Nightwish - Yesterwynde (CD + Atmos Blu-ray) Sept. 20 2024

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...I'm waiting patiently for comments on the surround mix before ordering. Anyone played it yet?
It's a pretty mediocre mix. Surround mix is okay (only listening to 5.1), mostly some backing vocals, choirs, parts of the orchestra and lots of reverb. Nothing special.

Problem is, the overall sound is kind of muddy and undefined plus there are some harsh sounding vocals coming from the center. I read about some complaints online about the vocals on the stereo mix getting drowned by the music and it feels like they tried to fix that by using lots of EQ in the 2 to 3 kHz range to bring them more upfront. It's almost ear-piercing once Floor gets to higher registers.

Even though the songs try to sound epic and big, they are lacking in impact and it's hard to listen to them at higher volumes. The whole mix just lacks clarity and definition. Having listened to the last album from Leprous for the past few days, this is like a night and day experience.

Regarding the sound quality, I'm very disappointed in this release and expected way more.
 
Well.... shit. I guess this will go into the "obtained for completist purposes" section of the collection if it bears out simiilarly. By way of comparison, how does it compare to the Luca Turilli's Rhapsody - Prometheus release in Atmos? I recall some similar sentiments being written about it, but I actually found it enjoyable in Atmos, even if not the most vibrant showcase of Atmos's capabilities.

P.S. I'm increasingly enjoying the new Leprous album. I jammed to it all the way home during a drive yesterday. I haven't cracked open my blu-ray for listening yet... still on the to-do list.
 
Well.... shit. I guess this will go into the "obtained for completist purposes" section of the collection if it bears out simiilarly. By way of comparison, how does it compare to the Luca Turilli's Rhapsody - Prometheus release in Atmos? I recall some similar sentiments being written about it, but I actually found it enjoyable in Atmos, even if not the most vibrant showcase of Atmos's capabilities.

P.S. I'm increasingly enjoying the new Leprous album. I jammed to it all the way home during a drive yesterday. I haven't cracked open my blu-ray for listening yet... still on the to-do list.
I don’t have Prometheus or Leprous to compare but take it from me this album and atmos mix are brilliant, no intention of ever listening to the 5.1 so have no thoughts on that
 
I have Prometheus, and it's shit in Atmos. Got Nightwish in today and will listen to it later, but based on listening to it on Apple Music it's a very good Atmos mix. I will never listen to the 5.1 either.

 
I have Prometheus, and it's shit in Atmos. Got Nightwish in today and will listen to it later, but based on listening to it on Apple Music it's a very good Atmos mix. I will never listen to the 5.1 either.

Two reasons I wont buy Prometheus (even though it’s dirt cheap), too many have said the atmos is dreadful and I listened to a bit of it on youtube and the vocals are definitely not for me although the music is decent
 
Funny, never in my life I've listened to an Atmos mix without checking the 5.1 mix first, on a release that includes both. And I always familiarize myself with the music in stereo first anyway. All of them are interesting for me as long as they are good - they're just different presentations.
 
Funny, never in my life I've listened to an Atmos mix without checking the 5.1 mix first, on a release that includes both. And I always familiarize myself with the music in stereo first anyway. All of them are interesting for me as long as they are good - they're just different presentations.
We are all unique I suppose, when I buy a cd/blu ray set I rip the cd to itunes for my phone and only ever listen to the top version of the surround, i’ve never listened to an album in high-res stereo, I will listen to a quad mix if it’s included though but usually only once
 
We are all unique I suppose, when I buy a cd/blu ray set I rip the cd to itunes for my phone and only ever listen to the top version of the surround, i’ve never listened to an album in high-res stereo, I will listen to a quad mix if it’s included though but usually only once

Yeah, there are no better or worse habits in this hobby, I just do what works best for me. I find it really interesting to discover an album in several steps (stereo - quad - 5.1 - Atmos, if all available), makes the experience even more enjoyable for me. I have some albums in my collection, like Big Big Train's The Likes of Us, that I haven't even listened to in surround yet 2 months and many spins later, because I find the stereo mix so good that I haven't even felt the need to "go up" yet.
 
Yeah, there are no better or worse habits in this hobby, I just do what works best for me. I find it really interesting to discover an album in several steps (stereo - quad - 5.1 - Atmos, if all available), makes the experience even more enjoyable for me. I have some albums in my collection, like Big Big Train's The Likes of Us, that I haven't even listened to in surround yet 2 months and many spins later, because I find the stereo mix so good that I haven't even felt the need to "go up" yet.
The likes of us is brilliant in atmos as well, one of Bruce Soords best yet
 
It's a pretty mediocre mix. Surround mix is okay (only listening to 5.1), mostly some backing vocals, choirs, parts of the orchestra and lots of reverb. Nothing special.

Problem is, the overall sound is kind of muddy and undefined plus there are some harsh sounding vocals coming from the center. I read about some complaints online about the vocals on the stereo mix getting drowned by the music and it feels like they tried to fix that by using lots of EQ in the 2 to 3 kHz range to bring them more upfront. It's almost ear-piercing once Floor gets to higher registers.

Even though the songs try to sound epic and big, they are lacking in impact and it's hard to listen to them at higher volumes. The whole mix just lacks clarity and definition. Having listened to the last album from Leprous for the past few days, this is like a night and day experience.

Regarding the sound quality, I'm very disappointed in this release and expected way more.
Very sorry to read that you are not happy with this great release.

If you had a Dolby Atmos speaker set up you would be blown away.
Hang on, I'll let you listen to the output from one of my rear heights!!
1000014570.jpg
 
If you had a Dolby Atmos speaker set up you would be blown away.

I highly doubt it. The 5.1 and fold-down of the Atmos track (7.1 TrueHD) sound exactly the same. Please keep in mind, I'm not criticizing the surround mix, which is nothing special but well done, it's all about the mediocre mix itself. It's just not the big and epic sounding mix it wants to be. There are far better albums out there when it comes to the overall sound quality. Even the stereo track features a better separation and clarity.

But that's just my opinion.
 
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By way of comparison, how does it compare to the Luca Turilli's Rhapsody - Prometheus release in Atmos?
I'm sorry, I never listened to that one. But you should definitely check out the Leprous album in surround. Almost perfect mix, even though the drums are isolated in the front speakers. Something what I like about the latest Soord mixes (including Leprous) is the fact that you can really crank them up without ever sounding harsh. Also, the bass is incredible!
 
I highly doubt it. The 5.1 and fold-down of the Atmos track (7.1 TrueHD) sound exactly the same. Please keep in mind, I'm not criticizing the surround mix, which is nothing special but well done, it's all about the mediocre mix itself. It's just not the big and epic sounding mix it wants to be. There are far better albums out there when it comes to the overall sound quality. Even the stereo track features a better separation and clarity.

But that's just my opinion.
It's all cool 😎
That's the beauty of our pastime we all have various views.
 
I'm sorry, I never listened to that one. But you should definitely check out the Leprous album in surround. Almost perfect mix, even though the drums are isolated in the front speakers. Something what I like about the latest Soord mixes (including Leprous) is the fact that you can really crank them up without ever sounding harsh. Also, the bass is incredible!

Interestingly I'm not particularly excited about the Leprous mix. I find it good (and I agree that it's really crankable) but sort of workmanlike and static. His mix of the latest Pure Reason Revolution album though, now that's a stunning one in my book.
 
Interestingly I'm not particularly excited about the Leprous mix. I find it good (and I agree that it's really crankable) but sort of workmanlike and static. His mix of the latest Pure Reason Revolution album though, now that's a stunning one in my book.
I think the Leprous is quite good listening on Apple Music, but I didn't like the music. :unsure: Bruce Soord is my favorite mixer for heavier music in Atmos, like Tesseract and Haken.
Pure Reason Revolution I have not heard, do you know if it's up on Apple Music?
 
Pure Reason Revolution I have not heard, do you know if it's up on Apple Music?

Yes, it is, I've seen it myself although I haven't listened to the Atmos mix yet, I only know the 5.1 which is what the physical release includes. The Atmos mix might be just as good or even better if that's possible (it's still the only album for which I've voted 10 on a forum poll).
 
Yes, it is, I've seen it myself although I haven't listened to the Atmos mix yet, I only know the 5.1 which is what the physical release includes. The Atmos mix might be just as good or even better if that's possible (it's still the only album for which I've voted 10 on a forum poll).
So the disc is only 5.1? No wonder it was cheap locally. ;)
 
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