....even better
HiRez Poll Porcupine Tree - IN ABSENTIA [DVD-A/BDA]
- Thread starter JonUrban
- Start date
Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:
musicmemorabiliashoppellc
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Just arrived this minuteBought it!!!! For that price it's a Slam Dunk, Grand Slam, Hat Trick or a Hole In 1.....which ever you choose!! Thanks for that!!!Yawzeer.....guess I got the last 1 @ that price....back up to $87
!!!! Can't wait to listen to it!!!!
Corrected disc?Just arrived this minute
musicmemorabiliashoppellc
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2017
- Messages
- 97
Late review on an amazing sounding disc. For me the mixing and sound is a 10, the music is an 8. So overall score a 9.
The56Kid
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Curious if you’ve heard it before. This is a grower and if this purchase comprises your first listens, I can almost guarantee that your music score will go up over time.
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2017
- Messages
- 97
Yes I had the CD before, but it is true that I had not given it heavy listening. I would not be surprised if it does grow on me.
I really enjoy In Absentia, I give the mix and sound a 10 and the music a 9,, so overall I have to rate it a 9.
That 5.1 mix is soooooooo good.
YMMV
That 5.1 mix is soooooooo good.
YMMV
fthesoundguy
Senior Member
This is my first listen to a Elliot Scheiner mix and I am happy to say that is has lived up to all the rave reviews. A very well balanced mix with a little movement. Every bit of that panning is really tasteful and not overdone in my opinion (Though I love gimmicky surround mixing as well).
Blackest Eyes: What a great song to start out an album with. Loved the guitar starting out in the rears before the band comes in. The trippy guitar strums alternating between the fronts and rears was an awesome ear catching moment. There’s another moment of the lead vocal in the center and the doubled vocals coming out of the phantom rear that caught my ear (took a couple of listens though!) Such a wonderfully balanced song. Rears used to their full potential with everything that is placed back there.
Trains: It's just a stunning song with an amazing riff in it. Nothing really caught my ear until those vocal delays halfway through. The clapping at the break, panning around the room while the shaker was in the phantom rear was great!
Lips of Ashes: What an amazing start to this song. Guitars and keyboards moving all around the sound field. The backing vocals coming out of all 4 corners was fantastic. Ends with a great solo as well.
The Sound of Muzak: Again, backing vocals from the (mostly) rears sound amazing. The last half of this song sounds just beautiful in surround. It seems like Scheiner’s mixes start off rather mundane and by the end of the song, evolve to just an amazing mix. Loved how the acoustic went to the rears for that portion.
Gravity Eyelids: Loved the ‘piercing’ sounds moving around in the rears. And the ‘Skipping” sound moving throughout the speakers was nice. The middle of this song was pretty awesome, but it was the first moment where you can totally here how compressed this mix is. Those guitar strums just have nowhere to breathe. I’m just not really into this song as a whole. One of the ones I usually skip and even after listening to it in surround, I feel the same way.
Wedding Nails: Keyboards in the rears was the only really great moment of this mix. A straight rocker for the most part. The break in the middle was well done. That shaker in the phantom rear and looping keyboard sound moving around were great. And the haunting end made me twist my head to see where those sounds were coming from.
Prodigal: The chorus lyrics being in the surrounds was awesome! The song totally opens up in those sections as well as the end. Everything is masterly placed as usual.
.3: The guitar sounds at the beginning moving around was awesome. When the acoustic comes in, the electric strums moving around the room are wonderful. The strings getting louder and louder in the rears was awesome. and when it comes to full strength, you still have some electric guitar (or is it a keyboard?) moving around a bit. I usually skipped this song whenever it came on and am now totally impressed by it.
The Creator Has A Mastertape: The guitar starting in the surround left and moving up center then all around was awesome! And the keyboards starting up in the fronts and panning to the rears and then all around was awesome as well! The keyboards moving all around at that little break was awesome! The end of this one is rough though. The guitars sound SO compressed. That’s how they sound on the studio version as well, but it is heightened in this mix.
Heartattack in a Layby: The vocal delays/reverbs are incredible. As well as the backup vocals in the surrounds trading off with the one in the center. A real triumphant surround moment! Its another one I usually skipped as well and now I will not do that ever again.
Strip The Soul: Nice moments for the backup vocals in the surrounds. A nice ear catching moment was that acoustic bridge. That note near the end moving around the field was cool. Otherwise this is kind of a bland song that has never really caught my attention and is still that way in surround.
Collapse The Light Into Earth: Vocal delays are nicely used fading into the surrounds and open up what would be a pretty bland part of the song without them.
Drown With Me: What a PHENOMENAL song. How is this not on the main album?!?!? Probably my favorite PT song ever. The vocal delay to the rears was awesome and then when the backup vocals start bouncing off every speaker, that was breathtaking. There is a bit more delay/reverb on the main vocal in the 5.1 version, but it make sense with the lyrical content! It's definitely drowning in delay and reverb. I wish that guitar/keyboard solo was a pinch louder but other than that, what a fantastic song. I think I replayed this about a dozen times right off the bat.
Chloroform: The vocal sounds haunting in the beginning, great reverb as well. The “Ah’s” moving around between the fronts and surrounds was great. A pretty great song as well. Even the B-sides are fantastic for SW.
Futile: Nice to have the acoustic in the rears. Another pretty great song but can see why it was left off the album.
Mastering is pretty compressed and also a bit bright. Sometimes those cymbals, acoustic strums and snare impacts can be like needles to my ear at a loud volume! I’ve listened to this record 4 times all at different volumes and its such an exhausting listen no matter what. By Strip the Soul, I am ready to just turn this off. Definitely need to take a break for a bit after listening to this. I saw someone mention that a lot of DTS Entertainment discs are like this, which is a little unfortunate. It's also a shame that there was no 96/24 version of this mix anywhere. Looks like just the 2003 master is all that is left. I’m sure we’ll get a proper remix / Atmos mix of this for the 25th or 30th Anniversary…
Also, the LFE is a little low and I had to bring the volume of my sub up a bit to make it sound level. Don’t know if its like this on the DVD-A but having to manipulate my sound system makes me take off a point. It would have been two or three if they didn’t include a corrected BD-A with the center channel fixed (it originally was completely out of phase on both the DVD-A and original BD-A in this set).
Value: I was really impressed with the book when I didn’t think I would be. Lots of cool pictures of this time period and I really loved the pictures of the input lists and studio notes. I love that the demos are full fledged band instead of just usually acoustic guitar. That CD will be stuck in my car for the foreseeable future. It was cool to hear a couple of favorites a little differently. The 96/24 stereo mix is also lovely and a welcome addition. For me, it was not worth it at its original price point. If I didn't get it at the price I did, I would be waiting for yet another standalone release of the surround mix or I would be going after the DVD-A.
It’s an 9. Fantastic mix with some great moments. The videos/images that play during the album were nice and i'll always commend a bit of effort for that part when it could just be a static image. I can tell Scheiner knows how to evolve mixes as the song goes on and keep a listener at full attention. My second favorite PT album after Stupid Dream. Some songs I would normally skip on the stereo mix (.3), I am digging on this surround one. I can really see where SW honed his 5.1 mix skills from.
Mix Highlights: Blackest Eyes, .3, The Creator Has A Mastertape, Heartattack in a Layby, Drown With Me
Blackest Eyes: What a great song to start out an album with. Loved the guitar starting out in the rears before the band comes in. The trippy guitar strums alternating between the fronts and rears was an awesome ear catching moment. There’s another moment of the lead vocal in the center and the doubled vocals coming out of the phantom rear that caught my ear (took a couple of listens though!) Such a wonderfully balanced song. Rears used to their full potential with everything that is placed back there.
Trains: It's just a stunning song with an amazing riff in it. Nothing really caught my ear until those vocal delays halfway through. The clapping at the break, panning around the room while the shaker was in the phantom rear was great!
Lips of Ashes: What an amazing start to this song. Guitars and keyboards moving all around the sound field. The backing vocals coming out of all 4 corners was fantastic. Ends with a great solo as well.
The Sound of Muzak: Again, backing vocals from the (mostly) rears sound amazing. The last half of this song sounds just beautiful in surround. It seems like Scheiner’s mixes start off rather mundane and by the end of the song, evolve to just an amazing mix. Loved how the acoustic went to the rears for that portion.
Gravity Eyelids: Loved the ‘piercing’ sounds moving around in the rears. And the ‘Skipping” sound moving throughout the speakers was nice. The middle of this song was pretty awesome, but it was the first moment where you can totally here how compressed this mix is. Those guitar strums just have nowhere to breathe. I’m just not really into this song as a whole. One of the ones I usually skip and even after listening to it in surround, I feel the same way.
Wedding Nails: Keyboards in the rears was the only really great moment of this mix. A straight rocker for the most part. The break in the middle was well done. That shaker in the phantom rear and looping keyboard sound moving around were great. And the haunting end made me twist my head to see where those sounds were coming from.
Prodigal: The chorus lyrics being in the surrounds was awesome! The song totally opens up in those sections as well as the end. Everything is masterly placed as usual.
.3: The guitar sounds at the beginning moving around was awesome. When the acoustic comes in, the electric strums moving around the room are wonderful. The strings getting louder and louder in the rears was awesome. and when it comes to full strength, you still have some electric guitar (or is it a keyboard?) moving around a bit. I usually skipped this song whenever it came on and am now totally impressed by it.
The Creator Has A Mastertape: The guitar starting in the surround left and moving up center then all around was awesome! And the keyboards starting up in the fronts and panning to the rears and then all around was awesome as well! The keyboards moving all around at that little break was awesome! The end of this one is rough though. The guitars sound SO compressed. That’s how they sound on the studio version as well, but it is heightened in this mix.
Heartattack in a Layby: The vocal delays/reverbs are incredible. As well as the backup vocals in the surrounds trading off with the one in the center. A real triumphant surround moment! Its another one I usually skipped as well and now I will not do that ever again.
Strip The Soul: Nice moments for the backup vocals in the surrounds. A nice ear catching moment was that acoustic bridge. That note near the end moving around the field was cool. Otherwise this is kind of a bland song that has never really caught my attention and is still that way in surround.
Collapse The Light Into Earth: Vocal delays are nicely used fading into the surrounds and open up what would be a pretty bland part of the song without them.
Drown With Me: What a PHENOMENAL song. How is this not on the main album?!?!? Probably my favorite PT song ever. The vocal delay to the rears was awesome and then when the backup vocals start bouncing off every speaker, that was breathtaking. There is a bit more delay/reverb on the main vocal in the 5.1 version, but it make sense with the lyrical content! It's definitely drowning in delay and reverb. I wish that guitar/keyboard solo was a pinch louder but other than that, what a fantastic song. I think I replayed this about a dozen times right off the bat.
Chloroform: The vocal sounds haunting in the beginning, great reverb as well. The “Ah’s” moving around between the fronts and surrounds was great. A pretty great song as well. Even the B-sides are fantastic for SW.
Futile: Nice to have the acoustic in the rears. Another pretty great song but can see why it was left off the album.
Mastering is pretty compressed and also a bit bright. Sometimes those cymbals, acoustic strums and snare impacts can be like needles to my ear at a loud volume! I’ve listened to this record 4 times all at different volumes and its such an exhausting listen no matter what. By Strip the Soul, I am ready to just turn this off. Definitely need to take a break for a bit after listening to this. I saw someone mention that a lot of DTS Entertainment discs are like this, which is a little unfortunate. It's also a shame that there was no 96/24 version of this mix anywhere. Looks like just the 2003 master is all that is left. I’m sure we’ll get a proper remix / Atmos mix of this for the 25th or 30th Anniversary…
Also, the LFE is a little low and I had to bring the volume of my sub up a bit to make it sound level. Don’t know if its like this on the DVD-A but having to manipulate my sound system makes me take off a point. It would have been two or three if they didn’t include a corrected BD-A with the center channel fixed (it originally was completely out of phase on both the DVD-A and original BD-A in this set).
Value: I was really impressed with the book when I didn’t think I would be. Lots of cool pictures of this time period and I really loved the pictures of the input lists and studio notes. I love that the demos are full fledged band instead of just usually acoustic guitar. That CD will be stuck in my car for the foreseeable future. It was cool to hear a couple of favorites a little differently. The 96/24 stereo mix is also lovely and a welcome addition. For me, it was not worth it at its original price point. If I didn't get it at the price I did, I would be waiting for yet another standalone release of the surround mix or I would be going after the DVD-A.
It’s an 9. Fantastic mix with some great moments. The videos/images that play during the album were nice and i'll always commend a bit of effort for that part when it could just be a static image. I can tell Scheiner knows how to evolve mixes as the song goes on and keep a listener at full attention. My second favorite PT album after Stupid Dream. Some songs I would normally skip on the stereo mix (.3), I am digging on this surround one. I can really see where SW honed his 5.1 mix skills from.
Mix Highlights: Blackest Eyes, .3, The Creator Has A Mastertape, Heartattack in a Layby, Drown With Me
musicmemorabiliashoppellc
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Well done
I felt the same way about the album--in both stereo & 5.1--until I heard the remastered stereo mix on the Blu-Ray. I know it's a cliche, but for me it really was like hearing the album for the first time. On my system, comfortable listening level for the stereo remaster is roughly twice as loud as the 5.1! For the first time ever, I made it through the entire thing without taking a break or skipping tracks. The guitar rave-up in "Gravity Eyelids" no longer has me running for the remote. I don't know how difficult or time-consuming it was to do this, but if they applied the same mastering to a flat transfer of the 5.1 mix it would've been a TKO.
If you can track it down for a fair price, I'd say Scheiner's 5.1 mix of Deadwing is even better. The mastering on that one is still too loud, but it doesn't have the piercing high-end that this does.
I got Porcupine Tree In Absentia Deluxe - blu ray for Christmas. Great discrete, balanced surround mix. I found no lack of bass. I Noticed a slight amount of brightness on a couple of tracks but it didn’t detract from the song for me. Solid 10 for me. JMHO
Last edited:
Another 10, just like Fear of a Blank Planet. I guess I don't have the ears that some of you have, because I can find no fault with the 5.1 mix. Great album too.
I think the Scheiner mix is incredible but that's not what the complaints are about.
I got the box set for this (already had the old DVD-A). Very nice book. It appears that it is shipping with the corrected BR now as part of the package and not as a standalone replacement BR. The corrected BR, however, looks pretty much like the original uncorrected BR with the website address on the disc, so I had to look at the menu to make sure everything was there. The documentary is a welcome addition, as are the other songs. The decompressed new stereo mix by SW is great and especially evident in a song like Trains. I can't tell if they used the new SW stereo mix for the CD, as I only listened to it while driving in my car. It doesn't indicate who did the mastering for that one in the liner notes, at least where I could see. All credits appear to be 2002, so I guess it's the original stereo mix on the CD.
The stereo track on the Blu-Ray is not a remix, it's a new remaster of the original 2002 mix by Wilson. It's a shame they couldn't remaster the 5.1 mix in a similar fashion, or issue a flat transfer of it without Darcy Proper's mastering.
Yes, I'm sorry. I knew that and mistyped. Mix is the same and the new master basically just didn't have all the compression/limiting that the original did, since that was the norm back in 2002. I think it is likely EQed a bit more to SW's liking too.
Is the stereo mix/master on the CD the original or the newer SW master?
Geoff in Belfast
Active Member
Ive been using Trackava to keep an eye on Amazon U.K. and this finally fell below the £65 mark yesterday so I have it ordered
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082QFYW6R/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_RPMPATFKWGHSMBM2EG06
The CD has the new remaster.
Thank you. That probably explains why I have to crank it up in my car.
Similar threads
- Poll
