that put the lead vocals in the rear of the soundstage. Many quad releases do this (Aretha Franklin - Best of and Black Sabbath - Paranoid comes to mind) and I can't stand any of them, yet they get a passable rating in the surround polls somehow. It seems simple enough to plant the leads in the center as SW does consistently and build the mix around that. Problem solved. Of course you can put the vocals in the front of the mix without using the center (aka AJ) but it just seems natural and logical to use that fifth channel for that purpose.

The small bit of disagreement I have with your thoughtful posts is putting James Guthrie and AJ mixes on any type of equal level. In my opinion Andy Jackson has taken it to the next level. I wish I had more studio behind the boards knowledge to spell out the reasons but I don't, however, my ears and brain tell me. AJ seems to be willing to take a bit more chances with the mix without any gimmicks as SW always does and in the end the overall presentation just works. I just don't feel the need to say if only he would have done this or that...it just sounds satisfying. JG on the other hand, after listening to his mixes, I feel the need to criticize or critique his work. Usually it's why didn't he get more aggressive. It leaves me wanting more.

The Gentle Giant mix is great. I had never heard one note of this band (sadly) until this 5.1 mix and they fit right in to my musical tastes. What an amazing comeback for multichannel music this year. Can't wait for Drums and Wires and another Yes release. Will this year ever be topped? Doubt it but hoping so...Animals by SW or AJ (not JG) is still the holy grail for me and most likely many others...

 

[sukothai]

... use the center. It's there, so use it. ... There are no mixes that I like that put the lead vocals in the rear of the soundstage. Many quad releases do this (Aretha Franklin - Best of and Black Sabbath - Paranoid comes to mind) and I can't stand any of them, yet they get a passable rating in the surround polls somehow...

I sometimes feel a bit heretical in saying I don't really care what comes out of which speaker and I don't even mind drums from the rear (QQ blasphemy, I know.) To me the quality that makes a surround recording most enjoyable is discreteness (yep, even for classical) and it is all about tickling my senses. Of course, you can go too far in any good thing and "balance" really is important, but I don't think it matters whether the mix artist uses the center or not. I read an interview where the mixer said it is actually a lot harder to get a 5.0 mix right than a 4.0 mix (I can't remember who it was right now.) In the end what matters is whether the mix sounds good and I've heard good and bad examples of mixes both with or without the center channel. I love 5.0, but I think the reason I prefer 4.0 (if given a choice) is because I don't have to plant myself somewhere in the center facing forward. The quad setup gives a little more freedom to move around. And I must say I love the old quad mixes including Aretha Franklin and Black Sabbath.

I know the distinction is subtle and I'm not trying to say my way is right and yours is wrong. I'm just trying to find a way to say there are lots of right ways and lots of opinions about what is *right* - especially in music. So please don't call my opinion wrong because it doesn't agree with yours. Of course, it could be that I'm the only one that appreciates drums in the rear and I have to accept the fact that I am really odd.

 

[wavelength]

My main reason why I prefer having a center speaker is that it gives one more speaker for the sound to be reproduced from. My experience is that spreading the sound over 5 speakers results in better over-all clarity than spreading the sound over 4 speakers.

 

[colsky]

Ian Anderson - Thick as a Brick Live in Iceland blu ray. An unexpected pre release Sunday morning surprise from Amazon :banana:.

Yes its an Eagle Rock SD blu ray, but the sound is uncompressed DTS-HD Master Audio. The mix is by Jakko Jakszyk and the surround is discrete and very nice.

 

[keenly]

Ian Anderson - Thick as a Brick Live in Iceland blu ray. An unexpected pre release Sunday morning surprise from Amazon :banana:.

Yes its an Eagle Rock SD blu ray, but the sound is uncompressed DTS-HD Master Audio. The mix is by Jakko Jakszyk and the surround is discrete and very nice.

I need this! I care not for the picture; I just listen to live blu rays. Great to hear Jakko mixed it, thanks for feedback.

 

[fredblue]

Mosh Pit - Zofo (CD + Blu-ray Audio).

Sono Luminus 2-disc set with BD-A in 2.0, 5.1 and 7.1.

 

[fredblue]

Pale Communion - Opeth (BD-A + CD).

 

[LizardKing]

Mosh Pit - Zofo (CD + Blu-ray Audio).

Sono Luminus 2-disc set with BD-A in 2.0, 5.1 and 7.1.

Interesting... You'd never guess that it was classical....:yikes

 

[fredblue]

Unterwegs 5.1 Only - A Play Without Words by J.Neumann (BD-A).

 

[d0zer]

Unterwegs 5.1 Only - A Play Without Words by J.Neumann (BD-A).

Hi fredblue, saw this the other day somewhere, but I have absolutely no idea what this could possibly be. So if you could give some hints it'd be much appreciated. tia

 

[fredblue]

Hi fredblue, saw this the other day somewhere, but I have absolutely no idea what this could possibly be. So if you could give some hints it'd be much appreciated. tia

Hi d0zer, I just gave it a quick spin. It's what I can best describe as a series of chapters of sound effects, in 5.1.. no music that I could discern.. not my kind of thing at all.. but I'm sure somebody would appreciate it.

 

[fredblue]

More Unterwegs pix..

 

[fredblue]

"Uncommon" 5.1 BD-PA just arrived (from Finland, of all places)..

Mutala - Eppu Normaali

 

[fredblue]

Eppu Normaali BD-A Menu (it's a "Pure Audio" disc)..

 

[d0zer]

IIRC "Eppu Normaali" is finnish for "Abby Normal" (a character in Rocky Horror Picture Show - or was it Young Frankenstein?), just in case you wondered.

 

[Perp]

^ Here is two references to "Abby Normal".

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Abby%20Normal

1.

Abby Normal
Reference to Mel Brooks' comedic movie, "Young Frankenstein" (1974)--Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Peter Boyle, and Cloris Leachman as Igor, a humpback kinda guy.
After dropping a genius' brain jar for Frankenstein to implant in his creature, Igor picks up an "abnormal" brain. The Monster awakes and nearly kills Frankenstein. When questioned, Igor confesses he'd dropped the first brain and picked up someone else's, "Abby...someone." Abby Normal.
Any girl named Abby.
"Hi, my name is ___, and your's?"
"Abby"
"Abby Normal?" -- (snicker)


2.

Abby Normal
Abby Normal is a singer/guitarist/bassist from Salisbury, North Carolina. He started playing bass with Maniac Spider Trash in 1993, played bass for Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13, and released a solo project in 1997 called "Midnight Creature Feature Picture Show." He also founded The Graveyard Boulevard with ex-Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 members Seaweed and Sicko Zero. Abby Normal is currently busy with plans to reunite and tour with the Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13.
Abby Normal is a nice guy who appreciates his fans.