HiRez Poll Rush - FLY BY NIGHT [DVD-A/BluRay Audio]

[JonUrban]

Originally only available in the "SECTOR 1" Box from Rush, this album was later released in January 2015 on a BluRay HFPS Audio disc. Please post your thoughts and comments on this 5.1 release, with regard to mix, content and sound quality, and make note if you are commenting on the DVD-A or the BluRay disc.

DVD-A/V scans:



Blu-Ray Audio scans:

 

[LJ]

Well done.

This mix came as a complete surprise. The album is well presented and the use of surrounds is not skimped on. Chycki chose to heavily highlight the guitars in the rear surrounds and, in his mix, they power the album. The 5.1 mix is not quite as "aggressive" as the original stereo mix, it does not "drive" quite as hard - compare the two MLP versions of "Beneath, Between and Behind."

The primary problem is in the unity of the band in the new mix. Geddy's bass lines, arguably the driving force for many compositions, seem buried and there is little cohesion amongst the various layers.

I complained that the Signals disc suffered from a full-frontal assault of the vocals at the expense of everything else. Here, the guitars seem to overwhelm the other elements. This is not a huge disadvantage since, at this stage, the band was primarily a three piece ensemble playing fairly stripped-down rock (with a twist).

However, all complaints aside, this is an extremely listenable, if not entirely successful, surround mix.

The real winning track: "By-Tor & The Snow Dog" - Exemplary.

 

[stormchaser]

Well done.
However, all complaints aside, this is an extremely listenable, if not entirely successful, surround mix.

The real winning track: "By-Tor & The Snow Dog" - Exemplary.

Spot on. While I find the last few songs on this disc to be entirely forgettable, the mix is solid and downright quad-like on "By-Tor." An 8 for me.

 

[kvsawilson]

Being a bigger fan of their early years, this is the one I tried. And I have to say, it's quite enjoyable. Not a stellar mix, but it sounds pretty damn good. And "By-Tor" is a fun listen. Still could have been more adventurous in using the surround potential, but I'm much more pleased with this one than either the very disappointing mix for "Snakes and Arrows" or the somewhat disappointing "Moving Pictures" mix. I like this one a lot. Brings back memories of my first days of high school when I had a buddy who was real into this and we'd listen to it on an 8-track in his Pinto wagon.

And never being a huge Rush fan, I only owned two cd's of theirs; the first album which I do love and "Hold Your Fire". So getting all the cd's along with the surround disc seems like a pretty good deal. I'll try at least one, and probably both, of the other "Sectors".

K

 

[DKA]

A slight improvement over "Signals," but that's not exactly a ringing endorsement. There's better separation in this mix, but nothing anywhere near what any respectable mixer should be charging you money for.......then you start realizing that, not only is the vocal not centered in the soundfield on half these tracks, but it actually seems to be somewhere in between the center and left side of the mix, and that "it's better than 'Signals'" begins to mean that, if Signals was a "2" out of "10", this raises the bar slightly to "3" out of "10." Still nothing that should ever be called a professional mix.

 

[Guy Robinson]

8

 

[greenorange]

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[dr. simple]

I just listened to this disc, top-to-bottom, tonight. I have to say that, although this is clearly not a demo surround disc by any stretch of the imagination, it's a huge improvement over stereo. Would I like a more adventurous mix? Sure, but what we have here is no dud. I think this conservative mix brings new life to this old recording. Some of my favorite Rush tracks are right here, alive and well and sounding better than ever for me 12 years into the 21st century. Life is good.

 

[rtbluray]

Overall a solid effort from Chycki and the boys from Canada.

This album is the most straightforward of all the Rush albums remixed in 5.1 thus far so naturally the surround presentation doesn't allow for much unique mixing options as other albums like 'A Farewell to Kings' and 'Moving Pictures' do. That being said, I love how the solo section of By-Tor is mixed, and I think it's one of the best highlights of RUSH's 5.1 catalogue.

 

[DKA]

I'm continously stunned that people consider stuff like this to be a solid mix. I just don't get it.

 

[keenly]

Loud and Compressed.

 

[peterzach]

I'm continously stunned that people consider stuff like this to be a solid mix. I just don't get it.

Is it because you have only heard the DTS mix?
It makes a big difference between DTS and Dvd Audio on these for some reason as I hated 'Signals' as I had only heard the Dts version but after getting the Dvd Audio(finally bought the Sector box's) and listening to it on my Dvd Audio home system and in the car I like Signals now, its not perfect and not very adventerous but pretty good sound wise.
Same thing with Fly by Night, the Dvd Audio sounds pretty good and to previous poster its not that compressed, you can really crank these Rush Dvd Audio's, the Dvd Audio of these are best version's of albums I have heard or remind me more of listening to the Lp's from the past(I don't have a record player any more).

peter

 

[steelydave]

I've had these Rush DVD-A's for ages but finally got around to ripping and properly listening to them recently. I'm not even sure what to say really, but what a missed opportunity...they really sound like they're mixed by someone who doesn't understand how to use surround to it's maximum potential at all.

So while I'm speaking about this album specifically, the same goes for all the Rush 5.1 mixes as they were all mixed in exactly the same style.

The most frustrating thing about the mix (aside from how front heavy they are) is Rich Chycki's tendency to put instruments in to far too many speakers, so you can't pinpoint anything - everything ends up sounding like a mono wall of sound (or noise, delete as appropriate). Case in point, on the song 'Fly By Night' he has a single acoustic guitar coming from all three front speakers, and then reverbs of the same guitar from the rear speakers. The same goes with vocals, and drums, so you end up with everything coming out of every speaker in a big mush. It's just made worse by the copious use of reverb in the rear speakers. I listened to the 5.1 mix on headphones, with the 3 front speakers mixed to one ear, and the two rears in the other ear so I could get a sense of surround placement, and you literally have the whole band thundering away in the front speakers, and only cavernous reverb in the rears. The only discrete element in the mix is during the chorus, when Geddy sings 'Fly by night, away from here...' the two guitar 'pling plings' fly toward the back of the room. What's the point? Why are all the instruments fighting for space in the front? He doesn't even use the center speaker discretely either, most of the time it sounds like a mono sum of the front left and front right speakers and as such, it ruins the phantom imaging of the front speakers. The occasional discrete elements in the rear speakers are sto o few and far between that they're actually distracting - they almost end up like 'hey look at me!' party tricks that cruelly remind you of how much better the mix could have been. I think if they were going to go with a conservative surround mix they should have done it in the 'big stereo' style that Tom Petty uses and not have these occasional discrete flourishes in the rear speakers.

I also find the bass to be muddy and indistinct most of the time. The weird thing is if you listen to the LFE channel on a full range speaker, it's almost exclusively dry bass guitar (and a bit of kick drum and sometimes synths). The LFE channel hasn't been low pass filtered, so you can hear everything. The dry bass guitar sounds amazing, full of growl and bite, which makes the lifeless way it sounds in the full mix all the more baffling.

To add insult to injury the mixes have been slammed pretty hard with compression - the DR rating for the album is between 10 and 11, which is better than the stereo mix fares, but still poor for a 5.1 mix and way lower than this style of music deserves. The DR database says the old CD mastering of the stereo mix was DR14.

 

[keenly]

I've had these Rush DVD-A's for ages but finally got around to ripping and properly listening to them recently. I'm not even sure what to say really, but what a missed opportunity...they really sound like they're mixed by someone who doesn't understand how to use surround to it's maximum potential at all.

So while I'm speaking about this album specifically, the same goes for all the Rush 5.1 mixes as they were all mixed in exactly the same style.

The most frustrating thing about the mix (aside from how front heavy they are) is Rich Chycki's tendency to put instruments in to far too many speakers, so you can't pinpoint anything - everything ends up sounding like a mono wall of sound (or noise, delete as appropriate). Case in point, on the song 'Fly By Night' he has a single acoustic guitar coming from all three front speakers, and then reverbs of the same guitar from the rear speakers. The same goes with vocals, and drums, so you end up with everything coming out of every speaker in a big mush. It's just made worse by the copious use of reverb in the rear speakers. I listened to the 5.1 mix on headphones, with the 3 front speakers mixed to one ear, and the two rears in the other ear so I could get a sense of surround placement, and you literally have the whole band thundering away in the front speakers, and only cavernous reverb in the rears. The only discrete element in the mix is during the chorus, when Geddy sings 'Fly by night, away from here...' the two guitar 'pling plings' fly toward the back of the room. What's the point? Why are all the instruments fighting for space in the front? He doesn't even use the center speaker discretely either, most of the time it sounds like a mono sum of the front left and front right speakers and as such, it ruins the phantom imaging of the front speakers. The occasional discrete elements in the rear speakers are sto o few and far between that they're actually distracting - they almost end up like 'hey look at me!' party tricks that cruelly remind you of how much better the mix could have been. I think if they were going to go with a conservative surround mix they should have done it in the 'big stereo' style that Tom Petty uses and not have these occasional discrete flourishes in the rear speakers.

I also find the bass to be muddy and indistinct most of the time. The weird thing is if you listen to the LFE channel on a full range speaker, it's almost exclusively dry bass guitar (and a bit of kick drum and sometimes synths). The LFE channel hasn't been low pass filtered, so you can hear everything. The dry bass guitar sounds amazing, full of growl and bite, which makes the lifeless way it sounds in the full mix all the more baffling.

To add insult to injury the mixes have been slammed pretty hard with compression - the DR rating for the album is between 10 and 11, which is better than the stereo mix fares, but still poor for a 5.1 mix and way lower than this style of music deserves. The DR database says the old CD mastering of the stereo mix was DR14.

Mr Chycki blocked me on twitter :}. He should of never got the job. The Rush catalog is something special and deserved ES or SW to get their hands on it, not a first timer.

 

[fredblue]

Mr Chycki blocked me on twitter :}. He should of never got the job. The Rush catalog is something special and deserved ES or SW to get their hands on it, not a first timer.

If you broached the subject with him in your usual bull in a china shop approach, I'm not surprised he blocked you.. @:

I do agree with you though, he wasn't the man for the job, if he was left to his own devices and the Rush surround mixes aren't the result of band involvement/interference, he clearly didn't do them justice.

 

[keenly]

If you broached the subject with him in your usual bull in a china shop approach, I'm not surprised he blocked you.. @:

I do agree with you though, he wasn't the man for the job, if he was left to his own devices and the Rush surround mixes aren't the result of band involvement/interference, he clearly didn't do them justice.

Actual tweet sent 'Mr Chycki, can you tell me why the Rush 5.1 mixes aren't more dynamic and immersive?'.

 

[fredblue]

Actual tweet sent 'Mr Chycki, can you tell me why the Rush 5.1 mixes aren't more dynamic and immersive?'.

surprisingly restrained by your standards.. though I don't know what kind of response you were hoping for when it's just critical rather than constructively critical.. you're effectively saying his mixes aren't much cop.

maybe if you'd phrased it something like "was compression used on your 5.1 mixes and why?" knowing that it was but it gives some chance to open a conversation rather than get the guys' back up by saying they're not dynamic enough..

also, knowing that his Dream Theater 5.1 mix is much more dynamic and immersive than his Rush 5.1's, you could have posed the question "I notice that the Rush mixes are less discrete than your Dream Theater mixes, was it your lone personal creative decision to mix the Rush surround as is, or was there band involvement too?"

no guarantee of a response either way but maybe you could acknowledge there's ways to approach people to get the best out of them, imho.. just sayin'

 

[keenly]

surprisingly restrained by your standards.. though I don't know what kind of response you were hoping for when it's just critical rather than constructively critical.. you're effectively saying his mixes aren't much cop.

maybe if you'd phrased it something like "was compression used on your 5.1 mixes and why?" knowing that it was but it gives some chance to open a conversation rather than get the guys' back up by saying they're not dynamic enough..

also, knowing that his Dream Theater 5.1 mix is much more dynamic and immersive than his Rush 5.1's, you could have posed the question "I notice that the Rush mixes are less discrete than your Dream Theater mixes, was it your lone personal creative decision to mix the Rush surround as is, or was there band involvement too?"

no guarantee of a response either way but maybe you could acknowledge there's ways to approach people to get the best out of them, imho.. just sayin'

I do not and will not phrase sentences to spare the ego of so called professionals; that includes Doctors, MPS, MEPS or anyone else. I did that for years, it seriously annoys me. Now I will engage with honesty and never censor myself. I feel disdain that some of the greatest music ever has such mediocre 5.1 mixes and poor sound. One can't be politically correct and angry and the same time, it is false. I wanted to berate him so he was lucky :}. I took mercy on his soul. It seems many on here are VERY SENSITIVE to any criticisms of their preferred artists or discs. I am not one bit bothered if somebody hates my fav albums; so what? If somebody said Led Zeppelin are garbage; that would not anger me one bit; yet if I say Nonsuch is terrible, WORLD WAR 3. If you can't take the heat............

The only way for change to occur is to demand it and not settle. People get a poor product because they allow it to happen. Same with wars etc. WE the public need to be more pro active every area. If a product is less than desired; complain, ask questions etc.

 

[fredblue]

I do not and will not phrase sentences to spare the ego of so called professionals; that includes Doctors, MPS, MEPS or anyone else. I did that for years, it seriously annoys me. Now I will engage with honesty and never censor myself. I feel disdain that some of the greatest music ever has such mediocre 5.1 mixes and poor sound. One can't be politically correct and angry and the same time, it is false. I wanted to berate him so he was lucky :}. I took mercy on his soul. It seems many on here are VERY SENSITIVE to any criticisms of their preferred artists or discs. I am not one bit bothered if somebody hates my fav albums; so what? If somebody said Led Zeppelin are garbage; that would not anger me one bit; yet if I say Nonsuch is terrible, WORLD WAR 3. If you can't take the heat............

The only way for change to occur is to demand it and not settle. People get a poor product because they allow it to happen. Same with wars etc. WE the public need to be more pro active every area. If a product is less than desired; complain, ask questions etc.

its your right to complain if you have a problem, I'm not talking about censorship or pussyfooting around some precious egomaniac (not that I'm saying Richard Chycki is either of those things at all).

I'm talking about you having some decorum and not going in all guns blazing, I mean it didn't get you very far with Chycki did it? He blocked you outright.

that said, even if he had engaged you what good would it do, his mixes are done, unless someone else revisits them (highly unlikely imo) you just have to lump it.

you could download your own stems from Jammit (they have Rush multi's there) and have a go at remixing them yourself?

anyway, I'm conscious this is a Poll so I'm gonna withdraw now. regardless I feel even if I continued this with you here I'd probably get about as far with you as you did with Chycki.

 

[keenly]

its your right to complain if you have a problem, I'm not talking about censorship or pussyfooting around some precious egomaniac (not that I'm saying Richard Chycki is either of those things at all).

I'm talking about you having some decorum and not going in all guns blazing, I mean it didn't get you very far with Chycki did it? He blocked you outright.

that said, even if he had engaged you what good would it do, his mixes are done, unless someone else revisits them (highly unlikely imo) you just have to lump it.

you could download your own stems from Jammit (they have Rush multi's there) and have a go at remixing them yourself?

anyway, I'm conscious this is a Poll so I'm gonna withdraw now. regardless I feel even if I continued this with you here I'd probably get about as far with you as you did with Chycki.

At least Mr Chycki read one tweet that hinted his work wasn't great. I will take credit for the DM 5.1 mixes! I inspired him to be better.